Oliver Johnson's Woods Historic District
Houses in the district generally feature architectural styles that were popular in the early twentieth century, such as the Colonial Revival, the Tudor Revival, the Arts and Crafts, the American Foursquare, and the Prairie School. Many of the district's Colonial Revival houses were constructed by William F. Nelson, who acted both as architect and as general contractor for these projects. Standing out from all other houses in the district is the original Johnson farmhouse; now known as the Johnson-Denny House, it originally faced Central Avenue, but its new owner relocated it to face Park Avenue while the surrounding land was being developed in 1919. Other buildings were once located around the house, but they have not survived.
Today, Oliver Johnson's Woods is surrounded by the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood, and it remains the wooded middle-class neighborhood that it was originally planned to be. In 1979, the Johnson-Denny House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it was seen as eligible because of its place in local history and because of its well-preserved historic architecture. Twenty-five years later, all of Oliver Johnson's Woods was designated a historic district and added to the Register because of its architecture and local historical importance. The area designated as historic encompasses approximately 40 acres (16 ha); ninety-two different buildings within this zone qualified as contributing properties. Ninety of these buildings are houses; a 1999 historic preservation survey conducted by Indiana Landmarks ranked four of them as "outstanding," seventeen as "notable," and the other sixty-nine simply as "contributing."
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Vanderstel, Sheryl D. "Johnson Woods". The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1994.
- ^ Barrows, Robert G. "Histories of Indianapolis". The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1994.
- ^ Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory. Washington Township, Marion County Interim Report. Indianapolis: Indiana Landmarks, 1991, 132-135.
- ^ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved August 1, 2016. Note: This includes Sheryl Vanderstel (February 2001). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Oliver Johnson's Woods Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved August 1, 2016. and Accompanying photographs
External links
- Media related to Oliver Johnson's Woods Historic District at Wikimedia Commons