The Zaisers Built a Beautiful Bungalow on Downey Avenue

     Sophia and Lenoir Zaiser had been residents of Indianapolis for decades, but clearly they still loved visiting their childhood home in Cincinnati. Mr. Zaiser owned a stamp and stencil business for many years on South Meridian Street in Indianapolis. After retiring from that line of work, he began to invest in real estate. In the spring of 1916, he took out a building permit to erect a two-story bungalow at 345 South Downey Avenue in Irvington for $2800. He was 65 and she was 61. 

     Several months after moving into their new residence Mrs. Zaiser sent a postcard of her beautiful new home to her cousin, Mary Dickmeier, who lived in the Clifton neighborhood of Cincinnati. She announced that they would be visiting soon. Blurbs in the society pages noted that the Zaisers often visited Cincinnati. In 1918, they stayed with the Dickmeiers for three weeks. 

      Their Irvington home appears to have been an investment as they did not stay long. By 1919, they had sold the property to the McCormick family and moved out of Irvington to 3945 North College Avenue. Some of their children remained in the area and both of the Zaisers died in their son William's home at 6102 East Washington Street in the early 1930s. 

     Someone in the Dickmeier family kept the postcard. Eventually, it ended up on Ebay and thankfully, the photo is now back at home where it will be protected by the Irvington Historical Society. 

Lenoir and Sophia Zaiser built the bungalow located at 345 South Downey Avenue in 1916.

Sophia Zaiser wrote a postcard with the image of their Downey Avenue home on it to a cousin in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1917. 

Lenoir and Sophia Zaiser frequently visited the Dickmeiers who lived in the Clifton neighborhood in Cincinnati. In 1917, Sophia Zaiser sent a postcard to her cousin Mary Dickmeier, who lived in this double at 348 Howell Avenue in Cincinnati. (Google Streetview, 2024)

     I wish to thank Deedee Davis who rescued this wonderful photograph from Ebay. 

Sources:  Polk's Indianapolis City Directories, 1916-1919; Building Permit for 345 South Downey Avenue:  "Building Permits," Indianapolis Star, May 2, 1916, p. 15; Visit to Cincinnati--Indianapolis Star,  October 31, 1918, p. 7; Obituary for Mrs. Zaiser--"Mrs. Sophia G. Zaiser," Indianapolis Star, September 20, 1931, p. 2: Obituary for Mr. Zaiser--"Lenoir Zaiser, Age 82, Is Dead," Indianapolis News, October 31, 1933, p. 7.

Car Crashed into Haag's Drugstore in 1961

Haag's Drugstore operated in the Irvington Plaza at 6401 East Washington Street. Besides serving as a pharmacy for the neighborhood since 1955, it provided a popular soda fountain. In the summer of 1961, a local woman driving a beautiful Ford Fairlane accidentally hit the accelerator when she meant to pump the brakes and crashed through the plate glass window. Thankfully, it was nearly closing time around 9:00PM so most of the employees were not in the front of the building. One of those workers was a very young Bill Ferling, who heard the loud crash and ran out to see what had just occurred. He also had the presence of mind to grab his camera to document the damage. In the top photo you can see the soda fountain and in the bottom image you can see the mess left behind from the crash. Mr. Ferling remembers that his boss Ron Leeds grabbed a baseball bat to guard the store after the car was towed out of the building. The driver did not damage the structural integrity of the store so Haag's Drugstore resumed operations within a day or two. 

In 1961, a woman accidentally crashed into Haag's Drugstore at 6401 East Washington Street. (photo courtesy of Bill Ferling)

Employees at Haag's Drugstore at 6401 East Washington Street had to clean up a big mess after a car crashed into the building in the summer of 1961. (photo courtesy of Bill Ferling)

    I wish to thank Bill Ferling who provided the photos and the information for this post.