Avriel Shull

Who was Avriel Shull?

Avriel Shull was an American architectural designer/builder and interior decorator from Carmel, Hamilton County, Indiana, whose career spanned from the 1950s until her death in 1976. An energetic and imaginative woman, she is best known for her mid-century modern architectural designs, which are especially unusual given the predominantly 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's toniest 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 did designs for 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 in 1948 to launch her own commercial art business. In 1951 she married Richard K. Shull, a well-known Indianapolis journalist who became a syndicated columnist and television critic. The couple had two daughters.