Elizabeth Mork's home 657 N. 7th has been awarded a Trust plaque as recognition for it's outstanding preservation.
Beginning in 2005, HCNA began laying the groundwork for the redevelopment of Centennial Park. Built on the location of the former school from which the neighborhood was named, the park was showing its age and was under utilized by the area's youth. The City of Lafayette and its Parks Department, had developed a method for local residents to assist in creating a vision for how the community parks should function and appear. This planing process resulted in this Master Plan which was unanimously approved on March 21, 2006 by the Lafayette Park Board of directors. We invite you to observe the redevelopment of our park as it progresses. Click Here
The Historic Centennial Neighborhood lies just north of the commercial district in Lafayette Indiana. The neighborhood includes areas of the original plat of Lafayette from 1825, additional lands platted in 1829 as the Bartholomew and Davis Addition to the city of Lafayette, as well as other smaller plats. The neighborhood encompasses the region from Ferry St north to Union St, and 9th St west to the Wabash river. The neighborhood grew rapidly after the Wabash and Eire canal was built in 1843 along it's western border, and again with the arrival of the railroad, which ran down the center of 5th street.
The Historic Centennial Neighborhood of Lafayette, Indiana takes its name from the Centennial School which was located at Sixth and Brown before being torn down in 1971. The building was completed in 1876, the year of the United States Centennial. Thus, the neighborhood's name is firmly rooted in the history of the area and the nation. If the name of the neighborhood goes back a long way, so do many of the structures which include some of the oldest in the city. Although some of the older homes have been lost over the years, many fine buildings have survived.
In the mid-1800's, the area north of Ferry street developed into a wealthy residential neighborhood inhabited by merchants, railroad executives, lawyers, and doctors. Today, Centennial is a relatively small neighborhood of stately old homes, churches, institutions, and local businesses. A walk along the streets of our historic neighborhood can evoke the visual experience of life in a centralized railroad town of the 1880's.
The Historic Centennial Neighborhood Association is an organization of individuals who are interested in the future of the Centennial Neighborhood Historic District. Membership is open to all: property owner, renter, home-owner, institution, and business. HCNA's mission is to preserve and enhance the quality of life in Lafayette's oldest residential and mixed-use neighborhood, thereby making it a destination place to live and work. In carrying out its mission, HCNA's goal is to increase the portion of owner-occupied housing in the mix of residential units thus revitalizing the neighborhood.
In 1983, the Centennial Neighborhood was designated a National Historic District and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
and contains examples of most of the architectural styles found in the town. As one of Lafayette's oldest neighborhoods, it contains many significant religious and educational institutions as well as homes associated with early prominent citizens.
The area was first developed during the 1830s as Lafayette's boundaries expanded north and east from the Wabash River. In 1843 a period of growth began as the Wabash and Erie Canal was opened along the district's western edge. The resulting commercial growth along its path included mills, warehouses and wharves.
The coming of the town's first railroad in 1853 quickly put an end to the Canal. During the next three decades as Lafayette experienced tremendous physical and economic growth, the Centennial District took on much of its present appearance.