NAHPC presents 4th Annual "Facelift Awards"
Thursday May 19, 2011


The 2011 "Facelift Award" recipients are:

Bottles Unlimited (427 State Street) - Blythe Barry owner, Kevin Burns architect. Rebuilt after a devastating 2010 fire, this new building does an outstanding job of fitting in with its historic surroundings through its massing, site location, and construction materials.

Dr. Augustus P. Hauss House (1319 East Market Street) - Amy Binder and Jeff Henley, owners. This Greek Revival style home was built in 1860, and purchased by the current owners in 1999. They have now almost completed the exterior restoration, including rebuilding the box gutters, painting, and replacing inappropriate porch columns with more architecturally-accurate ones.

Benjamin & Alice Bull House (830 Cedar Bough Place) - Jackie and Joyce Meyers, owners. Local merchant Benjamin Bull had this Queen Anne-style home constructed in late 1892, at a cost of $3500. Since their purchase of the home in 1984, the Meyers have completed extensive work on the house, including relining the box gutters, replacing non-historic windows with more appropriate ones, replicating the porches and adding copper roofs to both, and restoring the exterior siding.

Ferdinand T. Kahler House (837 Cedar Bough Place) - William and Laurie Arbaugh, owners. This unusual 'airplane bungalow' was constructed in 1920 for entrepreneur and inventor Ferdinand Kahler. The Arbaughs purchased the house in 1991 and have been painstakingly restoring it since. Among the work they have completed has been rebuilding the front parapet wall, restoring all 59 of the home's original windows, and extensive interior updates that carefully maintain the Craftsman style.

Cobb-Danforth House (514 East Main Street) - Peter and Barbara Feimer, owners. This Greek Revival townhouse was constructed in 1857. Wholesale grocer Noah Cobb was the the first resident, and the house later served as the parsonage for St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The Feimers purchased the home in late 1996 and worked on the interior for three months just to make it liveable, including stopping water from wicking through the brick walls. Some of their exterior work since has included repairing and relining the box gutters, cleaning and tuckpointing the masonry, replicating the original side porch, and replacing the rotted wooden windowsills with new limestone sills.

St. Mary's Church (719 East Spring Street) - Archdiocese of Indianapolis, owner. This magnificent Romanesque Revival church was completed in 1858 for New Albany's German Catholic community. In September 2008 the church was in the midst of a major interior and exterior renovation - including the rehab of the unique "sham-rocked" exterior, restoration of the stained glass windows, and replacement of the inappropriate front doors with more compatible ones - when disaster struck: the remnants of Hurricane Ike knocked the distinctive steeple of St. Mary's askew. The steeple was too damaged to be reused, but it was carefully removed, painstakingly replicated, and placed back atop the church in July 2010. 

Frederick-Ferrell House (1221 Culbertson Avenue) - New Directions Housing Corporation. owner. Built circa 1895, this cottage was originally used by J.G. and Phillipina Frederick for investment purposes. Over the years, the home saw numerous tenants until it was ultimately purchased by New Directions as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). This project, a partnership with the City of New Albany, aims to revitalize the Midtown neighborhood through the rehabiliation of existing homes and the construction of compatible infill. The scope of work for this home - overseen by JonPaul Construction - included a new roof, removal of inappropriate aluminum siding and the restoration of original wood siding, rehabilitation of the original wood windows, and re-opening of the porch.   

Comments