• Date: 1910
• District: Downtown Historic Registry

The Summers Residence, also known as the Waterson Building, is a unique style of residential construction in the Downtown National Register District. One of only six residential structures in this district, it is the only residential building of an urban nature (i.e.: flat roof, close to the street, no yard, etc.) and one of only a few double houses of that time period in South Bend. The house was built in 1910 for Gabriel Rush Summers, owner of the South Bend News Times and formerly a state senator and partner of the Vanderhoof Remedy Company. Built primarily as a winter residence, the house remained in the family until the early 1940s when it was sold and eventually became offices. At that time the interior appointments, which included a Tiffany chandelier, hardwood paneling and floors, and elaborate fireplaces, were stripped. The exterior, on the other hand, retains all of its original features except a wrought iron canopy over the front entrance and window sash. The keystones over the two front windows with their sinuous embossing and decoration are the only examples of exterior Art Nouveau motifs in downtown.

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