:: New Albany Historic Preservation Comission

Job well done!
Wednesday October 29, 2025

And this year's winners are:

Woodward Hall
128 West Main Street

John K. Woodward had this Egyptian Revival structure with distinctive concave cornices built in 1852 for his wholesale dry goods business. On the third floor was New Albany’s first public hall, which opened in January 1853. One of the State’s first performances of Uncle Tom’s Cabin was held here in April 1854. The building’s hall was also used for New Albany’s Civil War hospital #9. In 1908 the building became a wholesale grocery and was used as a grocery for much of the 20^th century.

Current owners Stacey and Jeff Freibert purchased the property in January of 2014, following its longtime use as an antiques mall. Since their acquisition completed work has included refinished doors, new concrete sidewalks, a new window in a boarded opening, replacement of a window with a door, replacement of wooden storefront with metal, paint added to the columns, replacement of an awning, and recent exterior repainting. The Freiberts also undertook an extensive rehabilitation of the adjacent building fronting West First Street into Seeds and Greens, which garnered a Facelift Award in 2015.

Edward M. Bir House
1401 East Main Street

Edward Bir purchased Lot 10 Upper High Street, Plat 220 on May 14, 1898, for $1,050 from Margaret Watts. The Queen Anne-style home was first listed at this address in the 1899-1900 New Albany City Directory. Edward held many offices in the Louis Bir Lumber & Manufacturing Co. including President, Vice President, and Treasurer. Edward likely remained in the house at 1401 E. Main through 1928.

Mary Margaret Holt acquired the house in March of 2013, although it had been in her family for some years prior. Recent work has included repointing of the chimney and foundation, repair of wood siding and trim and repainting, rebuilding front porch railing to code, re-roofing and replacing gutters, replacing broken windowpanes and adding storm windows, replacing the west side door, and the addition of new air conditioning units. Future work plans include interior and exterior lead paint remediation, working with the New Albany Historic Preservation Commission to do so in a manner that preserves the home’s historic character.

Charles and Sarah Malinda Miller House
314 West Market Street

Charles Miller purchased this lot in October 1906 for $1,600.00 and the family’s new house replaced an earlier, two-story, brick structure on the site. Around the time of construction, Mr. Miller was listed in the New Albany City Directories of 1909-1912, as being involved with concrete. And in the 1913 – 1916 directories he is listed as a contractor. So there is a possibility that he could have been the builder of his own home.

By the late teens, Charles was the manager of the numerous New Albany theaters that were owned by the Switow family of Louisville, in particular the Grand, Kerrigan and Elba, the latter being name for the Miller’s daughter, Elba. The Elba was later renamed the Indiana Theater. Mr. Miller took an active role in Republican politics, especially in the western part of the city and was also a delegate to the Republican State conventions on numerous occasions. In his later years, Charles was treasurer of the New Albany wholesale grocery concern of P.N. Curl Grocery Co.

Mrs. Miller passed away in March 1923 and Mr. Miller in September 1934. After the death of Charles, Elba married Frank Haller in 1936 and the couple made their home here until their deaths: Frank in September 1963 and Elba in March 1979. Current owners Eric Schlechty and Angela Shaughnessy purchased the house in the spring of 2022 following extensive rehab work by the previous owner, repairing the home after a fire. The Miller House, with its distinctive stained glass window on the façade is a showpiece of preservation in the west end of the city.

Gordon-Jewett House
603 East Main Street

Harry and Helen Gordon purchased this lot in August 1889 for $1,400 and the building permit, dated June 1890, lists the cost of construction of this Queen Anne style house as $2,000. In May 1894, it appears that the Gordons traded houses with lawyer, Henry Jewett, who lived at 1501 East Main during the same period of time the Gordons were living at 603.Henry apparently used this house as rental property and lived at 611 East Main from 1894 to 1904. For a brief period of time (1905-1906), he took up residency here at 603 before his new home on Ridgeway Avenue in Silver Hills was completed.

The current owners – Jesse and Maren Gosman – purchased the home in October 2021. The previous owner, Jason Cheatham, did significant rehab work during his ownership from 2016-2021 including the removal of aluminum siding, repair/replace wood siding as needed, and prep and paint as well as work to the windows.

Simon Fess General Store
1321 Knob Avenue

This structure was built in 1932, and Simon Fess operated a general store out of this home from 1932 to 1937. Simon was identified as a confectioner. It has been noted that Simon sold candy and ice cream out of this location.

Amy Allen purchased the home in July 2022 and has performed extensive work renovating the property while retaining its historic character and commercial history.

Washington Fire Company No. 1
1219 East Market Street

The Washington Fire Company #1 was established in 1839, less than three decades after New Albany’s founding. The current structure was built in 1945 in the Art Moderne style at a cost of $35,000. New Albany contractor Earle Embry was responsible for its construction. It replaced an 1870s station that stood on the site and had also served as a police substation and community center. During hard economic times, members of the company also were well known for repairing and distributing toys to needy children in the children.

The bricks on the inside of the building are from the original building, and there is also a lot of history displayed there too. The firemen occupying 1219 Market Street take great pride in their station and its history and have a wall of historic photos displayed. They have been vocal advocates for the preservation of the station and keeping it in service.

Applegate House
2672 Mt. Tabor Road

This home was designed and built in 1951 by prominent New Albany architect Robert Applegate as his own family’s residence. His firm - Walker, Applegate, Ritz and Oakes – was one of the city’s most prominent, responsible for the design of many key mid-century buildings in the community. Included among these are the Floyd County Library (listed in the National Register of Historic Places), the City-County Building, the federal courthouse building (also National Register-listed) and multiple buildings on the campus of IU Southeast. The firm was also an early advocate for preservation and adaptive reuse, and oversaw restoration projects at the Culbertson Mansion and Jeffersonville’s Howard Steamboat Museum. This mid-century modern house has remained in the family since its construction and is currently owned and thoughtfully maintained by Robert’s wife Janet.

Josephine Graf House
414 East Spring Street

Widow Josephine Graf erected this brick bungalow in the summer of 1927. She and her late husband, Henry, had resided here in Victorian-era frame house that previously stood on the site. The Grafs purchased the property in April 1914. Mr. Graf was president of the New Albany Wall Plaster Company located at 134 East Market Street in downtown New Albany. He died in October 1925, and his widow remained in the home for two years before replacing the structure with a “modern bungalow” as reported in the New Albany Ledger, dated May 6, 1927.

Josephine Graf was a member of a well-known pioneer family named Newhouse. She was also a charter member of the official board of the Culbertson Widows’ Home. She remained in the new house until her death in February 1946. Following her passing, her son Chester, a dealer in explosives, and his wife, Alice, took up residence in the house and remained there through August 1955. It was subsequently sold to Dr. Harold Exline, who opened his dental practice in the house. He retained ownership of the property through the mid-1970s.

A blend of Arts and Crafts and Classical Revival styles, the Graf House features a wire-cut brick veneer exterior with a side-gabled roof with exposed ornamental rafter ends at the eaves. Simple trim, a plaster cornice in the entry foyer, strip oak hardwood floors, French doors, cast iron radiators and a tiled fireplace with wooden mantelshelf in the front parlor are original features that remain with this well-preserved home.

Current owner Josh Rosenthal purchased the home in December 2023 and has done quite a bit of interior work, maintaining the historic character while updating and preparing the house for its next century of use. Previous owner Philip Collins also did quite a bit of maintenance work prior to selling, including repainting windows and trim and repairing the back porch ceiling.

Rainbow Baking Company Surplus Store
415 Bank Street

The Rainbow Baking Surplus Store was constructed circa 1970 across the alley from the Rainbow Baking Company on Pearl Street. The store was affectionately known to many locals as the “day old bread store.” After the closure of the surplus store, major renovations were completed in 2008 by Steve Resch and Resch Construction. New Albanian Brewhouse occupied the space until 2019 when Monnik Beer Company moved into the space. The present tenants, The Dog Haus Biergarten, moved into the space in 2024 after extensive renovations.

Hauss House
723 Brittany Lane

Built in 1932 by Dr. Augustus Philip Hauss, a prominent physician and civil leader, and his wife Claire Evelun Hauss, formerly Henderson. The two story Tudor style home has been immaculately maintained through its almost 100-year history. It is currently owned by Emilie Kelso, who has continued the tradition of outstanding stewardship here.

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