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

Family Posed on Emerson Heights Porch, c1920

     Alonzo and Ada Gordon Shepherd moved into their new home at 729 North Riley Avenue in 1919. The lovely two-story Arts and Crafts house had been built by George J. Adrian throughout the summer of that year. Hundreds of families had already moved into Emerson Heights by the time the Shepherds arrived. A nearby streetcar made it convenient for residents like the Shepherds to get to downtown Indianapolis for work or for shopping.

     Mr. Shepherd worked as a foreman for the Furnas Ice Cream Company formerly located at 133 North Alabama Street. The L. Strauss & Co. Department Store, also located downtown, employed Mrs. Shepherd as a saleswoman. Census records reveal that a variety of extended family members lived with the Shepherds in their Riley Avenue home. In 1920, a census taker recorded that Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd were both 36 years old. Also living with them was Bessie Gordon, age 14. She was related to Mrs. Shepherd. Ten years later, another census taker arrived and recorded that Bessie Gordon, age 25, still lived with the Shepherds. She served as a cashier at an ice cream shop. A nephew, Floyd McDaniel, age 20, worked as an auto mechanic and also resided there. By 1930, the Shepherds had also added a son, Robert Shepherd, who was 9 years old at the time of the census.

     On June 12, 1930, Bessie Gordon married Orville Price at 8:30PM at the Shepherd home. The Indianapolis Star recorded that the family "improvised" an altar of ferns, palms, and garden flowers. Miss Gordon was escorted by Mr. Shepherd down an "aisle" of white ribbon." Mary E. Lawler, a pianist, Mildred Lawler, a violinist, and Robert Shultz, a cornetist, performed "O Promise Me," "To a Wild Rose," and "The World is Waiting for Sunrise." Ruby Fuehrer sang "I Love You Truly," and "At Dawning." Reverend Oscar R. McKay, a baptist minister, conducted the ceremony. The newly-married couple settled nearby on Bancroft Avenue.

     For the next several decades Alonzo and Ada Shepherd continued to reside at their Riley Avenue home. Their son, Robert Shepherd served during World War II. In June of 1943, he received a furlough to visit his parents and it was a good thing because Mr. Shepherd died a little over a year later in 1944. Mrs. Shepherd lived in the house until her death in 1970. Recently, a photograph of the Shepherds appeared on EBAY. That image was donated to the Irvington Historical Society. You can see that image below. 

Ada Gordon Shepherd (upper right), Alonzo Shepherd (lower right) posed with Bessie Gordon (in white) and Doras Gordon Morrow (later Thompson) at 729 North Riley Avenue c1920. 

     I wish to thank Wayne Sharp and Kathleen Price Crawford for their assistance in researching the people in the photo.

Sources:  The 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950 Federal Census Records; Polk's Indianapolis City Directories, 1919-1971; Construction of house--"Building Permits," Indianapolis Star, February 20, 1919, p. 13; Bessie Gordon wedding--"Local Couple Wed in Home Ceremony," Indianapolis Star, June 13, 1930, p. 7; Robert Shepherd furlough during WWII--Indianapolis Star. June 20, 1943, p. 36; Obituaries--"Alonzo D. Shepherd Funeral Saturday," Indianapolis News, September 14, 1944, p. 12; "Ada Shepherd," Indianapolis News, December 26, 1970, p. 14; "Bessie Gordon Price," Indianapolis Star, September 19, 1993, p. 79; "Robert E. Shepherd," Indianapolis Star, March 13, 2001, p. 17.

Irvington at 150: Street Names N-R

In part four of five in our series on Irvington street names, we continue to explore the history of various avenues throughout the neighborhood. When the city annexed Irvington in 1902 officials consolidated names to reflect the nearby matching street. However, there are several unique names that began in Irvington. A California city, a constellation, a popular tree, local families, and a beloved Hoosier poet all have a home on street signs in the historic suburb.  

New York Street: Formerly called Shank Street after a prominent local family, the city of Indianapolis changed the name in 1909 to coordinate with New York Street, which originates downtown. The Shanks owned several acres at the intersection of Arlington and Washington Streets in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

Norway Drive: William Alexander and Flora McDonald Ketcham, who founded the Irvington neighborhood of Pleasanton, named one of their streets "Norway." Mr. Ketcham, a Civil War veteran and leader in the Grand Army of the Republic, received front page news when he passed away suddenly in 1921. In none of his lengthy biographical profiles is there mentioned a connection to the nation of Norway. Mrs. Ketcham passed away in 1938. She also appears to have no connection to Scandinavia. Since they named the other two streets after trees, perhaps Norway refers to a spruce or maple. 

Oak Avenue: The beautiful winding street known as Oak Avenue was likely named after the majestic trees still present in the 1870s when the neighborhood was platted. Some of those specimen still exist in 2020. Generations of families have resided and played under these ancient trees. East of Arlington Avenue, the city renamed Third Street as Oak Avenue as well. 

Chuck Vogt posed with his sister, Jane, and his new bike under the giant oak tree near 5733 Oak Avenue in 1947.  Behind the siblings, you can also see the residence at  5728 Oak Avenue. (photo courtesy of Chuck and Joyce Vogt)

Ohmer Avenue: Nicholas Ohmer was a very early investor in Irvington. A resident of Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Ohmer and possibly his brother George Ohmer, built 312 Downey Avenue in 1873. The beautiful Second-Empire style, a French design, was in vogue when the brothers built the elegant brick home. Mr. Ohmer was a horticulturalist and likely became involved in the neighborhood due his connection with Sylvester Johnson, a founder of Irvington. There is little evidence that Mr. Ohmer lived in the house and if he did then it was for a brief period of time. His primary residence was located at 1350 Creighton Avenue in Dayton. Both he and his brother George also operated a series of restaurants throughout the Midwest in or near train stations including one in Union Station in Indianapolis. When Ohmer's Irvington home was restored in 1966 the residents of the neighborhood decided to interpret the house from the Benton family's tenure in the home. A nearby street was named for Mr. Ohmer and local historian, Steve Barnett, has discovered that part of Julian Avenue was also named Ohmer. Both the house in Dayton and his creation in Irvington are on the National Register of Historic places. Not many Americans can claim that honor. Furthermore, Mr. Ohmer built his own suburb around his orchard in Dayton in the 1880s and it also bears his name as Ohmer Park. 

Nicholas and Susanna Spratt Ohmer of Dayton, Ohio: Mr. Ohmer built what would become known as the Benton House at 312 South Downey Avenue in Irvington in 1873. Mrs. Ohmer's brother, Thomas B. Spratt also became an early investor in Irvington. (photo courtesy of Ohmer family via Ancestry.com)

Nicholas Ohmer built this beautiful home for his very large family at 1350 Creighton Avenue in Dayton, Ohio in 1864. He also founded the suburb of Ohmer Park in Dayton. (Screenshot of home)

Some accounts note that George Ohmer, the brother to Nicholas, helped in the investment of 312 South Downey Avenue (the Benton House). He became quite wealthy as he operated numerous restaurants around train stations in the Midwest. He is given credit for helping both Thomas Taggart, an Indiana politician, and inventor Thomas Edison early in their careers. (photo courtesy of Ohmer descendants via Ancestry.com)

Named for the Benton family who dwelled here in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the house was built by Nicholas and George Ohmer in 1873.  (photo by Wm. Gulde, spring 2020)

Orion Avenue: The Irvington Town Board reached for the stars in 1898 when they renamed Nora and Water Streets after the constellation. (Indianapolis News, November 8, 1898, 12)

Pasadena Street: At about the same time that the first residents started to build houses in Irvington in the early 1870s, a different group of Hoosiers moved to southern California and founded the city of Pasadena. They wanted to name their new home the Indiana Colony, but that name was rejected by the US Post Office so they settled on the Chippewa name that literally means "crown of the valley." Nearly fifty years later when developers east of Irvington needed a new street name, they chose "Pasadena." By the late 1920s, the Stradley, Thomas, and Goodnough families lived in charming bungalows and Tudor-Revival cottages along the new street just north of Washington Street. 

Pleasant Run Parkway: Noted landscape architect, George Kessler, began his tenure with the city of Indianapolis in 1907 and worked with officials through 1915. He had already designed boulevard systems in Kansas City and Cincinnati. In 1909, he presented a bold plan to the city that linked green spaces with winding boulevards that followed streams or rivers. Irvington became part of that plan when Mr. Kessler proposed Pleasant Run Parkway along the Pleasant Run stream. Although his vision was not completed until the late 1920s, boulevards like Fall Creek Parkway, Brookside Parkway, Kessler Boulevard, and Pleasant Run Parkway are some of the most beautiful in the city of Indianapolis. 

Poplar Road: When William Alexander Ketcham and his wife Flora McDonald Ketcham platted Pleasanton in 1915, they named one of the streets after a genus containing 25-30 species--Poplar. By the early 1920s, middle class families began building along the beautifully planned street. Reflecting the modern era in which the residences were built, several of the families along Poplar had a portre cochere attached to the side of their homes. 

Evelyn Schneider posed with her doll in 1925 in front of her home at 327 Poplar Road. The Schneiders were among many families who moved into new homes in the Pleasanton neighborhood of Irvington. To see more images of this street, click on the "Poplar Road" tab below. (Photo courtesy of Bill Ferling)

Rawles Avenue: Lycurgus Rawles joined Jacob Julian and several other investors in developing southern Irvington in 1873. His death at age 38 in that year ended his brief tenure in the venture. His father, John Rawles, stepped in and served as the administrator of his estate by selling off lots. More research is needed on this family, who seemed to have more connections to Lafayette than they do to Irvington. To honor the Rawles family, early developers named a street for them connecting South Arlington Avenue to Audubon Road.  In 1903, the city renamed Trislar Avenue west of Audubon Road and east of South Ritter Avenue as Rawles Avenue as well.

John Rawles, the father of Lycurgus Rawles, sold off his son's remaining real estate after Lycurgus passed away in 1873. (Ad in The Indiana Sentinel, March 22, 1876) 

Ridgeview Drive: When the Buckeye Realty Company under the leadership of John Chilcote developed the Irvington Terrace neighborhood in 1913, they originally named this street as Kensington presumably after the palace in England. Several families sought to build their own modest "palaces" along the street. R.L. Castle erected many of the residences. In October of 1916, the city of Indianapolis changed the name to the generic Ridgeview Drive. They also changed nearby Eldridge to Kenmore Road. 

An ad in the Indianapolis News, November 15, 1914, (39) for 319 North Ridgeview Drive, formerly addressed as 95 Kensington Avenue. 

Riley Avenue: Beloved Hoosier poet, James Whitcomb Riley, would have still been alive when the Irvington Town Board honored him by naming a street Riley Avenue sometime around the turn of the century.  While the avenue today is most associated with the Emerson Heights neighborhood, it originated north of Washington Street and began life as Summit Avenue. In 1898, the Irvington Town Board considered calling it Appian Way after the famous the Roman road, but eventually Riley Avenue won the day. We do not know if Mr. Riley ever visited the stretch named for him. Further research is needed! 

James Whitcomb Riley (public domain)

Ritter Avenue: When Levi Ritter purchased over 80 acres of land in Warren Township in 1869 he had the idea of owning a Jersey cattle farm. His vision changed once he heard that Jacob Julian and Sylvester Johnson were planning to develop a suburb next to his acreage. Mr. Ritter built a large home for his family on the southwest corner of East Washington Street and what was to become "Ritter Avenue." According to a 1903 Indianapolis Journal article, old growth trees, iron weed, and "red-topped" thistle dominated the landscape around the family. On September 16, 1871, Mr. Ritter platted the first addition to the new suburb of Irvington. He kept the original plan in place with winding streets. Although it is difficult to imagine today, Mr. Ritter, Mr. Julian, and Mr. Johnson kept a fully-stocked horse stagecoach barn on the northeast corner of East Washington Street and Ritter Avenue. After Mr. Ritter's death in 1893, his widow, Caroline Ritter continued to live on the site until she sold the property to the Indianapolis Public Schools in 1903. IPS #57 has operated continuously on the Ritter land since 1904. 

Sources:  Larry Muncie, Three Windows on Irvington History, 1989; George Kessler--Paul Diebold, Greater Irvington II, 2020; Rawles--"Administrator's Sale, Indianapolis News, March 22, 1876, 2; Ridgview Drive--""Taxi Men Oppose Rate Ordinance," Indianapolis News, October 3, 1916, 11; Riley Avenue--"Call it Audubon Road," Indianapolis News, January 17, 1903, 2; Ritter Avenue--"Old Ritter Homestead: First House Built After Establishment of Irvington," Indianapolis Journal, June 28, 1903, 8.