Neighborhood Scenes at the Intersection of Johnson and Julian Avenues--1940s and 1950s

The sleepy intersection of Julian and Johnson Avenue comes alive each Sunday as members of the Irvington Presbyterian Church arrive for services.  The narrow and winding streets have hosted hundreds of residents over the years.  Johnson Avenue dead-ended into the Pennsylvania Railroad. By the mid-twentieth century, city officials deemed Julian Avenue a one-way street.  On warm summer nights, residents who opened their windows or slept out on second-floor sleeping porches could hear both the traffic along East Washington Street and the sounds of trains along the nearby rail line. The widow, Mary Pulver Stevenson, photographed friends and family who came to see her at 112 Johnson Avenue and as a result she also documented her surroundings. Color photographs, taken in the early 1950s show her beautiful backyard flower garden.

An unidentified woman stood in the side tree lawn of 5603 Julian Avenue c1943

Edward Lollis, the nephew of Mary Stevenson, stopped by for a visit c1952 in front of 112 Johnson Avenue in his 1948 Buick Roadmaster.  Behind him you can see the side of 5603 Julian Avenue and the Irvington Presbyterian Church. If you look closely you can his son Ted and his wife Georgia May Lollis in the car. 

Unidentified ladies stood in the yard of 112 Johnson Avenue. Behind them you can see the rear of 5543 Julian Avenue and the Irvington Presbyterian c1945.

Mary Pulver Stevenson posed for this photograph in her front yard at 112 Johnson Avenue. Behind her you can see the rear of 5543 Julian Avenue c1945.  

Boarder, Lois Omer, posed with homeowner, Mary Stevenson, in the backyard of 112 Johnson Avenue in 1953. Miss Omer worked nearby at the Missions Building on Downey Avenue. (Photographer Ted Lollis) 

Lois Omer stood in the backyard of 112 Johnson Avenue in 1953. Behind her, you can see the lovely flower garden and 104 Johnson Avenue which had been sheathed in Insulbrick by the mid-twentieth century. (Photographer Ted Lollis)

The historic images are courtesy of Ted Lollis.  

A Gathering By the Stoop at 112 Johnson Avenue

Mary Pulver Stevenson moved into her ailing mother's home at 112 Johnson Avenue in 1941.  Ohio Pulver would not live to see the end of year.  Finding herself a widow and now without her parents, Mrs. Stevenson leased rooms at her Johnson Avenue dwelling. Since she did not drive, she also rented out the garage along the alley. When family or visitors stopped by to see her, she often asked them to pose on the front stoop for a photograph to document the occasion.  Her photo album is filled with people--often the same family members--perched or leaning on that front stoop.  Mrs. Stevenson passed away in 1969.

Ohio Pulver, the mother of Mary Pulver Stevenson, posed on one of the front porch stoops at 112 Johnson Avenue c1925.  The Pulvers first moved into the home in 1923. Mrs. Pulver died in 1941.  

Edward Pulver posed on the front porch stoop at 112 Johnson Avenue c1925 for his daughter, Mary Pulver Stevenson. Edward Pulver passed away in 1936 at his Irvington home. 

To make ends meet, Mary Pulver Stevenson (left) leased rooms.  Lois Omer (right) was one of her long-time boarders. They posed for this photograph c1948.  

Unidentified young ladies stopped by to visit Mary Stevenson at 112 Johnson Avenue c1945.  

A pensive Ted Lollis posed atop the front porch stoop at 112 Johnson Avenue for his Aunt Mary Stevenson c1948. Ted lived east of his Aunt Mary along Julian Avenue and he was a frequent visitor to her home.  

The front porch stoop at 112 Johnson Avenue is all but a ruin in 2015 as the home is in need of a serious renovation.

The historic images are courtesy of Ted Lollis.