Demolitions in the Park Mary District
Salem, N. 12th, and Union Streets
The Park Mary Historic District is located just north of Downtown Lafayette and consists primarily of Godlove Orth's addition to Lafayette. Orth, a Congressman and ambassador of the Civil War period, lived in a large brick house at the northeast corner of 9th and Union Streets, demolished in the 1930s. The addition contained a park named Park Mary after Orth's wife, Mary Ann. The park was bounded by Tippecanoe, Eleventh, Twelfth, and Salem Streets. Park Mary was later divided into lots and houses were built on it in the 1880s-1910s. Today much of the neighborhood suffers from neglect and absentee landlords.
One partial block at the southeast edge of the Park Mary neighborhood contains some of the neighborhood's earliest buildings. This is the block between Union, Salem, 12th, and 13th Streets. Five of the six houses on that partial block date to the mid-19th century, and one perhaps a bit later.
Two brick houses on Salem Street (1201 and 1203) are notable landmarks built by the Fletemeyer family, and originally looked out on Park Mary. The corner house (1201) is a substantial brick house dating to the late-1850s. It seems to have been built as a single family house, but was used as a duplex by the 1890s. The first floor of the western half was used as the Fletemeyer's boot and shoe store from the 1860s-1910s.
These demolitions have done much damage to an already blighted corridor along the busy east-west arteries of Union and Salem Streets. Furthermore, a critical part of the Park Mary neighborhood's heritage and character has been irrevocably destroyed. The fate of 1201 Salem remains uncertain.
Fletemeyer House (1203 Salem Street)
1203 Salem Street is a gable-front brick house of a form once typical in the area, probably built in the 1850s. It was owned by the Fletemeyer family and occupied by that family for many years. The Stockton-Britt farmhouse (demolished 2000) was very similar in appearance. 1203 has sat vacant for over 20 years and was demolished in December, 2005. Nothing appears to have been salvaged from the building.
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| 12-21-04. 1203 and 1201 Salem | 1203 Salem |
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| 1203 (left) and 1201 (right) Salem Street, both dating to around the 1850s | Notice on 1203 Salem Street "Intent to Demolish an Historic Building" |
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| 1203 Salem from the southeast | 12-21-04 |
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| 1-5-06 | |
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| 10-19-2004 Before | 1-5-06 After |
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825-827 N. 12th Street
Behind 1201 Salem Street there was a small frame duplex at 825-827 N. 12th Street. This house was built prior to 1866 and had been boarded up since at least 2002. It was demolished in October, 2004.
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| 825-827 N. 12th Street (c.1860) in 2002, roll over image to see 2004 | 825-827 N. 12th Street |
1200-1202 Union Street
1200 Union Street, on the other end of the block from 1201 Salem, was a gable-front brick house similar to 1203 Salem Street but narrower. It appeared to have been built in the late-1850s and had an addition built on the front c.1970. It was demolished in October, 2004.
1202 Union Street, located on the same lot as 1200, was a frame cottage dating to the late-19th century. It was almost hidden by a large tree in its small front yard. The house was demolished in October, 2004. The tree is still there.
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| 1200 Union Street (c.1850) | 1200 Union Street |
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| 1202 Union Street (c.1870?) |