Missions Building--Going to Work 1947

Hundreds of local Irvingtonians have worked at the Missions Building at 222 Downey Avenue since the Disciples of Christ first opened the facility in 1910.  Affiliated with Butler University in the early years, employees served as teachers, ministers, missionaries, and clerical staff.   In this photo, taken in February of 1947, Anna Belle York, left work at the Missions Building to meet her fiance Leland Dickerson.  If you look closely, you can see the former Bona Thompson Library attached to the building at the far left of the photo.  Miss York stepped onto the formerly brick Downey Avenue and appeared to have been surprised by the photographer.  The couple married one year later. The Disciples of Christ pulled out of Irvington in the 1990s and the structure now houses senior citizens thanks to a committed group of neighbors who wanted to save the complex from demolition.

Anna Belle York departs the Missions Building at 222 Downey Avenue in 1947

This photo is courtesy of Leland Dickerson.