We made the headlines!

Indiana Landmarks awards Endangered Places Grants in northern Indiana

Projects in six cities receive Endangered Places grants

3/28/2012

Media Contact:

Todd Zeiger, Director, Indiana Landmarks Northern Regional Office 574-232-4534,tzeiger@indianalandmarks.org.

Indiana Landmarks recently awarded Endangered Places Grants to preservation projects in six cities, including Elkhart and Ligonier.

The Elkhart Redevelopment Commission received a $2,500 grant for a structural analysis of a vacant structure at 200 North Main Street on the city’s River Walk. Known as The Armory although never officially used as one, the building was constructed c.1885. In 1911, the structure was doubled in size with an addition designed by Elkhart architect E. Hill Turnock. The study will assess the cost of stabilization and the landmark’s viability for reuse. The grant will be matched by $500 from the Downtown TIF district.

A coalition of organizations in Ligonier are partnering to restore a landmark that represents the community’s Jewish heritage. The coalition, led by the Ligonier Public Library, received a $1,750 Endangered Places grant to develop renovation plans for the 1889 Ahavas Sholom Temple.

The coalition will use the grant to assess the landmark’s potential for adaptation as a museum honoring the community’s Jewish heritage, with interactive exhibits to promote respect and mutual understanding among the city’s diverse ethnic groups. Other partners in the project include the Future Ligonier Alliance, Ligonier Historical Society, and Noble County Visitors Bureau.

Indiana Landmarks makes Endangered Places matching grants to nonprofit organizations for feasibility studies and other activities related to saving landmarks and strengthening preservation groups. Other recent grant recipients include organizations in Indianapolis, Martinsville, New Albany and Seymour.

To learn more about The Armory project in Elkhart, contact Barkley Garrett, City Economic Development Manager, 574-294-5471, barkley.garrett@coei.org.  For information on the reuse of Ligonier’s Ahavas Sholom Temple, contact Wendy Fergusson, wendyfergusson@gmail.com.

For information on Indiana Landmarks’ grant programs, contact Todd Zeiger, director in Indiana Landmarks’ Northern Regional Office in South Bend, 574-232-4534,tzeiger@indianalandmarks.org.

Grant money awarded!

Last week I received the following message from our representative at the Indiana Landmarks office:

The grant request for the Ahavath Scholom Temple was approved at a reduced level yesterday. Our Endangered Places Grant fund is unusually low this year and all requests that are coming in are facing reductions in the amount. The grant was approved for $1,750. 

While this certainly won't get the project to a set of construction drawings - working with an interested architect who may be willing to contribute some of their time - you should be able to get a good overview of the condition of the building and the potential for use as envisioned. 

Although we didn't receive all of the money we had hoped for, what great news! We are certainly able to obtain a survey by a building inspector, a stability status report from an historic preservationist, as well as a report from a structural engineer. We will begin working on these reports as soon as we receive the check from the Indiana Landmarks office which should be within the month. 

Grant Proposal Submitted!

After emailing off a batch of materials this morning, I received this message from our representative at the Indiana Landmarks office: "Got it. Looks excellent. I will get it submitted. We meet on March 14th and I'll follow up after that with you. Thanks for all the effort." 

Needless to say, I'm excited and thankful to everyone for helping me put together the grant materials! Here is a section from the grant proposal that details what we hope to accomplish with the $3,000 if awarded:

 This grant proposal targets the preparation needed before embarking on our project. Preparations include consulting a professional architectural team in cooperation with a structural engineer to conduct a feasibility study and facility assessment. Both of these studies are needed to determine the architectural stability of the building, including the stability status of the stained glass windows which are currently bowing, exterior brickwork which needs tuck-pointing, and the basement foundation which shows signs of leaking water. It will also help provide recommendations for bringing the building up to code, suggest solutions to accessibility concerns to the lower level, and determine the costs of renovating, and possibly expanding, the lower level.  The grant money will also help us begin to consult a museum exhibition designer to begin work on a concept-stage master plan. This master plan will determine our dollar per-square-foot of exhibits ratio and will also be a useful tool to use as we continue fundraising.

Meeting at Ligonier Public Library

On Saturday, I met with the Ligonier Public Library committee. I reviewed two presentations from last year about the museum concept and proposal and I also discussed possible grant opportunities for professionals to provide structural stability studies on the synagogue building. Upon further discussion, I found out that the building is actually endangered. The roof needs to be repaired, the stained glass windows are bowing, the basement has water leaks, and the bricks and masonry need tuck-pointing. Now it is even more important that we employ the help of these professionals to help us determine the actual needs of the building. If you are familiar with the building and know of any other structural issues, can you please discuss this on the "discussion board" tab of this site? All thoughts are appreciated!

Sundays at Sinai, a new book by Tobias Brinkmann

I am anxiously awaiting the new book by Tobias Brinkmann at Penn State, entitled Sundays at Sinai. I am hoping that Brinkmann's book will provide a model to tell the story of Ahavas Sholom.

Here's what U. Chicago Press has to say about the new gem they are publishing this summer:

First established 150 years ago, Chicago Sinai is one of America’s oldest Reform Jewish congregations. Its founders were upwardly mobile and civically committed men and women, founders and partners of banks and landmark businesses like Hart Schaffner & Marx, Sears & Roebuck, and the giant meatpacking firm Morris & Co. As explicitly modern Jews, Sinai’s members supported and led civic institutions and participated actively in Chicago politics. Perhaps most radically, their Sunday services, introduced in 1874 and still celebrated today, became a hallmark of the congregation.

In Sundays at Sinai, Tobias Brinkmann brings modern Jewish history, immigration, urban history, and religious history together to trace the roots of radical Reform Judaism from across the Atlantic to this rapidly growing American metropolis.  Brinkmann shines a light on the development of an urban reform congregation, illuminating Chicago Sinai’s practices and history, and its contribution to Christian-Jewish dialogue in the United States. Chronicling Chicago Sinai’s radical beginnings in antebellum Chicago to the present, Sundays at Sinai is the extraordinary story of a leading Jewish Reform congregation in one of America’s great cities.

A visit to the American Jewish Archives

On Thursday of this week, I took a 2 hour drive to Cincinnati to visit the American Jewish Archives (AJA) at Hebrew Union College. The Ahavath Scholom congregation files are held here and I wanted to take a look. Well, the first thing I found out was that the congregation actually spelled their name "Ahavas Sholom." I first noticed a discrepancy in the spelling over a year ago when I recognized the differences between what was listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, what the Auditor's website lists, and what the synagogue is commonly referred to in Ligonier. For my purposes, I am going to go by the historical documents. This is prompting me to do a bit of name replacing on the blog as well as in my grant materials that are being sent out next month.

The Ahavas Sholom folio at AJA (1890-1935)

The majority of the Ahavas Sholom holdings at AJA were compiled for the Ligonier centennial in 1935. There were about 200 pieces of paper included in this folder and I took digital photos of every piece. The setting was perfect actually.  I grabbed a table that had sunlight pouring in- and in this way, I think I was able to capture some wonderful details of the documents.

Upon first glance, it looks as if the documents are primarily synagogue meeting minutes and recordings of donation amounts by various families. There were also a few invoices and receipts from vendors who must have worked with the congregation on projects for the synagogue and cemetery.

Now that I've taken all the photos- it's time to get down to work and actually READ! I can't wait to see what treasures are hidden in the folder and when I do uncover them, I will be sure to post the findings here. 

Indiana Landmarks Endangered Places Grant

Today I spoke with Todd Zeiger, the Director of the Northern Regional office of Indiana Landmarks. We spoke a little bit about the details of the project but more in-depth about applying for an Endangered Places grant. He will be emailing me the application for this grant (a 4-1 matching grant up to $2,500) and I have already begun to compile the materials needed. If awarded, this money will be used to consult professional architects and structural engineers to determine the feasibility of the project and the stability of the building.