Dr. John and Gerda Meyer House: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

Inventory Unit Description: The Dr. John and Gerda Meyer House in located at 630 West Fairwater Avenue in Beverly Shores Indiana. The .33 acre site is situated roughly midway between Chicago, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana, and approximately 500 feet south of the Lake Michigan shoreline. The residence is nestled within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on November 5, 1966. The site is relatively rural in context and is situated among the oldest dune ridges which are estimated to have been formed roughly 14,000 years ago. The home is set atop one of these ancient dunes facing south towards West Fairwater Avenue. When facing the home the dune gently rises to the north from West Fairwater Avenue and dramatically slopes downward towards West Lake Front Drive. Surrounding the home is a dense growth of mature trees, including several white pines. Dr. John Meyer with Mr. Harold Olin, architect of the house, planted 1,000 saplings on the lot after the construction of the house to protect the dune from erosion. Vegetation also includes a unique diversity of native plants common to the Indiana Dunes. Several domestic plants, including daffodils and Lily of the Valley, also dot the site. The Dr. John and Gerda Meyer House was entered in the National Register on June 20, 2012, and is locally significant under Criterion C for architecture. The period of significance extends from the construction of the house in 1961 until the completion of an addition in 1965. It is an excellent example of the International Style designed for an appropriate contextual setting on the ridge of sand dune in the lakeside resort community of Beverly Shore, Indiana. Mr. Harold Olin, the architect of the house, studied under Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Mies is widely acknowledged as one of the 20th Century’s greatest architect. By emphasizing open space and revealing industrial materials used in construction, he helped define modern architecture and was a purveyor of the International Style. The dissemination of Mies’ philosophy was executed in Olin’s design of the Meyer House. The International Style was never popular for residential construction in the United States and the relatively few houses built in the style are generally large landmark houses. The Meyer House is important as an unusual and highly intact example of a small house built in the International Style. The integration of natural materials into the design, versus just steel or concrete, was an adaption of the style to the natural landscape of the dunes. Cultural landscape characteristics and features of the site include a two-story rectangular residence constructed in 1961. An addition was created in 1965 and was designed by the original architect of the house for the Meyers. The addition seamlessly connects to the original house by the use of matching materials and general scale. Other characteristics and features also include associated patterns of circulation, domestic plantings, and several small scale features such as retaining walls. Overall, the landscape retains integrity in the aspect of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The condition of the landscape at the time of the initial CLI is evaluated as good.

Dr. John and Gerda Meyer House: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

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