Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Other Benjamin Harrison House, 223 E. Vermont Street

Most everyone in Indianapolis is aware of the Benjamin Harrison’s Delaware Street home, known today as the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, but did you know that he once lived in the Lockerbie Neighborhood? Born into...

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Posted in: Bicycles, Then & Now Then & Now: Kern Bicycle Shop/Crayton Confectionery, 1900 Block Howard Street

James W Kern’s Bicycle and Motorcycle Repair Shop at 1921 Howard Street, ca. 1915-1920. (Can anyone date these motorcycles?) This view looks southwest toward the intersection of Hiatt Street. James W. Kern is 2nd from...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Roehm House, 1320 Villa Street

In this circa 1906 photograph, the family of Frank and Emma Roehm stand in front of their home at 1320 Villa Street. This south side street was located in a German neighborhood just north of...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Askren-Rice-Eichacker House, 625 N. Edmondson Avenue

Thanks to local residents for submitting this historic photograph of their house, located just west of Shadeland Avenue at 625 N. Edmondson Avenue (formerly Rice Road) in Warren Township. The brick 1860s house  was part...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Wilmer F. Christian House, 404 N. Alabama Street

Architects such as Vonnegut and Bohn, Francis Costigan, and Rubush and Hunter are well remembered and celebrated in Indianapolis, but how many of us can name a contractor from times past (other than Jungclaus-Campbell, a...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Gatling Gun Club, 707-709 N. Illinois Street

If you’ve ever wanted to own a post-Civil War era house with a rich history, now is the time to buy the Tousey-Nichol house, better known as the Gatling Gun Club. After serving as a...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: First Moravian Episcopal Church, 2502 N. College Avenue

Moravian Church and house at 666 E. 25th Street (The Indiana Album: Loaned by Dortha C. May) Us local history lovers frequently drive by empty lots in older neighborhoods and wonder what stood there before...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Jacob Dorsey Forrest House / Irvington United Methodist Church, 30 N. Audubon Road

Part of the charm of historic Irvington, a suburban town platted east of Indianapolis in 1870, is the winding, tree-lined streets and two circles on Audubon Road. Butler College graduate and Irvington resident Vida Tibbett...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Thompson-Mesker Cottage, 1014 N. Arsenal Avenue

Many times determining the construction date of an old house is nearly impossible, but the Queen Anne cottage at 1014 N. Arsenal Avenue is a researcher’s dream. It features a prominent sign above the front...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: David Macy House, 408 N. Delaware Street

The David Macy house at 408 N. Delaware Street (The Indiana Album: Loaned by Joan Hostetler) Not many 1850s houses have survived in Indianapolis, but a unique government project begun during the Great Depression gives...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Volney T. Malott House, 536-558 N. Delaware Street

In about 1867 David Macy and his wife built a house at 558 N. Delaware Street for their only daughter Caroline and her husband Volney T. Malott, who had lived with the Macys since their...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Irvington School of Music, 269 S. Audubon Road

Photograph owned by Sandy Burton courtesy of Vintage Irvington The most common research request I hear from old house owners is “How do I find an old photo of my home?” You just know that...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Prail/Haley Cottage, 1106 E. Ninth Street

When neighbors surveyed the near eastside Cottage Home Neighborhood in 1984, the house at 1106 E. Ninth Street was abandoned with the back door standing wide open. Despite the overgrown yard, extended lack of maintenance,...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Hammond-Wright House, 4150 Central Avenue

Last week’s Then and Now column about the Hammond Block Building at 301 Massachusetts led me to wonder about its builder, Rezin R. Hammond. Although Hammond sold the flatiron building to a physician within a...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Reid-Dickson House, 1456 N. Delaware Street

1906. Courtesy of the Herron Art Library, Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission Collection Indianapolis was past the Victorian era of architecture with its turned posts, gingerbread trim, and Queen Ann details by the time the Reid...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then & Now: 1931 Indianapolis Home Show Model House / 3701 Forest Manor Avenue

Since 1922, the annual Indianapolis Home Show has introduced the latest trends in home design and landscaping. Many of the centerpiece homes, originally constructed in the exposition building at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, were later...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Ryan/Gasaway Home, 1103 E. 9th Street

Finding photographs of the homes and businesses of the Vonneguts, Efroymsons, Ayres, and Blocks families is relatively easy. Just go to the William H. Bass Photo Collection at the Indiana Historical Society and many images...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The House of a Thousand Candles, 1500 N. Delaware St.

The Library of Congress owns over 14 million prints and photographs and only a small fraction have been (or probably ever will be) digitized. Therefore I’m always thrilled to find scans of Indianapolis images, even...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Fountain Square Substation #4 and Radio Radio

As Indianapolis expanded, it was necessary for the Indianapolis Police Department to grow and by 1912 four substations had been established. This charming cottage, located at 1117 Prospect Street in Fountain Square, housed Police Precinct...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Deep rooted history in Mapleton-Fall Creek

Usually, I gravitate towards the neighborhoods nearest to the Mile Square–the older, the better for this gal; and I assumed all of the longest inhabited areas in the city are only centered around that original...

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