Indiana is one of the three states we missed on our previous 14-month U.S.A. road trip. We’ve already had a “taste” of Indiana on this trip. In my Kentucky, part 1 post we drove across the river in Louisville to Jeffersonville, Indiana to check out the Schimpff’s Confectionery.
Now we are making a home-base in Evansville, IN to explore the area. Did you know that the television show Roseanne features a house in Evansville as their home?
We often use Atlas Obscura to search out those unusual and wacky places like this sculpture of a Big Peach next to a small replica of the Washington Monument!
If we had not made the short road trip to see these silly sculptures, we would have missed the town of Vincennes. Not only did we enjoy a wine tasting in this little town (Windy Knoll Winery), but we were surprised to find this Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy! We grew up watching some of Red’s antics and loved his humorous characters like Freddie the Freeloader and Clem Kadiddlehopper: Country Bumpkin. We just had to visit this lovely museum!
Another day trip from Evansville took us to the town of New Harmony, a historic town on the Wabash River. It was established by the Harmony Society in 1814 under the leadership of George Rapp and was the home of Lutherans who had separated from the official church in the Duchy of Württemberg and immigrated to the United States. The Harmonists built a new town in the wilderness, but in 1824 they decided to sell their property and return to Pennsylvania. Robert Owen, a Welsh industrialist and social reformer, purchased the town in 1825 with the intention of creating a new utopian community and renamed it New Harmony. While the Owenite social experiment failed two years after it began, the community subsequently developed ideas that changed American society.
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| Community House No. 2 (circa 1822) |
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| Linz House (circa 1819-1822) |
Working Men’s Institute Library and Museum: “The mission of the Working Men’s Institute set forth by founder William Maclure in 1838 is the dissemination of useful knowledge to working men and their families.”
Working Men’s Institute
One of the interesting artifacts we found was this 185-year-old Fire Engine that was built in Philadelphia and brought to pioneer Indiana from Harmonie, PA in 1814.
They had to wait eleven long years before having a chance to pump it at a fire. The Harmonists built their halls, homes and stores of lasting stone and the best ash logs. Their buildings never caught fire! It was in service until 1879 when the New Harmony town fathers bought a gasoline engine.
New Harmony changed American education and scientific research. Town residents established the first public library, a civic drama club, and a public school system open to men and women.
This Hedge Labyrinth features a circular log house in the center. For the Harmonists, the labyrinth symbolized the difficulties of attaining true harmony and the choices one faces in life trying to reach that goal. It was a place of meditation.
When the Labyrinth was restored back to its original pattern in 2008, three gates were added which line up as if part of the hedge walls. This allows easier access to go directly to the center and out again.
This Cathedral Labyrinth, built in 1998, is an exact replica of the Chartres (France) labyrinth. The Atheneum / Visitor’s Center can be seen in the background.
The Roofless Church, completed in 1960, was designed by architect Philip Johnson.
As we traversed through Indiana, we found these three gems along the way:
Jasper: Geode Grotto
Geodes are abundant in southern Indiana, and the soft rocks with crystal-filled centers make terrific decorative materials! This Geode Grotto was the idea of Father Phillip Ottavi and was originally intended to imitate the famous grotto at Lourdes. This grotto was built between 1960-1970 and covers four city blocks.
Richmond: Gennett Records Walk of Fame
What a surprise to learn that this small city of Richmond has a rich history of jazz, blues, gospel, country, revival, and other early recordings! The source of those recordings is an 1870s piano factory. During its 90 years, the Starr Piano Company created Gennett Records. Just a few of the artists recorded by Gennett Records are Louis Armstrong, Artie Shaw, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Jelly Roll Morton, Guy Lombardo, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller. Along the entrance to the old factory site is a sidewalk imbedded with plaques to the recording greats that made Gennett such a surprising musical story. Each plaque is designed like an old ‘78 shellac disc, and new members of the Walk of Fame are added every year.
Starr Piano Company old factory
Indiana Dunes National Park
The 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago, called the Century of Progress, offered millions of people in the depths of the Great Depression a hopeful vision that highlighted futuristic changes on the horizon. Developer Robert Bartlett brought a dozen buildings from the fair including five from the Homes and Industrial Arts housing exhibit that make up the Century of Progress Historic District. These houses looked wildly modern in 1933, so ahead of their time that they remain modern looking today.
Florida Tropical House: Home, Cruise Ship, & More
Architect: Robert Law Weed
Inspired by the subtropical climate of southern Florida, this flamingo pink Art Deco home brought the indoors and outdoors together in one place. Modeled after an ocean liner deck, the building's flat roof showcased large open terraces for lounging and sunbathing. The nautical theme continued inside with portal windows and cruise-ship-inspired aluminum railings.
Made in Lafayette: An Experiment in Home Building
Architect: Walter Scholer from Lafayette, Indiana
House: Wieboldt-Rostone House
Created to showcase an exciting new material (Rostone) billed as "never needing repairs" -- composed of limestone, shale and alkali
The Armco-Ferro House: Mass-Produced and Affordable
Architect: Robert Smith, Jr. from Cleveland, Ohio
Produced using frameless steel construction and an exterior sheathing of vitreous enamel, it only took five days for the 2,400 square-foot structure to be erected from prefabricated panels.
Indiana continued next month ….
