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CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS STAFF REPORT APPLICATION -- 1998-0526 pt. B PROPERTY -- 619 Riverside Drive South Bend, IN OWNER -- Michele Gelfman DESIGNATION -- LHD-RB RATING —Contributing C/9 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE/HISTORIC CONTEXT This house was built by Seth Hammond and Leslie Whitcomb in 1914 as a rental unit. They rented it to John & Bessie Herdman from 1914 to 1919. In 1920 they sold the house to Nelly Elizabeth Metzgar and various members of her family. Edward & Eva Metzgar had four children, Nelly, Anna, Delos and Wilbert. The three Metzgar women resided in the house.together. Nelly and Anna were elementary school teachers and Mrs. Eva Metzgar was a widow. Miss Anna passed away in 1920 and her mother followed in -1926, leaving Miss Nelly Metzgar as the sole owner of.the house. She continued to live in the house through 1936, after which she used it as rental -property. Itis.believed that she owned the property until about 1945, at which time she might have sold it to Nathaniel and Dorothy Bessell and moved to Dallas, Texas. Mr. Bessell was an investment'broker. He also used the house as -a rental, renting it to Alex & Barbara Fredrick Jr:, in the late 1940s. The Bessells sold the house to the Fredrick family in 1949. Mr. Fredrick sold the house a day later to John & Jenny Williams. Mr. Williams was a projectionist at the State,Theatre. They lived in the house until 1974 when he sold it to Florence Fidler. Mrs. Fidler, the widow of Clifford Fidler, lived in the house until 1993 when she sold it to the current owner, Michele Gelfman. PROPOSED CHANGE Applicant proposes to replace existing landscaping timbers with a concrete retaining wall system. STANDARDS The Preservation Guidelines for River Bend Historic District state: b) .... The Guidelines for the River Bend District follow the Rehabilitation Model.:.. I.A.I. Required Distinctive existing features such as parks, gardens... shall be retained. New plant materials, fencing, walkways... shall be compatible with the character of the neighborhood in size, scale, material and color. 1.B.1. Required Plants, trees ... which reflect the property's history and development shall be retained. 1.B.2 Recommended New site work should be appropriate to existing surrounding site elements in scale, type and appearance.