page_title: Hartford City Courthouse Square Historic District
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Hartford City Courthouse Square Historic District / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: This is one of the decorative objects on the east side of the Weiler Brothers Building in the Hartford City Courthouse Square Historic District, located in Hartford City, Indiana, USA.
context_page_description: The Hartford City Courthouse Square Historic District is located in Hartford City, Indiana. Hartford City has a population of about 7,000 and is the county seat of Blackford County and the site of the county courthouse. The National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior added the Hartford City Courthouse Square Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places on June 21, 2006 — meaning the buildings and objects that contribute to the continuity of the district are worthy of preservation because of their historical and architectural significance. The District has over 60 resources, including over 40 contributing buildings, over 10 non-contributing buildings, 1 contributing object, 8 non-contributing objects, and two other buildings that are listed separately in the National Register.
  Much of the District's significance relates to the discovery of natural gas in the east central region of Indiana. The discovery led to a regional economic boom known as the Indiana Gas Boom. Beginning in the late 1880s and lasting for about 15 years, the Gas Boom changed the economy and the appearance of the region.
context_section_description: Three styles of architecture are well represented in the collection of buildings that are part of the Hartford City Courthouse Square Historic District: Commercial Italianate, Renaissance Revival, and Romanesque Revival. A few examples of the Queen Anne style can also be found.  Grouped together, these styles are called Victorian architecture, and buildings constructed in these styles during the 19th century are more likely to have decorative ornamentation (such as the face-like object from the east side of the Weiler Building shown herein) than buildings constructed later in the 20th century.  Because many of the District's buildings were constructed during the Gas Boom era (between 1885 and 1905), these styles of architecture are more prevalent than the styles that became popular later in the 20th century.    However, additional architecture styles are also represented. An outstanding example of the Art Deco style can be found in the district's Scheidler Theatre, and the Post Office is the single outstanding example of the Neoclassical style.  The commercial building at 210 East Washington Street is the District's sole representative of the Art Moderne style of architecture.
  Romanesque Revival architecture was very popular in Hartford City, and at least 7 of the District's contributing buildings were built using this style.  This style of architecture is known for round arches in many of the openings.  Smooth surfaces, sometimes with belt courses are also typical. A variation of the Romanesque Revival architectural style known as Richardsonian Romanesque was popular in America near the end of the 19th century, when much of the construction around Hartford City's courthouse took place.  The courthouse and Presbyterian Church are outstanding examples of Henry Hobson Richardson's variation in Romanesque Revival style.  (See photos herein.)  A corner tower, arched windows, recessed entrances, steeply pitched roofs, and multiple exterior textures (rustication) are typical of this style of architecture.  The Richardsonian Romanesque buildings differ from the original Romanesque Revival buildings by having rough-textured exterior surfaces instead of all-smooth surfaces.  The Hotel Ingram, Kirshbaum, and Weiler buildings were built in Romanesque Revival style with arched windows and multiple exterior textures, but they were not identified in the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form as Richardsonian (see photos of all three buildings herein.)
caption: A carving on the side of the Weiler Building
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