INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Modern, an affinity group of Indiana Landmarks, sponsors the eleventh annual Mid-Century Modern talk and tour, both in Indianapolis this year.
The free lecture on May 31 at 6 p.m. at the Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Ave., features Susan Skarsgard, design manager of the GM Design Archive & Special Collections. Her talk, “Then & Now: Designing Women at General Motors,” offers an insider’s view of the trailblazers who have played roles in automotive and industrial design at GM from the 1940s through the present. The program is free with a reservation made online at moderntalk18.eventbrite.com or by calling Indiana Landmarks, 317-639-4534.
Employed at General Motors Design since 1994, Skarsgard also will also share reflections on the GM Technical Center, the National Historic Landmark campus in Warren, Michigan, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1956.
For a deeper immersion in the era, Back to The Future: A Mid-Century Modern Home Tour on June 2 will take visitors inside five private residences, including houses by designer Avriel Shull and architects Evans Woollen III and Harry Cooler. As a vintage design bonus, each house will display a mid-century car in the driveway. The tour homes — all on the city’s northeast side—date from 1956 to 1968.
Homes on the tour include:
6115 Green Leaves Circle – The late Evans Woollen III (1927-2016), one of Indiana’s most revered Modernist architects, designed the sleek 1961 house.
5242 Nob Lane – Avriel Shull (1931-1976), a pioneering mid-century designer from Indianapolis, designed all the double houses and larger multi-unit structures in the Ladywood subdivision.
6478 North Olney St. – Hoosier architect Harry Cooler (1925-2016) designed the one-story house as the centerpiece of the 1961 Indianapolis Home Show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. It was reconstructed at its current site later in 1961.
7750 Camelback Dr. – The 1968 split-level house in the Ivy Hills subdivision has a “Brady Bunch” vibe.
4148 Vera Dr. – Lafayette-based National Homes Corporation, a manufacturer of prefab houses, produced this 1956 ranch in its Ranger series.
The tour takes place from 1 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance, available online at midcenturytour2018.eventbrite.com. Tickets are also available from Indiana Landmarks at 1201 Central Ave., Form + Function in Nora, and Silver in the City on Mass Ave and in Carmel. Tickets on the day of the tour are $25, available only at tour headquarters—Indianapolis First Friends Meetinghouse, 3030 Kessler Boulevard, East Drive.
