Historical Landmark - 312 Donmoyer

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ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION This is a two and a half story Collegiate Gothic Style school building. It is irregular in plan with a stone foundation. The walls are made of bonded red brick and have limestone details and bases, buttresses and stringcourse of Bedford stone. Its roof is cladded in slate with parapeted gables, limestone raking cornice and copper gutters and downspouts. The building also boasts a battlemented square front tower which projects and rises an additional story above the main roof. The main entry has 3-leaf wood panel doors with glass transoms and is set in an ogee limestone archivolt. There is a three part leaded casement window unit with transoms and carved ogee crown above the main portal. The building also has a limestone cased bay window with leaded casements and surmounts. Other entries are scattered around the building and set in gabled vestibules with ogee archivolts and transoms. The remaining windows are coursed double casements with transoms set in limestone surrounds. The school also has tiered steps, parking lot in the rear and a wide front yard. RECOMMENDATION Based on the Historic Preservation Commission's Local Landmark Criteria's adopted by the Common Council, the building at 312 Donmoyer has been recommended to the Common Council for designation as a Local Landmark by Historic Preservation Commission. The building meets the criteria in at least three areas: 1.) Its character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage, or culture of the City of South Bend, St. Joseph County, the State of Indiana, or the United States of America. 2.) Its embodiment of elements of architectural design, detail, materials, or craftsmanship which represents an architectural characteristics or innovations. 3.) Its suitability for preservation. The building fulfills criteria #1 by its association with the growth of South Bend and the increasing population of its south central side during the late 1920s and early 1930s. The school was constructed to help eliminate the over crowded conditions of existing schools which was caused by a large influx of new residents and high birth rate. The building fulfills criteria #2 as an excellent example of a 1930s Collegiate Gothic Style school building. The building is rated a significant 12 in the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory. ,,,.,_ ~E~w~i 1~ ~~v~'~a ~ ~~~~~°~~ A ~ T 2 ~ 1999 to~;~-rn ~. aucA c~rrc~c~:.,; a. Q~tr~, ~r9,