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.