Photograph by Robert Boogar
INDIANA LANDMARKS has a soft spot for homes of a certain age. The private historic preservation organization’s website and bimonthly magazine, Indiana Preservation, showcase exceptional old structures around the state—from a former automotive building with concrete floors and roll-up garage doors for days to a modernist stunner by Lake Michigan—that make DIY homebuyers dream big. Mark Dollase, Indiana Landmarks’ vice president of preservation services, explains that they have “an ongoing relationship” with the properties they acquire (following a lengthy vetting process) that goes beyond the sale of the house. “We attach what are called ‘protective covenants’ to the deed of the property to make sure that it’s maintained over a long period of time and doesn’t become a demolition threat again in five years,” he says. “We will be looking out for that property for decades.” Ready for a fixer-upper that’s not a quick flip? These diamonds in the rough from Indiana Landmarks are for sale as of press time and still standing strong, proof that they just don’t build them like that anymore.
Photograph courtesy of Dawn McKenna Group
HORNER HOUSE, BEVERLY SHORES Designed by renowned Swiss architect Otto Kolb in 1949, this idyllic wonder with views of Lake Michigan consists of three buildings: the three-bedroom main house with its living room cantilevered over a ravine, a guesthouse, and a one-car garage. $924,900
Photograph courtesy of Indiana Landmarks
504 E. O&M AVE., NORTH VERNON Spanning a whopping 5,550 square feet over three floors, the home of downtown North Vernon’s original J.R. Greathouse & Son’s Hardware store has plenty of mixed-use potential—residential on top and retail on bottom. The interior is an exposed brick wonderland, and the property comes with an adjacent vacant lot for parking or expansion. $124,900
Photograph by Robert Boogar
458–462 N. CASS ST., WABASH These two historic homes are being sold as a bonded pair. The more-spacious one (on the right, at 2,177 square feet) is move-in ready, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It could serve as a handy home base for the more involved renovation of its next-door neighbor, a four-bedroom stucco beauty with salvageable original woodwork and interior doors and a well-preserved stairway. $135,900
