The Golf Club House located in Riverside Park was designed by George W. Maher in 1921. The Chicago Architectural Exhibition Catalogue for this year lists the project and states that a rendering was published. I have unfortunately not been able to locate a complete copy of this publication. The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries' copy is missing the page which is noted having Maher's rendering. Riverside Park later became Gleason Park and Golf Course inmemoriam to William P. Gleason, superintendent of the Indiana Steel Corporation, Gary Works. The Club House, which was completed in 1926 in a Tudor Revival style, contained locker rooms, showers, restrooms, a restaurant, and a golf shop. Numerous modifications have been made on both the exterior and interior of the building. Modifications include: the removal of a centrally located roof lantern, the replacement of the original green slate roof with red and gray coloured asphalt shingles, the alteration of the main entry, the removal and successive replacement with cinder block of the main elevation's windows, and a drastic reworking of the interior spaces.

The Bathing Beach Pavilion was completed in the winter of 1921. The structure officially opened the following summer for the 1922 bathing season. George W. Maher and Son specified Hydro-Stone, a form of cast concrete block, for the pavilion. Hydro-Stone, see historic advertisement below, attempted to mimic white Georgian marble; thereby being a cost-effective alternative to natural stone. Cast stone materials had been widely used in building construction since 1868. Gary's first cast stone building was the 1906 Gary State Bank , located on the southwest corner of 5th Avenue and Broadway.

The Bathing Beach Pavilion is a hybrid of modified Greek and Prairie School architecture. This facility represents the first commission in the city by Maher and Son. Garyites would have originally come here to "bathe." The building had two wings: the west for the men's department and the east for the women's. The second level was utilized as a belle plane or promenade: an area to take in the picturesque view of the lake.

The building is currently undergoing rehabilitation for use as a museum to honour Octave Chanute, French aviation pioneer, and the Tuskegee Airmen. The Gary Common Council recently earmarked $1 million for this rehabilitation project. In reference to other Maher rehab projects, this literally maybe the largest dollar amount ever devoted to the work of G. Maher. If you are interested in seeing recent photographs illustrating the commencement of work to modify the structure's beach elevation, please click here. Below is an historic photograph, courtesy of the Calumet Regional Archives, circa 1921, in which I have confirmed the following individuals being photographed: Philip and George W. Maher (project architects, far left and second from far left), along with Ingwald Moe (project contractor, far right), and representatives from the Gary Land Company and the City of Gary.

s

 

 

The Recreation Pavilion is dated as being constructed in 1924 with successive modifications in the early 1930s. This building completes the Marquette Park recreation system. The park system has unfortunately been noted as a design of Jens Jensen. It appears in several guidebooks and in a major volume on the work of Jens Jensen. Specific design elements allude that George W. Maher and Son are highly probable to be responsible for the park's overall layout and final design. Maher & Son are noted as being commissioned for several civic and park designs in the cities of Gary, Glencoe, and Hinsdale, and Kenilworth. Of these projects, only the work in Gary (Gateway Park and Marquette Park) and in Kenilworth were ever truly realized.

George W. Maher & Son designed a pavilion that is a mix of Italian Renaissance Revival and Prairie School design ideologies. The pavilion is low to the ground so that the building does not overpower its natural surroundings of sand hills, forested areas, and a lagoon. Garyites could either go bathing at the Bathing Pavilion or chose to simply take in the dunes, picnic, or launch a canoe in the natural lagoon behind the Recreation Pavilion. In addition, this pavilion was used for special events such as dances and political affairs. In the early 1980s, the Recreation Pavilion had unfortunately undergone extensive interior and exterior renovations. Attempts have recently been made to reverse the alterations on the exterior. The pavilion is currently used for official City of Gary functions or can be rented out for private parties.

George W. Maher & Son were commissioned by the Gary Commercial Club for the creation of a civic entryway and transportation improvement plan. Beforehand the area now known as Gateway Park was a muddy, billboard strip that immediately greeted visitors arriving via Union Station. The Gary Commercial Club knew that this muddy entryway had to be improved into a design that best represented the booming municipality. Maher & Son additionally devised civic and transportation improvement plans for the cities of Glencoe and Hinsdale. The Gateway Improvement Plan was a three million dollar project which created Gateway Park and the sister governmental buildings: City Hall and the Lake County Superior Courts Building. The 1924 rendering, click on the image to the right, is the first in a series of two drawings for this project. The second rendering, dated 1927 by Philip Maher, shows the existing designs that one will find for Gary City Hall and the Lake County Superior Courts Building. Additional information for this project can be found on the Philip Maher page.

Cited in The Yearbook of the Chicago Architectural Exhibition and Catalogue of the 37th Exhibition: no drawing published therein. This drawing was thought to have been lost. In the fall of 1995, I met a former member of the Gary Plan Commission. This former member saved numerous documents from throughout his career as well as items slated to be sent out for disposal. He granted me permission to go through his files and to keep whatever "I found interesting." Acting out of respect for both this former commission member and for the city, I accepted the responsibility to thereby preserve these important documents for posterity. I was amazed to have found a lithograph of the 1924 presentation drawing.

Maher and Son were commissioned in 1923 for the design of a new Elks Temple. The Elks first temple, located at 6th and Washington, quickly outgrew the organization's needs. Of all Maher buildings located within the city, this structure is truly the most Prairie School oriented. The second and third floor windows are punched into the building's envelope. A cresting element originally adorned the building. This element was removed sometime in the late 1940s. Other alterations from this time period include the modification of the ground floor and an addition of half a story. Originally the main lodge entry had a set of boxy wall sconces that were typical of Maher's hand. The first floor was composed of commercial storefronts while the second and third floors housed banquet halls, bars, lodge rooms, and the organization's offices. When the Elks left this structure, it became the H.Gordon and Son Department Store. In the early 1940s, a fire gutted the building destroying all interior elements as designed by Maher and Son. After the H. Gordon and Son Department Store closed for business, the Lake County Welfare Department took up residency in the building. In 1996, the Lake County Welfare Department moved out of the Elks Temple and into the neighboring Sears Roebuck and Co. building. The Elks Temple is currently vacant and up for sale for $350,000.

Previously unknown commission: I authenticated this design in the spring of 1996.

Early in 1926, George W. Maher & Son were commissioned by the Gary Heat, Light, and Water Company to design a warehouse building. Earlier in the winter of 1925, George Maher was released from a Wisconsin hospital after a year long stay. George suffered from depression and had recently experienced a reoccurrence of this condition. The Gary Heat, Light, and Water Company Warehouse is the last set of drawings to hold his name and architectural registration. In the fall of 1926, George W. Maher took his own life. The G.H.L.W. Warehouse reflects design archetypes that can be see in Maher's Watkins Administration Building in Winona, Minnesota and in his Watkins Medical Warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. The use of punched-in windows, accentuated piers, ornamental capitals, and a concrete bracketed flagpole hark en back to various design elements found throughout his career.

Previously unknown commission: I authenticated this design in the spring of 1996.