Commercial Building Then and Now

William Irwin Coons and his wife Clara Carvin Coons opened a drug store at 202 South Audubon Road in the late nineteenth century. The building has hosted many businesses over the years including a rather lengthy tenure as the Vollrath Grocery in the mid-twentieth century.  In 1897, Coons' Drug Store was featured in a special edition of the Indiana Woman on Irvington. If you look closely, you can see people standing in front of the store. Who were these folks and what became of them? The building has been drastically altered over the years, but perhaps the facade could be restored at a later date. The building to the south of the structure was torn down sometime in the mid-twentieth century.

Coons' Drug Store at 202 South Audubon Road in 1897

202 South Audubon Road on March 14, 2016

Thank you, Dr. Vollrath

I first met Dr. Victor Vollrath and Isabelle Burnside Vollrath in April of 2012.  I could not believe my good fortune.  Dr. Vollrath, born in 1916, had grown up in Irvington and at age 95 he could still recall many events from his youth.  Furthermore, he and his wife generously allowed me access to his childhood photo collection.  Most of the images appeared on this site in April and May of 2012.

Victor Vollrath grew up at 218 South Audubon Road in a lovely Dutch Colonial Revival home.  His father ran a nearby grocery store.  His stories of Irvington were filled with tales of dogs, ponies, baseball, and cycling.  He could still recall his neighbors and one of them, Dr. Walter Kelly, inspired him to become a physician.  One of the most powerful stories that he shared involved his own mother, Thermina "Marie" Vollrath.  All five Vollrath boys served in World War II.  Dr. Vollrath told me, that with tears streaming down her face, his mother walked down to the Irving Circle Park on a snowy day and snapped a photo of the park.  She then had five snapshots developed and sent to each Vollrath son so they could have an image of home while they were fighting on the front.

Dr. Victor Vollrath's mother would have been undoubtedly proud of her son had she lived to see him serve as a physician to thousands of Indianapolis residents over a fifty year time span. She sadly passed soon after his return from the war.  Today I honor his memory and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to meet a local Irvington boy, who made a difference on this planet.  I dedicate this post to the memory of Dr. Victor Vollrath (1916-2013).  You may see images from his youth by clicking on the Vollrath Family link below.

Victor Vollrath with his loyal dog, Fite, in 1927

A Mother's Worry--Sons in War

Thermina "Marie" and Charles Vollrath (218 South Audubon Road) sent five sons into World War II.  In this photo, the proud mother poses with her son Hansen Vollrath on February 3, 1942.  Her anxiety and worry over her sons' fates likely contributed to heart problems that ultimately took her life shortly after the war ended.  All of her sons made it home from the fronts and went on to prosperous careers.  This weekend we honor all of those who have served our country.  This historic image is courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.

Irving Circle--1915

Irma Vollrath and a friend stopped briefly from playing to pose for this photo taken in the Irving Circle Park around 1915.  Behind the girls, you can see the following homes along South Audubon Road:  237-39, 245-47, 251, and in the distance the double that sits on the southeast corner of University and Audubon Road.

Dr. Walter Kelly built 237-39 in 1915.  His home is barely visible in the photo, but you can see the porch and dark stained cedar shingles.  Next to it, you can see the American Four Square double at 245-47 South Audubon Road.  The Kaylor family lived on one side and the Campbells on the other.  The beautiful Arts and Crafts era home at 251 housed the Betram Day family from 1908 till about 1915.  Demarchus Brown, the State Librarian, and his wife Jesse Christian Brown lived in the home from 1915 and into the 1920s.  Mr. Brown was the brother of Hilton U. Brown, while Mrs. Brown came from the Christian family, for whom Christian Park is named.  She became renown around the state for her travels.  Mrs. Brown loved to visit exotic locations and then come back and give a report of her findings to clubs and women's groups around the state.  When she died, small town newspapers across the state carried her obituary.

The historic image is courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath while the newer photo shows 245-47 and 251 South Audubon Road on May 18, 2012.

Audubon Road and Bonna Avenue--1917

This wonderful photo of baby, Victor Vollrath (218 South Audubon Road), was taken in 1917.  Notice that South Audubon used to be brick!  In the background, you can see the rear of two homes and a business in the 5700 block of Bonna Avenue.  This view is not possible today because homes were built in the field along South Audubon in the 1920s.  Bonna Avenue was named after Bona Thompson, the daughter of a prominent Irvington family.  She was a graduate of Butler and died while on a European tour with her family in 1899.  The Thompsons later donated the land and money for a library at Butler with her name on it.  Yes, the town elders misspelled her name for the street.  The depot for Irvington used to sit across from the structures in this photo.  All of these buildings are still standing in 2012 although in various states of repair.  I have included a frontal view of two of the Bonna Avenue structures in 2012.

Cycling in Irvington--1920s

By the mid-1920s, all of the streets and most of the alleys in Irvington were bricked or paved.  Cycling had been a craze in the US since the late nineteenth century.  Cycling clubs sprang up around Indianapolis and in the neighborhood.  The Vollrath brothers of 218 South Audubon Road actually built a track on a long and vacant lot along Hibben Avenue for a race.  The Indianapolis Star covered the event and reported that Carl Vollrath to be not only the designer of the track, but also the winner of the competition.

In these historic photos, you can see a photo of Carl Vollrath and his friend Donald after winning the race in 1926.  Their trophies are proudly displayed in the next pictures.  In the last photo, a young Victor Vollrath rides his bike on a vacant lot south of his home at 218 South Audubon Road in 1927.  You can see some of the doubles in the 200 block across the street.  The historic images are courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.

Fun in Ellenberger Park--1918

Two Vollrath children enjoy a day in Ellenberger Park sometime in 1918.  They seem to be enjoying the park benches and a watering jug on a warm day.  Victor Vollrath, who is now 95, reports that he used to swim in Pleasant Run stream before there was ever a city pool in the park.  Like children in 2012, sledding down the large hill in the park was also a popular activity in 1920!  The historic images are courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.

Mowing the Yard--1927

Victor and Marie Vollrath mow the front yard of their home at 218 South Audubon Road in 1927.  The Vollraths prided themselves on their beautiful yard.  They were also known for their gorgeous roses.  In this wonderful photo, you can see storefronts in the 200 block of South Audubon Road.  Upon Irvington's founding in 1870, this was to be the commercial area for the neighborhood because of its proximity to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; however, by the 1910s Washington Street took over as the most important business avenue for Irvington.

Behind Mrs. Vollrath and her son, you can barely see the Wallace Grocery in the left of the photo.  For a brief stint in the 1920s, there were three grocery stores in this block including the Charles Vollrath Grocery at 202; the  William Jones Grocery at 203; and the William Wallace Grocery at 212.  If you look closely behind Mrs. Vollrath, you can see the F. E. Lederhaus Barber Shop.  You will note the barber's pole by the front door.   Other businesses to operate in these nearby shops in the early 1920s included a drug store at 203 South Audubon, run by Gilmore Morgan (his family lived across the street at 214 South Audubon), and Keene's Radiator Shop (205 South Audubon).  Dr. Victor Vollrath, who is 95 as of this writing, remembers getting his first haircut at Lederhaus Barber Shop.  His mother kept his hair bobbed until he was five years old, but she finally relented to his request to have a proper haircut in 1921.

In the contemporary photos, taken in the spring of 2012, you can see the same view of Wallace Grocery at 212 South Audubon Road and of the shops across the street that housed the drug store and radiator shop.  The historic image is courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.

Visiting Germans--1920s

The Vollrath family (218 South Audubon Road) frequently sponsored Germans who wanted to become American citizens.  They provided funds for their arrival to the US and hosted folks for a brief stint.  In these photos, several Germans pose along South Audubon Road.  They had just arrived in the US in the hopes of starting a new life here.  Although we do not know their names, these photos document their tenure in Irvington.

In the first two photos, two German women stand next to a car parked in the 200 block of South Audubon Road.  Across the street, you can see a row of doubles that were practically brand new when this photo was taken.  In the second photo, a German man enjoys a smoke in front of 237-39 South Audubon Road.  If you look closely, you can also see 245-47 South Audubon Road.  In the fourth photo, a German couple stand near 214 South Audubon Road.  The Morgan family dwelled there in the 1920s.  I have posted a 2012 photo of that home as well.  The historic images are courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.

"Fite" the Loyal Dog

He dwelled at 218 South Audubon Road throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s.  Fite, the beloved German Shepherd, belonged to the Vollrath family.  He was quite a fixture throughout the neighborhood as the Vollrath brothers trained him to help deliver newspapers.  He would carry the rolled up paper in his mouth and drop it on the front porches of homes throughout southern Irvington.  Mrs. Vollrath would have Fite guard the tent where the brothers would have sleepovers with their friends.  She never worried about them as long as he was nearby.  He was an extremely intelligent animal, although he was not perfect. He did not get along with the family pony and he occasionally terrorized a few of the neighbors.  Like many childhood pets, he is still fondly recalled decades later by members of the family who loved him.

In the top photo, Fite stands guard near the family tent in the backyard at 218 South Audubon Road.  In the second photo, he has jumped into the wheelbarrow and appears to be staring intently at someone or perhaps at Dandy, the Vollrath's pony.  In the third photo, a young Victor Vollrath plays with Fite in the sideyard in 1926.  These wonderful historic images are courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.

Football Practice 1925

Victor and Richard Vollrath enjoy a game of football in the sidelot next to their home at 218 South Audubon Road in 1925.  The two houses behind them are 240 and 250 South Audubon Road. Off to the right of the boys, you can see the rear of two homes in the 5500 block of University Avenue.  This view is no longer possible as two small dwellings were constructed on the large lot in 1950.  This historic image is courtesy of Victor Vollrath.

Baseball Practice Along South Audubon--1920s

The Vollrath brothers loved baseball and spent many hours playing the game.  They practiced in a large empty lot just south of their home at 218 South Audubon Road.  Charles and Marie Vollrath did not own the lot, but the kids were allowed to play there.  In 2012, two small homes constructed in 1950 now sit on the large plot.

In the top photo, two Vollrath brothers play catch in the backyard of 218 South Audubon Road.  In the other two pictures, the brothers warm up before a big game in the side lot.  You can see the doubles, constructed in the early 1920s, across the street.  The historic images are courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath, who spent many hours playing baseball here as a child.

The Pony of South Audubon Road--1928

Dandy lived in a small barn on the Vollrath lot at 218 South Audubon Road.  The pony became a fixture for those who lived in southern Irvington as usually one or possibly two Vollrath children went for a stroll.  In these historic photos, Victor Vollrath attempts to do tricks with the pony on a sidelot just south of the Vollrath home.  The doubles visible across the street were relatively new when this photo was taken as builders only completed the dwellings in the early 1920s.  A contemporary image shows those same structures in 2012.  The historic image is courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.

Vollrath Children Pose on Front Porch--1912

Lawrence, Irma, and Carl Vollrath pose on the front porch at 218 South Audubon Road in 1912.  The family had only lived in the house for a few years when this photo was taken.  Charles A. Vollrath and Thermina "Marie" Vollrath had the home constructed in 1909.  This front porch would become the site of countless other family photographs throughout their fifty-year time span of living in the home.  The children are dressed in their finest so perhaps it was a special day.  This historic image is courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath, a younger brother to these three siblings.

Vollrath Home Then and Now

This beautiful Dutch Colonial home has been a fixture at 218 South Audubon Road since 1909.  Charles Vollrath, a local grocer, designed the home and had it built just a few lots away from his store.  His wife Thermina, also known as Marie, stayed home and raised the couple's six children in the house.  The Vollrath family remained an integral part of Irvington's story for decades.  More information on this interesting family will be forthcoming so stay tuned.  The contemporary image was shot on April 22, 2012, while the historic image, likely taken around 1950, is courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.

Portrait of Irving Circle on a Snowy Day--c. 1938

The sun had just come out so a member of the Vollrath family (218 South Audubon Road) grabbed a camera to document this snowy day in Irvington. The photographer is standing next to 230-232 South Audubon and is facing south. The Wood family lived in both sides of that home in the late 1930s. Although you can not see the fountain in the park, you will note that it was filled with trees. The home at the far left of the photo is the double located at 261-263 South Audubon. Of course, the "Castle" home (5631 University Avenue) is partially in view at the far right of the picture. Depending upon the exact date, either the Brillharts or Lambs lived there in the late 1930s. Several other homes in the 200 block of South Audubon are also visible although the rays of the sun and the urban forest obscure some of the dwellings. This peaceful historic image is courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.