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. NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATION STAFF REPORT PROPERTY -- Leeper Park Historic District South Bend, Indiana OWNER -- City of South Bend - Department of Parks & Recreation STANDARDS The nomination proposes placement of this district on the National Register of Historic Places based on Criterion C: Design/Construction. National Register Bulletin 15 - How to Apply the National. Register Criteria for Evaluation provides in Criterion C that "Properties can be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places if they embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or that represent the work of a master , or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction." RECOMMENDATION The Staff of the HPC recommends in favor of the nomination of the Leeper Park Historic District roughly located on the south and west banks of the St. • Joseph River east of Chapin Park and north of Bartlett St. in the city 'of South Bend to the National Register of Historic Places. The district meets Criteria C as a result of a succession of self conscious planning exercises toward achieving the goals of urban hygiene and recreation consistent with the body of planning ideology prevailing during the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century and the first quarter of the Twentieth Century and as espoused and practiced by Frederick Law Olmstead and George Kessler respectively. As described in the Statement of Significance section of the nomination began development. as a wellfield for the city of South Bend during the mid -Nineteen -nineties. It was the first site of the South Bend Zoo which is the oldest such institution in the state. The park plan developed first under the guidance of Herman Beyer. In 1912, the City of South Bend engaged George Kessler to provide design services for a park -boulevard system including development of Leeper. Park. After his death in 1924, the park continued development according to his plans until World War II including considerable execution by workers for the Works Progress Administration. Though somewhat altered, the park has retained its basic distribution of functions, topography, and ornamental character. It has likewise retained it perimeters and the majority of its buildings from the Kessler period. It is the opinion of HPC Staff that this district meets the criteria for eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. Staff recommends that the commission send a favorable ruling to the Mayor of South Bend and to • the State Historic Preservation Office. DBD Director 10/14/97