8544-94 Establishing Historic Landmark Public Right of Way at the Corner of Niles Ave & Leeper Ave

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At the July 18, 1994 regular monthly meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County (HPC), the HPC voted unanimously to send a favorable recommendation for the Local Historic Landmark designation of the lamp-post located in the tree lawn at the northeast corner of Niles Avenue and Leeper Avenue to the South Bend Common Council. RECOMMENDATION Based on the HPC Local Landmark Criteria [1] , it is the Historic Preservation Commission's recommendation that the South Bend Common Council designated the lamp-post located in the tree lawn at the northeast corner of Niles Avenue and Leeper Avenue by ordinance as a Local Historic Landmark. The object in-situ meets the criteria in at least four areas. 1) Its character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage, or culture of the City of South Bend or St. Joseph County, the State of Indiana, or the United States; 2) Its embodiment of elements of architectural design, detail, materials, or craftsmanship which represents an architectural characteristic or innovation; 3) Its educational value; 4) Its suitability for preservation; The object in-situ fulfills criteria #1 as a significant example of the City's geographical, technological, and cultural development, being among the earliest generation of electrically powered illumination devices for public streets and being a portion of the comprehensive park plan for South Bend. The object in-situ fulfills criteria #2 as an example of the design, detail, and materials of the early twentieth century and the innovative taclanulogy of that period, specifically, being an example of cutting edge technology which was produced in South Bend and exported throughout the world. The object in-situ fulfills criteria #3 as a surviving remnant of obsolescent technology and of the park-boulevard system located in a prominent public location. The object in-situ fulfills criteria #4 by its unaltered condition, integrity, and continued use. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION The lamp-post is composed of fluted tubular cast iron with escutcheon at the base and cap. The post measures 16 inches diameter at the base with the column tapering from five and one half to three and one half inches bottom to top and overall height of ten feet. The light is a sixteen inch white glass globe [2] . The unvented globe indicates that it was designed for tungsten filament lamps. The light post is mounted on a concrete plinth block. HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT This lamp-post was erected in 1917 as part of the boulevard system designed to connect the public parks of the city of South Bend. Niles Avenue was also paved as a part of this project. The development of the park system connected by boulevards was designed by George Kessler a nationally acclaimed park planner.