Charles L. Shrewsbury House

Charles L. Shrewsbury House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
The spiral staircase at the Shrewsbury House
Location:	Madison, Indiana
Coordinates:	38°44′5″N 85°22′58″W / 38.73472°N 85.38278°W / 38.73472; -85.38278Coordinates: 38°44′5″N 85°22′58″W / 38.73472°N 85.38278°W / 38.73472; -85.38278
Architect:	Francis Costigan
Architectural style:	Greek Revival
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	94001190[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	April 19, 1994
Designated NHL:	April 19, 1994[2]

The Charles L. Shrewsbury house is located at 301 West First Street in Madison, Indiana. It is a private historic house museum. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.^[3]

History

The Charles Shrewsbury House, also known as the Shrewsbury-Windle House, is the 1848 Greek Revival home of Charles Shrewsbury, a salt-barge riverboat captain, flour manufacturer and pork merchant. Shrewsbury was also the mayor of Madison. The house was designed by Francis Costigan. The Shrewsbury house has twelve rooms, thirteen fireplaces and a fifty-three step spiral staircase. The floor to ceiling windows are thirteen feet tall. A man on horseback could easily step through the enormous front door.

Architectural historians have ranked the house's free-standing spiral staircase as the most impressive part of the interior. Built of pine stairs and cherry railings, the staircase ascends from the middle of the house, supporting its own weight. Aside from allowing access to the second floor, the staircase helps to cool the house: hot air from the first floor can rise through the stairwell and leave the house through the attic windows.^[4]

Francis Costigan, the architect of the Shrewsbury house and the nearby Lanier Mansion, was one of America's outstanding architects of the mid 19th century. He was born in Washington, D.C. about 1810 and worked as a carpenter builder in Baltimore prior to moving west and settling in Madison in 1837. Madison was growing prosperous, and Costigan designed and erected residences and other buildings for its leading citizens. In 1851, Costigan left Madison for Indianapolis. All of his work in Indianapolis has been razed. Other extant examples of Costigan's work in Madison include the Costigan house and St. Michael's Catholic Church.

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 1994-04-19. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ "Shrewsbury, Charles L., House". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2183&ResourceType=Building. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
3. ^ Galvin, John (September 30, 1993). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Charles L. Shrewsbury House". National Park Service. http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/94001190.pdf.  and Accompanying nine photos, exterior and interior, from 1971
4. ^ Windle, John T. and Robert M. Taylor. The Early Architecture of Madison, Indiana. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1986, 84. ISBN 0-87195-004-9.

Further reading

• 99 Historic Homes of Indiana by Marsh Davis and Bill Shaw, copyright 2002 pages 229-231.
• Historic American Buildings Survey in Indiana, edited by Thomas M. Slade, copyright 1983, pages 72,73. ISBN 0-253-32741-5

External links

• Other buildings by Francis Costigan
• Historic Landmarks of Indiana - spiral staircase
• Shrewsbury House