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 13 ______________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of significance.) ARCHITECTURE Lowell Heights-Olivet African Methodist Episcopal Church was constructed in 1923 after the Lowell Heights congregation out-grew is smaller building south of the present church. In 1919, the Methodist Episcopal denomination developed regional Bureaus of Architecture for guidance and design for congregations who were constructing new buildings. The Lowell Heights congregation fell under the Chicago regional bureau and received their design from Frank G. Dillard. Dillard, a 1913 Harvard University graduate of their school of architecture, was the first architect of the Chicago office when the bureaus were introduced in 1919. The building was designed in 1922 and constructed in 1923. Lowell Heights-Olivet African Methodist Episcopal Church is an unusual melding of the traditional 20th century Gothic style for religious architecture with what the architect refers to as the English type, inferred here as Tudor Gothic (photos 0001-0005). However, the building also carries features of the Craftsman style, particularly in its interior woodwork. The ususual open trusswork, jigsawn balustrade, and interior doors with art glass point to a refinement of features. The early suburban church is located on a corner lot on an important avenue leading from the heart of Notre Dame University's campus, on axis with the administration building, to downtown South Bend. The building was designed in a Tudor Gothic style with several Craftsman features introduced in the interior. The dark-brown brick building is composed of wire-cut (raked) brick with stone trim. It has a broad front-gabled parapet composing its entry bay, further delineated with a tall Gothic arch stained glass window divided into lancets, flanked by pilasters with stone caps with trefoil carvings, and wood doors. The building has a formal composition of narthex, nave, transept, and chancel. An asymmetrical three-story wing on the back of the building contains offices and classrooms. The church lacks a formal bell tower, using its grand entry bay in lieu of an entry tower (photo 0001), but it features gabled parapets and steeply-pitched roofs covered with asphalt shingles. Notable features that cause the building to lean toward the Tudor Gothic style are its crenellated parapets with gables on the flanking towers (north and south facades) and projecting bays with double gabled walls (transept wings). The small oriel bay between the gables on the north façade is an original feature and is further evidence of Tudor influence in the design (photo 0004). The nave features rows of large Gothic arch art glass windows on each side and chancel formed in the shape of a Gothic arch due to the vault of the ceiling (photos 0007-0008, 0012). The nave includes interesting open trusswork of the Craftsman style, wood ceiling, and three balconies (one in each of the transept wings, and the main one at the back). The main balcony features tiered seating with historic wood theater-style seats (photo 0011). Wood staircases feature balustrades composed of planks with jigsawn designs (photos 0014-0015). These are located to each side of the chancel and off the south side of the narthex. Brick fireplaces are located in two adult Sunday School classrooms (photos 0009, 0016). The pastor's office features an original