News From Terre Haute, Indiana

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May 10, 2012

Learn about the Kessler Plan for the city at Brown Bag

Original maps, blueprints and sketches show vision

TERRE HAUTE — Find out what an “emerald necklace” has to do with city planning at 12:10 p.m. May 17 during a Vigo County Public Library Brown Bag program. Skilled storyteller Tom Roznowski will discuss the newly discovered Kessler Plan for Terre Haute.

In 1920, George Kessler was asked by the city to develop a comprehensive plan to integrate parks into Terre Haute city planning. Although he died just two years after accepting this commission, many of his ideas have been implemented or are being discussed today. Kessler was influenced by Frederick Law Olmsted who believed that cities need to safeguard natural areas as parklands. Olmsted believed in bringing nature into the urban environment and is best known for his work on New York’s Central Park.

Terre Haute City Planner Pat Martin originally discovered some original Kessler maps while doing routine organizing. Subsequently, Roznowski was able to locate blueprints and sketches from the plan in the Vigo County Library archives and at the Vigo County Historical Society. At the heart of the Kessler Plan was a 30-mile shaded boulevard that was anticipated to run along the east bank to the south of the Wabash Avenue Bridge and encircle the city. Even though Kessler had anticipated the presence of motor vehicles along this boulevard, he could never have anticipated the vehicular speeds or traffic volumes of latter decades. Kessler’s grand boulevard was originally called Riverside Drive in the plan, but as the public consciousness of the project grew, the name was changed to Paul Dresser Drive. Although some parcels were purchased by the city, and ground was formally broken in July of 1923, this fundamental stage of the Kessler Plan was never implemented.

In the last few years there has been increased local interest and awareness of the Wabash River. Besides the Mississippi, the Wabash is one of the most celebrated rivers in American culture, and Terre Haute’s presence along its banks provides an opportunity to create the kind of relationship between natural and urban environments that Kessler envisioned.    

The maps will need restoration and are now in the Lilly Library at Bloomington. While examining the maps, exciting World War I artifacts were discovered. Learn more about the project during the Brown Bag program.

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