BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - An Indiana commission has advanced an application for the former home of Indiana University professor Alfred Kinsey to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission unanimously approved the application Thursday, The Herald Times reported. The application will now go to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.
The application was made by Susan Ferentinos, funded by the National Park Foundation, and on behalf of the home’s current owners.
The one-and-a-half story Tudor Revival home was designed by Kinsey and was built in the Elm Heights Historic District just south of campus in 1927. It was constructed using uneven brick and mortar to intentionally create a rustic appearance and still retains much of its original appearance, according to the application.
The application also highlights some of the home’s unique touches, including Kinsey’s decision to remodel part of the basement into a garage after the family purchased a car in 1928.
“The home was built in an L-shape to accommodate a persimmon tree that is no longer there,” the application states. “In addition, Alfred Kinsey was an avid gardener, and from the late 1920s to the 1940s his yard was a showplace of lily and iris varieties.”
Kinsey is best known for founding the university’s Institute for Sex Research in 1947. His work prompted a national conversation about sex and morals.
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This story corrects the name of the National Park Foundation.
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Information from: The Herald Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com
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