The Neighborhoods

 I walked through  McDoel Neighborhood and Prospect Hill Neighborhood this week. Our History Center offers free walking tour pamphlets, so swing by and grab a few next time you're ready to learn more about our town's history. Or you can click here and print them off at your house. 

There are many beautiful historic register homes in the Prospect Hill neighborhood.  The early 1900 houses here are fancy and some were owned by important peeps in our town.  Many were designed by actual architects.  We had an architect named John Nichols who ran a booming business. You keep reading his name as you walk along.  John Nichols this, John Nichols that.

Many of the homes in McDoel Gardens (1920s)  are simpler and came from Sears and Roebuck kits. Don't want to show favoritism, but I enjoyed the Prospect Hill more than McDoel. Some highlights from my walk there:

In 1900, a drug store owner named Wood Wiles had a house on Rogers Street. In the back there stands a garage that used to house the family horse and surrey.  Wood could walk to work on the square, but maybe he took the surrey if he was running late. 

Mickey Burke, a conductor on the Monon Railroad lived on West Third.  The house was built in 1906 and Mickey lived there with his wife until the late 1950s.  

Al Hayes, tinsmith, lived over on South Jackson. His house is called Tinker's Mansion.  He had a little building in the back for a family member with TB. Not sure if that was the best setup, but they probably made it work.  

The most impressive home is the Paris Dunning House.  Paris was actually the governor of Indiana and had some progressive views.  He's buried in nearby Rose Hill Cemetery.

One of our oldest homes, on S. Rogers, was built in 1840.  It's not too attractive, but let's give it a break.

I'm happy to report that both these walks were completely consistent with the goals of my temporary unemployment:  learning and leisure.   

Roscoe Rogers House 1906

Sare House 1906

This is the little building in the back of the Tinker's Mansion. The pamphlet said it provided "fresh air therapy" for a member of the family with TB.  Hardly any windows, so I think they were kidding themselves.