Caldwell Family Resided at the Audubon Court Apartments from 1927-1932

Howard C. and Elsie Felt Caldwell along with their two children, Martha Virginia and Howard, Jr., moved into the Audubon Court Apartments in 1927. Mr. Caldwell was the president of the Caldwell-Baker Advertising Agency. They resided in #4 fronting Audubon Road. Mrs. Caldwell stayed home and raised the two young children. Living nearby were two great friends, Joseph and Guinevere Ostrander and their daughter Nancy. Howard, Jr. reported later, in a reminiscence about his childhood, that he was always surrounded by books and friends. Reading and later writing came naturally to the young boy as he excelled at both School #57 and later Howe High School. When the Great Depression took a toll on the country, the Caldwells left the apartment and moved back in with his mother, Martha Caldwell, at 30 North Bosart Avenue to help save money during the lean times. By the end of the 1930s, Howard Sr.'s thriftiness paid off as the family moved into their very own home at 81 North Hawthorne Lane.

     To learn more about the Ostrander family, click on the link  below. 

Audubon Court Apartment #4 in 2019

Eva Ruth Ham, who was raised in the Ostrander home posed with Howard Caldwell, Jr., and Nancy Ostrander in 1929 at the Audubon Court Apartments.  (photo courtesy of Ginny Hingst)

Sources:  Howard Caldwell, "Off Handed Remark Leads to Literary Growth," Indianapolis Prime Times, January 2003, 3;  Howard Caldwell, "Recalling School 57 and 'Schoolboy' Crush," Indianapolis Prime Times, September 2003, 5.

I am indebted to Ginny Hingst for the use of her family photos and artifacts.