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CHRISTMAS IN APRIL RESTORATION 401 EAST INDIANA AVENUE SOUTH BEND INDIANA HISTORIC CONTEXT In 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. & C.C. Heurtzelman had this 26 -foot wide by 28 -foot deep house built on Lot No. 8 of the then -new Indiana Avenue Addition to the City of South Bend. The lot was originally assessed at $670, and the house at $1,690, which was a considerable sum of money in those days. Mr. Louis Clark bought this house from a widow who, he understood, was the widow of somehow closely related to the man who built this house, the green house next door, and one other house on the street. He is unable to recall her last name, but says that the last he knew, she was still living in a nearby nursing home. In 1993, the Christmas -in April Program adopted this house. National Steel Corporation donated an entire new steel roof, and Midland Engineering donated the complete installation of the roof, carefully preserving the original characteristic profile of the roof, including the deep eaves and the solid wooden carved roof brackets. Volunteers also painted the whole house, and a good, clean job was done, such that the small, sloped window hoods and the decorative detail under the gable peaks stand out nicely. The sun has apparently burned off the paint on the South -facing part of the roof over the front porch, but the roof remains as straight and fine as the day it was installed, and there is no rust or corrosion yet. The bare spots can be primed and painted, without any additional preparation, and the gutter re -fastened over the steps. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION This house is built in the classic bungalow style, with craftsman -inspired elements. The foundation of the building is concrete block, painted. The rest of the house is wood frame construction, described in the assessor's notes as mostly pine. There is an offset front porch entry, and a pair of French doors also opening onto the porch. The windows throughout are multiple square panes over one pane, double -hung sashes. The roof slopes from a peak of 23 feet, down to about ten feet over the front and back porches. The front wall of the house extends through the roof, forming a shed dormer over the front entry and a large gable dormer over the French doors. An identical gable dormer facing the rear mirrors the gable dormer in front. All three dormers have decorative knee -brace supports like the main roof gables. A standing seam steel roof has replaced the original craftsman -style shingle roof, and aluminum storm windows and doors have been added. This has not, however, reduced the building's essential grace or significance to the neighborhood. . I While the architectural rating for this house is 9, or "contributing," it is relatively outstanding, among its companions on this block on East Indiana Avenue. Although the original wooden storm doors and windows have been replaced with mill -finish aluminum, the house retains its original divided -light primary windows, broad window frames, French -doors onto the front porch, simple wood -rail porch balustrade with the traditional close -spaced uprights,