Park Mary Historic District
Park Mary Historic District [1]
The Park Mary Historic District consists almost entirely of Orth's Addition platted by Godlove S. Orth and his wife, Mary Ann Orth. The district is named for the park which was located within the plat, Park Mary, named for Mrs. Orth. Park Mary was bordered by Eleventh, Amanda (now Twelfth), Salem and Tippecanoe Streets.
Mr. Orth was a prominent Lafayette attorney who held several state offices, was elected to the United States Congress in 1862, and served as a United States Ambassador. The Orth family home, now gone, was located at the northeast corner of Ninth and Union Streets.
Many of the homes within the district date from the mid-nineteenth century and are of Italianate design. Several of the noteworthy houses include the Perrin-Seawright House built by John Quincy Adams Perrin in 1868. The house's second owner, Samuel Seawright, added the distinctive New Orleans-inspired iron work. The John Levering House, built c.1850, is located on Tippecanoe Street. John Levering and his brother, William, operated a real estate and insurance business in Lafayette. The Harvey J. Sawyer House, located across from Park Mary, was built in 1848. Mr. Sawyer was a cabinetmaker.
Two of the district's noteworthy public buildings dating from the early twentieth century are the Christian Reformed Church, built in 1929 in the Gothic Revival style, and the Neoclassical-style Lafayette Armory, built two years earlier and still in use.
Note: The Park Mary Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
- Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory, Tippecanoe County Interim Report, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, Indianapolis, 1990.
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
10th Street North • 11th Street North • 12th Street North • 13th Street North • 6th Street North • 7th Street North • 8th Street North • 9th Street North • Hartford Street • Salem Street • Tippecanoe Street • Union Street
