907 Riverside Drive_Leeper Park Navarre Cabin_COA 2020-0302

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The cabin colloquially known as the “Pierre Navarre Cabin” originally stood on the north side of the river somewhere west of what is now Michigan Street Bridge; it was moved to Leeper Park in 1904, only to be moved/repositioned within the park in 1916. The cabin was again moved and refurbished in 1954. The Common Council of South Bend passed a resolution in 1988 establishing the cabin as an honorary landmark as part of the Hoosier Celebration ’88 activities; a few years later in 1996 the Common Council passed an ordinance formally adopting the entirety of Leeper Park as a Local Landmark. Leeper Park was added to the Indiana State Register of Historic Places in April of 1999 and the National Register of Historic Places in June of 2000, where the Navarre Cabin is indicated as Building ‘B4’ in the nomination form. The structure was rated Outstanding in the most recent City of South Bend Historic Sites and Structures Inventory. In 2005, The History Museum partnered with the Historic Preservation Commission and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana (now Indiana Landmarks) to pursue funding assistance from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to facilitate the structure’s rehabilitation. The National Parks Service furnished $41,000 through the ‘Historic Preservation Fund’, with the remainder of monies being raised by The History Museum through fundraising. The cabin was eligible for this Federal funding because of its status as an included asset within the National Register listed Leeper Park. As a condition of the funding, the state maintained an internal and external easement on the structure from 2005 until its expiration in 2015. National Register listing is often the key to unlocking the few funding opportunities that are available related to Historic Preservation efforts. Moving the structure from Leeper Park will nullify they existing status (see Title 36: Parks, Forest, and Public Property, Part 60—National Register of Historic Places, §60.14 ‘Changes and revisions to properties listed in the National Register’), as well as potentially preclude the structure’s future eligibility for re- inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. The structure’s new location is within the West Washington National Register District. Were the structure to be moved to this new location, the structure would not be a contributing resource in the West Washington National Register District. The loss of this status will negate future opportunities for rehabilitation grants to preserve the structure long term. Without those grant opportunities, long term maintenance of the structure will fall exclusively to the owner. The History Museum’s argument is that moving the cabin will lead to greater utilization and more engagement with the structure. The History Museum currently uses the structure for “Cabin Days”, a three-day long school event that happens annually. The History Museum has stated that amenities (bathrooms / comfort stations, storage facilities) are not available at the site in its current configuration, and that moving the structure to The History Museum campus would provide those amenities. The History Museum further states that they feel the structure will be more secure on their campus. It is unknown if The History Museum had any dialogue with Venues, Parks & Arts to seek greater utilization of existing parks facilities. STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES: 9.0 LANDSCAPES – STANDARDS AND CRITERIA FOR LEEPER PARK 9.1 Introduction 1. In these guidelines the verb Should indicates a recommended course of action; the verb Shall indicates those actions which are specifically required to preserve and protect significant architectural elements. 2. The intent of these standards and criteria is to preserve the overall character and appearance of Leeper Park including its spatial organization, topography, vegetation, circulation and features. 3. The standards and criteria acknowledge that there will be changes to the landscape and are intended to make the change sensitive to the historic character of the landscape. 4. Each property will be separately studied to determine if a later addition(s) and/or alteration(s) can, or should, be removed. 5. Since it is not possible to provide one general guideline, the following factors that will be considered in determining wheth er a later addition(s) and/or alteration(s) can, or should, be removed include: a. Compatibility with the original property’s integrity in scale, materials, and character. b. Historic association with the property. c. Quality in design and execution of the addition/alteration. d. Functional usefulness. 6. Recreational facilities which exist should be allowed to remain as long as they serve substantial community functions. In som e cases these features can be redesigned to be more compatible with the overall landscape. 7. Additions to existing recreational facilities shall not be allowed unless such additions make the facilities more compatible with the overall landscape. 8. The development of additional facilities for active recreation or single purpose uses for limited user groups shall not be allowed. 4