Kids Gathered on Emerson Heights Porch in 1946

      On May 13, 1946, three kids stopped playing at 862 North Bosart Avenue and posed for a photographer who might have been a family member or neighbor. Otto D. and Mary Schrum had only recently moved from the Little Flower neighborhood and into the Emerson Heights residence with their six children. Mr. Schrum earned a steady living as railway mail clerk for the U.S. Post Office. 

     Indianapolis is filled with American Foursquare homes like this one. The boxy house could easily fit on narrow urban lots. Several families had already lived in this Bosart Avenue home. An ad in 1936 in the Indianapolis Star for 862 North Bosart Avenue described it as: 

     Attractive home with three large cross ventilated bedrooms, long living room and dining room; bright and cheerful kitchen with cabinets and breakfast room. Full basement, lovely lot. 2-car garage. 

     Part of the Arts and Crafts movement, Foursquares usually had a hipped roof with a dormer or two in the attic. They are also characterized with long front porches, a perfect place to gather on warm spring days like the kids did in the photo below. 

     The Schrum family resided in the house for decades. The Irvington Historical Society obtained the photo from EBay and added it to their photography archive. 

Kids posed on the porch at the Otto and Mary Schrum residence at 862 North Bosart Avenue on May 13, 1946. 

The Indiana Album has more Schrum family photos. To see those images click on the link below:

Schrum Family

Sources:  Obituary for Otto D. Schrum--Indianapolis News, June 21, 1961, p. 24; Obit for Mary Schrum--Indianapolis News, October 24, 1984, p. 50; Ad for sale--Indianapolis Star, May 31, 1936, p. 40: 1950 Federal Census and Polk's Indianapolis City Directories 1925-1989.

Electric Streetcar Serviced Irvington Until 1953

      As workers for the new Blue Line (a bus route) work on infrastructure along Washington Street in 2026, they are likely finding remnants of prior transportation systems including the rail lines for electric streetcars. Their tenure in the city lasted for sixty-two years and ended in 1953 in favor of city buses. For decades east side residents could catch a streetcar as far east as Sheridan Avenue and head downtown. Many people who worked in downtown offices rode cars in the morning and in the evening. Trains were also available on the weekends. As more people purchased automobiles after World War II, fewer people rode the streetcars. 

     In the photo below, an electric streetcar passed in front of the beautiful home located at 6202 East Washington Street in the Irvington Terrace neighborhood. You can also see some of the businesses in the 6100 block. The car went as far as Sheridan Avenue before it turned around and went back to downtown Indianapolis. Several cars came to Irvington throughout the day. 

The Washington Street-Sheridan Avenue Streetcar passed by 6202 East Washington Street in the Irvington Terrace neighborhood most likely in the 1940s when this photo was snapped by the Indianapolis Railways Co. If you look closely on the front of the streetcar you will see an ad for CV (Champaign Velvet) Beer brewed in Terre Haute, Indiana. (Irvington Historical Society)

Sources: Last electric streetcar: "A Streetcar named Expire," Indianapolis News, January 10, 1953, page 11; Charles Johnson Taggart, "Streetcars," Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, Revised March 2021 (online) I wish to thank Don Flick for his research on CV Beer.