Indiana Landmarks Honors Preservation Efforts

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Indiana Landmarks has named three Indiana Preservation Award recipients in northern Indiana. The organization recognized efforts in Andrews, Rensselaer and Valparaiso.

Indianapolis, Ind. — Indiana Landmarks singled out three owners to receive its Indiana Preservation Awards in the northern region, recognizing high-quality restoration and preservation in central Indiana.

Andrews Dallas Township Public Library received an award for renovation of the 1926 library in Andrews. Having outgrown the space, the library studied options for constructing a new building or renovating and expanding of the historic Craftsman-style building. The library board voted to stay in the historic library, artfully expanding it to meet accessibility and space needs.

Dene and Mary Beth Mattocks were recognized for their restoration of the 1917 Oren Parker house at 102 South Park Avenue in Rensselaer’s historic Milroy Park neighborhood. The Craftsman-style home has remained largely unaltered from its original construction. When Dene and Mary Beth Mattocks bought the house, it had been vacant and in foreclosure for a number of years. They couple restored the house, inside and out. The Parker House is being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places with assistance from Indiana Landmarks Partners in Preservation program.

Indiana Landmarks gave an award for excellence in historic preservation education to the Porter County Museum of History in Valparaiso for its Stories Project. Through the telling the stories of places where life is lived, the museum excite the imagination and builds awareness of heritage among current residents. The project began in 2013 with Valparaiso’s Central Neighborhood. The second installment focused on Ogden Dunes, one of Northwest Indiana’s earliest lakefront communities. The award also recognized the museum as a great steward of its home, the historic Porter County Sherriff’s House and Jail, and its plan to bring another historic Valparaiso building back to life with its expansion to the former 1878 Valparaiso Town Hall.

Source: Indiana Landmarks