Panoramic Photographs Show Many "Lost" Irvington Structures

      Throughout 1937 and 1938, a photographer from the Bass Photo Company documented the construction of the new International Harvester factory buildings along Brookville Road in southern Irvington. Inadvertently, he captured many structures no longer standing. Houses, a tavern, filling stations, and even Butler University appear on the margins of the photos. The Indiana Historical Society has uploaded 31 panoramic views of the construction of the complex. I have provided a link below to one of these images so that you can conduct your own investigations. 

Lost Houses:  The Shimer Farmstead

     The Shimer family predates Irvington. They had owned land along Brookville Road since 1829. In 1873 they built a beautiful Italianate home near what is today the intersection of Brookville Road and South Audubon Road. International Harvester officials purchased their land in 1937 and eventually demolished all of the structures on the former farm. 

Corydon and Hettie Shimer sold their farm to the International Harvester Company in 1937. Both of them lived long enough to witness the demolition of their beautiful home located on Brookville Road near South Audubon Road. (courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

Builders began clearing the Shimer land in 1937. The Shimer home on Brookville Road near Audubon Road had just a little while longer to stand. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

A Bass Photo Company employee stood atop a ladder or on a rooftop and captured one of the last photos of the Shimer home located on Brookville Road near South Audubon Road in 1938. The home had been completely surrounded by the new International Harvester factory. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

The 1927 Baist Map of Indianapolis shows the Shimer farm located on Brookville Road near South Audubon Road. (IU-Indianapolis Digital Collections)

Lost Houses: 5400 Block of Brookville Road

     For several years, Herman (Harry) and Louise Grabhorn lived next to the Shimer farm at 5451 Brookville Road. Mr. Grabhorn ran a music printing business next to his house. Their lives changed when the bulldozers and earthmoving crews arrived to build the International Harvester factory next door. Factory officials would eventually buy the Grabhorn residence along with several other homes and demolish the structures as the factory grew. 

Herman (Harry) and Louise Grabhorn along with their children lived in the pretty house at 5451 Brookville Road seen in this photograph. They witnessed the rise of the International Harvester factory from their dining room windows in 1937 and 1938. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

Herman (Harry) Grabhorn was a printer and advertised on this building (demolished) behind his home at 5451 Brookville Road. Ghosts of workers can be seen in the foreground. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

The Grabhorn home at 5451 Brookville Road along with several others were demolished. They used to exist on the south side of Brookville Road just east of South Irvington Avenue. (Google)

Lost Houses: South Ritter Avenue

     There used to be several homes in the 400 and 500 block of South Ritter Avenue. It was a diverse area of the neighborhood and home to a small black population. At one time, the pioneering black suffragist, Carrie Whalon lived in the 400 block of South Ritter Avenue. By the 1930s when these photos were snapped, the street housed a mixture of black and white families. 

After Henry Cress, who resided on the west side of Ritter Avenue just south of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, died in 1901, his widow Mary sold off eight lots in the Chambers and Tomlinson Addition in the 400 and 500 block of South Ritter Avenue. The houses above were located just north of Brookville Road on the west side of South Ritter Avenue. Heavy equipment and trucks were parked along the nearby streets on March 18, 1938, for the construction of International Harvester on Brookville Road. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

George W. and Willa Molden resided at 471 South Ritter Avenue in 1938 when this photo was snapped. That home was demolished for a series of commercial buildings. Mr. Molden worked for the city sanitation department. You can also see the filling station at 5506 Brookville Road also later demolished. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

Lost: A Tavern and a Filling Station on Brookville Road

     Although the construction sign for International Harvester blocks our view, you can still see the brick filling station at 5498 Brookville Road. (demolished). Maurice Kitterman operated the station. Joseph H. Meese managed a tavern in the larger white building at 5478 Brookville Road in 1938. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

5478 and 5498 Brookville Road (both demolished) as they looked on March 18, 1938. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society.)

Lost: Butler University

     When the Bass Photo Company photographer snapped a long panoramic view of International Harvester on March 4, 1938, the employee had no idea that he was also documenting the last weeks of Butler University's Irvington campus. Opened in 1875, Butler University students attended classes in some of these buildings until 1928. For ten years, the structures sat vacant and fell to vandalism. Two weeks after this image was snapped, Butler officials razed the old campus for future redevelopment. 

Abandoned Butler University buildings and the power station tower loomed ghostly through the trees in a panoramic view of the construction of International Harvester on March 18, 1938. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

Lost: International Harvester/Navistar

     The opening of International Harvester in 1938 changed the trajectory of Irvington. With the Great Depression in full swing, the factory offered relief for hundreds of people who found work during the difficult era. Employees, both labor and management, moved into the neighborhood and kept it a vital place. Many of their descendants still live on the eastside of Indianapolis today. No panoramic photographer showed up in 2018 to document the demolition of the factory. The site is now a major distribution hub for the U.S. Post Office. 

The Indiana Historical Society has 31 different views of the construction of the International Harvester. To see those images, click on the link below. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

International Harvester Plant Construction

     I wish to thank Kent Hankins and Anne Hardwick for their assistance with this story.

Sources:  Navistar International Indianapolis Plant, Indianapolis, 1987; Polk's Indianapolis City Directories, 1901-1940; US Federal Census Records, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940; Baist Fire Insurance Maps, IU-Indianapolis Digital Collections; Walter F. Morse, "Old Butler Campus Fading; Administration Building Razed, Indianapolis Star, March 26, 1939, p. 10; Cress sale--"Sales of Real Estate," Indianapolis Journal, December 13, 1902, p. 8. 

Beautiful Irvington School Burned in 1898

      In the wee hours of the morning sometime around 3:30AM on December 16, 1898, the "Owl" train pulled into Irvington. Al Atkinson and another employee on the train noticed a glare in the distance and realized that the Irvington School was completely engulfed in flames. He tried to warn local officials about the fire. Some nearby residents like Robert E. Moore and the Earl family also saw and possibly heard the inferno. A few citizens tried to go into the building to rescue some of the books, but the heat and smoke kept them out. Because the town of Irvington had no proper fire protection, the small crowd had to helplessly watch the destruction of their beautiful school. 

     Built in 1874 in the Second Empire style, the school stood across the street from the Irving Circle Park on the southeast quadrant of University Avenue and South Audubon Road. As the population grew, the school board commissioned an addition to the original structure in 1896. Mary E. Plummer was the first principal of the school. The total cost of the building came in at around $20,000, but unfortunately town officials did not take out enough insurance for such a calamity. 

     A reporter for the Indianapolis News described that the light from the flames that night reflected onto the snowy ground. Eerie photos likely taken from the Earl home at 5631 University Avenue showed the various stages of the fire. The addition completed in 1896 tumbled into the ground while some of the walls of the original structure remained intact. If you look closely at two of the photos you will see the silhouettes of a small crowd. Everything was lost in the blaze including artwork and the school's library. Even some of the nearby trees were singed. Daniel Lesley, the president of the board of education, pledged that children would be back at school in some capacity by January. For the remainder of the new winter and spring term, classes met in various churches, lodges, and businesses throughout the community until a new school could be built. 

     The blaze had been the largest in the history of the town. This fire and others led many citizens to call for Irvington to be annexed by the city of Indianapolis which took place in 1902. Shockingly, the new school built just south of the current building burned in 1903 leading officials to rebuild yet again except at the new location at the intersection of East Washington Street and Ritter Avenue. That school would later be known as the George Washington Julian School, I.P.S. #57. 

The Irvington Public School (1874-1898) was possibly designed by Isaac Taylor with Joel Stover as the contractor. The school sat in a grove of trees across the street from the Irving Circle Park. This photo was likely snapped c1890. (Carrie Tompkins Scrapbook, Irvington Historical Society)

Students from the Irvington Public School gathered for this photograph on April 23, 1891. (Carrie Tompkins Scrapbook, Irvington Historical Society)

The Irvington Public School sat on the southeast quadrant of University Avenue  (then Grand Avenue) and South Audubon Road (then Central Avenue). After the fire it was removed for another school on the site which also burned in 1903. Later the section was developed into several lots for homes. (Map of Irvington, 1889)

Fire Photos

The fire in the Irvington Public School began in the early morning hours of December 16, 1898. The janitor in charge informed the school board that he had turned down the furnace before he left that day. Members of the Earl family likely took this photo from their home across the street just as the flames started to consume the structure. (Carrie Tompkins Scrapbook, Irvington Historical Society)

The second photo, likely taken from 5631 University Avenue on December 16, 1898, shows that the fire had now consumed the rear addition to the building (at the right). If you look closely, you can see silhouetted individuals in the foreground.  (Carrie Tompkins Scrapbook, Irvington Historical Society)

Adults on the left huddled together and children on the right, watched--most likely in horror and fascination as fire consumed the entire Irvington Public School on December 16, 1898. Irvington had no proper fire protection at the time. (Carrie Tompkins Scrapbook, Irvington Historical Society)

Indianapolis News, December 16, 1898, p. 8

Site of former Irvington School at University Avenue and South Audubon Road on December 13, 2025

Sources:  Lola Blount Conner, "Irvington's Children of the Early 70's Got First Glimpse of McGuffey Readers at Old Mt. Zion District School," Indianapolis Star, November 26, 1933, p. 49; B.R. Sulgrove, History of Indianapolis and Marion County, (Philadelphia, 1884), p.622; Construction--"Personal," May 9, 1873, p.3; Paul Diebold, Greater Irvington II, (Indianapolis, 2020), pp. 163-164; Fire--"Large Fire," Indianapolis News, December 16, 1898, p. 8. 

Ellenberger Ice Skating Rink Opened in 1961

      On November 19, 1961, excited eastside residents laced up their skates and hopped onto the very first outdoor public skating rink in Indianapolis. Built by the Charles R. Beltz Co. for $91,000, the rink remained uncovered until the late 1980s and closed in 2009. Although there is no longer ice, the building is still used today for inline hockey, lacrosse, and other groups. 

     In 1961, children paid an entrance fee of 25 cents while folks older than 17 had to fork out 50 cents. Skaters could use the warming house or shop at the concession stand. The park rented skates for 50 cents. Those who needed their skates sharpened could pay one dollar. Park officials warned that temperatures had to be in the low 50s for their chilling machine to work. 

     In the winter of 1964, Mary Dillon (later Sangsland), who lived at 5821 Julian Avenue and her friend, Cornelia Preuss, made their way north to Ellenberger Park. A member of the Dillon family snapped a few photos of the girls as they enjoyed their time on the rink. It was a sunny day although snow could be seen on the ground. It looks like it was a great afternoon to be outside and enjoying the park. The Irvington Historical Society possesses very few images of the skating rink so let us know if you have any that you could share! 

Mary Dillon (clad with a scarf) and her friend Cornelia Preuss posed for a photograph at the Ellenberger Ice Skating Rink in the winter of 1964. (photo courtesy of Mary Sangsland)

Skaters enjoyed the Ellenberger Ice Skating Rink in the winter of 1964. (photo courtesy of Mary Sangsland) 

     I wish to thank Mary Sangsland for the use of her photographs and for her stories of growing up on Julian Avenue. 

Sources:  Steven Barnett, "On Thin Ice," Weekly View, December 22, 2016, p. 1; "Ellenberger Rink To  Open," Indianapolis News, November 16, 1961, p. 30; "Public Ice Skating Rink to Open Thanksgiving Day," Indianapolis Star, November 21, 1962, p. 29; "Ellenberger Ice Skating Rink an Indoor Facility After Major Facelift Last Year," Indianapolis Star, February 3, 1989, p. D-7; Jason Thomas, "Eastside Skaters Urged To Go South," Indianapolis Star, August 9, 2009, p. T-3.