|
STAFF REPORT
<br />CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR A
<br />CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
<br />Date: 9 March, 2020
<br />Application Number: 2020-0302
<br />Property Location: Leeper Park
<br />Architectural Style/Date/Architect or Builder: Planned landscape/1897/City
<br />superintendent Herman Beyer; Landscape Architect George Kessler
<br />Property Owner: City of South Bend, Venues Parks & Arts
<br />Landmark or District Designation: Local Landscape Landmark, Ordinance
<br />#8734-96 and National Register of Historic Places, 6/15/2000
<br />Rating: Outstanding
<br />DESCRIPTION OF STRUCTURE/ SITE: Leeper Park is the first planned public park in South Bend located
<br />north of downtown and the medical district. Leeper Park is oriented east/west at the St. Joseph River, divided into
<br />three sections, East, Central, and West, by Michigan Street and Lafayette Boulevard. The Eastern section was
<br />originally established for the Water Works with the first construction on site being a network of thirty, six-inch
<br />artesian wells.1 “The first land condemned for the future Leeper Park, in June of 1895, was meant to provide a
<br />second artesian well field and pumping facility for the lively industries and town population which was growing
<br />along the south bend of the St. Joseph River.”2 City superintendent Herman Beyer first influenced the design
<br />including curvilinear paths, plantings, and water features. The 1911-1915 Parks and Boulevard system and the
<br />Leeper Park Plan, designed by celebrated planner and landscape architect George Kessler, embodied early
<br />twentieth century ideals grounded in the City Beautiful movement, connecting parks and boulevards as planned
<br />elements of a coordinated city plan. Kessler’s Plan for Leeper Park included both formal and informal design
<br />elements, adopting existing park features of the Beyer era through a skillful remodel. The association of the park
<br />sections with different uses was a result of Kessler’s planning; the West section was deemed for active recreation,
<br />the Central section as passive recreation, and the Eastern Section was adopted for its function as a Water Works but
<br />also boasts a number of recreation-related features. While the Kessler Plan guided Leeper Park development for the
<br />next decade, documentary evidence appears that only some elements of the Kessler design were actually installed.3
<br />Sensitive extensions of Kessler’s Plan continued into the 1920s and 1930s and included Works Progress
<br />Administration funded labor for several projects.4
<br />Leeper Park East features include: the North Pumping Station, the water reservoir, multiple water well pumps,
<br />Ziegler Performing Center with fixed bench seating, signage for the former Garden of Fragrance, the Navarre
<br />Cabin, the foundation of the former Powell House, a non-functioning Comfort Station, a swing set/slide, the
<br />Sunken (Rose) Garden, the island, and the Works Progress Administration retaining wall and a bridge to the island.
<br />Leeper Park Central features include: West Lagoon (Duck Pond), concrete stairs on embankment, a well house, the
<br />Edward B. Reynolds fountain, Lavender Labyrinth, memorials including trees, stones, and plaques. The
<br />Commission approved river overlook is under construction at this time.
<br />Leeper Park West features include: backdrop of the former baseball diamond, tennis courts, a recreation building, a
<br />parking lot, an odor garden, and raised vegetable gardens with adjoining paths.
<br />1 Leeper Park Cultural Landscape Report, prepared by Westerly Group for the Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County,
<br />May 1998.
<br />2 Ibid.
<br />3 Ibid.
<br />4 Malcolm Cairns, ASLA. “Leeper Park Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places Inv entory/Nomination Form, NR-1411. South Bend,
<br />St. Joseph County, Indiana, June 15, 2000.
<br />1
|