House for Sale--1963

Paul and Judy Niedenthal had been looking for the ideal house for a while. The young couple had a family and wanted to live in Irvington. In 1963, they drove by the brick bungalow at 336 North Audubon Road and noticed that it was for sale. Mrs. Jean Diehl, the widow of Barrett Diehl, dwelled in the residence at the time. Built in 1936, the brick home replaced a larger Italianate house that had been built shortly after Irvington's founding in 1870. The Niedenthals were drawn to the layout of the residence with its long central hall and rooms upstairs for their children. Mrs. Niedenthal loved that the entry hall still contained its original knotty pine wall covering. There would also be plenty of yard to take care of as the house sits on a double lot.  53 years later, the home looks much as it did in 1963. In fact, little has changed about the place since its construction in 1936. Photos dating to the early 1940s from the Ostrander family, who lived across the street, reveal that the porch has always been enclosed.

The real estate photo of 336 North Audubon Road was taken by John Horton in 1963

336 North Audubon Road in the early spring of 2016

The historic image and stories for this post are courtesy of Judy Niedenthal.  

If Walls Could Talk

Sometime in the mid-1950s, Indianapolis Public Schools teacher, Barret Diehl, heard that the city of Indianapolis was removing the stone blocks in between the interurban tracks on East Washington Street in Irvington. For ten cents a stone, local residents could dig up the stones and use them on their property. Mr. Diehl laid the blocks for his driveway and built a lovely wall at the rear of his home and along the alley behind 336 North Audubon Road. Over sixty years later, Mr. Diehl's stone wall still stands.

Stone wall constructed from pavers formerly in between the interurban tracks on East Washington Street (Behind 336 North Audubon Road)

Stone Wall behind 336 North Audubon Road

Information for this story is courtesy of Judy Niedenthal.