May is National Historic Preservation Month, and the DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology (DHPA) celebrates Indiana’s historic places every year in a variety of ways. DHPA promotes Historic Preservation Month events across the state and will post related items on the DNR Facebook Page during the first week of May to highlight preservation month.
Historic Preservation Month Theme & Poster Design
The 2025 Indiana Historic Preservation Month theme is the Faces of Architecture.
The next time you walk past a historic building, be sure to look up. In some cases, you’ll find someone or something looking back at you. Some of these faces of animals, people, or mythical creatures are carved into stone pediments and keystones. Others extend from the buildings themselves. These features can be found on buildings large and small across Indiana. While some are simply decorative, others are symbolic as they were installed to serve as "building guardians."
You may be familiar with the term gargoyle; however, grotesques are more
common. Gargoyles serve as waterspouts, pushing water away from exterior walls and foundations. They tend to project from the building more than grotesques, which are purely ornamental. Some grotesques also take on unusual, distorted, or comical features, and their designs were meant to ward off evil spirits, serving as guardians that protect the buildings.
Other carvings found on buildings are one-dimensional and some depict well-known historical figures, while others hint at the buildings' original purposes.
A major preservation risk for these features is time. Exposure to the elements slowly works to soften their intricate features and can result in masonry issues such as spalling and crazing. Proper care and maintenance can slow deterioration and ensure that these building protectors are present for years to come.
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