INDIANA – Once a year, Indiana Landmark announces the 10 Most Endangered, a list of historic places on the brink of extinction and too important to lose.
The list includes an architect-designed industrial building; a threatened Victorian neighborhood; historic fraternal lodges; a significant Queen Anne home; a former movie palace; an Art Deco skyscraper; a commercial block that embodies Indiana’s limestone legacy; a manufacturing mogul’s neglected mansion; a long vacant county home; and a church designed by a trailblazing Black architect.
These places shape lives, and when they’re gone, they leave a void that can’t be filled.
Stinesville Commercial Buildings is located at 8211-8237 West Main Street in Stinesville.
With handsome limestone facades and large storefront windows, four vacant commercial buildings in Stinesville hold potential for any number of creative reuses, but with each passing year, prospects for saving them fade.
Knox County Poor Asylum located at 2830 Arce Avenue in Vincennes
After nearly 20 years of vacancy, Knox County’s historic poor farm is in desperate shape. Without repairs, the 1882 building faces demolition by neglect.
International Harvester Engineering Building located at 2911 Meyer Road in Fort Wayne
An important link to Fort Wayne’s automotive heritage, the International Harvester Engineering Building occupies land targeted for a new county jail and office complex.
Starr Historic District is bounded by North A Street, North E Street, North 10th Street, and North 16th Street in Richmond.
Richmond’s Starr Historic District was once considered one of the Midwest’s best-preserved Victorian-era neighborhoods. Today, it’s better known for its ongoing decline.
Historic Fraternal Lodges – Statewide
Participation in fraternal organizations is on a steep decline, leaving hundreds of significant historic buildings at risk.
Thomas and Louisa Little House is located at 5328 East US Highway 40 in Plainfield.
One of Hendricks County’s most significant examples of Queen Anne architecture, the Little House is for sale with no protections to ensure its preservation.
State Theatre is located at 1303 Meridian Street in Anderson.
After attempts to redevelop and reopen Anderson’s historic State Theatre stalled, the former movie palace sits vacant and deteriorating
First Friends Church is located in the 1000 block of South Adam Street in Marion.
Without adequate resources for restoration, Marion could lose a significant landmark designed by Samuel Plato, one of the early twentieth century’s most prominent Black architects.
Birdsell Mansion is located at 511 West Colfax Avenue in South Bend.
When it was built in 1898, J.B. Birdsell’s mansion rivaled Clem Studebaker’s Tippecanoe Place and J.D. Oliver’s Copshaholm in opulence and prestige. Today, however, its ongoing neglect is cause for growing alarm.
Hulman Building and Garage is located at 20 Northwest 4th and 109-111 Northwest 3rd Street in Evansville.
Evansville’s Hulman Building needs a preservation-minded developer with a vision for making its stylish Art Deco architectural features shine once again.
