Monthly Archives: December 2009

The Old Crescent

Indiana University Campus
Bloomington
(812) 855-4848
www.iub.edu

Map

In 1883 Indiana University purchased a 20-acre tract of land known as Dunn’s Woods for its new campus. Today much of the character of the native Southern Indiana woodland survives in its role as the quadrangle for a cluster of historic campus buildings called The Old Crescent. The preservation of the woods was not accidental but rather a deliberate choice in the campus master plan of 1936, by Percival Gallagher of Olmsted Brothers. By siting new buildings on Third Street and Indiana Avenue, a quadrangle was created, preserving the central open space. One of Indiana’s most favorite campus structures, the 1908 Rose Well House, is at a hub of crisscrossing pedestrian pathways.

Garvin Park

1600 N. Main Street
Evansville
(812) 435-6141
www.evansvillegov.org

Map

Although Garvin’s site was used as a park as early as 1901, it was not until the City of Evansville hired Myron West, a landscape architect with Chicago Park Builders, that a formal plan was prepared. Its development took place from 1916 to 1919, concurrent with Bosse Stadium and baseball field. When the park was to be enlarged in 1927, Harland Bartholomew, a well respected planner from St. Louis, proposed a new plan in conjunction with a citywide park system connected by “pleasure drives.” The principal feature of Garvin Park is Evansmeer Lake and its 1.5-mile encircling recreational trail, built in 2004. A double allée of catalpa trees lines the entrance to the park. The park’s trees are now at maturity as envisioned for full canopy coverage.

Deming Park

500 S. Fruitridge Avenue
Terre Haute
(812) 232-0147
www.terrehaute.in.gov

Map

Deming Park was planned in concert with the development of Ohio Boulevard and was intended as a rural retreat from the city, especially as a driving destination for picnics. Landscape architect George Kessler recommended the site to the city, which acquired the land in 1919. The wooded, rolling topography, which contrasts with the city’s level residential areas, was easily adapted to a park whose emphasis was on the passive enjoyment of nature. The Isaac Walton League created a series of ponds in the 1930s for fishing (two of which survive). Park-goers today enjoy drives lined with mature trees, a number of historic picnic pavilions, and the Clark-Landsbaum Holly Arboretum with 167 cultivars of Ilex.

Historic New Harmony Labyrinth

South Main Street
New Harmony
(800) 231-2168
Historic New Harmony

Map

Few people can resist the lure of a labyrinth, especially one whose concentric paths wind among sculpted privet hedges. Although the present-day labyrinth is a 1939 recreation, it was based on the original Harmonist labyrinth and is located adjacent to the original site. George Rapp, leader of the early-19th-century utopian society and founder of New Harmony, created the maze as a place of contemplation and meditation. The original was planted with shrubs, vines and flowering plants and featured a circular log house at its center. The route was not an easy one, symbolizing life’s difficult path. Ross Lockridge, author of the novel Raintree County, wrote a book about the labyrinth for the New Harmony Memorial Commission.

Leeper Park

837 N. Lafayette Boulevard
South Bend
(574) 299-4765
www.sbpark.org

Map

Water features, both natural and manmade, have always been important in defining Leeper Park’s character. Located on the south shore of the St. Joseph River, the park enjoys the river’s natural environment as its backdrop. Following construction of the North Pumping Station, circa 1900, surrounding land was designated as a city park. Herman Beyer, who designed curvilinear carriage drives and plantings, and later George Kessler, who contributed a plan for the park in 1916, were both formative influences on development. The Duck Pond has been a constant and popular feature throughout the park’s history.

View Hidden Treasures Indiana in a larger map

View Hidden Treasures Indiana in a larger map

View Hidden Treasures Indiana in a larger map

View Hidden Treasures Indiana in a larger map

View Hidden Treasures Indiana in a larger map