HomeMy WebLinkAboutEstablishing historic landmark for 214 w jefferson blvdORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE, AND ESTABLISHING AN HISTORIC
LANDMARK FOR THE' PROPERTY LOCATED AT 214 WEST JEFFERSON BOULEVARD, IN THE
CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA
Whereas, The Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph
County has petitioned for the designation of the following described real
estate as an Historic Landmark under the Ordinance No. 5565 -73, as amended to
wit:
West twenty -two (22) feet of
Lot # 259 of the Original Plat
of the City of South Bend
Whereas, The Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph
County has recommended the designation of the PROPERTY as an historic
landmark.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA:
SECTION 1. That the above described PROPERTY be, and it is here designated and
established as an Historic Landmark under Ordinance No. 5565 -73, as amended.
SECTION 2. That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and
after its passage by the Common Council, approval by the Mayor and its
publication.
�� r „-P r,,p rnmmon Council
COMMITEE REPORT
TO THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND:
Your Commitee of the Whole, to whom was referred:
BILL NO.
1 -98 A BILL AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE AND
ESTABLISHING AN HISTORIC LANDMARK FOR THE PROPERTY
LOCATED AT 214 WEST JEFFERSON BOULEVARD, IN THE
CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA
Respectfully report that they have examined the matter and that in their opinion, this bill
has been recommended to the Council favorably.
John Broden
Chairman
PROPOSED LOCAL LANDMARK
214 WEST JEFFERSON BOULEVARD
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA
Filed in Clerk's Office
DEC 18 1997
LOREiTA J. DUDA
CITY CLERK, SO. BEND, IN.
Historic Preservation Commission
of
South Bend and St. Joseph County
December, 1997
LOCATION MAP
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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.
The architectural firm of Freyermuth and Maurer was formed in 1897 with the
partnership of George Freyermuth and R. V. Maurer. Freyermuth was the son of a
carpenter and building contractor of Alsatian origin. After being educated in
the South Bend School system, he worked as a carpenter until becoming an
architect in 1896. The partnership was responsible for the design of many of
South .Bend's finest public buildings until its dissolution in 1934 upon
Freyermuth's election as mayor of the city of South Bend.
The office block which resulted from this association covered an area of 66
feet on Main Street and 165 feet on Jefferson Street and was four stories
tall. In his History of St. Joseph County published. in 1907, Timothy Howard
described the Jefferson Building as "the finest business block and office
building in the City of South Bend ". Whitcomb & Keller. located their offices
in this block. In 1916 the building was converted to use as a hotel which
offered 125 rooms and ha& a lobby that boasted such conveniences as an in
house barber shop. Most office tenants including Whitcomb & Keller relocated
to the newly constructed Farmer's Associates Building, also known as the
Phoenix Building, across the street at this time.
By 1951 the current owners of the hotel spent $100,000.00 in renovations to
bring the hotel up to modern standards. They then leased the hotel to James
Murfree in October of 1959. Mr. Murfree owned hotels in Lafayette and
Elkhart, Indiana and had hopes of bringing business back to the Jefferson
hotel. His first move was to make W.R. Weatherford the hotels resident
manager. Mr. Weatherford was experienced in hotel management through his
past work with Lafayette hotels. These efforts were to no avail, in 1961 the
hotel was closed. The structure remained virtually empty for the next 20
years, until the early 1980s when the main body of the hotel was demolished
and replaced with a fast food restaurant, leaving only the building located.at
214 W. Jefferson standing. After the hotel's demolition the building at 214
W. Jefferson became owned by Milt's Restaurant. The restaurant occupied the
first floor and left the upper three floors empty. Milt's restaurant was
bought out by Barb's Restaurant in 1985. Barb's Restaurant eventually went
under and was purchased by Steve Moerlein in' 1996. Mr. Moerlein is a lawyer
who intends to restore the building to its original use-as office space.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
The.structure is.a four story commercial building designed in the Renaissance
Revival style by Freyermuth and Maurer. The structure is rectangular in
design, has a brick foundation and a tar and gravel roof. The walls are made
of brick with brick recessed panels and spandrels located in the street facade
with engaged pilasters supporting stone capitals. This general motif is
reflected more eccentrically in the "Phoenix Building" directly across
Jefferson Street.
The upper portion of the facade includes a metal egg & dart architrave, a
brick frieze and a sheet metal. cornice with modillions and dentils. The sheet
metal cornice which once was continuous for the street facades of the
Jefferson building returns around the corner at the alley but has been clipped
at the front elevation short of the northeast corner.
Investigation indicates that the street level facade contains historic
storefront including transoms glazed with patterned "bottle glass ". The
windows in stories two through four have been removed for restoration and the
openings have been boarded up for security. The window openings in the fourth
floor are accented by a stone arch with accentuated keystones.
An earlier addition of a wood. shingle hip roof canopy over the first floor
entrance was removed to allow for the future restoration of the stone cornice
work that originally - existed in its place. The building also has one offset
brick chimney, a fire escape along the west facade and metal siding over the
east facade where the building was once connected to the Jefferson Hotel.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the Historic Preservation Commission's Local Landmarks Criteria as
adopted by the Common Council, the building at 214 West Jefferson has been
recommended to the Common Council for designation as a Local Historic Landmark
by Historic Preservation Commission.
The building meets the criteria in at least four areas:
1.) Its character, interest and 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 characteristic or
innovation.
3.) Its suitability for preservation.
4.) Its identification with the life of a person or persons of historical
significance
The building fulfills criteria #1 as an early example of a multi- storied
office structure. It reflects the growth of downtown South Bend through its
own growth and metamorphosis from a 1906 office building to the use as one of
South Bend's major hotels and finally as.a survivor of near demolition and its
future renovation back to an office building. This building epitomizes the
growing pains of downtown South Bend from 1906 to the present.
The building fulfills criteria #2 as an early example of a Renaissance Revival
office building in the city. The building is rated a contributing ten in the
Indiana Historic Sites 'and Structures Inventory. The verification of existing
storefront elements assures the elevation of this rating upon completion of
restoration activities. Its design was the work of Freyermuth and Maurer, two
of the city's well known architects.
The building fulfills criteria #3 by the integrity of its original
construction with minor changes to the facade, which will be remedied in a
proposed future restoration project. With regard to the integrity of the
building it is noteworthy that significant interior features remain including
elaborate sheet metal ceiling at the first floor.
The building fulfills criteria #4 on two counts by its association with Fred
Keller and George Freyermuth. As noted in the section regarding significance,
Keller was one of* the most important figures in the planning and development
of the city of South Bend during the first third of the Twentieth Century.
Freyermuth was likewise one of the principal architects of South Bend during
this period. Both owner and architect also served as mayor of the city at some
time during this period. Though the works of each man are still manifest in
many locations extant in. the city, the subject building is the only known
location embodying an association of the efforts of the two.
Staff finds that the building meets the criteria for designation as a Local
Landmark and recommends that the commission send such a recommendation to the
Common Council.
DBD
12/17/97
South Bend and St. Joseph Country
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Room 1123, County -City Building
South Bend, IN 46601
John Oxian, President
(219) 235 -9798
Fax(219)235 -9598
David Duvall, Director
Common Council of the City of South Bend
C/O Ms. Loretta Duda, Clerk of the City of South Bend
4th Floor County -City Building
South Bend, Indiana 46601
December 18, 1997
Honorable Council Members,
Please find attached a proposed amendment to the City of South Bend's Zoning
Ordinance. The purpose of the amendment is to establish the property located
at 214 West Jefferson Boulevard as a Local Landmark. A copy of the Historic
Preservation Commission Staff Report for this proposal is also attached
providing background and procedural information on this proposal.
We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to presenting the
Landmark proposal to the council. Please call if you have any questions
regarding the proposed ordinance.
cc: John Oxian - President, HPC
John Borkowski
Martha Choitz
Yours truly,
David B. Duvall R.A., Director
COMMISSIONERS
Adrian Fine
Catherine Hostetler
Janeanne Petrass
Filed in Clerk's Office
6
DEC 1 11997
LORETTA J. DUDA
CITY CLERK, SO. BEND, IN.
J. Edward Talley
Jerry Weiner
Area Plan Commission of St. Joseph County
1140 County -City Building
227 West Jefferson Blvd.
South Bend, Indiana 46601
Robert W. Sante
Executive Director
Phone 219 235 -9571
January 22, 1998
Ms. Loretta Duda, City Clerk
4th Floor, County -City Building
South Bend, Indiana 46601
RE: Bill No. 1 -98 - 214 West Jefferson Boulevard
Dear Ms. Duda:
John W. Byorni
Assistant Director
Fax 219 235 -9813
13ILL NA, -1-9Y
The Staff of the Area Plan Commission has reviewed the Historic Preservation Commission's
proposed designation of the above property as an historic landmark with respect to the
relationship of said property to any capital improvements proposed for nearby rights -of -way,
easements or properties.
This petition is in conflict with the Department of Redevelopment's proposed acquisition and
redevelopment of this and adjoining properties.
Sincerely,
4 ,Z -
Aaron Klibaner
Planner
Filed in Cleric's Office
JAN 2 � i1998
LOREiTA J. DUDA
CITY CLERK SO. BEND, IN.
Serving South Bend, Lakeville, New Carlisle, North Liberty, Osceola, Roseland and St. Joseph County, Indiana
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