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Old-House Expo & Cake Contest Set for May 11 at Showers Atrium

First Posted: 5/9/13 12:34 PM EDT Updated: 5/9/13 12:37 PM EDT
Old-HouseExpo

BY LISA ELAINE HELD The Monroe County Courthouse, built in 1908, is a point of pride in Bloomington. With its limestone columns, clock tower, and Beaux Arts features, it is the city’s most iconic image. So some might be surprised to learn that in the early 1980s it was almost torn down and replaced with a modern structure. Only through the efforts of community activists was it saved and restored. “Many people really appreciate a lot of the old buildings in and around Bloomington,” says Nancy Hiller, vice chairperson of the Monroe County Historic Preservation Board of Review, “but they have no idea how much of a fight it was to ensure that they would still be here.” The second [...]

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Big Love for Small Houses

First Posted: 4/10/13 09:08 AM EDT Updated: 6/12/13 10:29 AM EDT
Small House

BY NANCY HILLER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANNON ZAHNLE Small houses are in vogue. Google “small house trend” and you’ll discover page after page of stories and pictures of houses in all shapes and (small) sizes. The smallest are tiny and portable; starting at 50 or so square feet, they serve as house-like campers or handy quarters for visiting family members. From there, sizes increase to houses that still seem tiny by contemporary U.S. standards, such as the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company’s “Sebastarosa,” with three bedrooms and a full bathroom in a mere 847 square feet. At the other end of the small-house spectrum are those designed by architect Sarah Susanka, whose series of The Not So Big House books have helped [...]

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Lustron Homes: Relics of Post-World War II America

First Posted: 3/21/13 02:58 PM EDT Updated: 4/18/13 03:54 PM EDT
Originally published
Lustron

BY NANCY HILLER Bloomington can boast a wide variety of Midcentury Modern architecture, from modest single-story ranches to slick tri-levels with cantilevered porches. But scattered among them are several eccentric Lustron homes—enameled-steel creations that represent a radical, if short-lived, innovation in the history of American residential design. The Lustron was devised in response to a shortage of housing immediately after World War II. Residential construction had still not recovered from its sharp decline during the Great Depression; incredible as it may seem today, the bulk of the country’s housing stock dated to the 19th century, and many houses lacked electricity and plumbing. Meanwhile, nearly three million married veterans were poised to come home, and members of Congress argued that expecting [...]

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The Story of CATS Community Access TV Services

First Posted: 9/20/12 04:27 PM EDT Updated: 9/20/12 04:27 PM EDT
Originally published
CATS

BY NANCY HILLER Since 1974—five years before C-SPAN got its start—Bloomington’s Community Access Television Services (CATS) has been telecasting live coverage of local government meetings. Concerned about a pressing public issue but can’t make it downtown? Thanks to CATS, you can watch proceedings of the Bloomington City Council, Ellettsville Town Council, Monroe County Plan Commission, public school boards, and many other local government bodies live on TV. But CATS covers more than such staid proceedings. The network’s channels—3, 7, 12, 14, and 96 on Comcast, and 301 to 305 on Smithville Digital—also telecast international news, library-related programs, and a rich variety of local lectures and cultural events. In addition, CATS will provide free cameras, editing equipment, training, and dedicated time [...]

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Nick McGill: An Artist Who Loves Old Things and Cacti

First Posted: 8/28/12 02:06 PM EDT Updated: 8/28/12 02:06 PM EDT
Originally published
Nick McGill

BY NANCY HILLER In his luxuriant garden of sunflowers, fennel, and bee balm, Nick McGill wears a protective helmet as he welds salvaged machine parts together, turning them into coat racks, candlesticks, and other functional wares. Chunky gears, smooth rods, and oversized ball bearings sprout through the foliage amid rare varieties of poppy and cactus—a juxtaposition that seems perfectly natural to this artist. Cacti and old machinery are McGill’s great loves. During the 1980s, when he was a biology major with a focus on the environment, McGill visited the deserts of the American Southwest and became enchanted by the subtle colors, wide variability, and sheer tenacity of cactus, a family of plants that are strikingly adaptable to inhospitable surroundings. But [...]

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