Lowell Heights-Olivet National Register Nomination and site plans

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United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Lowell Heights-Olivet African Methodist Episcopal Church St. Joseph County, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 9-end page 12 Period of Significance (justification) The period of significance begins in 1923 when the building was constructed for the congregation of Lowell Heights Methodist Episcopal Church. While few alterations were made to the building, the period of significance ends in 1969, the year the building became home to the Olivet African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest African-American congregation in South Bend. Criteria Considerations (explanation, if necessary) Consideration A is made due to the building’s ownership by the congregation of the Olivet African Methodist Episcopal Church. The building’s rich architecture, a blend of Late Gothic Revival with Tudor and Craftsman features, and its prominent position in the neighborhood make it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance, applicable criteria, justification for the period of significance, and any applicable criteria considerations.) The Lowell Heights-Olivet African Methodist Episcopal Church is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under criterion C using architecture as the area of significance. The building’s compact form designed in the Late Gothic Revival style includes both Tudor and Craftsman influence. The building is an example of standardized and prescribed design by religious denominations in the late 19th and early 20th century. The building’s architect, Frank G. Dillard, was the Methodist Episcopal denomination’s regional architect stationed out of Chicago. Dillard raised concerns about congregations adopting the Akron Plan of church architecture without thought of the church’s actual need. The design of Lowell Heights Methodist Episcopal Church demonstrates a pushback against the Akron model and embrace of earlier precedents. The building has an exquisite nave featuring open trusswork and balconies and has had very little alteration over the building’s 100 year history. The building is also eligible under criterion A using Ethnic Heritage as the area of significance. The Olivet AME congregation relocated to this building in 1969 from its original church home-site on the south side of downtown South Bend. The congregation is the oldest African-American congregation in the city and was actively engaged in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.