Irvington Intersection Then and Now

       A winter storm arrived in Indianapolis on January 30, 1914. It began as sleet and then as folks slumbered several inches fell upon the rooftops and blanketed the city. An Indianapolis News reporter noted the next day that "...when the city awoke in the morning it was confronted with a winter scene that no pen or camera could worthily portray." 

     Meanwhile in Irvington photographer Albert B. Francis set up his tripod and camera on Sunday morning, February 1, 1914, at the intersection of South Audubon Road and Julian Avenue.  He did not live in the neighborhood so we are unclear if he was there to document a snowy scene or if he was commissioned. He stood across the street from the "Y" turn around for the streetcar on Julian Avenue and aimed his lens at a group of people next to car #907. 

     Streetcars provided neighborhood residents the opportunity to ride into downtown Indianapolis for work or to shop. One of the lines came down the middle of East Washington Street and turned south down Audubon Road to the commercial area in the 100 block. Then, the car had to back up two blocks to Julian Avenue so that it could turn around and head north to the National Road. The spot where it had to turn around was called the "Y" due to its shape. 

     On that snowy morning two streetcar employees whose names might be David or Fred or Wesley (see below) stood next to the car. A regal-looking woman appeared to be walking down towards them in front of the beautiful brick bungalow at 69 South Audubon Road. An elegantly dressed couple posed across the street. Behind them many branches laid on the grounds of the Julian home at 115 South Audubon Road. Perhaps there had been ice as well? Marion County Historian Steve Barnett researched the streetcar and found out that it had been built in 1908 in Cincinnati and retired in 1935. 

A little over 112 years after that beautiful snowstorm covered Irvington, I grabbed my camera on a beautiful early spring day and snapped the same view. The streetcar is gone and of course all of the folks in that photo departed long ago, but the house remains as do the curb cuts for the "Y." Will someone stop by and snap the same image 112 years from today? I hope so! 

A streetcar parked on Julian Avenue next to 69 South Audubon Road on February 1, 1914 (Irvington Historical Society)

The intersection of Julian Avenue and South Audubon Road on March 24, 2026

On the back of the photo there is writing but it is difficult to decipher. I see Mabel Johns or is it Mabel Johnson? "Bernie's uncle...Wesley or Fred" and then there is David Werner or is it Weiner or Weaver or Wesner or...Drop me a note on the email listed on this page if you figure it out! 

Sources:  Indiana Album list of photographers including A.B. Francis; Polk's Indianapolis City Directories, 1913-1915; Unpublished research by Steve Barnett, Marion County Historian; Snowstorm--"And It Was Only On Thursday Somebody Thought He Saw a Robin," Indianapolis News, January 31, 1914, p. 16.

Who Lived Here? The Blumers of Michigan Street

In 1924, a young couple, Frank C. and Bernice Duval Blumer, received the keys to their newly-built home at 5120 East Michigan Street. A street car passed near their residence daily so it would have been an easy commute for Mr. Blumer to his downtown job at the L.E. Morrison & Company. Mr. Blumer had been with the company for years and was a buyer of leather products as the company was known for its quality luggage and bags. Local newspapers also reported that he was a good bowler and frequently scored well in local leagues. Mrs. Blumer stayed home and raised their son, William, who was twelve when they moved into Irvington.

In 1926, the thirty-six-year-old salesman sat down for a portrait and submitted it to a book called Fellow Citizens of Indianapolis. Life was going well for the Blumers. For reasons unknown, but at the height of the Great Depression, the Blumers moved away from their home in 1931 and rented various apartments in the area for the remainder of their lives.  The L.E. Morrison Company survived the Great Depression, but it did take a hit. Perhaps the Blumers felt it was in their best financial interests to leave their home. The McCann family moved into the American Four Square in 1932.

5120 East Michigan Street in 2015

Michigan Streetcar Line--c1915

Three separate streetcar lines came into Irvington.  The oldest line, a former mule-powered transport, followed the Brookville Road. The most widely-used line traversed East Washington Street from downtown to Sheridan Avenue.  It also followed down part of South Audubon Road to a small commercial section of the neighborhood.  The last streetcar line to be built in the neighborhood was the East Michigan Street line which terminated at Emerson Avenue.  This line connected downtown and several other east side neighborhoods including Tuxedo Park and Emerson Heights and was completed in 1911.  In this photo, Indianapolis Traction Company employees--one of whom was a man named Zero Horner--stood at the intersection of North Emerson Avenue and East Michigan Street c1915.  The commercial structure behind the car used to stand on the northeast corner of that intersection.

 Streetcar at North Emerson and East Michigan Street c1915

This image is courtesy of the Horner family via Ancestry.com.  

Irvington --Street Car

In this undated photo, the Layman family pose in a street car in Irvington. The line went straight down East Washington Street in front of the Layman home at 5731 E. Washington Street. Based upon the clothing, it looks like it might have been taken in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Notice how dressed up everyone is in the photo! This image is courtesy of Isabelle Layman Troyer.