Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: Stone Bridge Over Pleasant Run

Reader’s Question:  There is a beautiful stone bridge over Pleasant Run Parkway near Colorado Avenue.  Would you have any idea when it was built?  Local historians have researched to no avail, but they believe it...

Read More 19 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania A Ku Klux Quaker?

Daisy Douglass Barr, Imperial Empress of the Women of the Ku Klux Klan, circa 1923. Women are often the most fascinating characters in Hoosier history. Their lives continue to be relevant to pressing issues today. ...

Read More 10 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Of Spirits and Soldiers

Fall is here.  So it’s time to keep on the spectral side of life. On June 6, 1910, the Indianapolis News carried the obituary of a woman once hailed as the patron saint of Hoosier...

Read More 3 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Yeats in Irvington

W.B. Yeats in 1903, just before he visited Irvington. Photo by American photographer Alice Boughton. It’s fascinating to reflect on the list of world-famous artists, writers and performers who once walked down Indy’s own streets. ...

Read More 1 Comments

Posted in: Misc Mondays Misc Monday: The Russian Connection

Dos Equis might have “The Most Interesting Man in the World” doing beer ads today.  But in 1904, a colorful contender for that title came to the U.S. from Russia.  Are you ready for a...

Read More 1 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Agitatin’ on the Fourth of July: The Hidden History of Dietz’s Grove

On July 4, 1913, Americans celebrated their national holiday with pride as always, even as the world slouched toward the coming horrors of the First World War.  Yet workers in America’s mines, factories, and fields...

Read More 3 Comments

Posted in: Penny Post Penny Post: Yuletide Joys

Postmarked: IND., 1916 – 6 PM Message: My dear little Granddaughter, I have been wondering id you are going [to] hang up your stockings, like the little folks on this card & see what Santa...

Read More

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: When Black Friday Comes!

Happy Black Friday! After stuffing ourselves on the most thankful of holidays, many will trek out today to find that sought-after deal of the century with nearly every other Indy area resident. This typically leads...

Read More 3 Comments

Posted in: Misc Mondays Misc. Monday: William J. Forsyth’s Irvington Connections

Forsyth Irvington House ca. 1914, photo courtesy of Susan Forsyth Selby Sklar Guest Author: Rachel Berenson Perry Hoosier Group artist William J. Forsyth (1854 – 1935) lived in Indianapolis for most of his life. In...

Read More 4 Comments

Posted in: Indianapolis Collected Indianapolis Collected: Mission Accomplished

The recent death of Lauren Bacall brought to mind the movie magic she made over the course of four films with Humphrey Bogart, her co-star and real-life husband. But while Bacall may have had Bogey’s love...

Read More 3 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania The Arlington Theater

In between the days of the grand vaudevillian movie houses like the Circle and Indiana Theaters (now Hilbert Circle and Indiana Repertory) and the 23 screen multiplexs of today, small, independently owned theaters sprang up...

Read More 8 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania The Scot Butler House and the Office in the Round

The former Board of Church Extension Building or “office in the round” at 110 South Downey Avenue. Photo: courtesy  Irvington Historical Society This edition of A Room with a View is going to be a...

Read More 7 Comments

Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: The Battle of Irvington

The first Irvington school began as one room in 1874 and grew to two stories with a tower by the time this picture was taken in the late 1890s. The building stood immediately east of...

Read More 6 Comments

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...

Read More 3 Comments

Posted in: In the Park Saturday in the Park: Wonderland Amusement Park

Welcome to Wonderland Amusement Park! At the turn of the 20th century, residents desirous of lively entertainment flocked to the east side of town for a day of frolicking at our very own—Wonderland Amusement Park....

Read More 7 Comments

Posted in: In the Park In The Park: Ellenberger

Indianapolis’s Irvington neighborhood, located five miles east of downtown, is a well-established community.  The quaint homes lining its streets have stood for decades.  Neighbors share conversation over breakfast at local eateries like The Legend. It...

Read More 23 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayers: Horner-Terrill Home

The Horner-Terrill home, located at the southwest corner of Emerson and Brookville, was built in 1875. It was vacant for nearly 20 years before homeowners Amanda and Eric Browning purchased the property in 2011. (photo...

Read More 4 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania The Thomas Askren House

I have to admit, I am guilty of being too downtown-centric when it comes to thinking about Indianapolis’ historic buildings. Simply because there is a higher concentration of old buildings doesn’t make the rest of...

Read More 8 Comments

Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: 411 Downey Enigma

Reader’s Question:   My great-grandparents lived first at 411, then at 417, Downey.  I have a picture of my grandfather, perhaps 6-8 years old, standing in front of the home with his sister and mother. ...

Read More 9 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania The Arlington Theater

The Arlington Theater Building, now Central Ace Hardware – Photo by Ryan Hamlett In between the days of the grand vaudevillian movie houses like the Circle and Indiana Theaters (now Hilbert Circle and Indiana Repertory)...

Read More 11 Comments