The Morris–Butler House is a Second Empire-style house built about 1864 in the

Old Northside Historic District Old Northside is a residential neighborhood near downtown in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is bordered by 16th Street on the north, Pennsylvania Street on the west, Interstate I-65 on the south, and Bellefontaine Street on the east. The Monon Tr ...

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. Restored as a museum home by

Indiana Landmarks Indiana Landmarks is a private non-governmental heritage preservation organization focused on the U.S. state of Indiana. It is America's largest private statewide historic preservation organization. Founded in 1960 as Historic Landmarks Foundation ...

between 1964 and 1969, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

-era residence was the non-profit organization's first preservation project. Restoration work retained some of its original architectural features, and the home was furnished in Victorian and Post-Victorian styles. Its use was changed to a venue for Indiana Landmarks programs, special events, and private rentals following a refurbishment in 2013. Regular daily tours of the property have been discontinued.

History

Private residence

The house was built about 1864 for John D. Morris, an Indianapolis businessman, who was the son of Morris Morris, an Indianapolis settler. It is believed that the home was designed by noted Indianapolis architect Diedrich A. Bohlen. The house is located in what was then a suburb of Indianapolis, an area now known as the

. Morris lived in the house with his family until the 1870s, when the family experienced financial difficulties. In 1878 he sold the house to Noble Chase Butler, a bankruptcy lawyer and clerk of the United States District Court in Indianapolis. Butler lived in the house with his wife and seven children until his death in 1933.Nellie N. Coats, "Grand Opening of the Restored Morris–Butler House: 1204 North Park Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202" (Indianapolis: Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, 1969). Butler's daughter, Florence, lived in the house until her death on January 7, 1957. By that time the neighborhood was quite different. Most of the homes were low-income rentals and many suffered from neglect. The house was briefly used as an artists' studio, gallery, and apartments between 1957 and 1964.

Historic house museum

With funds from

Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 – June 6, 1898) was a Union Army officer, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and recruited a company of men to ...

, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana (now

) bought the house in 1963, when it was in danger of being destroyed by the construction of

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

. Lilly had once lived on North Delaware Street, about a block away from the Morris–Butler House, with his first wife, Evelyn Fortune Lilly, in the 1920s. He also had known Florence Butler. Lilly provided $22,500 to purchase the house and additional funds for restoration. The home, named after the two families who once resided there, was Historic Landmarks Foundation's first historic preservation project. Architect H. Roll McLaughlin, A.I.A., of James Associates and a president of Indiana Landmarks, headed the restoration. Work included repairing warped floors, cleaning and repainting the darkened brickwork, and adding a new

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

roof. The house was opened to the public as a historic home and decorative arts museum in May 1969. Its interiors were furnished and decorated in Victorian-era furnishings, along with a few reproductions. Notable furnishing included a Wooton desk, paintings by Hoosier artist Jacob Cox, and

Charles Eastlake Charles Locke Eastlake (11 March 1836 – 20 November 1906) was a British architect and furniture designer. His uncle, Sir Charles Lock Eastlake PRA (born in 1793), was a Keeper of the National Gallery, from 1843 to 1847, and from 1855 its fi ...

chairs. Indiana Landmarks staffed the house with tour guides, coordinated further restoration, and hosted educational and cultural events. Morris–Butler House was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1972.

Refurbished as event space

Refurbishments to the house made during 2012 and 2013 included general repairs, painting, improvements to its landscape, and interior updates. Its use was changed from a house museum to a venue for Indiana Landmarks programs, special events, and event rentals. Daily tours of the property have been discontinued.

Description

The Second Empire-style home, with overall dimensions are by , is located the corner of North Park Avenue and East 12th Street, north of downtown Indianapolis, adjacent to the Indiana Landmark Center and a part of its campus complex. The exterior features a French

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

of gray slate, a white limestone foundation, red brick walls, a four-story tower, and a limestone arch at the main entrance. The home has two main stories in addition to a cellar, an attic, and the brick tower. It also contains wooden front and side porches, dormers, and cornices. The dwelling's central hall floor plan has a service ell at the rear. A roofed breezeway connects the service ell to a red-brick summer kitchen.The summer kitchen was reconstructed during renovations made in the 1960s and is based on its original design. See Shank, "National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: Morris–Butler House." The house's projecting window on its south façade and its front porch are surmounted by iron railings. The property also contains a carriage house with living quarters. A black mental fence installed around the perimeter of the landscaped lot is a reproduction.

Notes

References

* Coats, Nellie N. (1969). "Grand Opening of the Restored Morris–Butler House: 1204 North Park Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202". Indianapolis: Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana. * * * * * *

External links

Indiana Landmarks – Morris–Butler House
(official website)
The Historic Old Northside
Indianapolis
Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record: Morris–Butler House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris-Butler House Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Second Empire architecture in Indiana Houses completed in 1864 Houses in Indianapolis National Register of Historic Places in Indianapolis Defunct museums in Indiana