HomeMy WebLinkAboutEstablishing an historic landmark at 34-18 Mishawaka AveORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE, AND ESTABLISHING AN
HISTORIC LANDMARK FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 3418 Mishawaka Avenue,
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 Ordinance No.
5565 -73, as amended, to wit:
LOT 191 FORDHAM ADD
(key # 18- 6054 -1820)
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 hereby
designated and established as an Historic Landmark under Ordinance
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
legal publication.
Member of the Comm uncil
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AREA PLAN COMMISSION of ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, IN
RICHARD S. JOHNSON Executive Director
1140 COUNTY -CITY BUILDING, SOUTH BEND, IN. 46601
June 1, 1994
Mrs. Irene Gammon, City Clerk
4th Floor, County -City Building
South Bend, Indiana 46601
ROBERT W. SANTE Assistant Director
(219) 235 -9571 FAX (219) 235-9813-----,,"
MAX
RE: Proposed designation for property located at 3418 Mishawaka
Avenue
Dear Mrs. Gammon:
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.
We find no proposed improvements that will conflict with this
designation.
Sincerely,
Scott Ku er
Planner
SK: sr
Serving: South Bend, Lakeville, New Carlisle, North Liberty, Roseland and St. Joseph County, IN
commission
historic preservation
■ ose h count
of south bend and st. ' � p y
ROOM 1123 COUNTY.CTI'Y BUILDING
south bend, indiana 46601 (219) 235 -9798
May 24, 1994
Common Council
City of South Bend
4th Floor, County -City Building
South Bend, IN 46601
Honorable Council Members:
Attached please find three (3) proposed amendments to the City of
South Bend's Zoning Ordinance. The purpose of the proposed amendments
is to designate the following properties; 219/221 N. Michigan, 237 N.
Michigan and 3418 Mishawaka Avenue as local Historic Landmarks.
At its May 16, 1994 meeting the Historic Preservation Commission
of South Bend and St. Joseph County moved to send to the Common
Council a favorable recommendation to designate each of the prior
mentioned properties as local Historic Landmarks.
We would appreciate your favorble consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
David B. Duvall
Director
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historic preservation commissi on
of south bend and st. joseph county
ROOM 1123 COUNTY CITY BUILDING
south bend, indiana 46601 (219) 235 -9798
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
March 8, 1996
Honorable Council Members,
Attached please find the proposed amendment to the City of South Bend's Zoning
Ordinance. The purpose of the amendment is to designate the property located
at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue as a Local Historic Landmark.
At its May 16, 1994 meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission of South
Bend and St. Joseph County moved to send to the Common Council a favorable
recommendation to designate the above mentioned property as a Local Historic
Landmark. Subsequent to the forwarding of an ordinance for this purpose, this
and two other proposed designations were tabled by the Zoning and Annexation
Committee of the Common Council until the resolution of concerns regarding the
proper adoption of the City of South Bend's "Historic Preservation Plan ". This
concern having been subsequently resolved, the Historic Preservation
Commission now seeks to reinitiate this proposal with the attached ordinance.
Also attached is a copy of the statement of Architectural and Historical
Significance. We would appreciate your favorable consideration of this matter.
Yours truly,
4
David B. Duvall, Director
cc: John Oxian - President, HPC
Donald Brennan - Owner
3418 Mishawaka Avenue -- Clyde & Clara Oldham HotLse:
Historic and Architectural Significance
Historic Preservation Commission
of South Bend and St. Joseph County
June, 1994
QUADRANT68 (44000 - 44499)
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At the May 16, 1994 regular monthly meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission
of South Bend and St. Joseph County (HPC), the HPC voted unanimously to send a favorable
recommendation for the Local Historic Landmark designation of the Clyde & Clara Oldham
house at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue to the South Bend Common Council.
RECOMMEDATION
Based on HPC Local Landmark Criteria [1], it is the Historic Preservation Commission's
recommendation that the South Bend Common Council designate the Clyde & Clara Oldham
house st 3418 Mishawaka Avenue by ordinance as a Local Historic Landmark. The property
meets the criteria in at least four areas:
1. "It's ... value as part of the development, heritage, or culture of the City of
South Bend ... "
2. "its embodiment of elements of architectural design, details, materials, or
craftsmanship which represents an architectural characteristic ...;"
3. "its educational value," and;
4. "its suitability for preservation."
This structure fulfills criteria #1 as a significant example of the city's residential
heritage. In early 1993 the Oldham house was identified as one of only three remaining
Lustron houses in South Bend that were virtually unaltered. [2] 3418 Mishawaka Avenue
stands as a prime, local example of post World War II manufactured housing stock.
This structure fulfills criteria #2 as an example of the craftsmanship of the time.
The architectural style, materials and type of structural system employed in the
construction are representative examples of historic architecture that are found in
diminishing quantity or are being altered beyond recognition.
The building's educational value (criteria #3) lies in its embodiment of the above;
these forms and styles represent the culture and lifeways of past residents of South
Bend. This structure also illustrates an industrial response to a housing market
effected by a dearth of materials following World War II. This building is an artifact
with which to study the past; its retention and preservation will contribute to a
fuller understanding of South Bend's history and culture.
That this building is suitable for preservation (criteria #4) is evidenced by the
largely unaltered nature of its facades. The Oldham house is an essentially intact
example of a Lustron house remaining on its original site on a major thoroughfare
in South Bend.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
The Oldham house received a rating of S /11 in the City of South Bend Summary Report.[3]
The house was built in 1949 making it the oldest of the three unaltered Lustrons in
the city. The Summary Report, conducted by the HPC and its staff, surveyed approximately
six thousand sites within South Bend. This report is a part of the Indiana Historic
Sites and Structures Inventory.
The Oldham house at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue is a one story, square plan residence.
The foundation is a cement slab. The walls are stamped sheet metal, painted a
pale yellow. The roof is of polyvinyl tile. The chimney is clad in sheet metal.
The north and south facades feature extended gable ends of grooved sheet metal.
The gables have close verges and projecting eaves with sheet metal soffits. There
is an inset, half width, front corner porch with a cement floor and a V- shaped
steel support with undulating tubular ornament.
The window openings are large and square, regularily spaced and fitted with
tripartite window units. There are smaller single and double casement window
units on the east side. The entry door is wood, fully glazed and inset at the
porch.
The house sits on a steeply banked lawn with front retaining stones and a flight
of cement steps. [4]
HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT
The Lustron house at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue was assembled on this lot in 1949.
The property, lot 191 in the Fordham addition was purchased by Clyde C. and
Clara P. Oldham from Rose E. and Artemis D. Young on august 23, 1949 for the
sum of $1050.00. On September 8, 1949 the Oldham's mortgaged the lot to H.N.
Pell of Urbana, Illinois for the sum of $750.00 to have this Lustron house
erected.
The origins of manufactured Lustron homes can be traced to the World War II
period, when Carl Strandlund, an engineer /inventor, devised a technology to
produce prefabricated steel houses. At the end of the war Strandlund worked
as vice - president of Chicago Vitreous Enamel Company, a firm that had recently
moved into the production of porcelain enamel panels for use as veneer on store
fronts.
When Strandlund later attempted to convince Standard
panels as part of an all steel gasoline station, the
proposal. However,in the face of postwar material sh
suggested that Strandlund produce houses instead. In
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which authorized
in the production of factory built houses.
Oil to use these enamel
government banned his
)rtages, the government
1946 he appealed to the
government loans to help
To support the government's commitment to the Lustron Homes project the R.F.C.
approved a loan of $15.5 million in 1946, followed by additional loans of $10
million in 1948 and $7 million in 1949. In addition to financial support,
Strandlund was also given a site to set up the manufacturing plant, at the former
Curtiss - Wright fighter plane factory outside Columbus, Ohio. the factory occupied
some 23 acres and had a capacity to produce four (4) houses per hour, almost one
hundred (100) houses per day.
Chicago Vitreous Enamel Company built a prototype Lustron Home in Hinsdale,
Illinois in the first half of 1947 and then sold all rights to their procelain
enameling process to Strandlund. As a result of congressional support, Strandlund
received 59,000 tons of steel from the Department of Commerce for his housing project.
The typical Lustron house was a 1,025 square foot house built of manufactured
steel parts. In order to produce such a house a host of assembly equipment,
including sheet metal stampings for wall, roof and ceiling panels, and the procelain
enameling process were employed. Any problems related to thermal conductivity
inherent in a steel house were avoided by using fiberglass insulation and rubber
gaskets. For efficient heating, a radiant heating system eas installed in the chamber
above the ceiling.
Additional features in a Lustron home were built -in cabinets and storage facilities,
an automatic dishwasher and a washing machine. These manufactured steel houses were
geared to meet the needs of the middle income group which comprised one third of
the housing market at the time.
All 3000 parts of a Lustron home were loaded on to a special trailer designed to
accomodate the 12.5 ton house, in a manner that parts were unloaded at the site
in the order in which they were needed for assembly. A group of thirty -seven factory
built site features were involved in assembling the house. The trailer functioned
as an on site warehouse until the house was completed. Lustron homes used 280 hours
of factory work with an estimated 350 hours of site assembly.
Lustron homes went on the market in early 1949. By this time the general housing crisis
had been partially resolved and a period of recession followed postwar inflation.
However, variable land, utility and foundation costs prevented a nationwide standardized
price for Lustron homes. What was originally a $7,000.00 house became a $10- 12,000.00
house.
The failure of Lustron in 1950 -51 may be attributed to the following factors:
1. High production costs leading to rising prices.
2. Difficulties with organized labor.
3. Problems generated by the diversity of local building codes.
4. The inadequately financed distribution system.
5. The unsuitability of bank mortgaging procedures when applied to a prolonged
building /installation process.
6. Difficulties in raising capital, when short term loans did not accrue.
7. Lack of a guaranteed and sustained market to support the continued production
of Lustron homes.
Clyde and Clara Oldham owned the property from 1949 -1955. Oldham was an insurance
salesman by profession. He was born in Urbana, Illinois on October 31, 1889 and came
to South Bend in 1940. In 1923 he married Clara Gallagher in Peoria, Illinois. He was
a graduate of the University of Illinois, Champagne and was a member of the Urbana
Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; a charter member of the Urbana
Conservation Club; and was a member of the Riverpark Businessmen's Association.
According to city directories, by 1960 the property was owned by Robert S. and
Lorraine J. Yarbrough. He was employed as a music instructor at the Gemeinhart
Company and at Witmer Studio. By the late 1960's William and Geneva Evans were
owners of the property. Mr. Evans was employed by South Bend Public Transportaion.
On July 6, 1972 the property was transferred to Donald E. and Clara R. Brennan.
From 1973 until 1992 Donald E. Brennan operated the Indianapolis Life Insurance
Company at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue. That company's current mailing address is P.O.
Box 6305 South Bend, IN 46660.[5]
NOTES
1. Historic Preservation Commission Resolution No. 3: Historic Landmarks Procedure
(July 14, 1975)
2. letter from HPC to the Brennans (February 23, 1993)
3. City of South Bend Summary Report (June 1993)
4. Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory survey card (April 15, 1992)
5. ibid. Supplemental Sheet (1992)
This report relies substantially on the research and writing done by Dr. Sushmita
Hodges. Dr. Hodges was employed by the HPC as a research historian in 1992.
Chip Frederick
June, 1994
historic preservation commissi on
of south bend and st. joseph county
ROOM 1123 COUNTY CITY BUILDING
south bend, indiana 46601 (219) 235 -9798
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
March 8, 1996
Honorable Council Members,
Attached please find the proposed amendment to the City of South Bend's Zoning
Ordinance. The purpose of the amendment is to designate the property located
at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue as a Local Historic Landmark.
At its May 16, 1994 meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission of South
Bend and St. Joseph County moved to send to the Common Council a favorable
recommendation to designate the above mentioned property as a Local Historic
Landmark. Subsequent to the forwarding of an ordinance for this purpose, this
and two other proposed designations were tabled by the Zoning and Annexation
Committee of the Common Council until the resolution of concerns regarding the
proper adoption of the City of South Bend's "Historic Preservation Plan ". This
concern having been subsequently resolved, the Historic Preservation
Commission now seeks to reinitiate this proposal with the attached ordinance.
Also attached is a copy of the statement of Architectural and Historical
Significance. We would appreciate your favorable consideration of this matter.
Yours 4W
David B. Duvall, Director
cc: John Oxian - President, HPC
Donald Brennan - Owner
3418 Mishawaka Avenue -- Clyde & Clara Oldham Hoyse:
Historic and Architectural Significance
Historic Preservation Commission
of South Bend and St. Joseph County
June, 1994
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At the May 16, 1994 regular monthly meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission
of South Bend and St. Joseph County (HPC), the HPC voted unanimously to send a favorable
recommendation for the Local Historic Landmark designation of the Clyde & Clara Oldham
house at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue to the South Bend Common Council.
RECOMMEDATION
Based on HPC Local Landmark Criteria [1], it is the Historic Preservation Commission's
recommendation that the South Bend Common Council designate the Clyde & Clara Oldham
house st 3418 Mishawaka Avenue by ordinance as a Local Historic Landmark. The property
meets the criteria in at least four areas:
1. "It's ... value as part of the development, heritage, or culture of the City of
South Bend ... "
2. "its embodiment of elements of architectural design, details, materials, or
craftsmanship which represents an architectural characteristic ...;"
3. "its educational value," and;
4. "its suitability for preservation."
This structure fulfills criteria #1 as a significant example of the city's residential
heritage. In early 1993 the Oldham house was identified as one of only three remaining
Lustron houses in South Bend that were virtually unaltered. [2] 3418 Mishawaka Avenue
stands as a prime, local example of post World War II manufactured housing stock.
This structure fulfills criteria #2 as an example of the craftsmanship of the time.
The architectural style, materials and type of structural system employed in the
construction are representative examples of historic architecture that are found in
diminishing quantity or are being altered beyond recognition.
The building's educational value (criteria #3) lies in its embodiment of the above;
these forms and styles represent the culture and lifeways of past residents of South
Bend. This structure also illustrates an industrial response to a housing market
effected by a dearth of materials following World War II. This building is an artifact
with which to study the past; its retention and preservation will contribute to a
fuller understanding of South Bend's history and culture.
That this building is suitable for preservation (criteria #4) is evidenced by the
largely unaltered nature of its facades. The Oldham house is an essentially intact
example of a Lustron house remaining on its original site on a major thoroughfare
in South Bend.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
The Oldham house received a rating of S /11 in the City of South Bend Summary Report.[3]
The house was built in 1949 making it the oldest of the three unaltered Lustrons in
the city. The Summary Report, conducted by the HPC and its staff, surveyed approximately
six thousand sites within South Bend. This report is a part of the Indiana Historic
Sites and Structures Inventory.
The Oldham house at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue is a one story, square plan residence.
The foundation is a cement slab. The walls are stamped sheet metal, painted a
pale yellow. The roof is of polyvinyl tile. The chimney is clad in sheet metal.
The north and south facades feature extended gable ends of grooved sheet metal.
The gables have close verges and projecting eaves with sheet metal soffits. There
is an inset, half width, front corner porch with a cement floor and a V- shaped
steel support with undulating tubular ornament.
The window openings are large and square, regularily spaced and fitted with
tripartite window units. There are smaller single and double casement window
units on the east side. The entry door is wood, fully glazed and inset at the
porch.
The house sits on a steeply banked lawn with front retaining stones and a flight
of cement steps. [4]
HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT
The Lustron house at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue was assembled on this lot in 1949.
The property, lot 191 in the Fordham addition was purchased by Clyde C. and
Clara P. Oldham from Rose E. and Artemis D. Young on august 23, 1949 for the
sum of $1050.00. On September 8, 1949 the Oldham's mortgaged the lot to H.N.
Pell of Urbana, Illinois for the sum of $750.00 to have this Lustron house
erected.
The origins of manufactured Lustron homes can be traced to the World War II
period, when Carl Strandlund, an engineer /inventor, devised a technology to
produce prefabricated steel houses. At the end of the war Strandlund worked
as vice - president of Chicago Vitreous Enamel Company, a firm that had recently
moved into the production of porcelain enamel panels for use as veneer on store
fronts.
When Strandlund later attempted to convince Standard
panels as part of an all steel gasoline station, the
proposal. However,in the face of postwar material shi
suggested that Strandlund produce houses instead. In
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which authorized
in the production of factory built houses.
Oil to use these enamel
government banned his
)rtages, the government
1946 he appealed to the
government loans to help
To support the government's commitment to the Lustron Homes project the R.F.C.
approved a loan of $15.5 million in 1946, followed by additional loans of $10
million in 1948 and $7 million in 1949. In addition to financial support,
Strandlund was also given a site to set up the manufacturing plant, at the former
Curtiss - Wright fighter plane factory outside Columbus, Ohio. the factory occupied
some 23 acres and had a capacity to produce four (4) houses per hour, almost one
hundred (100) houses per day.
Chicago Vitreous Enamel Company built a prototype Lustron Home in Hinsdale,
Illinois in the first half of 1947 and then sold all rights to their procelain
enameling process to Strandlund. As a result of congressional support, Strandlund
received 59,000 tons of steel from the Department of Commerce for his housing project.
The typical Lustron house was a 1,025 square foot house built of manufactured
steel parts. In order to produce such a house a host of assembly equipment,
including sheet metal stampings for wall, roof and ceiling panels, and the procelain
enameling process were employed. Any problems related to thermal conductivity
inherent in a steel house were avoided by using fiberglass insulation and rubber
gaskets. For efficient heating, a radiant heating system eas installed in the chamber
above the ceiling.
Additional features in a Lustron home were built -in cabinets and storage facilities,
an automatic dishwasher and a washing machine. These manufactured steel houses were
geared to meet the needs of the middle income group which comprised one third of
the housing market at the time.
All 3000 parts of a Lustron home were loaded on to a special trailer designed to
accomodate the 12.5 ton house, in a manner that parts were unloaded at the site
in the order in which they were needed for assembly. A group of thirty -seven factory
built site features were involved in assembling the house. The trailer functioned
as an on site warehouse until the house was completed. Lustron homes used 280 hours
of factory work with an estimated 350 hours of site assembly.
Lustron homes went on the market in early 1949. By this time the general housing crisis
had been partially resolved and a period of recession followed postwar inflation.
However, variable land, utility and foundation costs prevented a nationwide standardized
price for Lustron homes. What was originally a $7,000.00 house became a $10- 12,000.00
house.
The failure of Lustron in 1950 -51 may be attributed to the following factors:
1. High production costs leading to rising prices.
2. Difficulties with organized labor.
3. Problems generated by the diversity of local building codes.
4. The inadequately financed distribution system.
5. The unsuitability of bank mortgaging procedures when applied to a prolonged
building /installation process.
6. Difficulties in raising capital, when short term loans did not accrue.
7. Lack of a guaranteed and sustained market to support the continued production
of Lustron homes.
Clyde and Clara Oldham owned the property from 1949 -1955. Oldham was an insurance
salesman by profession. He was born in Urbana, Illinois on October 31, 1889 and came
to South Bend in 1940. In 1923 he married Clara Gallagher in Peoria, Illinois. He was
a graduate of the University of Illinois, Champagne and was a member of the Urbana
Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; a charter member of the Urbana
Conservation Club; and was a member of the Riverpark Businessmen's Association.
According to city directories, by 1960 the property was owned by Robert S. and
Lorraine J. Yarbrough. He was employed as a music instructor at the Gemeinhart
Company and at Witmer Studio. By the late 1960's William and Geneva Evans were
owners of the property. Mr. Evans was employed by South Bend Public Transportaion.
On July 6, 1972 the property was transferred to Donald E. and Clara R. Brennan.
From 1973 until 1992 Donald E. Brennan operated the Indianapolis Life Insurance
Company at 3418 Mishawaka Avenue. That company's current mailing address is P.O.
Box 6305 South Bend, IN 46660.[5]
NOTES
1. Historic Preservation Commission Resolution No. 3: Historic Landmarks Procedure
(July 14, 1975)
2. letter from HPC to the Brennans (February 23, 1993)
3. City of South Bend Summary Report (June 1993)
4. Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory survey card (April 15, 1992)
5. ibid. Supplemental Sheet (1992)
This report relies substantially on the research and writing done by Dr. Sushmita
Hodges. Dr. Hodges was employed by the HPC as a research historian in 1992.
Chip Frederick
June, 1994
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