Riverdale: The James A. Allison Estate
James Allison chose master landscape architect Jens Jensen to design the grounds for his 64-acre estate, including the location of his residence sited prominently at the top of the bluff along Crooked Creek. The residence, designed by Indianapolis architect Herbert Bass, began construction in 1911 and took three years to complete at a reported cost of $2 million. Impressed by the design of his neighbor Frank Wheeler’s newly constructed mansion, Allison fired Herbert Bass and hired Wheeler’s architect, William Price, of the Philadelphia firm of Price and McLanahan, to complete the interior. Dubbed the “House of Wonders,” the Allison Mansion contained many state-of-the-art conveniences including an elevator, a central vacuum system, a telephone intercom system, automatically lighted closets, pumped-in ice water, an indoor swimming pool, and sophisticated indirect lighting systems.
The exterior of the house is an eclectic blend of early Prairie School and Lombardy Villa architecture. The interior is lavishly designed in traditional European designs. For example, the foyer is done in a high Renaissance style, the library is Gothic, and the reception room reflects the era of Louis XVI. To produce this wide range of styles, Allison imported both materials and craftsmen from Europe.
The Allison family retained the estate until 1936, when it was sold to the Sisters of St. Francis of Oldenburg, Indiana. Marian College was established at the mansion in 1937, and until 1949 it contained classrooms, administrative offices, a chapel, assembly rooms and the library. In 1970, the mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Jensen’s design for Riverdale’s grounds included constructing other structures on the property including a palm house, greenhouses, arbors, and a series of spring-fed lakes encircling a central clover meadow at the base of the bluff upon which the house stood. A picturesque stone colonnade was the focal point of the formal gardens. According to the original plans, which still exist, there was an abundance of plant species incorporated with various greenhouses and outbuildings.
Five lakes added to the beauty of the landscaped grounds that, during Mr. Allison’s residence, were maintained by Mr. Ottis J. Clemans and 22 assistants. More than four miles of driveways connected the various parts of the estate. There were also footpaths and several miles of bridle paths. Closely associated with Prairie School architects, Jensen stressed the horizontal nature of the prairie and its ability to direct views toward the distant sky.
Current Rehabilitation Work
Rehabilitation of the 30-acre natural area designed by Jensen as a part of the Allison estate was begun as part of the restoration of a larger 55-acre wetland/forest area known as the Marian College EcoLab. Although the area has been utilized by professors and students sporadically throughout Marian’s history, a comprehensive rehabilitation of the site was initiated in 2000. Led by Dr. David Benson, assistant professor of biology and director of the EcoLab, the work commenced during the Spring 2000 semester when he encouraged his conservation biology class to design, gain funding for, and implement a restoration ecology project in the pond and wetland areas. The recent rehabilitation effort culminated with more than 120 grade school students working with Marian’s president and members of his Cabinet in the wetlands to protect our natural Indiana heritage. The workday was covered by the local media and was attended by Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson.
Since this auspicious beginning, much work has taken place. Honeysuckle, oriental bittersweet, and buckthorn were removed from 14 acres of the Jensen-designed area (honeysuckle covered approximately 85% of the understory canopy before removal). Ten dumpsters full of debris were hauled out and more than 4,000 cubic yards of fill was excavated to approximate the location of about 3/4 miles of trails original to the Jensen design. The official public opening of the Ecolab was held on November 4, 2002.
Several community partners provided funding for this work. The Amos W. Butler chapter of the National Audubon Society provided an initial grant of $25,000 toward habitat enhancement, removal of exotic species, planting of native woodland grasses, and a ½-acre prairie restoration. The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust provided $250,000 to restore the original trails through the area. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Marathon Oil Settlement) continued the habitat restoration with a $69,000 grant for exotic species removal and native species replanting.
Currently, a cultural landscape report for the historic designed landscape of Riverdale: The James A. Allison estate is being prepared to document the history and guide rehabilitation efforts. Marian applied for and was awarded a grant from the Department of Natural Resources Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology in April 2002 to produce the report, which will be completed by Summer 2003.
Riverdale’s Historic Significance
The historic significance of the landscape was “re-discovered” during the early phase of the Ecolab rehabilitation project. During the excavation of fill, some of Jensen’s original trail locations were identified. Further investigation revealed a 10’ x 20’ stone bridge, four limestone benches, four half-moon pools, a springhouse, a 100-foot long set of limestone stairs, a council ring, amphitheater, and other significant landscape features. Copies of Jensen’s original plans were found in the Marian College maintenance office and the historic significance of the site began to become clear.
This historic landscape remains intact and is significant for two primary reasons. First, James Allison’s historic landscape represents what the National Register of Historic Places defines as the “work of a master.” In Riverdale’s case, the designer of the landscape was Jens Jensen, a prominent midwestern landscape architect in the early twentieth century. Jensen is most noted for his extensive work with the Chicago Public Parks System, the Henry Ford Estate in Dearborn, Michigan, and his tireless efforts to preserve prehistoric and valuable landscapes throughout the upper Midwest. Jensen spent three years (1911-1914) refining the design for the Allison family. These designs included the creation of five manmade lakes and a large meadow in the valley below Riverdale. While his initial designs were altered, the landscape retains a high degree of historical integrity of the work of Jens Jensen, noted for his naturalistic designs and use of native plant vegetation.
Second, Allison’s Riverdale estate represents a high style designed landscape that is associated with the American Country Place Era of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This movement, first seen in colonial America, was revived once again a century later. Many of these newer “country estates” were actually located in suburbs and provided a break from the post-Industrial Revolution cities of the time period. This movement thrived from 1880-1920 and finally died out at the beginning of the Great Depression. Today with few exceptions, these estates have been torn down or enveloped by modern development. Riverdale is an excellent example of an estate preserved through the continued efforts of Marian College and today serves as an excellent educational tool for the faculty, staff, and students of Marian College and the community of Indianapolis.
It is important to note that although Jensen designed more than 350 private residences during his career, less than 10 percent exist today with any significant features intact. Within these designs were signature elements that appear repeatedly in Jensen’s Indiana commissions: a large meadow or “prairie”, a formal garden (often centering on a lengthy pergola), a rectilinear vegetable garden, and a pond or “prairie river”-all of which can be found in the Riverdale design.
Other Jensen Projects in Indiana²
Although few survive today, Jensen designed numerous other private estates in Indiana including the estates of:
- Mrs. Barker (Michigan City)
- Martin Beiger (Mishawaka)
- Bohm/Ye Four Winds (Long Beach)
- Morse Dell Plain (Hammond)
- Frank Evans (Crawfordsville)
- Charles Fairbanks (Indianapolis)
- F.S. Fish (South Bend)
- Carl Fisher (Indianapolis)
- F.D. Frawley (Indianapolis)
- Goethe Link (Brooklyn and Indianapolis)
- Norman Perry (Culver)
- Emmett Scott (LaPorte)
- F.D. Stalnaker (Indianapolis)
- J.M Studebaker Jr. (South Bend)
- Frank Wheeler (Indianapolis)
- W.E. Whitaker (Crown Point)
Jensen also designed parks in East Chicago, Kendallville, and Miller, as well as what is now Indiana Dunes State Park, the grounds of the Culver Military Academy, and one of his most famous and well-preserved works, Fair Lane at the Henry Ford Estate in Dearborn, Michigan.²
Select Riverdale Chronology (preliminary)
Riverdale and adjacent property: before Allison
- 1898 - According to the Indianapolis Parks’ chronology 1895 - 1945, a bridge was built over Crooked Creek in 1898 about 100 feet from the White River. Also in this year, a nursery was set out in the Riverside Park.
- 1901 - Allison married Sarah W. Cornelius.
- New Road (Cold Spring?) along the top of the hill from 30th Street was finished.
- Levee on west side of White River from Big Four railroad south a mile and one quarter was partially built with a 22-foot wide drive on top.
- 1909 - What is now Cold Springs Road was once called Myers Free Gravel Road according to a 1909 map of Indianapolis.
- 1909 - A storage shed was built for young nursery stock at the north end of Riverside Park just south of Crooked Creek, west of the old barn and wagon shed.
- 1909 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company was incorporated in February 1909.
- 1910 - Construction of permanent fish hatchery began at north end of Riverside Park, with a lodge to be occupied by two men hired to oversee the hatchery.
Riverdale: The James A. Allison years
- 1910 - James A. Allison purchased the property on Cold Spring Road.
- 1911 - James A. Allison commissioned Jens Jensen to design his estate.
- 1911 - The fish hatchery was completed on the north end of Riverside Park.
- 1911 (March) - Jensen completed the “Topographical Survey, Grounds of Mr. James A. Allison.”
- 1911 (April) - Jensen completed the “Plan for Fish Ponds, Estate of Mr. James A. Allison.”
- 1911 (May) - Jensen revised the “Topographical Survey, Grounds of Mr. James A. Allison.”
- 1911 (May) - Jensen completed the “Design for Boulder Bridge, Grounds of Mr. James A. Allison.”
- 1911 (June) - Jensen completed the “General Plan, Grounds of Mr. James A. Allison.”
- 1911 (July) - Jensen completed the “Design for Garden Pool, Grounds of Mr. James A. Allison.”
- 1911 (August) - Jensen completed the “Planting Plan for Grounds, Mr. James A. Allison.”
- 1911 (August) - Jensen completed the “Planting Plan for Gardens, Estate of Mr. James A. Allison.”
- 1911 (September) - Jensen completed the “Plan, Tennis Court, Vegetable Gardens and Walls, Grounds of Mr. James A. Allison.”
- 1912 (June) - Jensen completed revisions of the “Planting Plan for Grounds, Mr. James A. Allison” to include New Drive, Pool, and Planting.
- 1912 - A 40-foot strip of ground on west side was given to Allison, Fisher, and Wheeler to widen Myers Road. Also, construction of new bridge over Crooked Creek was begun in concert with road widening/improvement.
- 1913 - The Crooked Creek bridge was completed.
- 1914 - Jensen began work at “Fair Lane”, the Henry Ford Estate in Dearborn, Michigan.
- 1914 - When the Allison home was completed at a reported cost of $2 million, it was nicknamed “the House of Wonders.”
- 1928 - James Allison dies.
- 1930 - Mr. Allison’s mother resided in the home here until her death in 1930.
Riverdale: After Allison
- 1931 - December 6th article and aerial photograph in The Indianapolis Sunday Star newspaper illustrates the large pond in three segments
- 1936 - A small portion of the estate, the river works, was sold to Charles Sommers for his Stewart Manor.
Riverdale: Marian College
- 1937 - The Sisters of St. Francis purchased the estate to establish Marian College.
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