New use sought for South Bend’s Kizer mansion [South Bend Tribune, Ind.]

July 10--SOUTH BEND -- A new use is being sought for the Kizer house, a turreted Romanesque mansion on the city's near west side.

Built of cut granite blocks, the house often is referred to simply as The Castle. It sits at 803 W. Washington St., at the northwest corner of Washington and Martin Luther King Drive.

"It's got a good feel to it. We're trying to determine what's original and what's been changed. It needs a significant amount of work," said Todd Zeiger, director of the northern regional office of Indiana Landmarks Inc.

The house was built about 1885, a decade before its more spacious neighbor across the street -- Copshaholm, the Oliver family mansion that now is part of the Center for History.

The South Bend Redevelopment Commission spent $441,000 last year to buy the Kizer mansion property and transferred ownership to Indiana Landmarks. The previous owners were Indiana Land Trust and John Friedline, according to Tribune archives.

The city gave the property to Indiana Landmarks with the understanding the preservation organization will plan a renovation and work with neighborhood residents to determine the best reuse of the house. It will no longer serve as apartments.

It originally was home to William L. Kizer and his family.

Kizer grew up in South Bend and started work as a tax collector, then later worked in the real estate and insurance business for nearly 50 years. He also served as secretary of the Malleable Steel Range Manufacturing Co., as a trustee of St. Joseph County Savings Bank and a director of St. Joseph County Loan & Trust Co.

The interior of the house is in fair shape. Much of the original woodwork is intact and there are 10 fireplaces through the building.

The mansion was the Kizer family home until 1929, then sat vacant for about five years, then was used as a sanitorium, Zeiger said. In 1947, the building was divided into nine apartments and served as an apartment house for most of the years since then, he said.

Some interior walls were added and part of the back staircase covered up when the building was converted to apartments. The three-story house is 9,600 square feet, with an additional 3,000 square feet in the carriage house.

A full-time site manager lives in the house.

The structure suffered a fire in the late 1980s, and some soot is still visible on the brick walls in the basement.

Zeiger is in the process of documenting what details of the house are original, how much a renovation will cost, and possible funding sources for roof and masonry repairs.

"We've started meeting with some neighbors to talk about what might be a good use for it," Zeiger said.

Indiana Landmarks would like to find a use that allows public functions in the building, such as gallery shows or small musical performances.

Located near the Center for History and Studebaker National Museum, and down the street from the Civil Rights Heritage Center, the Kizer mansion is a natural addition to the cultural focus along Washington Street, he said.

The agency intends to remove the concrete in the front yard and restore a shady front lawn.

William Kizer died in 1917 at age 73. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had two sons and a daughter.

One son, Ward Wells Kizer, died on July 6, 1904 at age 17, according to a history of St. Joseph County published in 1907.

There's something of a mystery regarding Ward Kizer. A search of The Tribune and other local newspapers published that week showed no news article or obituary reporting the boy's death, which would have been unusual when it came to the death of a member of a prominent local family.

Nothing more is known about Ward Kizer, Zeiger said.

The other son, Horace Kizer, died in 1914 at age 40 of a stroke, according to newspaper archives.

Elizabeth Kizer died in 1927 at age 78.

The daughter, Willomine, was married to a local businessman and continued to live in her family home until her death at age 51 in 1929. The couple had no children.

Willomine Kizer Morrison had a reputation as an outstanding sportswoman, particularly when it came to golf. She twice won the championship of the Women's St. Joseph Valley League, according to her obituary. Her summer residence on Diamond Lake includes an elaborate garden and miniature golf course.

Elizabeth Kizer was the sister of Abraham Lincoln Brick, an Indiana congressman who was elected to four terms. Brick died suddenly in 1908 at age 47.

Brick's house was at 745 W. Washington, a door or two away from the Kizer mansion. The Brick mansion was demolished when Chapin Street was extended north of Washington.

For more information about the Kizer house, contact Zeiger at: TZeiger@indianalandmarks.org.

facebook.com/tribune.margaretfosmoe

Staff writer Margaret Fosmoe:

mfosmoe@sbtinfo.com

574-235-6329

___

(c)2012 the South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Ind.)

Visit the South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Ind.) at www.southbendtribune.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services