Establishing historic landmark for 214 w jefferson blvd

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214 W. Jefferson HISTORICAL CONTEXT This property is located on the south side -of W. Jefferson Boulevard, east of the alley between S. Lafayette and S. Main in downtown South Bend, Indiana. It is described as 22' W. Lot 259 of Original Plat South Bend. The present building was constructed in 1906 as part of a connected block of legally separated buildings collectively known as the Jefferson Building. This group located at the corner of W. Jefferson and S. Main Street was developed by a partnership of F. W. Keller, -and Frank and William Toepp with assistance from Charles Weidler and designed by 'Freyermuth and Maurer. Keller had acquired the site in 1905 and entered into partnership with the others for the erection and management of the structures. The various portions of the block had specifically designated ownerships divided among these partners. The discreet building which remains at 214 West Jefferson was owned by Keller. Mr. William Toepp was in the dry goods business. with his father Peter Toepp. The firm known as "P. Toepp & Sons" -was located at 121 West Washington. However, the business was closed after.the store was destroyed by the fire that devastated South Bend's business district in 1881. In 1890 Peter Toepp embarked in the jewelry business with his other son Frank. The name -of this firm was F.C. Toepp & Co. It was located at the corner of Main and Washington Street. Peter Toepp retired in 1-896 giving his share to his son Frank who continued to run the business.well into the 1900s. Fred W. Keller was born in 1872 and raised in German Township. He graduated in 1890 from Northern Indiana College in Valparaiso, followed by -study of civil engineering at the University of Michigan. In 1892 Keller established a partnership with Leslie Whitcomb which was to be instrumental in the growth and development of South Bend for the next half century. While in his teens Keller was employed by the city of South Bend, becoming Assistant Engineer in 1894. In this position he worked on the design and construction of the city's first sewer systems. In 1898 he was elected County Engineer, a position which he retained until 1905, the year before the - subject building's construction. He became president of the Chamber of Commerce in 1911, a time at which the chamber was actively promoting, city planning as -a method for directing municipal growth which resulted in the hiring of George Kessler to develop a park - boulevard system for South Bend. In 1913 Keller was elected mayor for one term on the Citizen's ticket, an independent reform platform, although he was generally a Republican. In 1916 he was instrumental in the construction of the "Phoenix Building ", also known as the Farmer's Security Bank, and later as First Bank Building. He served on the South Bend City Plan Commission from 1922 to- 1924 and on the St. Joseph County Council from 1928 to 1936. Throughout this period the partnership of Whitcomb & Keller continued to develop residential subdivisions in the ever expanding city. By the end of his career, Whitcomb and Keller had developed 23 subdivisions, building 3200 homes. The company's portfolio downtown was considerably more limited. Keller's 1959 obituary indicated that the company owned only two downtown office properties at that-time.