Simpson Hall (site) (Indianapolis, Indiana)

 historical layer / disappeared object, 1911_construction

Constructed between 1907-1911, Simpson Hall’s significance rests in its neoclassical architecture and its place in Indiana’s pioneering role in educating deaf students. The firm of Rubush and Hunter designed the Indiana school’s second campus starting in 1907, and five of the seven original buildings remain. Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana 10 Most Endangered (since 1999) (Unfortunately, in 2002 the state demolished Beecher Hall, another of the original campus landmarks that had been included since 1999 with Simpson Hall in the Most Endangered entry.) The school owed its 1991 listing in the National Register of Historic Places in part to the intact and relatively unaltered condition of the original structures, a claim eroded by the recent demolition.

The threat: The demolition threat continues to loom over Simpson Hall, a grand but vacant building on the National Register-listed campus. The state’s demolition of the companion Beecher Hall in 2002 came in spite of Historic Landmarks’ contribution of $30,000 in structural stabilization and a reuse study for the two buildings.

Recent progress: Historic Landmarks Foundation’s reuse study showed several options for economically redeveloping the school’s original structures. The Indiana School for the Deaf’s Advisory Board favors renovation to meet the school’s needs or to adapt the structure for a compatible use, a position supported by a majority of ISD’s students, parents and alumni. Interest in Simpson Hall from a charter school may require modification of state policy.