Shawnee Place Historic District
Significance
The Shawnee Place Addition was a residential development by the Wildwood Builders, under the direction of the innovative husband-and-wife team of Lee J. and Joel Ninde. An article which appeared in The Wildwood Magazine in 1916 stated that Shawnee Place "is a small residence district comprising less than fifty homes, but as it was designed and built as a whole, the houses express a harmony of architecture, while the neighborhood interests run in the same channels towards general betterment and attractive surroundings." This unity of character and design, as well as the attractive surroundings, remain today in the Shawnee Place Local Historic District. These are the primary elements that give the district significance in the areas of architecture, and community planning and development. Shawnee Place is equally significant for its association with the Wildwood Builders, and particularly for the unique and original house designs of self-trained architect Joel Roberts Ninde, produced with the assistance of Wildwood "draftsman" Grace Crosby.
Designing homes that were "pleasing to the eye, economical, convenient, and efficient," Joel Ninde became one of the most popular early twentieth century residential architects in Fort Wayne. A woman with no formal architectural training, Mrs. Ninde designed her first house for her husband, attorney Lee J. Ninde after the couple was unable to find a home in Fort Wayne that was "small, convenient, comfortable, attractive, and inexpensive." Her innovative design became noticed and sold rapidly. The same thing happened with her second house. Eventually Lee Ninde gave up his law practice, and in 1910 he formed a real estate and construction firm called the Wildwood Builders Company, establishing Joel and her partner Grace Crosby, as designers and construction supervisors. Joel Ninde created designs adaptable to any budget, depending on the choice of materials and features desired, and favored the clean lines of the Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles. In 1914 the Indianapolis News reported that she had designed and built over 300 houses. The Wildwood Magazine, published by the company between 1913 and 1917, was a nationally known publication on the subjects of architecture, city planning, and interior design. Tragically, Mrs. Ninde died of a stroke at the height of her career in 1916, at the age of 42.
The Wildwood Builders remained an active residential development and home building company into the late 1920s. Other developments by the company include Wildwood Place (a portion of the South Wayne Historic District), Lafayette Place, and Wildwood Park. All these projects were unique for a variety of reasons; however, Shawnee Place is the development that consistently displays the design influence of Joel Ninde. It is the one area in which Wildwood Builders built all (or nearly all) of the homes in a relatively brief period of time. (Most of the homes in Shawnee Place were built by 1916.) The houses clearly reflect the philosophy of the Ninde's in building simple yet tasteful, inexpensive, and modern homes. The architecture is typical of the era, and reflects the popular Craftsman, Colonial Revival, and American Foursquare styles, but it also reveals the ability of Joel Ninde to adapt these styles to the practical perspective of a woman. The architecture of the district is not significant for individual landmarks, but for its consistent quality and harmony of character, materials, and scale. The district is also significant in community development for the unique character of Shawnee Drive and the footpaths at mid-block.
Description
The Shawnee Place Historic District exhibits a unique physical arrangement, which provides the compact area with a park-like character clearly different than the surrounding residential areas. The area was platted and developed as a unit by the Wildwood Builders, an innovative early twentieth century company led by the husband-wife team of Lee J. and Joel Ninde. Shawnee Place is centered on the two-block boulevard of Shawnee Drive, which runs north-south from Killea Street on the north to the boulevard of W. Wildwood Avenue on the south. Shawnee Drive forms a "T" intersection with both streets. This arrangement creates a quiet, tree-lined street (with a park median) which discourages through traffic. A hill at the north end of Shawnee Drive rises sharply to Killea Street, while the south end of Shawnee Drive is relatively flat.
The two blocks of Shawnee Drive are separated not by a cross street, but only by narrow public footpaths which cross east-west between private lots to join the sidewalks of Shawnee Drive with those of Webster Street and Hoagland Avenue. These footpaths meet at the former location of a fountain at the center of Shawnee Drive, and were intended to provide easy access to the fountain for residents of Shawnee Place who lived on Webster and Hoagland. The footpaths were originally paved with cinders and were terminated at each end by an arched rose arbor. Today, the paths have become overgrown with grass and the rose arbors are gone, but the footpaths remain as unique public spaces. The concrete basin of the fountain at the center of Shawnee Drive survives, but it is cracked and filled with soil.
The houses of Shawnee Place represent an outstanding collection of early twentieth century middle-class housing, and also serve as excellent examples of the designs of Joel Ninde, Grace Crosby, and the Wildwood Builders. The local historic district retains a high level of historical integrity. Although no two houses in Shawnee Place are alike, they each reveal the thoughtful simplicity of designs by the Wildwood Builders. Popular architectural styles and house types of the 1910s were used, however the massing of the houses and the forms of specific elements of the designs were unique. Several houses employ an offset porch, which wraps slightly to the side. Three houses have the primary entrance in the sidewall, with no entrance on the Shawnee facades. The common theme is that each house is a comfortable home for the era, built with modern features and materials. Craftsman, Colonial Revival, and American Foursquare are the predominate architectural styles.
The Craftsman style is the most prevalent in the area. Nineteen of the twenty-three homes in the historic district are either Craftsman in style, or exhibit a mixture of Craftsman with Colonial Revival or American Foursquare features. The Craftsman style began c.1903 and became quite popular by about 1910. It remained popular until c.1930. Craftsman houses and buildings are simple in detail and massing, placing emphasis on "honesty" in their materials and construction. Craftsman houses feature a broad, low-pitched roof (usually gabled), with wide, open eaves; exposed structural elements such as rafters, roof beams, vergeboards, and knee braces; and square or battered porch piers. Brick, stone, stucco, wood siding, and shingles were all common exterior materials. Houses feature open interiors with a prominent hearth, built-in furniture, and natural woodwork.
The best example of the Craftsman style in the district is the Short House, at 2908 Shawnee Drive. It is a one-and-one-half story front gabled house with a large dormer and a prominent porch on the south side. The house has large, decorative vergeboards and exposed rafters with Craftsman windows and wood shingle siding. The most unique feature of the house is the fieldstone porch with two large battered piers. Other notable examples of the Craftsman style include the Neaderhouser House at 3023 Shawnee, which has stucco walls, a wraparound corner porch, and a front wall shed dormer. The Metzner House at 2922 Shawnee has stucco walls and a unique front entry, protected from above by a covered balcony. Although it has been altered, the R. Parker Smith House at 2904 Shawnee remains an elaborate example of the Craftsman style.
The Colonial Revival style is also represented in the historic district. Common identifying features include: a symmetrically balanced facade with a central door and entry porch; classically inspired features such as pilasters, columns, pediments, fanlights and sidelights; double-hung windows with multiple panes of glass; and prominent cornices decorated with dentils or modillions. The most pure example of the Colonial Revival in the district is the Feustel House, located at 3028 Shawnee. It has a side gable roof with cornice returns, and a symmetrical facade with a classical entry portico supported by fluted Doric columns and pilasters. The house at 2923 Shawnee is among the five homes that mix the Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles. It has a side gable roof with cornice returns and a second floor jetty on the facade, yet its front porch and entry are typically Craftsman in their details.
American Foursquare homes can be found at 2903, 2916, 3007, 3019, and 3027 Shawnee Drive. Perhaps the most common early twentieth century house type, the American Foursquare house was built in great numbers from c.1900-c.1935. These houses are box-like in shape, with two full stories, a hipped roof (often with a front-facing dormer), and a comfortable porch. They were often elaborated with features of other popular styles such as Craftsman and Colonial Revival. The examples of American Foursquare in Shawnee Place carry a wide variety of architectural features influenced by the Craftsman style. The house at 2903 Shawnee is the most basic Foursquare, while 3007 and 3019 Shawnee both exhibit unique Craftsman details. The example most influenced by the Colonial Revival is 3027 Shawnee Drive.
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