May 1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

• In March 1943, the U.S. Army Ordnance Department took control of the Proving Grounds for military testing. The clubhouse became known as the "Barracks" and housed commissioned officers. In 1945, the Proving Grounds were released back to the Studebaker Corporation; the clubhouse having fallen into considerable disrepair. Studebaker incurred the repair of the clubhouse at their own expense as the Army was not obligated to return the facility to its original condition. After the war, the Proving Grounds resumed their original function for the testing of new automobile designs. In 1947, the east wing of the first floor was converted to a drafting room for a special project to design a. small car intended to appeal to a wide audience of car buyers. Although the design by R.E. Cole and R.A. Vail never reached production, one component developed for this project, the McPherson strut, later came into widespread use in American cars in the late 1970s. Following the conclusion of Cole and Vail's work the clubhouse appears to have been vacated until 1961 when Sherwood Egbert, the new president of Studebaker Corporation had it remodeled as his private residence. After Egbert's death and the closing of the Studebaker factory in South Bend in 1963, the clubhouse was again vacant for several years until its purchase by the Bendix Corporation in 1966. Bendix in turn donated 175 acres including the clubhouse and the Studebaker tree sign to the St. Joseph County Park and Recreation Board. The Bendix Corporation retained ownership of the Proving Grounds track • and engineering buildings. By 1967, the clubhouse had been place in service by the Park Board as a Nature Center and for offices, a use which has continued to the present. The Clubhouse and the tree sign were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Sited on a slight rise set back from the highway behind a screen of trees, the Studebaker Proving Grounds Clubhouse is 1926 Colonial Revival style structure with a U-shaped plan facing a northeasterly direction. The 2 story building of red brick in seven row American bond pattern has a fieldstone foundation and a slate roof with copper gutter and downspout system. The main facade of the building is symmetrical with two, slightly projecting gable -end wings flanking the central section. Each wing contains an exterior straight chimney capped with two chimney pots on the front facade. Decorative round -arched louvered screens are located on the chimneys between the second floor and the roof line. The chimneys are flanked by 6/3 double -hung windows on both the first and second floors. The center portion of the facade is dominated by.a one story frame porch supported with six Tuscan columns. a wrought iron railing tops the flat -roofed porch, The center entrance of the clubhouse is flanked by leaded glass • sidelights and Tuscan pilasters and surmounted by a heavy entablature with a broken pediment. The first story is further fenestrated with a single double hung and a pair of double hung windows radiating out from the entry on each