8630-95 Establishing Historic Landmark 518 South Michigan St

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ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION 518 South Michigan Street fronts on the East side of Michigan Street. To the north is a vacant lot and to the south an alley. Across the street are several similarly detailed commercial structures. This building is a masonry bearing type structure with the Michigan Street facade executed in a medium brown variegated brick. The north wall is rendered in a lower quality brick and is absent of terra cotta detailing. This wall has been partially stuccoed and displays a large mural of a keyboard and guitar. This north facade is broken by two recessed rectangular second story bays with 2/2 double hung windows. The front facade is profusely ornamented with terra-cotta parapet coping, bracketed cornice, string course, window sills and lintels. The parapet wall is detailed with three oval arcaded sections of terra-cotta. The window surrounds are executed in terra-cotta with vine and medallion motif lintels. The exuberance of the terra-cotta detail wraps around to the south side of the building only on the first bay to face the alley. The rest of the south side is rendered in lower quality brick. The openings on the south side are boarded but segmental arch brick lintels and concrete sills are visible. At the rear a one story concrete block addition abuts the brick structure. The concrete block building was used as the printing shop when it was constructed in 1924. At the rear of the concrete structure is a metal overhead door for delivery and loading. The first floor street facade exhibits a brick pilaster at either end of the modern shop front windows. This one story enframed window wall store front consists of large plate glass windows with a recessed entry. The area directly under the terra-cotta stringcourse is occupied by three large horizontal windows. The second story openings on the front facade are large single pane plate glass windows with metal casing. The extant south side windows indicate these openings were probably at one time fitted with paired 2/2 double hung windows. HISTORIC CONTEXT This building is located in an section of South Michigan Street that was developed-from 1911-1930 predominantly as a commercial area. Many of the structures were investment properties leased to a variety of businesses. The businesses changed frequently. This area is significant as one of South Bend's only remaining commercial districts of the period, reflecting the use of terra cotta and brick in a variety of styles from Sullivanesque to Neoclassical.[2] This block of South Michigan has been identified as a proposed National Register District in the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory Summary Report for South Bend. Lot 9 of Martin's Addition (516-518 South Michigan) was purchased by Jacob Kerner in 1916 as an investment property, but he did not build on the site until 1921.[3] Mr. Kerner was born October 5, 1860 in Erie, Pennsylvania. At the age of fifteen he became a volunteer firefighter in the city of South Bend. A few years later, he was in charge of the fire brigade at the Studebaker Corporation, a job that he held for two years. When South Bend formed its first paid fire department in 1886, Jacob Kerner was hired as the Second Assistant Chief. In 1891 he was promoted to First Assistant Chief. In 1894 he retired from the fire department and went to work for American Express Company until he was appointed South Bend Fire Chief in 1898. He served in this position until 1901. [4]