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Oldfields
Oldfields, also known as Lilly House and Gardens, is a 26-acre (11 ha) historic estate and house museum at Newfields, the campus of the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The estate, an example of the American country house movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2003.
Oldfields was built between 1909 and 1913 by architect Lewis Ketcham Davis for the family of Hugh McKennan Landon, who occupied the home from 1913 until 1932 when it was sold to Josiah K. Lilly Jr. Lilly, the late Indianapolis businessman, collector, and philanthropist, renovated and expanded the estate throughout the 1930s and 1940s, updating interiors as well as adding a number of new buildings to the grounds.
Now known as Lilly House, the 22-room mansion has undergone historic restoration and is now open to the public. The historic house is currently interpreted to reflect the 1930s era when the Lilly family occupied the residence. The rest of the Oldfields estate, which was given to the Art Association of Indianapolis by Lilly's children in 1967, now makes up a major portion of the Newfields campus. In addition to the home's significance as a representation of the American country house movement, Oldfields' gardens and grounds are a rare example of a preserved estate landscape designed by Percival Gallagher of the Olmsted Brothers firm.
Oldfields was established as part of the Town of Woodstock, a tract of land purchased and developed by Hugh McKennan Landon and Linnaes C. Boyd around 1910 as a suburban neighborhood north of Indianapolis. The area was adjacent to the 555-acre (225 ha) Crown Hill Cemetery and the White River, and included residential lots, a reservoir, and a country club. Landon reserved 26 acres (11 ha), or about half of the land, for the construction of Oldfields, which was completed around 1913.
In 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, Josiah K. Lilly Jr. purchased the estate. In spite of the economic times, Lilly undertook a number of renovation and expansion projects on the property, including an extension to the south for a new library, renovation of the stair hall and front entrance, and the addition of a vestibule that aligned the entrance with the allée at the front of the property.
In the 1950s, Lilly redecorated several rooms in keeping with the tastes of the time. Bookshelves were removed and walls repainted in order to make room for an expanding portrait collection. Additionally, muralist Douglas Riseborough was employed to update the stair hall and the loggia with murals depicting the surrounding grounds and gardens. While most of these renovations were changed in subsequent decades, the mural illustrating views of the allée can still be seen in the loggia.
In 1967, following the deaths of Lilly and his wife, the Lilly children, Ruth Lilly and J.K. Lilly III, gave the estate to the Art Association of Indianapolis to serve as the new art museum. Called the "Lilly Pavilion of Decorative Arts", the house served as an exhibit space at the time that the association changed its name to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1969. In the years that followed, the exhibits focused more on decorative arts and less on the historic aspects of the home and garden. Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, planning began to restore Oldfields to its former condition. In 2002 the historic home reopened to the public, and in 2003 it was designated as a national historic landmark. The property is considered a historic district and includes 10 buildings and 28 other contributing resources.
Oldfields is an exemplary representation of an estate constructed during the Country Place Era, or the American country house movement, which took place from approximately 1885 to 1939. The country house movement was a reaction to the expanding industrialization and urbanization of America following the Civil War. As industrialists and businessmen became wealthier at the turn of the twentieth century, it became increasingly popular to invest in large, country estates located outside of cities. It was a way to return to a simpler life, far from the increasingly crowded, dirty, industrialized city. As more families began to own automobiles it became even more feasible to live in the country while remaining involved in city life.
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Oldfields
Oldfields, also known as Lilly House and Gardens, is a 26-acre (11 ha) historic estate and house museum at Newfields, the campus of the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The estate, an example of the American country house movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2003.
Oldfields was built between 1909 and 1913 by architect Lewis Ketcham Davis for the family of Hugh McKennan Landon, who occupied the home from 1913 until 1932 when it was sold to Josiah K. Lilly Jr. Lilly, the late Indianapolis businessman, collector, and philanthropist, renovated and expanded the estate throughout the 1930s and 1940s, updating interiors as well as adding a number of new buildings to the grounds.
Now known as Lilly House, the 22-room mansion has undergone historic restoration and is now open to the public. The historic house is currently interpreted to reflect the 1930s era when the Lilly family occupied the residence. The rest of the Oldfields estate, which was given to the Art Association of Indianapolis by Lilly's children in 1967, now makes up a major portion of the Newfields campus. In addition to the home's significance as a representation of the American country house movement, Oldfields' gardens and grounds are a rare example of a preserved estate landscape designed by Percival Gallagher of the Olmsted Brothers firm.
Oldfields was established as part of the Town of Woodstock, a tract of land purchased and developed by Hugh McKennan Landon and Linnaes C. Boyd around 1910 as a suburban neighborhood north of Indianapolis. The area was adjacent to the 555-acre (225 ha) Crown Hill Cemetery and the White River, and included residential lots, a reservoir, and a country club. Landon reserved 26 acres (11 ha), or about half of the land, for the construction of Oldfields, which was completed around 1913.
In 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, Josiah K. Lilly Jr. purchased the estate. In spite of the economic times, Lilly undertook a number of renovation and expansion projects on the property, including an extension to the south for a new library, renovation of the stair hall and front entrance, and the addition of a vestibule that aligned the entrance with the allée at the front of the property.
In the 1950s, Lilly redecorated several rooms in keeping with the tastes of the time. Bookshelves were removed and walls repainted in order to make room for an expanding portrait collection. Additionally, muralist Douglas Riseborough was employed to update the stair hall and the loggia with murals depicting the surrounding grounds and gardens. While most of these renovations were changed in subsequent decades, the mural illustrating views of the allée can still be seen in the loggia.
In 1967, following the deaths of Lilly and his wife, the Lilly children, Ruth Lilly and J.K. Lilly III, gave the estate to the Art Association of Indianapolis to serve as the new art museum. Called the "Lilly Pavilion of Decorative Arts", the house served as an exhibit space at the time that the association changed its name to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1969. In the years that followed, the exhibits focused more on decorative arts and less on the historic aspects of the home and garden. Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, planning began to restore Oldfields to its former condition. In 2002 the historic home reopened to the public, and in 2003 it was designated as a national historic landmark. The property is considered a historic district and includes 10 buildings and 28 other contributing resources.
Oldfields is an exemplary representation of an estate constructed during the Country Place Era, or the American country house movement, which took place from approximately 1885 to 1939. The country house movement was a reaction to the expanding industrialization and urbanization of America following the Civil War. As industrialists and businessmen became wealthier at the turn of the twentieth century, it became increasingly popular to invest in large, country estates located outside of cities. It was a way to return to a simpler life, far from the increasingly crowded, dirty, industrialized city. As more families began to own automobiles it became even more feasible to live in the country while remaining involved in city life.
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