2. Edgewater Place Historic District - National Register Nomination

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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 Edgewater Place Historic District Saint Joseph County, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 9-end page 33 interesting items about the firm. They claimed to be building one house a day by June 1919 in one of their four subdivisions on Indiana Avenue, Oak Park, Edgewater Place, and Vassar Park. Whitcomb & Keller also often used the term “closest-in” subdivision 38 to describe Edgewater Place’s nearness to downtown South Bend, calling it just a five-block or ten-minute walk to shopping on Michigan Street. Advertisements also noted the scenic views of the St. Joseph River for residents. At least seven photographs of homes from the Edgewater Place district were used for advertisements in the South Bend Tribune between 1919-1920. It is evident from several houses in the district that a specific plan was used a few times with few modifications to individualize it. The following are several examples of houses that likely follow the same plans: 509, 615, and 619 Edgewater Drive (simple side-gabled Colonial Revival seen in photos 01 and 06); 525, 531, 548 Edgewater Drive (basic Dutch Colonial Revival, seen in photos 02 and 07); 501 and 516 River Avenue (side-gabled Craftsman, seen in photos 09 and 15); 718 Arch and 556 River Avenues (Dutch Colonial Revival with cross-gabled gambrel, seen in photos 11 and 22); 713 Arch and 549 River Avenue (cross-gabled Craftsman, seen in photo 24); 517 and 524 River Avenue (Bungalow with broad front-gabled dormer, seen in photos 10 and 14); and 521 and 547 River Avenue (basic American Four Square, seen in photos 13 and 14). Aside from earlier architectural examples from previous plats, the three prevailing styles in the district are Colonial Revival, American Four Square, and Craftsman/Bungalow. Each of these styles are represented by approximately seventeen examples, or roughly two-thirds of all the primary buildings in the district combined. A subcategory of the Colonial Revival style is Dutch Colonial Revival and there are eight examples of that subcategory in the district. It should also be noted that many of the American Four Squares may be further categorized as Colonial Revival, Craftsman, or Prairie Style because of features on the houses belonging to those styles. The Colonial Revival style gained popularity after the Bicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 where it was heralded as an expression of the American identity. Planners of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago also called for pavilions that emulated American colonial architecture. The style became increasingly popular in the early 1900’s and remained a desired style through the first half of the twentieth century. This early 20th century revival of the style borrowed directly from Colonial America’s buildings in form and ornamentation. A full third of the houses in the district may be classified as Colonial Revival. The style was applied to the American Four Square type (see further discussion under that type) and with great regularity to a very basic two-story, side-gabled box. That box was also used to carry features of the Craftsman style (see further discussion under that type). The most common form of the Colonial Revival style located in the district is a side-gabled, two- story box with simple features of the style. These include houses at 509/516 and 619 Edgewater Drive (photos 01 and 06). Both houses have side gables, clapboards, 10/1 or 6/1 wood windows, wide front porches (the one at 509/519 Edgewater is enclosed), and wide dormers with shed 38 South Bend Whitcomb & Keller ad, 24 Oct 1920