The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, previously known as the Benjamin Harrison Home, is the former home of the 23rd

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

. It is in the Old Northside Historic District of

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. Harrison's 16-room house was built from 1874 to 1875. It was from the front porch of the house that Harrison instituted his famous Front Porch Campaign in the 1888 United States presidential campaign, often speaking to crowds on the street. In 1896, Harrison renovated the house and added

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

. He died there in a second-story bedroom in 1901. Today it is owned by the Arthur Jordan Foundation and operated as a museum to the former president by the Benjamin Harrison Foundation. and

History

Benjamin Harrison arrived in Indianapolis in 1854 in order to begin a career as a lawyer. In 1867, following his service in the military, he bought a double lot from an auction, on what was then the outskirts of town, on North Delaware Street, just north of present-day Interstate 65. Construction of a house on the property commenced in 1874 and was completed in 1875 at a cost of $24,818.67 (equal to $ today). The Harrison family's move to 1230 Delaware Street set in motion the northward migration of prominent Indianapolis residents. When built, the property featured many elm and

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s. Except for the time Benjamin Harrison served as

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from Indiana (1881–1887), and his time as President of the United States (1889–1893), he lived at the home for the rest of his life. Benjamin Harrison died in the master bedroom of the house on March 13, 1901. While running for president in 1888, Benjamin Harrison issued campaign speeches to listeners on the street outside his home, in what were called "front-porch speeches". The front porch was not built until 1896, three years after he left the presidency.Bodenhamer, David. ''The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis'' (

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Press, 1994) pg.318National Park Service – The Presidents (Benjamin Harrison Home)
After Benjamin Harrison's death, his widow Mary Lord Dimmick Harrison owned the property. In 1939, Mary Lord Harrison sold the house to the Arthur Jordan School of Music (now located at

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

as the Jordan College of Fine Arts), with the proviso that the house would always serve as a memorial to Benjamin Harrison. The Arthur Jordan School renovated the house, turning the second and third floors into a dormitory for the school's female students and converting the first floor into a museum. Until 1974, tours were provided by appointment. The Benjamin Harrison Home became a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1966. That same year, the nonprofit Benjamin Harrison Foundation was incorporated to manage and operate the museum. Regular daily tours began in 1974 after the Arthur Jordan Foundation completed a second renovation completing its conversion into a house museum. The Arthur Jordan Foundation continues to lease the house to the Benjamin Harrison Foundation.President Benjamin Harrison Home, Indianapolis, Indiana
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Structure

The

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

Benjamin Harrison House was built at 1230 Delaware Street from 1874 to 1875, using the plans of architect Herman T. Brandt. The red brick house has sixteen rooms. The bracketed cornices and three-story bay window are indicative of the Italianate architecture style. Interior features include an oak-trimmed walnut staircase, butternut woodwork, and parquet floors. Many renovations took place in 1896, which included electricity and the front porch. File:Benjamin Harrison Home Exterior, Indianapolis, Indiana - Sarah Stierch.jpg File:Benjamin Harrison Home marker.jpg File:Benjamin Harrison House front.jpg File:President Benjamin Harrison Home.jpg File:Harrisonhome.jpg, alt=Home of Benjamin Harrison 1901 File:The lives of Benjamin Harrison and Levi P. Morton (1888) (14780055761).jpg File:Benjamin Harrison Home magazine page - DPLA - f617278112789e6cb225aaa10a04457f (page 1).jpg, alt= File:Home of Benjamin Harrison during funeral - DPLA - 9f6ab2d04e5cc960476ab902c34a3a5f (cropped).jpg

Today

Presently, the house is open for tours throughout the week. Ten of the sixteen rooms are open for visitors, all decorated in the Victorian style typical of Benjamin Harrison's time at the residence. 75% of the 3,700 pieces of memorabilia actually belonged to Benjamin Harrison and his family, and the books in the museum number 2,440. Besides archives regarding Benjamin Harrison, the house also features archives of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

. The front parlor is set to look as it did when Benjamin Harrison brought his new bride to the house. Since the May 2015 mayoral and

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

primary elections, the house has served as an Indianapolis/ Marion County

polling station A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English, British English and Canadian English although a polling place is the building and polling station is the specific ...

, and is one of only two presidential memorials (besides the

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the presidential library and burial site of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States (1981–1989), and his wife Nancy Reagan. Located in Simi Valley, California, the library is administere ...

) to serve this function.Harrison home as polling site sets national example
''The Indiana Lawyer'', Nov. 5, 2019

References

External links

Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site Website"Life Portrait of Benjamin Harrison"
from

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

's '' American Presidents: Life Portraits'', broadcast from the Benjamin Harrison Home, August 20, 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison Home, Benjamin Houses completed in 1875 Historic house museums in Indiana National Historic Landmarks in Indianapolis Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, Benjamin Benjamin Harrison Italianate architecture in Indiana Houses in Indianapolis National Register of Historic Places in Indianapolis Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums

History

Structure

Today

See also

References

External links