Who Lived Here? The Whitney Family of Lowell Avenue

Karl G. and Ella "Gertrude" Potter Whitney moved into 5869 Lowell Avenue in 1920. They were not the first to dwell in the house as at least two other families predated them. Mr. Whitney was a business partner in the Irvington Hardware Store first located at 5505 East Washington Street and later at 5539 East Washington Street. The business was quite successful as the Indianapolis Star reported in 1925 that the partnership had assets of $20,000. In 1926, the forty-year-old businessman sat for a portrait for a book called Fellow Citizens of Indianapolis.  He and his partners eventually got out of the hardware business and by 1929 they sold life insurance. Mrs. Whitney stayed home and raised the couple's two children, Marian and Neil.  The couple continued to dwell in the house for the next thirty years. Their daughter, Marian and her husband John Church, resided in the abode well into the 1960s.

A member of the Whitney family dwelled at 5869 Lowell Avenue from 1920 until 1964.

In the late 1910s, Karl and Gertrude Whitney resided at 5866 Lowell Avenue. 

The Whitneys had been quite a fixture along Lowell Avenue as they first rented at 5866 Lowell Avenue in the late 1910s. Controversy enveloped the area in the spring of 1936 when a widow, Olive M. Ellis, petitioned the city of Indianapolis to remodel the small home at 60 North Campbell Avenue into a multi-unit apartment building. The Campbell Avenue home was just behind the Whitney property and the couple could not fathom the thought of so many people along the already crowded Campbell Avenue. In April of 1936, the Whitneys along with their neighbors, the Siegesmunds of 61 North Campbell Avenue; the Iversons of 44 North Campbell Avenue; the Johnsons of 5871 Lowell Avenue; the Schoens of 5901 Lowell Avenue, and the Jones family of 5865 Lowell Avenue filed a lawsuit with the Board of Zoning to stop Ms. Ellis from getting a variance. The neighbors' fears soon came to pass as Ms. Ellis did not follow through with her plan. She did not live in the neighborhood and later passed away in 1943. ( Indianapolis Star, January 28, 1936, 3; Indianapolis Star April 15, 1936, 24; Indianapolis Star, January 28, 1943, 3)

Scene of Controversy: In 1936, Olive Ellis sought to obtain a variance to expand the house at 60 North Campbell Avenue into a four-story apartment building. Neighbors fought her in court. 

Historic Building Collapses

Residents of Irvington awoke to the sad news today that at around 4:30 AM, the former East Side State Bank and now Jack and Jill's Antique Mall at 5501 East Washington Street had collapsed. The top part of the front facade fell onto East Washington Street. The building was constructed during the summer of 1913 and served as a bank well into the 1980s. The future of the building is unclear at this point.

A section of the former East Side State Bank collapsed at 4:30 AM on September 19, 2016 (photo courtesy of Fox59News)

Who Lived Here? The Osborne Family of Poplar Road

In 1925, Thomas C. and Ethel Claffey Osborne moved into their two-year-old home at 411 Poplar Road in the brand new Pleasanton section of Irvington. Mr. Osborne had earned a comfortable living as a broker who distributed fruits and vegetables. The Osbornes dwelled in one of the larger homes in the new suburb of Irvington. Their lovely four-bedroom American Four Square also had a porte-cochère for guests as they pulled into the drive. Many other homes in Pleasanton also had this feature. In 1926, Mr. Osborne posed for a photo for a book called Fellow Citizens of Indianapolis. His business was likely doing quite well during the Roaring 20s. The 1930 Federal Census reveals that the Osborne home was worth $10,000. The couple had two children, a boy and girl, both named after their parents--Thomas and Ethel. 

In 1934, at the height of the Great Depression, Mr. Osborne died at the age of 49 in his home. Mrs. Osborne managed to keep the house through these very difficult times. She began working and also moved her mother, Johanna Claffey, into the residence. On Christmas Day in 1938, the Indianapolis Star reported on the joyful wedding of Ethel, her daughter, to the Reverend Joseph Edwards at the Shelby Street Methodist Church. Her new son-in-law and daughter moved into the Poplar Road house. In the following year, her son, Thomas also married and he too brought his new bride back to the house. The 1940 Federal Census reveals a full house! Two married couples, one grandson, along with Mrs. Osborne and her mother now lived in the Four Square. Like most Irvington homes, the Great Depression had affected the value of the home as it dropped to $7,000 in 1940.

Mrs. Osborne married a man named William Mize and continued to reside at 411 Poplar Road until 1953. City directories reveal that after this date she lived alone and on Emerson Avenue. She died in 1972. 

411 Poplar Road in 2016

Dewey Avenue Home on a Wintery Day c1958

Charles Rich and Verla Goodwin Rich dwelled at 5936 Oak Avenue through much of the 1950s and into the early 1960s. They had one son, Dick, who graduated from Howe High School in 1957. Mr. Rich worked as a lathe operator for the International Harvester plant on Brookville Road.

In the historic photo, Verla Rich documented Charles as he shoveled the snow for the Perkins family who lived at 5925 Dewey Avenue. Harold and Lulu Perkins, both quite elderly by the 1950s, resided behind the Rich family. The couple had owned the property since 1921. City directory research indicates that the house had been converted into apartments as early as the 1920s. Mr. Perkins filed for a permit in 1944 to turn the place into an apartment building, but it is unclear if he planned to tear down the current structure or add more units into the existing home. (Indianapolis Star, July 18, 1944, 14)

The connection to the Perkins and Rich family is unknown at this time, but by 1963 the Rich family had moved away from their Oak Avenue home.

Charles F. Rich in front of the Harry and Lulu Perkins home at 5925 Dewey Avenue c1958

The historic photo and information about the Rich family is courtesy of Carol Yeager. 

House for Sale--1963

Paul and Judy Niedenthal had been looking for the ideal house for a while. The young couple had a family and wanted to live in Irvington. In 1963, they drove by the brick bungalow at 336 North Audubon Road and noticed that it was for sale. Mrs. Jean Diehl, the widow of Barrett Diehl, dwelled in the residence at the time. Built in 1936, the brick home replaced a larger Italianate house that had been built shortly after Irvington's founding in 1870. The Niedenthals were drawn to the layout of the residence with its long central hall and rooms upstairs for their children. Mrs. Niedenthal loved that the entry hall still contained its original knotty pine wall covering. There would also be plenty of yard to take care of as the house sits on a double lot.  53 years later, the home looks much as it did in 1963. In fact, little has changed about the place since its construction in 1936. Photos dating to the early 1940s from the Ostrander family, who lived across the street, reveal that the porch has always been enclosed.

The real estate photo of 336 North Audubon Road was taken by John Horton in 1963

336 North Audubon Road in the early spring of 2016

The historic image and stories for this post are courtesy of Judy Niedenthal.  

North Audubon Road Home 1965 and Now

In the winter of 1965, Caroline Dorsett, the wife of Wayne Dorsett, posed for this photo on the tree lawn of their home at 816 North Audubon Road. She was clearly dressed up. Was she getting ready to get into the Buick near her?  Across the street and behind Mrs. Dorsett, you can see the home at 819 North Audubon Road.  Hubert and Hannah E. Reintjes dwelled in the lovely Dutch Colonial Revival home with the green awnings in 1965. Mr. Reintjes was a salesman while Mrs. Reintjes was an office secretary.

Caroline Dorsett in front of her home at 816 North Audubon Road in 1965. Behind her, you can see 819 North Audubon Road.

819 North Audubon Road in 2016

The historic photo was provided by Emily Jarzen.

The Story of a Brick Tudor in North Irvington Garden District

In 1932, while the Great Depression depleted the income of most Americans, a young couple in their early twenties hired architect, George W. Applegate, to design their new home at 816 North Audubon Road. Married on February 6, 1930, Donald Hirschman and Elma Louis Paul Hirschman seemed to be prospering while many of their neighbors struggled. Mr. Hirschman came from a prominent Indianapolis family. His Grandfather, Conrad, founded the J.C. Hirschman Mattress Company. His father worked in sales for the Lavelle Rubber Company and the Radiator Specialty Company. Mrs. Hirschman, who attended Butler University, originally hailed from Cambridge City, Indiana.

Like his father and grandfather, Donald Hirschman turned towards sales to earn a living, first for the Indianapolis Paint and Varnish Company and later for Harry Sharp Ford. At the time that they hired him, George W. Applegate, who moved to Indianapolis from Corydon, Indiana, worked for the Ar-Ke-Tex Corporation. Mr. Applegate designed a brick Tudor-Revival home in vogue during that era. A copy of the original design still remains with the property due to the generosity of Conrad Hirschman, the only child of Donald and Elma.

The Hirshmans relocated to Logansport, Indiana in 1942. Other families to dwell in the cottage after the Hirschmans included the Horton and Pearce families. In 1952, Wayne and Caroline Dorsett along with their two daughters, Marty and Carol, moved into the house. For the next forty-five years, the Dorsetts resided at 816 North Audubon Road. Both of the Dorsett daughters married and eventually left the home, but Mr. and Mrs. Dorsett continued to dwell here for many years. Mr. Dorsett worked for the Eel River Oil Company. Mrs. Dorsett stayed home with their daughters but was active in several clubs including the Betsy Ross Club. Society snippets from the Indianapolis Star, reveal that she hosted numerous club events at her home in the 1950s and 60s. Mrs. Dorsett passed away in 1989 while Mr. Dorsett died in 1996.

Most of the information for this post came from Emily Jarzen, who copiously researched the story of the house as a present for her husband. She interviewed Conrad Hirschman and both of the Dorsett daughters. Ms. Jarzen generously shared both the information and photos for this post.

Blueprints drawn up by George W. Applegate in 1932 for Donald and Elma Hirschman in 1932

An undated photograph taken by the Dorsett family who dwelled at 816 North Audubon Road from 1952 until 1996.

Wayne Dorsett was a businessman and worked for an oil company. He and his wife Caroline dwelled at 816 North Audubon Road for forty-five years.  

Wayne Dorsett posed with his daughters, Marty and Carol c1955 in front of the family home at 816 North Audubon Road.

816 North Audubon Road c1959

816 North Audubon Road in the summer of 2016