This year’s list of the 10 Most Endangered Hoosier landmarks includes an architect-designed industrial building and a threatened Victorian neighborhood. Other sites on the Indiana Landmarks list include 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.
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, development pressure, or owners who simply lack money for repairs.
“Indiana Landmarks uses its 10 Most Endangered list in several ways,” said Marsh Davis, president of the nonprofit preservation organization headquartered in the Old Northside. “Sometimes it serves an educational role. It functions as an advocacy tool. And it can assist in raising funds needed to save a place. Each endangered place tells a distinct story, and each faces its own set of challenges. In all cases, when an endangered place lands on our list, we commit to seeking solutions that lead to rescue and revitalization,” he added.
The 10 Most Endangered in 2023 includes five new entries and five sites repeating from last year’s list (indicated by *):
+ Historic Fraternal Lodges, statewide.
+ International Harvester Engineering Building, Fort Wayne.
+ Thomas and Louisa Little House, Plainfield.
+ Starr Historic District, Richmond.
+ State Theatre, Anderson.
+ Birdsell Mansion, South Bend.*
+ First Friends Church, Marion.*
+ Hulman Building & Garage, Evansville.*
+ Knox County Poor Asylum, Vincennes.*
+ Stinesville Commercial Buildings, Stinesville.*
Demolition has claimed only 20 of the 153 Most Endangered sites since the list was introduced in 1991, while 101 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.
PHOTO ABOVE: The Thomas and Louisa Little House in Plainfield.
