April 2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

f, STAFF REPORT CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFIATE OF APPROPRIATENESS Date: April 21, 2003 Application Number: Property Location: Property Owner: 2002 -0404 425 west North Shore Drive, South Bend, IN Katherine & Matthew Barrett Landmark or District Designation: West North Shore Drive Local Historic District Rating: Significant; 12 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE/HISTORIC CONTEXT Built in 1927 by Albert A. Fulk. In his youth, Mr. Fulk was an employee of the George Wyman Co. In 1894, he opened his own dry goods store on South Michigan Street. In 1921, he started a wholesale underwear and hosiery business. In addition, he owned a dairy farm and was a stockholder and director of the American Trust Company. 1927 was a prosperous year for the Fulk family. Not only did Albert Fulk build this house in that year, Franklin and Mary Fulk bought the home at 1717 East Wayne Street in the same year. Assessment records list Mr. Fulk himself as architect/builder, which is unusual, especially since this house has a very high rating for architectural merit - 12 - on the Sec. of the Interior scale of 0 to 13. He either had superb taste and judgment, or he purchased some very good plans. Additionally, the quality of materials used in the original construction was very good, as one might expect from the substantial wealth of the owner. Its character defining elements include its rambling and asymmetrical shape, solid, rustic materials, and its tendency to the picturesque and the varied, rather than the formal, regular, or classical. Lawn, shrubbery, and flower gardens all support that style. APPLICATION ITEMS: 1) Expand existing basketball court from 40' x 20' to 52' by 40'. 2) Remove existing chain link fence. 3) Install two poles, on which netting may be installed to keep basketballs within bounds. RECOMMENDATION District standards, as stated on page 17 of the West North Shore Drive Local Historic District booklet, under the heading Lawns, provides as follows: "The current or historic landscaping character of lawns should be preserved. Paving and blacktopping of existing lawns so as to transform them essentially into parking lots or spaces rather than residential lawns must be prohibited. Front yard areas, trees, and lawns must remain open. Fencing in front yards is prohibited." The proposed paved area would be 2080 square feet, which is more than two and a half times the size of the existing paved area. In the applicants favor, it must be noted (1) that the proposed paved area is not in the front yard, and is not for parking, and (2) that the proposal includes the removal of a fence, which is itself mildly detrimental to the historic character of the district. The question then becomes whether it would alter the historic landscaped character of a residential lawn. Acknowledging it to be a close question, staff would nevertheless recommend against approval of this application, because of the stress laid on the preservation of landscaped areas by the neighborhood in adopting its standards.