I know, I know, I’m going to be accused of favoritism again, pulling from one of my favorite neighborhoods, Herron-Morton Place. *If you want to change that, please send your photo submissions to feedback (at) historicindianapolis (dot) com*
This shapely beauty in the 2000 block of North New Jersey Street has been on my mind for some time; I’ve loved it since the first time I saw it, with it’s decorative swags and unique dome–really, where else in Indianapolis can you find with such a dome? The home is in the original Morton Place portion of the neighborhood, and like its neighbors between 19th and 22nd streets, still looks out upon an esplanade–as did Delaware and Alabama Streets between 19th and 22nd until the automobile came along and consumed those for quasi race-tracks to the north side.
I get sad every time I see this little gem, as year by year, more pieces of it decay and fall off. There are inevitably homes in our historic neighborhoods that everyone frequently observes and ponders what it might look like if lovingly restored. This is one of those. It’s been a rough fiscal patch for many, but we still can hope, dream and pray that someday soon, a team of workers will be found here, lovingly restoring this treasure to its former glory. Want a hint of what it might look like on the other side? We can only hope it may approximate how it looked 86 years ago… sigh.
If I were weathy, I would try to rescue many more neglected homes that have interesting architecture &/or history. We’re in the process of restoring a historic home that was allegedly part of the Underground RR (tunnel from the basement led to a hiding place in a dry cistern). It definitely takes more time & money to retain historic details & restore a house with appropriate products than just rennovating a house with materials from a big box store, but it’s so rewarding to bring an old house back to its former glory & be able to share its history with the community.
I appreciate the research you do for your blog & love your photos. Hopefully someone will buy this home soon & get to work before it gets any worse. It’s hard to comprehend why so many believe progress requires demolition of so many beautiful structures! At least some people salvage the parts that are hard or expensive to replicate, which does help those of us who restore other old buildings.
I believe this one has a long-time resident residing there. I don’t know what their circumstances are, but whatever the case, I’d love to see this one take its rightful place as one of the best/ most unique and stunning on the block again!
Every morning, I look at this house and it makes me sad, but hopeful for its potential. There is literally no other home on our block that is more architecturally interesting–if someone fixed this place up, it would put the rest of us to shame!