Valparaiso.

• Author: RICHARDS, RICK A.
• Position: Brief Article

Valparaiso's profile has climbed steadily in the last couple of years. Of course, it didn't hurt that Valparaiso University's Crusaders went to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Division I college basketball tournament in 1998.

With its landmark Chapel of the Resurrection bell tower in the heart of the Lutheran campus, the university has been an important part of Valparaiso for more than a century.

But just as important is Valparaiso's downtown. While many Hoosier cities have lost their downtowns because of suburban development, Valparaiso's city center has held its own.

Even a devastating fire a few years ago that left a gaping hole on the courthouse square, where Lowenstine's Department Store used to be, didn't kill downtown.

With more than 30,000 people, Valparaiso is the county seat of Porter County. Just north of the city is the Indiana Dunes State Park and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. South, flat farmland spreads out until it reaches the marshes of the Kankakee River.

It's an attractive and unusual setting, says Bill Oeding, president of the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce. "Valparaiso is a vibrant city. It's safe to walk the street and it's a comfortable place to live. Oeding and his wife live near downtown and walk there every day. Just off the downtown are several blocks of historic homes, most of which have been restored.

Away from downtown, the city has worked hard to develop industrial parks and professional centers. In spite of the announced closing of the Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn plant, the city rebounded within days, saying it would replace those 250 jobs with 274 jobs when Pratt Industries opens this spring.

Certainly it was a psychological blow when the Redenbacher announcement was made. After all, Orville Redenbacher's roots are in Valparaiso and it's because of him that the city hosts one of Indiana's largest festivals each fall, the Popcorn Fest.

But one thing that makes Valparaiso special, says Oeding, is how it pulls together in a time of crisis. Oeding recalls the night the Lowenstine's building burned. It was a landmark department store. It had everything--on a smaller scale, of course--that one could find at Marshall Field's in Chicago. People came from everywhere to shop in downtown Valparaiso. "It was devastating to see that building burn," Oeding recalls.

Enter Spiro Valavanis, a partner with Design Organization in Valparaiso. The firm designed the new 57 Franklin Building, which when it opens will look...