National Register of Historic Places
Morningside Historic District
Gary, Lake County, Indiana
The record
- Listed
- September 24, 2009
- Type
- Historic district
- Address
- Roughly bounded by E. side of Washington, W. side of Jefferson, W. 47th & W. 48th Sts., Gary
- County
- Lake
- State
- Indiana
- Contributing resources
- 99 buildings, 1 site
- Coordinates
- 41.53520, -87.33886
- Reference number
- 09000758
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesUSGS Historical Topographic Map CollectionUSGS Historical Topographic Map CollectionBarry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
The Morningside Historic District is a residential historic district in Gary, Lake County, covering 36 acres, bounded by Washington and Jefferson Streets and West 47th and 48th Streets. It was listed in the National Register in 2009. Its 99 contributing buildings and one contributing site include houses built from 1906 to about 1960, in styles including Bungalow/Craftsman, Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival.
Why it's listed
It was listed under criteria A, C and D, with local significance in community planning and development and architecture. Its period of significance runs from 1916, when the Morningside Addition was platted, to 1953, when its last ranch-style houses went up. The nomination names Louis C. Hess, Granville M. Semmes and James J. Kelly as architects.
Physical character
Most houses are frame or brick on concrete foundations with asphalt roofs; some higher-style examples add limestone or stone-veneer walls, clay tile roofs and half-timbering. Tudor Revival houses have casement windows and stonework at the corners, Colonial Revival houses have symmetrical facades with dentiled cornices and fanlight windows, and later Ranch houses have hipped or side-gable roofs with attached garages.
Historical context
Gary was founded as a steel town in 1906, and the Morningside Addition was platted in 1916; only one lot was improved by 1920. Building continued through the 1920s with twenty-eight homes, three more from 1930 to 1934, ten from 1935 to 1939, and seven ranch-style houses from 1950 to 1953.