Establishing an Historic Landmark 635 S Main

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• i P w t building ' s amenities , Studebaker employed a staff of "uniformed receptionists , one a former airline stewardess" in place of the former "ushers . " [7] When the Studebaker Corporation put the building up for sale in 1965 , it had again been redecorated and updated on the interior . The company marketed the structure as " 150 , 000 square foot of modern office space . . . that could accommodate a work-force of over six-hundred . " [8] They evidently had some difficulty selling the structure, however , as the School Corporation, the next occupant , did not occupy it until 1970 . Architectural Context The building stands on a strip of land directly east of the company ' s older office structure on Lafayette Street (now the location of the Shetland Building, 1923) . It is 80 feet high (four stories) with an irregular "footprint" measuring 320 by 110 feet . This plan was designed to fill as much of the lot , circumscribed by three streets and the railroad tracks due north (elevated in 1928) , as possible. [9] The Wills Brothers , a contracting firm based in Chicago, constructed the building . It was built of reinforced concrete from top to bottom, including all walls, floors , ceilings and supporting columns . The facade is faced with brick and Bedford stone. The project took the better part of two years due to the necessity of transporting the concrete to the site by wheelbarrow and ramps and that work ceased during the winter months and inclement weather . - The architect ' s design mimicked the form of Renaissance palaces found in Italian metropolises. The design was, like those structures, meant to be symbolic of business success and power . Also similar to its European prototypes , the building ' s footprint following existing lot lines results in a trapezoidal , hence " irregular, " plan. The masonry wall treatment is accentuated by a rusticated base or first story, a second story stone sill course, and a larger intermediate, molded stone belt course. Openings are arranged in a rhythmic, two-tiered arcade. The two -story arches are accented by keystones; those corresponding to the lower tier are reflective of Mannerism--a late Renaissance style. The lower tier is also characterized by heavy stone blocks that emphasize the spring line of the arcade. Most of the actual window sashes have been replaced . The sashes on the upper portion of the lower tier originally filled the entire arch . Sashes on the upper tier were three-over-one, double-hung sashes ; some of these are still in place . 6