Avriel Shull

Avriel Shull
Born
Avriel Joy Christie

February 9, 1931[1]
Hamilton County, Indiana, U.S.
DiedMarch 6, 1976(1976-03-06) (aged 45)
Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana, U.S.
Resting placeCrown Hill Cemetery, NICH 47-D[2]
Occupation(s)Architectural designer/builder and interior decorator
Years active1950s–1976
SpouseRichard K. Shull
Children2

Avriel Shull (born Avriel Joy Christie; February 9, 1931 – March 6, 1976)[3] was an American architectural designer/builder and interior decorator whose career spanned from the 1950s until her death in 1976. She is best known for her mid-century modern architectural designs, which contradicted the traditional tastes of mid-century Indiana. Most of Shull's projects were single-family homes around Hamilton and Marion counties in central Indiana, most notably the homes in Christie's Thornhurst Addition in Carmel, Indiana. Shull also designed a number of custom homes in Indianapolis' suburbs, in other Indiana towns, and in other states. In the 1970s Shull began selling house plans in do-it-yourself home building periodicals, which were sold in the United States and Canada. Shull also designed apartment buildings and commercial/industrial properties. Her first major project outside of Indiana was a public library in Elkins, West Virginia. She also designed restaurants, including one in California and one in Carmel, Indiana.

Born Avriel Joy Christie in Hamilton County, Indiana, she graduated from Carmel High School and attended Butler University and the John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana. She left school before completing her degree in 1948 to launch her own commercial art business. In 1951 she married Richard K. Shull, an Indianapolis journalist who became a syndicated columnist and television critic. The couple had two daughters.

Shull is known for designing various homes in the Thornhurst Addition in Carmel, Indiana.[4]

Shull died in 1976 of complications from diabetes. Christie's Thornhurst Addition was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 for its mid-century modern architecture and as the work of a master builder.[5] Ladywood Estates was subsequently added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. [6] The Avriel Shull architectural collection is housed at the Indiana Historical Society. Shull was a member of the National Association of Home Builders and the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.

  1. ^ "Social Security Death Index". Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Library Edition (library subscription needed). 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  2. ^ "Forgotten graves of notable Indianapolis people". Indianapolis, IN: IndyStar. 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  3. ^ There is a discrepancy in her birth year. Newspaper obituaries list the year as 1933; however, other official documents identify her birth year as 1931. See Zeigler, Connie (Fall 2012). "'Living Furiously': The Design Life of Avriel Shull". Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History. 24 (4). Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society: 47, 54 and 55.
  4. ^ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved April 1, 2016. Note: This includes Connie J. Ziegler (December 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Thornhurst Addition" (PDF). Retrieved April 1, 2016. and Accompanying photographs.
  5. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  6. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.