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CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS STAFF REPORT APPLICATION -- 1998-0527-1 PROPERTY -- 535 Riverside Drive South Bend, IN OWNER -- Andrew & Lisabeth Deitsch DESIGNATION -- LHD—RB RATING -- Contributing C/10 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE/HISTORIC CONTEXT This house was built by Seth Hammond and Leslie Whitcomb in 1910 as a rental unit. They eventually sold it to John & Gertrude Rusing for $3,750.00, who also used the house as a rental. Mr. Rusing rented the house to Isaac H. Doolittle, eventually selling it to him in 1922. Dr. Doolittle was born in 1862 in West Fork, Indiana. He came to South Bend in 1918 with his wife, Della Fessler Doolittle and their five children. Dr. Doolittle. was a physician and surgeon with offices at 321 1/2 South Michigan. he Doolittles resided in the house until 1926 at which time they converted the house back into a rental property. The Doolittles rented the house to several different people over the next 20 years. In 1947 Dr. Doolittle was struck by an . automobile and killed, his sons, Glenn and Wayne, inherited the house. The brothers rented the -house to Forbes and Dorothy Town in 1957. Mr. Town was a driver for the Northern Indiana Transport. In 1963 Glenn Doolittle gave his share of.the house to his brother Wayne who sold the house to Mr. & Mrs. Town two years later. Mr. & Mrs. Town resided in the house until 1976 when they sold it to William L. Niemann. Mr. Niemann left the house vacant for a year then sold it to John M. Downey. It is unclear how long Mr..Downey owned the property or when he sold it, however, by 1990 the house is owned by Mary Ann Peterson who sold,it that year to Mike Forrest Keen. Mr. Keen sold the house to Mimi Kinter in 1994 and she sold the house to the current owners, Andrew & Lisabeth Deitsch, in May of 1998. PROPOSED CHANGE Applicant proposes to install aluminum storm windows on the two front, ground level windows to match the existing aluminum storms located on the rest of the houses windows. STANDARDS The Preservation Guidelines for River Bend Historic District state: b) .... The Guidelines for the River Bend District follow the Rehabilitation Model.... . II.C.2. Recommended Wood frame storm windows and doors, painted to match the original, should be used but should not damage existing frames... When Metal Storm windows and doors are used, they should be painted, anodized, or coated to match the existing.