Storytelling Indiana of Indiana and Indiana Landmarks Will Celebrate The Shrewsbury-Windle House

Storytelling Indiana of Indiana and Indiana Landmarks celebrate a physical gem of the southeastern region of the state, The Shrewsbury-Windle House, in Madison, Indiana. As the 2019 winner of the Cook Cup for Outstanding Restoration, its rich history goes beyond bricks and mortar. Thanks to a generous grant from arts patrons and philanthropists Frank and Katrina Basile, a Hoosier storyteller was commissioned to shape the story of the people behind its renaissance in the latest installment of the "If These Walls Could Tell" series. Lou Ann Homan will be telling "Through the Eyes of Mary with a Postscript by Ann Windle" on Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks.

Upon its completion in 1849, Charles Shrewsbury's Greek Revival-style home in Madison defined antebellum elegance, with high-ceilinged rooms, decorative columns, and floor-to-ceiling windows framing views of the Ohio River. Architect Francis Costigan displayed his genius in the Shrewsbury home's crowning feature: a freestanding spiral staircase ascending from the front foyer up through the entire height of the house. It was a showplace built for entertaining.

In the 1940s, Chicago residents John and Ann Windle became acquainted with the charming river town while visiting a relative who worked at nearby Hanover College. But it wasn't until a real estate agent introduced them to the Shrewsbury House in 1948 that they decided to leave Chicago, buy the house and begin restoring it as their home and antiques business. Over the ensuing decades, the Windles became a driving force for historic preservation, founding Historic Madison in 1960 and convincing locals and visitors to recognize the city's architecture as its key economic asset.

In envisioning a new future for the Shrewsbury-Windle Home more than 150 years later, Historic Madison, Inc. is restoring the home to its gathering-place roots by turning it into an events venue. The group's four-year transformation of the National Historic Landmark earned Indiana Landmarks' 2019 Cook Cup for Outstanding Restoration.

WHAT:

"Through the Eyes of Mary with a Postscript by Ann Windle" told by Lou Ann Homan

WHEN:

Sunday, February 16, 2020, 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Reception with complimentary light refreshments to follow

WHERE:

Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Ave, Indianapolis

COST:

$15 in advance, $20 at the door
Tickets can be purchased online at storytellingarts.org or by calling 317-232-1882

Indiana Landmarks and Storytelling Arts of Indiana, with generous support from Frank and Katrina Basile, developed the "If These Walls Could Tell" series in 2011 to honor the winners of the Indiana Landmarks' Cook Cup Award for Outstanding Restoration. The original stories, inspired by historical Indiana buildings, are about the people who have built, lived, worked, gathered and restored these vintages place.

About Lou Ann Homan

Lou Ann Homan is a storyteller, theater coach, actress, and writer who lives in Angola, Indiana, where she teaches at Trine University and writes a weekly newspaper column. She travels the state telling stories for all ages. Homan is a two-time recipient of the Frank Basile Emerging Stories Fellowship and a regular storyteller at Ghost Stories at Crown Hill Cemetery. She performed the one-woman show "Mary and Her Monsters" about famed author Mary Shelley at IndyFringe Festival 2018.

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