Crossword
Map
page 15
page 18
Vol. 11 No. 22
Including the Cultural Districts and Midtown: Meridian-Kessler, Butler-Tarkington, and Meridian St.
In This
Oct 31 - Nov 13, 2014
ISSUE - Farmers Market Pg. 14 ‑ Brewpub pumpkins Pg. 16 ‑ BRVA meeting Pg. 21
Banner Artist of the issue The Flower House at 1501 Kessler Boulevard East Drive.
photo by Mario Morone
Flower House current day By Mario Morone
mario@broadripplegazette.com
The artist of this banner is Karen Seltzer, a Broad Ripple resident for 7 years. Karen grew up in Illinois, then attended Univ. of Massachusetts in Amherst, receiving her MFA in printmaking. After years of making prints, she returned to oil painting, her first passion. Through her oil paintings, Karen emphasizes color and light and shares her vision of ordinary subjects whether it’s colorful peppers, sunflowers at the Farmer’s Market, or vineyards she saw during trips to Italy. She is inspired by artists whom used color and light as their subject such as Matisse, Monet, Bernard, and Van Gogh. Six years ago, she started painting custom pet portraits and created BEST IN SHOW Pet Portraits. After painting hundreds of custom pet portraits, she has decided to include custom portraits of people to her repertoire. Karen has exhibited her work in 100+ shows throughout New England and the Midwest. She is a member of the AKC Museum of the Dog Artist Registry. Her paintings are displayed at the Monon Coffee Co. in Broad Ripple. See more at www.bestinshowpetportraits.com & www.karenseltzer.com
A horticultural and residential renaissance is in progress at 1501 Kessler Boulevard East Drive. Owner Chip Bondurant discussed the home’s history and current renovations. “I purchased this 1890 farmhouse at auction last September from the Karl Theilig family,” Bondurant explained. “I was struck by its simple beauty and awesome potential. You just don’t find features like wide plank hardwood floors, walnut pocket doors and 10 foot ceilings in contemporary homes. I thought I was getting an intriguing house with a garden,” he said. “Specifically, the home was owned by Karl’s daughter, Helen Theilig Landsem and is well known in this neck of Broad Ripple as “the Flower House.” It sits on two city lots and for years, the Theilig family sold perennials, bedding plants and bouquets on the premises. The garden was included in the book Indianapolis by Howard Caldwell, a longtime WRTV6 news anchor. Karl Theilig purchased the foreclosed property in 1935 and it remained in his family until last year when Bondurant deemed it to be in good shape, just needing a little “freshening up.” Therein lies the beginning of the next chapter of Broad Ripple’s “Flower House.” Every home tells a story, but the tale of 1501 Kessler Boulevard reveals To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Broad Ripple Gazette we are featuring a year of local something of the history of Indianapolis as well as the Theilig family. Bondurant artists by allowing them to interpret our banner, while incorporating the words “The Broad Ripple Gazette”. Contact us at info@broadripplegazette.com to inquire if any open issues purchased family furniture along with the house and was fortunate to be briefed remain. Still looking for cartoonist, tattoo artist, pen and ink, etc. by Mrs. Landsem. Helen related that her dad Karl was one of eight children from a German family living in Flensburg at the very northern tip of Germany during the early 1900s. At the tender age of 11, Karl was orphaned and forced to live on a working farm where he earned a wage. While Karl saw little future on the farm, he did save enough money for passage to America along with many of his countrymen. In 1927 at age 20, he arrived in New York during the ticker tape MOST ACCURATE DIRECTORY parade for Charles Lindbergh, the famous aviator. Sponsored by an Indianapolis Lutheran Church and a German American family living on Bluff Road, Karl MAPS • HISTORIC PHOTOS gained experience as a landscaper until he could start his own gardening business. Thanks to hard work and a saving mentality, Karl managed the purchase of the north side home in 1935 and shortly thereafter, married his sweetheart, Bessie This 1993 photo of the rocket Hills, who was a professional pianist. Bondurant is now the proud owner of a playground at Broad Ripple Park is in the archive section turn of the century King Upright Grand piano courtesy of Bessie Hills Theilig! Bondurant is not new to the restoration process. “It takes a village to make this work,” Chip explains. “I’ve been through the process once before in Richmond, “It has been a thrill to witness the progression of flowers blooming - crocuses, Indiana where my wife and I restored a Queen Anne Victorian home in 1995 and poppies, peonies, loose purple strife and the list goes on and on,” he added. opened the Philip W. Smith Bed & Breakfast on the National Road. It was a Fortunately, Mrs. Landsem tapped her encyclopedic knowledge of horticulture gorgeous home with stained glass windows and intricate woodwork and continues and provided a list of 67 plants and flowers to watch for. “What a show,” says to run as a bed and breakfast to this day.” Bondurant currently works as a tennis Bondurant, who is bound and determined to carry on the Theilig tradition of pro at the Carmel Racquet Club and relies on skilled professionals to address offering aromatic and colorful bouquets to the public. “Step by step” is his the needs of 1501 Kessler Boulevard. Last fall started with heating, cooling and motto. This summer, two high school students began the organizing process by electrical systems and beginning in April of this year, the new owner experienced weeding, grouping flowers and re-establishing the stone paths through the garden the Indiana growing season. “The garden is all new to me,” Bondurant admits.
www.virtualbroadripple.com
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INDEX
See FLOWER pg. 3
1 Banner Karen Seltzer
6 Random Rippling Lucky B 10 Sudoku
14 Where in the Village?
21 Wine Scene Jill A. Ditmire
1 2014 Flower House
7 Pop-Up History Saturday
11 Random Rippling Jock
15 Historic Ad
21 Random Rippling dentist
3 Random Rippling Kiwanis
8 Classified Ads
12 Random Rippling brics
15 Crossword
21 BRVA meeting
3 Calendar
8 Public Notices
13 Random Rippling Brothers 16 Round the Ripple
5 Buzzing Around Town
9 Midtown Holiday Tour
13 Random Rippling Boo
16 Random Rippling pumpkin 23 Right in my Own Backyard
5 BR Brewpub Quiz
9 Random Rippling spa
13 Random Rippling Trunk
17 Directory
14 BR Farmers Market
18 Maps
6 Poetic Thoughts
10 Hidden History
22 Gettin’ Ripped in Ripple 23 Random Rippling Tails