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• STAFF REPORT 51387 Portage Road, The Wertz-Bestle Farm: Proposed Local Historic Landmark The property at 51387 Portage Road, South Bend, Indiana (German Township) was nominated for. Local Historic Landmark designation by its owner, Ms. Elizabeth Lauber. Ms. Lauber has signed a Consent form and has approved classification of the property under "B" standards. The structure was rated in 1975 as Outstanding (0/13) on the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory, but due to alterations to the house, the property should now be rated as Significant (S/1.1). The original Bank Barn (three -bay basement barn), described as deteriorated in 1975, has been restored and is now in excellent condition. The farmhouse and barn are located at the end of a shaded lane on .47 acres of land; the site is surrounded by groves of trees and agricultural fields. Except for the lack of related outbuildings, the site remains much as it did when it was built as a farmstead in the early 1870s. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION The House •The structure is a two-story farmhouse constructed of brick, built in 1872. The foundation consists of square -cut field stone. The structure has a moderately pitched gable roof and moderately wide overhanging eaves. The floor plan of the main block of the house is a "T" with a one -and -a -half story e1.1 (a wing, in this case probably the kitchen) extending from the rear. The structure's form is most closely identified with what is now called the Gabled ell --a popular house type of the post -Civil War era.[l] Stylistically the house is most closely related to the Italianate mode; tall and narrow segmental -arched windows (removed) and wide eaves with a wide band of trim underneath are reminiscent of the style. The original porches were likely the parts of the structure where ornate architectural details were present, if at all. The structure remains as an example of vernacular, rural residential house construction --plain and utilitarian. Since 1975 the house has undergone major alteration: all windows and doors have been replaced; original shutters have been removed (noted as being present on 1975 Survey); a large arched, historically inappropriate, tripartite window has been added to the second floor, rear of the house; an historically inappropriate rectangular window has been added to the rear, first floor of the structure; a glass -enclosed porch has been added to the southeast corner of the house where originally an open porch was probably located; a two -bay rear porch has been removed from the rear of the house (1975 Survey); and the porch at the southwest corner of the structure is not original. In addition, a shed has been demolished (1975 Survey) and, except for the barn, no outbuildings remain. OTheBarn The barn is probably contemporaneous with the house. It fits within the 1