PRESS RELEASE
24 March 2008
For immediate release

Contact: Greg Sekula, Director, Southern Regional Office, 812-284-4534,
gsekula@historiclandmarks.org <mailto:northcentral@historiclandmarks.org>

Historic Landmarks Foundation to move house in Jeffersonville

Varble House saved by relocation to Chestnut Street

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana will

save the two-story Varble House in downtown Jeffersonville by moving it six

blocks. The Foundation hired Edwards House and Building Movers to move the

house from 301 East Riverside Drive to 125 West Chestnut Street.

The house will travel from Riverside Drive west to Spring Street, north on

Spring Street to Chestnut Street, and west on Chestnut Street to the new

site. The move will start at 7:30 a.m. and is expected to take 4-6 hours.

"Built in 1914 for Dr. W. Marshall Varble, the American Foursquare home has

Arts & Crafts detailing," states Gregory Sekula, Director of Historic

Landmarks' Southern Regional Office. "Moving a structure is always a

last-resort option for Historic Landmarks Foundation. We're fortunate that

we had a suitable site that keeps the house downtown," he adds.

Jeffersonville architect Wayne Estopinal grew up in the house and intends to

build a new residence on the site. He donated the house to Historic

Landmarks so that it might be preserved. The house will be placed next to

the Willey-Allhands House, where Historic Landmarks' Southern Regional

Office is located. The Varble House, on a new crawl space foundation, will

be offered for sale to a preservation-minded buyer who will complete the

rehabilitation. Preservation covenants held by Historic landmarks Foundation

of Indiana will protect the house no matter who owns it in the future.

On the date of the move, temporary power outages and phone and cable service

outages will occur along the route as utility crews remove lines to allow

the house to travel to the new site. On-street parking will be prohibited in

the 100 and 200 blocks of E. Riverside Drive, the 100 and 200 blocks of

Spring Street, and the 100 block of West Chestnut Street from 6:00 a.m.

until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 29. The public parking lot on the north

side of Preservation Station will also be closed Saturday through Monday as

the house is positioned on the new lot.

"The relocation will help fill in the streetscape on Chestnut, and

contribute to the area's revitalization," Sekula notes. "Historic Landmarks

Foundation apologizes for any inconvenience the move-related closures and

outages may cause," offers Sekula. "In fact, we hope some will consider the

move itself historic and worth watching