Azbells Move into Butler Avenue Home

Fred and Vivian White Azbell moved into 1115 North Butler Avenue in 1936. Built in 1928, two previous families, the Stanleys and Vornholts, had already called the modern looking dwelling "home." Most of the houses in the 1100 block of North Butler Avenue were built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The architectural style of this home was more reflective of those built in the 1940s and 1950s rather than the usual Tudor-Revival or bungalow of the 1920s. There was no front porch and in fact, the front facade hosted a false wall that followed the angle of the roofline. The Azbells eventually removed that feature so they could have a small open seating area by the front door.  The couple would raise two children in the house and live along the block for decades.

Vivan Azbell stood with her parents, Pearl and T. Newtown White, in front of her new home at 1115 North Butler Avenue in 1936.

Fred Azbell, dressed in his riding clothes, posed in front of his home at 1115 North Butler Avenue in 1938.

Vivan Azbell, prepared for a ride in the country on her horse, stood in front of 1115 North Butler Avenue in 1938

1115 North Butler Avenue c1938.  Note the false wall that followed the front gable.

1115 North Butler Avenue in 2014.  The false wall has been removed.

The historic images are courtesy of Barbara Sanders.  

Their First Home--1934

Fred and Vivian White Azbell married in 1934 and moved into the Mary Elizabeth, an apartment building located at 4801 East Washington Street. Hundreds of other young families started in apartment buildings located along East Washington Street. The Layman family built the first multi-family structure at the southeast corner of South Audubon and East Washington Street in 1914.  It was the first such large venture in the neighborhood. Throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s, other developers followed suit. The Mary Elizabeth had been in operation since 1927.  The Azbells dwelled in Unit 9.  To see more images of the Mary Elizabeth click on the link below.

Vivian White Azbell sat in her living room in Apartment #9 at the Mary Elizabeth (4801 East Washington Street) in 1934.

The Mary Elizabeth opened in 1927. It is pictured here in the winter of 2012.  

The historic image is courtesy of Barbara Sanders.  

Thomas Newton White c1944

T. Newton White grew up on a farm on the northeast corner of East Tenth Street and Shadeland Avenue.  Most of his life, however, was spent in a small bungalow that he and his wife, Pearl, had constructed in 1915.  In fact, the Whites owned the cottage until the 1970s.  In this photo, taken c1944, Mr. White stood in front of his station wagon parked along East New York Street.  Behind him, you can see the upper story of 5026-28 East New York Street.  The Demaree and DeJeet families dwelled there in 1944.  Mr. White ran the Nichols Candy Company for years and later operated a candy brokerage firm. He also assisted his son-in-law during the 1940s by running Azbell Distributing Company (auto parts) while Mr. Azbell was away at war.  Another business adventure included the development of Irving Ridge, a subdivision along East 11th Street and Shadeland Avenue.  In 1953, at the age of 64 he began to have health problems.  He passed away three years later in 1956.  He is still fondly recalled by his granddaughter, Barbara Azbell Sanders.

T. Newton White stood in front of 5024 East New York Street c1944. Behind him, you can see the double at 5026-28 East New York Street.

5026-28 has been significantly altered over the years and is now shrouded in plastic siding, doors, and windows in 2014.  

Dressed in Riding Clothes

Vivian and Fred Azbell decided to drop by her family's home at 5024 East New York Street before heading out to a horse farm at East 16th and Ritter Avenue in 1938.  They parked along North DeQuincy Street at the at the intersection with New York Street and posed for this shot.  Behind the properly attired couple, you can see the brick double at 4910-12 East New York Street and the roofline of an unusually shaped home at 4914 East New York Street.  The larger home in the distance is that of 4918-20 East New York Street.  Note the wonderful streetlight that used to illuminate the corner.  On the side of the brick double, you can see a couple of bicycles.  The Adrians, a large family, dwelled at 4910 East New York Street in 1938.  Joseph Adrian, an immigrant from Alsace-Lorraine, and his wife Alma had five children and lived on that side of the double!  Frank and Virginia Treat lived at 4912 East New York Street in the other half of the double in 1938. Mr Treat was kept busy repairing refrigerators.  A contemporary photo taken in 2014 shows the same area 76 years later.  In the last image, Vivian White Azbell rode her favorite horse, "Fluffy Ruffles," in 1938.  An unidentified worker at the horse farm can be seen holding a collie.  Community Hospital hospital occupies this site in 2014.

Ready for the horses!  Vivian and Fred Azbell posed at the intersection of North DeQuincy and East New York Streets in 1938. Behind them, you can see 4910-12, 4914, and 4918-20 East New York Street.  

4910-12 and 4914 East New York Street in 2014

Vivan White Azbell rode "Fluffy Ruffles" in 1938 on a horse farm at the southwestern corner of Ritter Avenue and East 16th Street.  

The historic images are courtesy of Barbara Sanders.  

A Ride to Impress!

Fred Azbell looked quite dashing as he pulled up in front of 5024 East New York Street in 1934 in his Chrysler convertible.  Awaiting him was Vivian White, who likely snapped this shot. They later married and moved into 1115 North Butler Avenue.  Mr. Azbell operated an auto parts distribution business at 5019 East Michigan Street where he sold Bowes products.

Behind Mr. Azbell, you will note the three Craftsman era homes at 5017 (far right), 5021, and 5025 East New York Street.  The Haunss family dwelled in the larger home at 5017 East New York Street in 1934.  Fred W. Haunss and his wife Anna (a native of Belfast, Ireland) lived in the dwelling with his mother Caroline (a native of Baden, Germany) and their daughter Rosaleen. The home was valued at $7,000 in 1930.  The abode in the middle at 5021 East New York Street was owned by Karl W. and Lillie Hofmann in 1934. Their son, Karl, Jr. and his wife, Anna, also dwelled in the bungalow valued at $3800 in 1930.  Mr. Hofmann's parents hailed from Germany so perhaps some German was spoken between the neighbors.  The house at the left of photo was rented by Fred F. and Florence Lehr for $45 a month in 1934.  Mr. Lehr was accountant for the Van Camp Company. The couple also had a teenaged son named Melvin.  The Haunsses, Hofmanns, and Lehrs surely must have noticed the large Chrysler frequently appearing at the White household across the street.

Classy Ride:  Fred Azbell awaited Vivian White at 5024 East New York Street in 1934. Behind him you can see 5025, 5021, and 5017 East New York Street.  

5025, 5021, and 5017 East New York Street in 2014.

War and Flu Delayed Construction of Kenmore Road Home

Walter and Lillian Hoover lived along Riley Avenue west of Irvington in the early 1900s. They planned to build their dream home--a large brick American Four Square in the Irving Terrace neighborhood in the 1910s, but World War One altered their plans.  To complicate matters, the Great Influenza Epidemic infected the country and Mr. Hoover, like millions of others around the world, lost his mother and sister to the plague.  Eventually, the chemist and his wife and children moved into their newly-built home at 68 North Kenmore Road in 1919.  This amazing historic photograph shows the home slightly after its construction in 1919.  Note, that you can also see part of the bungalow at 304 North Kenmore Road.  The street had not yet been bricked nor paved and remained a dirt path in 1919.  Many of other homes in the area had yet to be built.  A contemporary photo shows the home in 2014.

The Hoover home at 68 North Kenmore Road c1919

The Hoover home at 68 North Kenmore Road in 2014

The story about the Hoover family and the historic image is courtesy of James G. Hermsen, a grandson of Walter and Lillian Hoover.  

New York Street Bungalow c1916 and 2014

T. Newton and Pearl Seymour White had this beautiful bungalow at 5024 East New York Street constructed in 1915. Sometime after the completion of the structure, a member of the family snapped this historic image.  It was a rainy day and there was no garage yet in the backyard.  Mrs. White soon gave birth to a baby girl so it is possible that the gate on the front porch was to keep little Virginia from wandering away from the house.  If you look closely, you can see that someone has planted a tree in the front yard.

The contemporary photo, taken in 2014, shows that little has changed on the house in its nearly one hundred years of existence.  The front door has been switched out, but amazingly the dwelling still retains its original stained clapboard siding.

The White home at 5024 East New York Street c1916

The White home on June 15, 2014

Thomas Newton and Virginia Aumann White in front of 5024 East New York Street on Easter Sunday, 1946 

The Whites had the smaller garage built first and then later added the larger garage. This photo was taken c1940. Only the larger structure remains in 2014.

Mrs. White hosted a baby shower for a member of her family on November 18, 1922 at 5024 East New York Street.  

The historic images are courtesy of Barbara Sanders.