COA APPLICATION #2020-0302: NORTHERN INDIANA HISTORIC SOCIETY INC. V. SOUTH BEND HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION

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Ms. Erickson clarified that the application indicated that The History Museum had originally planned to remove the Herb Garden and the concrete footings that were part of the cabin, and that having had conversations with Venues Parks & Arts, that their removal was not desired. Ms. Erickson thanked for the Commission for hearing the project and apologized for the delay in coming before the Commission. Ms. Erickson gave a presentation of the history of the cabin and its various locations. This included a history of Pierre Navarre, the original builder of the Cabin across the river in what is now the West North Shore Drive Local Historic District. Ms. Erickson indicated that the cabin was moved multiple times within Leeper Park as various developments occurred, ending up in its current location in 1954. Ms. Erickson stated that the cabin deteriorated over the years leading to The History Museum partnering with the Historic Preservation Commission and the Indiana DNR to raise money to extensively restore the cabin in 2005, guided by the recommendations of the Leatherwood Company, one of the nation's leading experts of log cabin restoration. Ms. Erickson stated that the location caused problems for programming. The Museum would like for their interpretation to be immersive, but due to weather and other environmental factors — the hospital, the reservoir, the pumping station, the highway — limits their interpretive efforts. Ms. Erickson stated that parking is an issue with the park and that buses try not to park on the grass, that there is no shelter to take the children to in the event of rain, that storage is an issue and that the supplies for the cabin must be loaded and unloaded every day at the cabin because local storage is not available. Were the material stored in the cabin, that would make difficult cleaning or maintaining the structure. Ms. Erickson stated that the historic comfort station that is nearby is non-functional, and this is an added concern during the ongoing COVID emergency. There is no immediate place for children to wash their hands or use the bathroom. Ms. Erickson stated that The History Museum's interpretation of the site is limited to what can be set up in a matter of hours, there are no garden plots or places for animals or outbuildings, things that the museum would like to include. Ms. Erickson stated there are safety concerns. Most teachers and parents don't allow their children to cross [Riverside Drive within the park] to see the cabin within its historic context of the river. The Park is an unbounded space, meaning that the museum can't control who comes to the space. There are no walls to keep the children contained, and kids will run off and this causes challenges. Ms. Erickson stated that the safety of the cabin is a concern. There is a security system, but there are no cameras in the park, and there have been times when the alarm has gone off, but the police can't find [the reason] so theyjust give up. The cabin is constantly in danger of arson or being used as a shelter by people sleeping in the park. There is graffiti that is currently being removed. Ms. Erickson stated that The History Museum's board of trustees and staff believe that it is best to move the cabin to the campus. Ms. Erickson indicated where the cabin will be moved to, and that Lykowski Construction will facilitate that move. The final location of the cabin has not been determined yet. There will be a fence to enclose the structure, and landscaping is planned to shield the site from the neighborhood and the neighborhood from the site. Ms. Erickson explained that the new site would allow for The History Museum to plan for the erection of additional interpretive structures like a blacksmith shop, other outbuildings, and structures representative of the indigenous peoples. Ms. Erickson stated that this would be available for student groups who visited the museum, as well as could be included with daily tours of the mansion, and that additional signage could installed to allow for viewing when docents were not available. Ms. Erickson said that there will be site security, including discreet security cameras. Ms. Erickson stated that there have been conversations with Venues Parks & Arts regarding the installation of interpretive signage to indicate the previous site of the cabin, similar to the Powell House. Ms. Erickson discussed the impact on the removal of the Cabin on the Kessler -designed Leeper Park and indicated that the cabin is not present in his plan.