WONDER AND WHIMSY AT THE SOUTHWOOD PARK

Home and Garden Tour

ARCH announces that its annual Home and Garden Tour will be held in historic Southwood Park on Saturday, June 27th from 11:00am until 5:00pm, in partnership with the Southwood Park Community Association. This annual event features historic homes and neighborhoods throughout the city. The Southwood Park Historic District has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, and features exceptional homes in the Craftsman, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and Spanish Eclectic styles, in a wooded setting adjoining Foster Park. Several of the homes on this year’s tour are associated with the organizers and leaders of some of Fort Wayne’s most significant businesses of the 20th century, including Kunkle Valve, and Central Soya. Advance Tickets are $10 will go on sale June 1. Contact ARCH for sales locations, 260-426-5117, or information@archfw.org.

As part of the weekend of the Southwood Park Home and Garden Tour in Fort Wayne, ARCH and the Southwood Park Community Association are bringing in Douglas Keister for a free public lecture. Douglas Keister is known as “America’s most noted photographer of historic residential architecture” and he has authored or co-authored 37 books ranging in subject from Queen Anne “painted ladies” to Spanish Eclectic, Bungalow and the whimsical Storybook Style. The free public lecture will be held Friday, June 26th at 7:00pm, at First Missionary Church, 701 West Rudisill. A special reception following the free lecture will raise funds for historic preservation activities throughout Allen County. This special reception with Mr. Keister will feature the outstanding Tudor Revival style Pollack Mansion at 4310 Old Mill Road, designed by A.M. Strauss in 1937. Contact ARCH for more information about this event, and to make reservations, 260-426-5117, or information@archfw.org.

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All of these are part of ARCH’s 2009 Community Education Program, sponsored in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, Wilson Foundation, and Lincoln Financial Group Foundation.

Southwood Park Historic Home and Garden Tour Participants

•4305 Hartman Road—Louis Fox House, c. 1952

This two-story four-bay, clapboard-sided, side-gabled Neoclassical house, was built by the family of Louis Fox. Louis Fox was the son of Oscar and Alma Fox of the Kenfield Estate, 4220 Old Mill Road. Fox was an owner of the Kunkle Valve Company.

•1321 Sunset Drive—August and Elizabeth Jaeger House, c. 1925

August Jaeger was the superintendent of the Grace Construction and Supply Company, owned by neighbor Martin Grace (4605 Crestwood). The company specialized in the construction of paved roads.  The garden is delightful, and was designed by the homeowner, a Master Gardener.

•4202 Tacoma Avenue– Arthur and Anna Dodd House, c. 1927

This two story, wide clapboard sided Craftsman house has a matching detached garage. The side gable roof has deep eaves, vergeboards and decorative brackets. The homeowners have recently installed a new patio area for family and friends.

•4230 Indiana Avenue– Edwin H. Underwood House, c. 1920

This one and a half story, brick house was one of the first homes built in Southwood Park, and is an excellent, high-end example of the Craftsman style. Edwin Underwood was a physician, and his purchase of the property and plans to build his home were described in the local papers to market the new suburban development.

•4125 Indiana Avenue– Homer Hartman House, c. 1925

Pohlmeyer and Pohlmeyer, Architects

This two story, brick American Foursquare/Prairie was designed by the architectural team of Frederick and Mox Pohlmeyer, and both built their own homes in Southwood Park as well. This house is nestled under mature woodland trees.

•4718 Arlington Avenue– Esther and Ralph Thompson House, c. 1929

“The Barrington” Sears and Roebuck House

This two story, side gable, brick and irregular wood-shake sided Tudor Revival house arrived in a box, and was constructed using a kit ordered through the Sears and Roebuck Company. Ralph Thompson–the owner–was employed as a foreman for the Sears, Roebuck Company. His son—who was raised in the house—will share how his dad built the house, during the tour.

•4330 Pembroke Lane– Joseph and Maria Loos House, c. 1927

Simpson Parkinson, Architect

This two story, stucco Spanish Eclectic house has a red American Spanish tile roof, and tinted stucco with tile details. The garden is in the style of an edible forest garden, using sustainable permaculture principles, and fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs are nestled under mature oak and hickory trees.

•1345 Westover Road–Charles Niezer/Dale McMillen House, c. 1930

Charles Weatherhogg, Architect

This two-story brick grand Tudor Revival house was built for Charles Niezer, a bank executive. Shortly after its construction Dale McMillen purchased the estate, and lived there for many years, while managing his growing Central Soya company, and founding the Wildcat Baseball league.

•4300 Old Mill Road—Seymour and Rosalin Samet House, c. 1958

This classic Ranch has all the hallmarks of the style: long, rambling profile; horizontal emphasis; low-hipped roof with deep eaves; wide chimney; and large picture windows. The multi-pane bow window at the north end and the double doors enhance the design. The Samets were both involved in the iron and steel business.

•1124 Westover Road—Walter B. Jones House, c. 1927

This Colonial Revival home was built for Walter B. Jones, the vice-president and superintendent of the Troy Laundry, a major commercial laundry in Fort Wayne. The screened porch provides a welcome to this gracious home.

•4001 South Wayne Avenue: Raymond O. Hutson Drug Store, c. 1927

This two-story brick Craftsman commercial building was built by a neighborhood resident as a pharmacy, in this small street-car commercial district. The South Wayne line streetcars (and busses) served the area for many years. The building continues to serve the neighborhood as a coffee-shop/restaurant, and other local businesses include dry cleaners and a beauty shop.

Reception with Douglas Keister site on Friday, June 26:

•4310 Old Mill Road, Robert and Louise Pollack House, c. 1937

A.M. Strauss, Architect

A.M. Strauss, one of Indiana’s most significant architects, designed this two-story brick house for Robert and Louise Pollack in 1937 in a blend of classic Tudor Revival with some Modern details. The Pollacks lived in the home until the late 1960s and Robert Pollack was a partner in a clothing manufacturing company. Later, the home was owned by Helen Keenan Robers, the owner of the Bombay Eagle—Fort Wayne’s finest disco during the 1970s and early 1980s, before it was sold to Max Irmscher, the president of Irmscher Supply, a construction supply company.