5 Most Endangered

Starting in 2008, PEP initiated its first ever list of the”5 Most Endangered.”  This is a list of those historic structures in our community deemed to be threatened, and yet highly worthy of saving.  In establishing the list, it is hoped that their value to the community will be appreciated, and that positive outcomes for these structures can be achieved.  (For additional information about any of these structures, please contact PEP at peplaporte@yahoo.com

1) The Old North Side Fire Station, on Pine Lake Avenue across from McDonald’s, was designed by local architect Arthur C. Steigley and built by Joseph Goodall.  It opened for use in 1929, the final year of the Roaring 20’s, and its imaginative “storybook style” architecture (extremely rare for a public building) captures the optimism and confidence of the era.  With redevelopment pending behind the station, PEP believes that preserving the structure, and utilizing it as a design motif in any new development would provide continuity and character.

2) The former St. John’s Lutheran School, 3rd & A streets, offers a dramatic fortress-like presence to the neighborhood.  The elaborate High Victorian structure, built in 1893 in Romanesque Revival style, with its copper gutters, roof finials, brick corbelling, and bell tower, is currently vacant.  (It has been out of the hands of St. John’s for many years.)  With its excellent location, large windows, and prominent and prestigious architecture, the building is an ideal candidate for adaptive reuse for upscale lofts, or other high-end uses.

3) The former Christian Science Church at 1008 Michigan Avenue is a stately, Parthenon-like structure.  Originally built in 1890, and enlarged and thoroughly redesigned in 1920, with Colonial Revival embellishment, it was designed by famed local architect George Wood Allen.  The structure was featured on the 2005 Christmas Candlelight Tour.  It has been vacant for several years now, and is in need of a considerable amount of repairs and improvements.  The building offers a cavernous open floor plan (with nearly 3000 square feet of total space) that is adaptable to virtually any use, from residential, to offices, to worship space.

4) The Coddington Building, 612 Monroe Street, is known by many old-time La Porteans as a building where apparel was made and sold, in the days when La Porte was a significant garment-making center.  Standing a full 5 stories tall, this imposing century old Chicago-style edifice is the 2nd tallest historic building in downtown La Porte (after the Courthouse).  This solidly built structure is ideally situated in an area of increasingly restored structures, and based upon its open floor plan, and large windows (currently shuttered), it would make an ideal adaptive reuse as desirable “urban loft” residences.

5) The First Baptist Church, at the southwest corner of Indiana and Jefferson Avenues, was built in Gothic Revival style in 1877.  About a decade ago the building was designated historic by the City of La Porte.  The structure’s architecture is rated “outstanding” (the very highest rating) in the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory.  The church’s interior is stunning, with its original woodwork, extraordinary stained glass, and an ideal seating arrangement.  Furthermore, the church is in an enviable location, situated within one block of the courthouse, city hall, and the library.