Irvington Intersection Then and Now

     Renowned artist, William Forsyth, and his family used to live on the southeast corner of East Washington Street and Emerson Avenue with an address of 15 South Emerson Avenue. Over the many decades that the family lived there, they created a beautiful oasis with tall trees and gorgeous flower gardens. Mr. Forsyth often painted in his studio at the house. A few months after his death in 1935, Frank Hohenberger, a highly respected photographer, visited Alice Forsyth, the widow of Mr. Forsyth. He or perhaps the family likely wanted to document the place just as the great artist would have known it. He snapped at least twelve images soon after an early summer rain. In the top photo, you can see puddles on the shimmering sun-lit bricks. You can also see the streetcar line. Members of the Forsyth family continued to live on in the rambling house for over 30 years. After Dorothy Forsyth, a retired English teacher died, the two living sisters, Constance and Evelyn, who had made lives elsewhere, held an auction of the remaining paintings and sold the property. In a decision that still shocks, a developer snapped up the property along with the neighboring house at 5115 East Washington and razed both residences to put in a filling station. In 1967, ads appeared in Indianapolis newspapers that a new service station was open on the corner of East Washington Street and Emerson Avenue. A beautiful corner of Irvington was gone. 

Intersection of East Washington Street and South Emerson Avenue showing the Forsyth family property at 15 South Emerson Avenue in 1935. Photo by Frank Hohenberger (courtesy of Susan Selby Sklar)

The Speedway Gas Station located at 5103 East Washington Street on August 17, 2026; This service station replaced the Forsyth home and a nearby house in 1967.

Other Hohenberger Images of the Forsyth Property--1935

Photographer by Frank Hohenberger captured a path leading to the East Washington Street front porch at the Forsyth home on the southeast corner of East Washington Street and South Emerson Avenue, 1935 (courtesy of Susan Selby Sklar)

Lush gardens in the backyard of the Forsyth property as documented by photographer Frank Hohenberger in the early summer of 1935. (courtesy of Susan Selby Sklar)

Studio and house of William Forsyth snapped by Frank Hohenberger in the early summer of 1935 (courtesy of Susan Selby Sklar)

Small porch facing South Emerson Avenue at the William and Alice Forsyth home on the southeast corner of East Washington Street and South Emerson Avenue. Photo by Frank Hohenberger, 1935 (courtesy of Susan Selby Sklar)

Side yard respite complete with an arbor and many flowers at the Forsyth home at 15 South Emerson Avenue, 1935. Photo by Frank Hohenberger (courtesy of Susan Selby Sklar) 

Earlier Images of the Forsyth Home and Studio

The multi-gabled Forsyth family home c1910 at 15 South Emerson Avenue; The girls in the photo are Dorothy, Constance, and Evelyn Forsyth. (courtesy of Susan Selby Sklar)

William Forsyth often painted at home in his studio attached to the house located at 15 South Emerson Avenue. (courtesy of Susan Selby Sklar)

The House Lost Next Door--5115 East Washington Street

The neighboring house at 5115 East Washington Street was also razed by a developer to put in a gas station on the southeast corner of East Washington Street and Emerson Avenue. 

     I wish to thank Susan Selby Sklar, the granddaughter of William and Alice Forsyth, who donated these photos to the Irvington Historical Society. For more information on the great artist be sure to read a biography written by Rachel Berenson Perry called William J. Forsyth: The Life and Work of an Indiana Artist (Indiana University Press, 2014)

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. 

Methodists Dedicated New Wing in 1957

      On a chilly but sunny Sunday morning in November hundreds of members of the Irvington Methodist Church gathered along North Audubon Road for the groundbreaking of a new education wing. The church had been on this site since 1926, but had been in Irvington since 1879 in a variety of locations. Dr. Henry L. White, the pastor of the church in 1957 conducted the special outdoor ceremony. 

     The Garns and Moore Firm designed the new three-story brick wing. Glenroy Construction won the bid for the construction of the edifice. You can see their truck in the top photo. The new wing included numerous classrooms, a chapel, and an administrative area and would be completed in 1958. Officials placed the wing east of what was formerly the Forrest-Howe home.

     Behind the crowd that morning neighbors who resided in 23, 25, 53, and the double at 59-61 might have peeked out their windows to watch the formal event. So who lived in those residences in 1957? Wellise and Rose Hui along with Cornelia Hui resided at 23 Audubon Road. Mr. Hui operated the Irvington Importing Company while his wife Rose worked at the N & R Laundry. Cornelia taught at the McKinley Elementary School. Next door Dorothy White lived in the corner home at 25 North Audubon Road. The Dufour family resided at 53 North Audubon Road. They might not have been home that morning as they usually attended mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. In the large double next door Frank and Ella Wallace leased 59 North Audubon Road while Henry W. and Carol Ross leased 61 North Audubon Road.      

     Throughout the winter of 1957 and 1958 construction workers built the new wing changing the look of the Irvington Methodist Church. 

Members of the Irvington Methodist Church gathered for the groundbreaking of a new education wing on November 10, 1957. The most visible homes in the photo include 23, 25, 53, and 59-61 North Audubon Road. (photo courtesy of the Irvington Historical Society)

Officials from the Irvington Methodist Church participated in the groundbreaking of the new education wing on November 10, 1957. Left to right: Reverend C. Kenneth Powell, Firman Sims, Glendon Hackney, Delbert Meyer, and Dr. Henry L. White. (photo courtesy of the Irvington Historical Society)

Throughout the winter in 1957 and 1958, workers for Glenroy Construction erected the new education wing at the Irvington Methodist Church. This image also shows the rear of the businesses along East Washington Street and the tower of the Irvington Presbyterian Church. (photo courtesy of the Irvington Historical Society)

Workers neared completion of the new education wing at the Irvington Methodist Church in the spring of 1958. The addition housed numerous classrooms for the church. (photo courtesy of the Irvington Historical Society)

Editor's Note: The Irvington Methodist Church will turn 150 years old this September. 

Sources: Polk's Indianapolis City Directories, 1957 and 1958; Sources: "Irvington to Break Ground For Addition," Indianapolis Star, November 9, 1957, p. 12. 

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. 

Google Streetview Reveals the Lost Structures of the Greater Irvington Area, Part II

      Since 2007 the Google car has captured dozens of lost structures from the greater Irvington area. In part two of this series you will get to revisit many houses and two commercial buildings that used to grace the neighborhood. I am working on a third post just about the lost buildings of East Washington Street. That will come later this spring.  

39 South Arlington Avenue

     For as long as I could remember it, the cute cottage at 39 South Arlington Avenue had been empty, but that hadn't always been the case. The small residence was likely built in 1905 for Charles Wambold, a painter and wallpaper installer. Numerous families lived in the home over the years including the Armstrongs, Vannettes, Reeds, Coreys, Kelleys, and Willettes. No trace of the home exists today, but Google captured one of the last photos of the house in 2007. 

39 South Arlington Avenue, 2007 (Google Streetview)

Sonia Johnson posed in her front yard at 44 South Arlington Avenue in 1975. Her Grandpa and Grandma Willett lived across the street in the cottage located at 39 South Arlington Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Garza family)

4902 East New York Street

     The former two-story home located on the northwest corner of East New York and DeQuincy Streets dates to at least 1908. Clarence and Helen Cummins and their daughter Marian were likely the first residents of the home. Mr. Cummins earned a reputation as an outstanding reporter for both the Indianapolis News and Indianapolis Star. He briefly moved out to California to improve his health, but sadly he died at a young age in 1917. Mrs. Cummins also died at a young age leaving Marian without parents. She later went to Butler University and was a candidate for the May Queen pageant. The house burned sometime around 2013 and the site is now an empty lot. 

4902 East New York Street, Google Streetview, 2009

Marian Cummins (lower right) grew up at 4902 East New York Street. By the age of 20 she had lost both of her parents. (Indianapolis Times, April 30, 1930, p. 2)

446-448-450 North Riley Avenue

      Earl R. Gillum opened his grocery store at 448 North Riley in 1911. Next door, Hugh R. Kennedy operated at a drugstore. Later Beverly D. Brown took over the pharmacy. Numerous families lived upstairs in the apartments overlooking the Michigan Streetcar line. With the arrival of the concept known as the supermarket, little groceries like Mr. Gillum's struggled to survive. It also didn't help that the drugstore next door seemed to be a magnet for bandits. In the 1950s, a company known as Musi-Com leased the building for an office. Owner Robert Whitesell and engineer Charles Bailey pumped music into various large stores like Marsh Supermarkets. By the end of the twentieth century, not much seemed to be going on with the building. The structure had so much potential, but there must have been issues as one day it was just gone. 

446-448-450 North Riley Avenue, Google Streetview, 2009

This Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a sketch of the corner in 1940. The pinkish color represents that building was brick. (Indiana University-Indianapolis Digital Collections) 

435-437 South Ritter Avenue

     The first ad for renting either 435 or 437 South Ritter Avenue first appeared in various Indianapolis newspapers in 1909. For over a century, numerous people moved in and out of the tiny one-bedroom duplex. You could rent either side for $6.00. By 1930, it leased for $20 a month. In 1912, burglars snuck onto the back porch of 437 South Ritter Avenue and stole Martin Moore's recently-churned ice cream and spoons. He only called the police because he wanted his spoons back. Several couples welcomed babies while living in either half including Otha and Mary Higgenbotham in 1922, Earl and Thelma Oaks in 1924, Ernest and Lucille Settle in 1930, and Clarence and Emma Stockdale in 1945. Of course joy and sadness often go hand in hand. Perhaps the most tragic case occurred in 1912 when forty-one-year old George Moore failed to hear the train at South Audubon Road crossing at the Pennsylvania Railroad. His young son Edward had to identify his deceased father. Many neighbors along Audubon Road testified that the train was going too fast. By 2009 the property was in poor shape and all of those memories were wiped away with the removal of the historic structure. 

435-437 South Ritter Avenue, Google Streetview

In 1922, several local newspapers announced that Mary and Otha Higgenbotham welcomed a baby girl into their lives. The Higgenbothams resided at 437 South Ritter Avenue at the time and were active members of the First Baptist Church on Good Avenue. They named their little girl Ardell. Long after they moved out of their home on Ritter Avenue, Ardell posed for this photograph.  (photo courtesy of Krystal Wagner via Find-a-Grave)

466 South Ritter Avenue

       For the first several decades of its existence, 466 South Ritter Avenue served as a home for the Meyer family. They were first recorded living in the house in 1907. The Meyers have the distinction of being one of the founding families of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Irvington had largely been a Protestant neighborhood until the early twentieth century when many Catholic families like the Meyers moved into the area. The Meyers eventually moved around the corner into the beautiful two-story farmhouse located at 5802 Brookville Road. Through the remainder of the twentieth century, the home changed into both a restaurant and eventually a bar. The Ritter Inn became a landmark for many International Harvester employees who stopped by after work for a drink or two. The structure went up in flames in 2013. It had been empty for sometime. 

The Ritter Inn at 466 South Ritter Avenue, Google Streetview, 2011; The Meyer home in the rear of the structure was still visible. 

Regulars at the Ritter Inn swapped stories to reporter Marge Hanley in 1978. (Indianapolis News, May 4, 1978, p. 14)

110 South Webster Avenue

     In 1922 Jasper Raymond Rogers took out a building permit to erect the bungalow formerly located at 110 South Webster Avenue. He was a carpenter so it is possible that he built the house. Located in the Tilford and Thrasher Subdivision of Irvington, Rogers was one of the few white residents in the neighborhood. Over the years many Black residents purchased lots and built homes in the addition. Racist covenants and redlining prevented many Black citizens from the dream of homeownership in certain parts of the city. In 1938 Jesse and Maude Wright along with their children moved into the house. They resided in the bungalow through much of the remainder of the 20th century. Census records reveal that Mr. Wright moved to Irvington from South Carolina. He was part of the Great Migration, a movement of Black residents from the South for opportunities in the North. He worked in a foundry. The Google car captured one of the last images of the house in 2009. 

110 South Webster Avenue, Google Streetview, 2009

Tilford and Thrasher East Addition to Irvington as seen on the Baist map of 1927 (Indiana University-Indianapolis Digital Collections) 

     

Sources:  39 South Arlington Avenue--Polk's Indianapolis City Directory, 1905-1989; US Federal Census Records-1910, 1920, 1930, 1940; 4902 East New York Street--"Clarence Cummins Dies in California, Indianapolis News, September 11, 1917, p. 4; Obituary for Helen Cummins--Indianapolis News, December 12, 1928, p. 8;  448 N. Riley--"Addicts Blamed for Drug Store Narcotics Theft," Indianapolis Times, May 8, 1924, p. 2; "Two Armed Bandits Hold Up Drug Store," Indianapolis News, March 31, 1927, p. 40; 466 S. Ritter--"Meyer Services Wednesday," Indianapolis News, October 13, 1958, p. 8; "Former Ritter Inn is Destroyed by Fire," Indianapolis Star. October 24, 2013, p. A5; 110 South Webster--Obituary for Mrs. Maude Wright, Indianapolis Star, January 25, 1978, p. 40; Obituary for Carter Babb--Indianapolis Star, May 24, 1966, p. 42; Obituary for Jesse Wright--Indianapolis News, July 30, 1956, p. 7