INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Landmarks announced this week the 10 Most Endangered, an annual list of Hoosier landmarks in jeopardy.
The list includes a church designed by a trailblazing Black architect; one of the state’s oldest covered bridges; an Art Deco skyscraper; a commercial block that embodies Indiana’s limestone legacy; a classic high school gymnasium; a long-vacant county home; a pre-Civil War brewery; a courthouse square anchor; an industrial bigwig’s neglected mansion; and the mid-century home of a pioneering African American real estate developer.
Places that land on the 10 Most Endangered list often face a combination of problems rather than a single threat — abandonment, neglect, dilapidation, obsolete use, unreasonable above-market asking price, or owners who simply lack money for repairs.
“Indiana Landmarks uses its 10 Most Endangered list in several ways. Sometimes it serves an educational role. It functions as an advocacy tool. And it can assist in raising funds needed to save a place,” said Marsh Davis, president of the nonprofit preservation organization. “Every listing comes with significant challenges. In all cases, when an endangered place lands on our list, we commit to seeking solutions that lead to rescue and revitalization,” he adds.
The 10 Most Endangered in 2022 includes three sites repeating from last year’s list and seven new entries:
• Birdsell Mansion, South Bend
• Cades Mill Covered Bridge, Fountain County
• Geter Means House, Gary
• Hulman Building & Garage, Evansville
• Knox County Poor Asylum, Vincennes
• First Friends Church, Marion
• Stinesville Commercial Buildings, Stinesville
• Courthouse Annex Building, New Castle (repeat entry from 2021 list)
• James M. Shields Memorial Gymnasium, Seymour (repeat entry from 2021 list)
• Kamm and Schellinger Brewery, Mishawaka (repeat entry from 2021 list)
Demolition has claimed only 20 of the 159 Most Endangered sites since the list was introduced in 1991, while 99 places are completely restored or no longer endangered.
To find out more about each of the 10 Most Endangered, visit www.indianalandmarks.org or contact Indiana Landmarks, 317-639-4534 or 800-450-4534.
