Woodruff Place Walking Tour Preview

1

McCaslin House - 897 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1893Architecture Style: Queen AnneKey Features: The gables and small-scale, classically inspired details are Queen Anne elements.

2

Wright House - 881 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1907Architecture Style: Free ClassicKey Features:A charming smaller home, this cottage boasts a Palladian window in the gable and simple columns that illustrate a departure from the exuberant detailing of Queen Anne architecture.

3

Field House - 829 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1902Architecture Style: Free ClassicKey Features:A hipped roof, symmetry of openings, clapboard siding, and restrained detailing are typical of this popular design.

4

Steele House - 811 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1904Architecture Style: Jacobethan RevivalKey Features:Note the center Dutch gable on this housedesigned byarchitect Brandt T. Steele, the son of Hoosier artistT. C. Steele. He chose this residence for his own home from among others of his design in the community.

5

Centennial Fountain - Woodruff Place East Drive at Cross Drive

Year Built: c. 1876Architecture Style: RenaissanceKey Features:Restored in 1976, this two-tiered cast-iron fountain has elaborately detailed ornamentation and a larger basin than the two smaller fountains at Middle and West Drives.

6

Town Hall - 735 Woodruff Place East Drive

Architecture Style: TudorKey Features:Formerly the town hall when Woodruff Place was an incorporated town, it still serves the community as a meeting hall and recreational facility.

7

Nazum House - 703 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1920Architecture Style: PrairieKey Features: A very popular style although it has no name, this design was influenced by noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s distinctive prairie style houses. It also reflects characteristics of other architectural styles of the time.

8

Melby House - 671 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1898Architecture Style: Queen AnneKey Features:Restored in the 1980s, the period color scheme appropriately reflects the Victorian era.

9

Jungclaus House - 559 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1904Architecture Style: Dutch Colonial RevivalKey Features:The gambrel roof is a chief characteristic of this style, a variant on the Colonial Revival popular in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

10

Woodruff Manor - 596 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1930Architecture Style: Spanish Colonial RevivalKey Features:Decorative gables, red tiled roofs and stucco walls are characteristics of this very popular style used for houses, churches and commercial buildings.

11

Webber House - 648 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1897Architecture Style: Queen AnneKey Features:A prominent tower, diamond-paned window glass, and clapboard/shingle siding are common style characteristics of Queen Anne architecture.

12

Varney House - 686 Woodruff Place East Drive

Year Built: c. 1902Architecture Style: English PicturesqueKey Features:An unusual style, it is most often associated with English architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

13

Michelis House - 707 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1935Architecture Style: Jacobethan Revival/PicturesqueKey Features:A scaled down version of a style popular after the turn-of-the-century, it is a favorite in Indianapolis and many similar designs are seen in other parts of the city.

14

Barnett House - 519 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1924Architecture Style: Late Colonial RevivalKey Features:This is a late example of a style first popular in the latter part of the nineteenth century and continuing in popularity today

15

Literary Urn - South Half of Middle Drive Esplanade

Year Built: c. 1870Key Features:Milton, Shakespeare and Scott are among eight important literary figures depicted on the urn. Note the circular basin mounted on an octagonal pedestal that features a floral leaf motif in bas-relief.

16

Swanston House - 578 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1894Architecture Style: Queen AnneKey Features:Designed by Thomas A. Winterrowd of Indianapolis, this house illustrates a pleasing blend of Queen Anne and Shingle styles. Note the unique porch.

17

South Middle Drive Fountain - Esplanade

Year Built: c. 1873Key Features:Restoration of this fountain originally designed by J. L. Mott Ironworks was completed in 2020 from three remnant pieces of the original fountain. The color of the statuary replicates the original.

18

Vondersaar Houses - 680-686 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1900Architecture Style: FoursquareKey Features:These twin structures were built as speculative houses. The first floors are cast or imitation stone; the second floors are tile hung – a very unusual treatment found mostly in England.

19

Toy House - 700 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1890Architecture Style: Queen AnneKey Features:Two story porches lend symmetry to this Queen Anne with a round tower and large eaves. The house has been in the family for three generations.

20

Fountain - Middle and Cross Drive

Year Built: c. 1872Key Features: Restoration in 1977 has preserved the unique ornamentation of this smaller cast-iron fountain which differs from those on East and West Drives.

21

Bates House - 756 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1906Architecture Style: PrairieKey Features:Unusual detailing on this residence shows the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright and art nouveau. The material used is also unique to the city.

22

James O. Woodruff House- 735 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1872, razed 1936Architecture Style: StickKey Features:William LeBaron Jenney, a nationally acclaimed residential architect of the period, constructed the first home built in Woodruff Place.

23

Lockwood House - 593 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1877Architecture Style: StickKey Features:Tall proportions with high steep roofs and an irregular silhouette typify this style. There was probably a tower above the entrance at one time.

24

Hacker House - 638 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1889Architecture Style: ShingleKey Features:Shingles and round arches show the influence of Henry Hobson Richardson who popularized the style in the east.

25

Hooker House - 670 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1889Architecture Style: ShingleKey Features:Gables, various windows sizes, asymmetrical façade and mixed surface textures make this house a classic version of this style.

26

Bowersock House - 684 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 2021Architecture Style: FarmhouseKey Features: This is the newest built home in the neighborhood.

27

Lewis House - 720 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1922Architecture Style: Free ClassicKey Features:Although the porch gives the house an asymmetrical look, the openings are arranged symmetrically. The Palladian window in the gable and other simple detailing are Free Classic elements.

28

Fountain - West Drive and Cross Drive

Year Built: c. 1872Key Features:This two-tiered cast-iron fountain mounted on a concrete base was restored in 1977. Ornate leaves and detailed fish supporting the second tier are distinctive characteristics of this unique fountain.

29

Hall House - 763 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1905Architecture Style: Queen AnneKey Features:Twin gables, various window sizes, soffit brackets, first floor overhang and large bay windows are typical characteristics of Queen Anne style.

30

Michelis House - 778 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1922Architecture Style: BungalowKey Features:A popular style in Indianapolis, thousands of bungalow houses were constructed throughout the city because the design was an easy, inexpensive one to execute.

31

Potts House - 826 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1888Architecture Style: ShingleKey Features:Simpler than Queen Anne architecture, this style is distinguished by the small diamond pane window glass and uniform covering of shingles.

32

876 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1886Architecture Style: Queen AnneKey Features:With a three-story turret, stained and lead glass, this house is easily recognized as Queen Anne. Renovation has restored the house from apartments to nearly its original layout.

33

Boyle House - 894 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1875Architecture Style: Eastlake/StickKey Features:This is the oldest remaining structure in Woodruff Place. Although altered, the decorative work in the gable helps to emphasize the underlying frame construction.

34

Kenney House - 960 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1890/91Architecture Style: EastlakeKey Features:The rows of spindles, turned porch posts and notable terra cotta tiles in the chimney are typical of the Eastlake style.

35

McCoy House - 974 Woodruff Place West Drive

Year Built: c. 1906Architecture Style: PrairieKey Features:Influenced by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, this residence features design characteristics emphasizing horizontal, grouped windows and a wide roof overhang.

36

Essex Apartments - 940 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1920Key Features:Stone detailing reflects different style sources. Large flats such as this one became popular during the early part of this century as people sought to free their lifestyles from large houses.

37

Kelley House - 814 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1906Architecture Style: Queen AnneKey Features:Although this is a very late example, the gable, mixed surface materials, octagonal tower and various window sizes are all characteristics of the Queen Anne style.

38

Test House - 795 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1893Architecture Style: Queen AnneKey Features:Although the tower does not dominate the façade, the gable is within the picturesque look of Queen Anne architecture. The house and nearby carriage house occupy the largest lot remaining in Woodruff Place.

39

Roache House - 845 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1885Architecture Style: Gothic RevivalKey Features:Restored in 1970, this cottage illustrates the typical modest dwelling of the Victorian era. Because of its frame construction, it is classified as Carpenter’s Gothic.

40

Larson Apartments - 945 Woodruff Place Middle Drive

Year Built: c. 1910Architecture Style: FederalKey Features:This antebellum Federal style four-unit brick apartment building was built in 1920 and was owned by the Larsons for many years. The building was renovated 1993-1997 keeping the integrity of the original building.