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Staff Report: Proposed Local Historic Landmark Desienation for James Madison School The staff has been asked to assess James Madison School, 804 North Lafayette for possible Local Historic Landmark designation. At the November 16, 1992 monthly meeting, the HPC will consider whether to recommend the structure for such designation to the South Bend Common Council. The property is owned by the South Bend Community School Corporation and is located just south of Leeper Park and one block west of Michigan Street. The staff has evaluated the property according to HPC Local Landmark criteria, has researched the history of the structure and property, and has visited the site in order to assess its architectural significance. Recommendation It is the staff's opinion that this structure meets the necessary criteria for Local Historic Landmark status; it is recommended that the HPC send a favorable recommendation to the South Bend Common Council for historic designation of this property by ordinance. HPC criteria for recommendation requires that a property be rated as a S/11 (Significant) or higher on the Indiana Sites and Structure Inventory (City Survey) and be evaluated with respect to: 1. its "character, interest, or value as part of [local, state, or national] development, heritage or culture"; 2. its "embodiment of elements of architectural design, detail, materials, or craftsmanship which represent an architectural characteristic or innovation"; 3. its "educational value"; 4. its "suitability for preservation"; 5. its location as a site of a significant historical event; and/or 6. its identification with the life of a person or persons of historical significance.[l] Discussion James Madison School is both historically and architecturally significant. It is rated as an Significant (S/11) on the City Survey. It is also a contributing structure within the Chapin Park National Register Historic District. The school's historical role as a place of education is its most obvious historical/ developmental characteristic. It is the third school structure built to accommodate the education of children in this section of the city. The community constructed many fine educational structures during the 1920s to accommodate growing numbers of students and to provide the most modern school facilities possible. Madison joined the ranks of South Bend's exceptional educational facilities in 1929. =he school is a fine example of the city's expansion and modernization of educational facilities in the early years of the twentieth century, a process that was also taking place throughout the country in this period. Madison School thus remains as an important example of the social and 1