Howe High School Prom--1965

How could you not love this photo?  Sue Amick and Ward Poulos prepare to depart for the Howe High School prom in the spring of 1965.   Pulling up in a Ford Thunderbird, the young Mr. Poulos certainly planned to impress his beautiful date.  As they sat in the driveway of the Amick home at 315 North Kitley Avenue, Mr. Bob Amick snapped this wonderful color photo.  The Amicks ran a well-known dry goods store on East New York Street.   This image is from the Amick Family Collection and is courtesy of Sue Poulos.

Johnson Villa--Lost Irvington

Many of the early homes in Irvington are no longer standing.  They stood close to commercial businesses, were cut into apartments, and in some cases cleared for parking lots. The Johnson Home, sadly, is one of those dwellings long gone from the Irvington landscape.   Sylvester and Rachel Johnson were two of the first residents of the neighborhood.  They left their comfortable life in Dublin in Wayne County, Indiana to be a part of an exciting new dream--a suburban neighborhood.  Mr. Johnson partnered with Jacob Julian (another Wayne County resident) to buy the Sandusky farm in Warren Township.  Both men had been to Glendale, a suburb of Cincinnati, and decided to model Irvington after that beautiful place with its meandering streets and tall homes.

Built in the Italianate style, Sylvester and Rachel saw their dream home at 62 South Audubon Road come to fruition by 1872.  Jacob Julian built a matching villa across the street. (also demolished...see link below)  The Johnsons, both in their late 40s, brought their four adult children, Francenia, Eudorus, Martha, and Oliver, along with them. Eudoris would later build the "Castle House" at 5631 University Avenue in 1876.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were strict prohibitionist and they advocated for Irvington to be an alcohol-free neighborhood.  No saloon or bar would be welcome in the new enclave.  The Johnsons were Quakers as were other early founders of the upper-middle class utopia.  Mr. Johnson was an active horticulturalist and he founded the Indiana Horticultural Society.  His expansive lawn was filled with beautiful trees and flower specimens.  He became a renown expert on grapes and grew 185 species on his property.  He even judged grapes at the Chicago and St. Louis World Fairs in 1893 and 1904.  Butler University students frequently walked by his property and noted that Mr. Johnson was nearly always outside working in his yard even as he neared 90 years of age.  Sadness struck the Johnsons over the years as two of their children died at a young age and Rachel Johnson died in 1899.  Two years later, Mr. Johnson married Eunice Brown Gilkey at the age of 79.  She was 63!

In this historic photograph, likely taken around 1912, two children gather on a winter's day on the family estate.  One child is black and the other is white.  We do not know the names of the children.  Note the expansive lawn and the beautiful home.  The second image reveals the original plat of Irvington by Sylvester Johnson and Jacob Julian.  The Johnson home was located along Central (Audubon) and was situated on lot 52.  The Jacob Julian home was across the street on lot 39.  The George Washington Julian Home (still standing) can be seen on lots 60 and 61.

The historic image of the Johnson Home is courtesy of Larry Muncie.

New Life for Historic Apartment Building

The historic Butler Apartments (also known as Butler Place) will be renovated by Reverie Estates.  The company has saved and restored several apartment buildings throughout the city of Indianapolis including three in Irvington.  This is exciting news for a corner that has seen better days in the neighborhood.

Located on the northeast corner of East Washington Street and Butler Avenue, the four story brick structure opened on October 4, 1927.  (5230 East Washington St.) With three wings, and forty-nine apartments, the site offered many amenities for the discreet 1920s-era renter.  Some of the features boasted in an Indianapolis Star promotional included the use of Staub Cinder Block to help deaden the sound in between each unit.  New residents walked upon cork tile floors both in their apartment and on the stair treads.  Each kitchen came equipped with built-in cabinets, a Chambers Fireless Gas Range (from Shelbyville, Indiana), and a Kelvinator for refrigeration.   Each unit came equipped with a Murphy "In a Door" bed from the Vonnegut Hardware Store.

The Butler Apartments (5230 East Washington Street) opened on October 4, 1927. Note the original mansard roofline.  

Mr. J. O. McFarland served as the interior designer and he selected wall paper from the Bethard Wall Paper Company at 415-419 Massachusetts Avenue, and he added window shades made of Brenlin cloth from the Montgomery Tent and Awning Company at 2404 East Washington Street.  All mailboxes, hardware, and Schlage Button Locks came from the Pierson-Lewis Hardware Store at 111 East Vermont Street.

Theodore B. Brydon, the builder and designer of the Butler Apartments, also built three other large buildings nearby called the Washington and Audubon, the Arlington, and the Gladstone.  Mr. Brydon used lumber from the Brannum-Keene Lumber Company at 3506 East Washington Street and faced the building with brick from the Irvington Coal and Lime Company at 5543 Bonna Avenue and the Hy-tex Brick Company at East 32nd Street.  The sheet metal contract for the roof was awarded to Elmer R. Mullin, an Irvington businessman who operated his company at 5517 Bonna Avenue.  (see link below) Another Irvington business, the Indianapolis Service Electric Company at 5519 East Washington Street, installed all of wiring and lighting.

The first residents certainly enjoyed the modern structure.  The only common area in which to gather was in the basement.  Mr. Brydon included a large social room, a billiard room, a card room, a children's play room, a laundry room, and many lockers in this part of the building.  The first to lease an apartment paid anywhere from $55 to $70 a month depending upon the size of the unit.  With their rent, the company covered all gas, water, electric, and janitorial fees.

Every apartment at the Butler housed a Chambers Stove like this one.  

Very modern:  Each apartment at the Butler contained a Kelvinator for refrigeration.  

Within two years of the construction of this large building, the neighborhood took an economic hit with the departure of Butler University and the onslaught of the Great Depression.  The management weathered those years and the site became an important place for returning veterans from World War II, who were desperate for housing.  By 2013, the apartment building had seen better days.  Thankfully, the building will be completely restored so stay tuned as another Phoenix rises in Irvington.

Historic Home Destroyed

A troubled property that had been vacant for a few months has burned and will likely be demolished.  The Arts and Crafts-era home stood on the northeast corner of East New York Street and DeQuincy Avenue. (c1908)  WRTV is reporting that firemen were injured trying to put out the flames which started twice within twelve hours.  More information will be posted as it becomes available.  

Photos courtesy of WRTV.com and Indystar.com

Shimer Brothers Reunited in 1914

The Shimer family predates Irvington.  Elias and Mahala Dunn Shimer purchased 240 acres of farmland along the Brookville Road in 1829.  They eventually built a beautiful Italianate dwelling near the intersection of South Audubon Road and Brookville Road. (destroyed for a factory)  Their youngest son, Corydon, inherited the land and he farmed there well into the twentieth century.

On September 5, 1914, four Shimer brothers gathered at the home of William Shimer, who lived near the  original family farm at 4905 Brookville Road.  The Indianapolis Star reported that it was the first time all of the brothers and their families had gathered in one place for sixty years.  They were quite elderly by this point as Caleb, who lived near Fortville, was 91; William, who hosted the event, was 88; Isaac, who traveled from Decatur, Illinois, was 85; and Corydon, who lived on the family farm was a "mere youth" at 76.

Caleb, William, Isaac, Corydon Shimer at Caleb's farm in the Fortville/Mohawk area in Hancock County, Indiana (c1914)

Corydon, Isaac, William, and Caleb Shimer visiting at Wm's home at 4905 Brookville Road. (c1914)

Elias Shimer, the family patriarch, purchased many acres of land along the Brookville Road south of present-day Irvington in the early nineteenth century.  

Mahala Dunn Shimer, wife of Elias, managed the family in the large brick Italianate home in the 5500 block of Brookville Road.  She lived to see the founding and subsequent construction of Irvington, north of her home.  

Two of our regular contributors at Vintage Irvington, David Bailey and Larry Muncie, are both related to this pioneering Warren Township family.  The historic photos of the brothers are courtesy of David Bailey, while the photos of the elder Shimers are courtesy of Mr. Geiser from Ancestry.com.

Other sources:  Indianapolis Star, September 6, 1914, 24; and January 4, 1915, 3.
Willa Mildred Sammis Bailey Smith, From Elias Shimer to Willa Sammis (Unpublished memoir of Ms. Smith), 1974

Irvington Landmark: Hilton's Tree

He has been gone for 95 years, but the beautiful oak tree commemorating the life of Hilton U. Brown, Jr. towers above the intersection of East Washington Street and Emerson Avenue.  Young Hilton was the son of prominent newspaper publisher, Hilton U. Brown and Jennie Hannah Brown.  He grew up in the family mansion at the southwest corner of East Washington Street and Emerson Avenue.  A budding writer and poet, the young man attended Butler University where his father served on the Board of Trustees. When the United States entered World War One, Hilton served his country first in Mexico and then in France.  Tragically, on November 3, 1918, he was killed in the Argonne, the final battle of the Great War and just eight days before the Armistice.

Hilton U. Brown, Jr in 1917 during his junior year at Butler University

Butler students preparing for World War One in 1918

His devastated family and friends decided that a fitting memorial must be erected.  Hilton U. Brown, Sr.  first tried to raise money for a giant memorial to all World War One veterans in Ellenberger Park.  The two-story structure was to have an auditorium, gymnasium, and game rooms.  Due to the expense, the memorial was never built. Instead, the family donated a plot of land across the street from their home and planted an oak tree in memory of their "sweet son."  In his memoirs, Mr. Brown described young Hilton as a sunny person, who loved life.

A memorial never built in Ellenberger Park--1919

Towering oak tree commemorating the life of WWI veteran, Hilton U. Brown, Jr. in 2013

Brown's Corner Park is one of the smallest parks in Indianapolis.  It is located on the northwest corner of East Washington Street and North Emerson Avenue.  

Tablet and rock honoring Hilton U. Brown, Jr.  He was killed in the final battle of WWI.

Today, the tree and small area of green space are the only interesting features left from the days of the Brown family.  Their manse was destroyed in the mid-twentieth century for a gas station as were homes on three other corners rendering the intersection unsightly and rather ugly by 2013.  A rock and tablet with Hilton's verse is shaded by the towering oak planted by his grieving family all those many decades ago.

The Story of a Brick Bungalow

Irvington resident, Paula Schmidt has done it again.  With her second post for Vintage Irvington, Ms. Schmidt explores the history of her own home at 50 South Butler Avenue. She also offers tips for how to research the story of your own home.  Thank you, Paula Schmidt for this wonderful post and the illustrative photos.  

The Story of an Brick Bungalow

By Paula Schmidt 

Old houses show traces of the people who built them and of those who called them home.    

In 1917, Mr. William Schnorr moved from Detroit and lived with his family in a house at 5818 Oak Avenue, awaiting the completion of a new house at 50 South Butler Avenue.  This new home, based on a notice in the May 25, 1920 issue of the Indianapolis Commercial, cost $7,000.  Mr. Schnorr built a sturdy brick Prairie-style bungalow with a two-car brick garage. Based on the description in Paul Diebold's book, Greater Irvington, it was possibly customized from a Sear's style called the Avalon. It also resembles the Plaza, a model found in the Aladdin catalog.  

Mr. Schnorr was a specialty glass manufacturer who moved his business, the Detroit Medical Glass Works, to Indianapolis at the invitation of Mr. Eli Lilly. His business was described in an article in a July 1925 publication by the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. (see link below)

In 1925, Mr. William Schnorr's two young sons, Ray and William Jr. posed in their dress suits in front of the house with their backs toward Washington Street.  The Schnorr family moved to West Hampton Drive (northwest Indianapolis) the next year.

Ray and William Schnorr standing in front of 50 South Butler Avenue in 1925.

Standing in front of 50 South Butler Avenue in 2013 (looking north)

The house and Irvington remained fond memories for Ray.  In 2005, a gentleman knocked at our door and said that his father "had grown up in this house.  Would we mind if they looked around?"  Wow…it was Ray Schnorr and his son, Ray Jr. I am so glad that I was home, because I was able to invite them in and the house was as he remembered.  One surprising bit of history was that Mr. Schnorr recalled a fire in the dining room (above the coal furnace) and a hole in the floor.  Therefore, the family has no pictures of their time in this house. The photo of the two little boys is the only one they could find.

The Schnorr Home at 50 South Butler Avenue in 2012

The Plaza from the Aladdin Catalogue in 1916.  

Raymond Schnorr visits his childhood home at 50 South Butler Avenue in 2005.  

Based on research done by the Irvington Historical Society, there was a procession of residents between 1927 and 1968, approximately 18 different families, either as renters or failed purchasers.  In 1968, the John Flanagan family purchased the home and resided here until selling to Steven and Paula Schmidt in 1982. The Schmidts found traces left by all those other families both inside and outside the house. In the yard, there were marbles--lots of marbles, modern toy soldiers, a length of gold chain, and medicine bottles as well as Butler University bricks and paving bricks from the street.  Inside the rafters of the basement was hidden a Greek icon of St. Jerome.  The overall look of the house has been unchanged since 1920, however, the double doors from the living room were replaced with a single door to create a third bedroom.  The top panel of the bathroom door may have been frosted glass and replaced with wood and a closet has been enlarged. And of course the damage from the fire was repaired! At one time the casement windows at the south entrance were replaced with double hung (the casement style has since been restored) and the center pillar was removed in the garage. 

Found Artifact:  Icon of St. Jerome discovered in the rafters of 50 South Butler Avenue

Beautiful flower gardens of 50 South Butler in 2012.  

If you are interested in the history of your home, you would be amazed at what you can find. I used the online resources from the Indianapolis Public Library (city directories and Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce materials), on-line newspapers, and resources from the Irvington Historical Society and the Indiana State Library.

http://digitallibrary.imcpl.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/icc/id/2271/show/2260/rec/2