University, city team up to restore historic house

Blue paint is chipping away from the hand-pressed brick and limestone of the Legg House, one of the oldest Bloomington homes. With all windows and doors boarded up, caution tape and a television antenna on the roof are the only remnants of how the house has been adapted over the years.\nThe Legg House has been set for restoration. Located at 324 S. Henderson, the former six-acre farm sits at the intersection of three thoroughfares: Henderson Street, Atwater Avenue and Third Street. The property dates back to 1820, when Third Street was the only road going in and out of Bloomington.\nIU and the City of Bloomington have received a $27,000 grant from the state to begin restoration of the Legg House.\nNamed after an early resident of Bloomington, George M. Legg, the house was originally constructed in 1848. Former IU president William Lowe Bryan visited his grandparents there during his youth. The house was later used as both a boarding house and student housing when the University purchased it. \nVacated in 1993, the house was boarded up because of to lack of funds for repairs and renovations.\nLynn Coyne, assistant vice president for administration, said the significance of the grant is two-fold.\n"First, the grant provides funds to stabilize the exterior of the house and will dramatically improve it and create a very pleasing area," Coyne said. "Second, it marks a cooperative effort with the University and the City of Bloomington."\nA collaborative effort between the University and the city made the restoration possible, said Nancy Hiestand, program manager for the City of Bloomington.\n"I think it's neat that the University and city were able to find a workable solution ... it probably needs to happen more often," Hiestand said.\nThe grant was funded through a federal grant allocated to the state, which determined the Legg House Project was worthwhile, Coyne said.\nBloomington Mayor John Fernandez said the city is proud to be a part of the renovation project.\n"The high visibility of this project should provide a great boost to historic preservation throughout the community and encourage additional efforts by the University and the private sector to preserve and revitalize many of the historic structures surrounding the campus," Fernandez said in a statement.\nThe house was nominated earlier this year by the National Register of Historic Places by the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission.\nPlans ultimately call for restoring the interior and using the structure for office space for the university, said University Architect Bob Meadows.\nThe grant application said that, in part, "The house is an example of the pre-eminence of local craft, featuring hand-pressed brick and locally quarried limestone, as well as native poplar beams."\nThe project was funded in part by a National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund grant administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archeology.