Isaac B. Lutz House
| Dates: | c.1865 |
| Location: | SR 25, SW of Shadeland, Union Twp., Tippecanoe County, Indiana |
The Isaac B. Lutz farm in Union Township has long been familiar to drivers on State Road 25 as "the abandoned house with the trailer in front." It was built around the mid-1860s for a prominent farmer, and was featured in the 1878 Burk & Bro. Atlas of Tippecanoe County. The house was abandoned around the mid-1970s and slowly decayed until around 2002. A new owner has purchased the house and is in the process of stabilizing the building so that it might be restored by a future owner.
Many of the floors and ceilings had fallen through, leaving a massive pile of debris in the basement. In many places the sky is clearly visible from within the house. In clearing out the debris, surviving fragments of the ornate plaster ceiling of the parlor have been carefully sifted out. This ceiling was almost completely destroyed when part of the second floor fell through, but many of its cast-plaster rosettes and mouldings have survived in pieces. Another remarkable feature is the decorative painting in the front rooms of the first floor. Peeling wallpaper in the parlor has revealed the original wall paintings simulating paneling. There are traces of similar decoration in the front hall and the other front room.
The present owner allowed my friend Lena Carlson and I to tour the house and take the photographs you see here. Hopefully his work will allow the house to one day be restored to its former glory.
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| July, 2002, Front facade of the house | View from the southeast |
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| Detail of second floor window and cornice, note elaborate scroll brackets and coffering | Scroll brackets supporting the balcony over the front door |
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| Arcaded porch on the north side of the house | Rear of the house and ruins of an outbuilding |
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| View in the front hall | Detail of newel post |
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| North wall of parlor, note ghost of mantel, stovepipe | Detail of painted decoration simulating paneling in the parlor |
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| Detail of door casing in parlor | Detail or remaining segment of plaster decoration on parlor ceiling |