Indiana Landmarks

Indiana Landmarks

Founded in 1960 by pharmaceutical executive and philanthropist Eli Lilly, Indiana Landmarks emerged from a volunteer-led effort into the nation's largest private statewide preservation entity. The organization operates from its headquarters in the Indiana Landmarks Center in Indianapolis, with additional historic properties under management in Aurora, West Lafayette, New Albany, Bedford, and Beverly Shores. The underlying wealth originates from Lilly's legacy and is sustained through a combination of an endowment fund, membership dues from approximately 6,000 members, and major donor partnerships. Indiana Landmarks deploys capital through a tripartite model: direct grantmaking, low-interest loan programs, and hands-on real estate services including restoration and adaptive reuse. Its portfolio includes the Morris-Butler House in Indianapolis, the Veraestau Historic Site in Aurora, and the Samara (John E. Christian House) in West Lafayette, among others. Major co-investors and philanthropic partners have included Bill and Gayle Cook through the Cook Group, notably for the restoration of the West Baden Springs Hotel. The organization concentrates its activity exclusively within the state of Indiana, funding projects that range from individual residential landmarks to large-scale commercial rehabilitations. Its financial mechanisms are supplemented by partnerships with the Lilly Endowment Inc. and the Central Indiana Community Foundation. J. Marshall Davis serves as president, leading a team that draws from professional networks including the American Institute of Architects. Randall T. Shepard, former Chief Justice of Indiana, chairs the honorary board. The organization maintains additional operational footprints at its owned historic sites, such as the Kunz Hartman House in New Albany and the Krenke-Goff Building in Bedford. The endowment fund provides a permanent capital base, while the 6,000-member network generates recurring revenue and volunteer capacity. The Rapp Family Gallery, housed at the Indianapolis center, serves as a cultural programming asset that reinforces the organization's community engagement mandate. Indiana Landmarks' structural differentiator lies in its dual identity — it operates simultaneously as a grantmaking foundation, a real estate developer, and a membership-based advocacy group. Unlike pure grantmakers that outsource execution, it directly acquires, stewards, and redevelops historic properties across the state. This integrated model, sustained by an endowment and Lilly-related philanthropic capital, creates a preservation pipeline that combines patient institutional funding with project-level real estate execution in a single nonprofit entity.