Who Lived Here? The Holmes Family of Ritter Avenue

Dr. Frank A. and Zedia Holmes purchased the seven-year-old Dutch Colonial Revival home at 25 North Ritter Avenue in 1917. World War One interrupted the couple's lives as Dr. Holmes became a captain in a dental brigade during that conflict. Mrs. Holmes remained along Ritter Avenue with their daughter Evalyn Virginia Holmes. After the war, Dr. Holmes returned to Irvington where he did not appear to practice dentistry but instead went into the insurance business and also became a U.S. marshal.  He did eventually open a family dentistry business. The couple attended the nearby Irvington Methodist Church and remained in the house until 1956.

In 1926, Dr. Holmes submitted this photograph for a publication titled Fellow Citizens of Indianapolis.  The book was filled with such men and some women who hoped that they might acquire clients or customers. At this juncture in his life, he worked for an insurance company although he later worked as a promoter for the Riverside Amusement Park on West 30th Street.

Toward the end of their lives, the couple moved into a larger and more modern home on the north side of Indianapolis. Dr. Holmes died in 1962 while Mrs. Holmes passed away in 1963.

25 North Ritter Avenue in 2016

Source:  "Dr. Holmes Dies; Retired Dentist," Indianapolis Star, February 4, 1962, 40.