Irvington, Indianapolis Homes for Sale
Irvington, Indiana is the largest historic district in Marion County, including roughly 1,600 individual land parcels on 555 acres. Named for 19th-century writer Washington Irving, the historic district is located five miles east of downtown on the western edge of Warren Township, inside the 465 loop. Originally chartered as a suburban township in 1870, Irvington was annexed by the City of Indianapolis in 1902.
Latest Irvington, Indianapolis Homes for Sale
5744 E Beechwood Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46219
Subdivision: Julian Johnson Rawles & Goodes
Add to FavoritesWOW! 1890 Irvington farmhouse, a classic beauty on a double lot! A few of our favorite things about this grand dame: **The enormous, beautifully-maintained lot (urba...
4 Beds 2 Bath Areas 1668 SqFt
$287,500
103 S Catherwood Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46219
Subdivision: Tilford & Tharshers
Add to FavoritesTop to bottom, inside out, this gorgeous, totally renovated home is ready for you to enjoy carefree living for years to come! Just minutes from historic Irvington, b...
4 Beds 3 Bath Areas 2798 SqFt
$219,000
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Irvington was among the first planned suburbs of Indianapolis, and is important for its Victorian Romantic winding street pattern, the varied architectural styles and types, and its cultural and educational role in the city. In 1900, the Indianapolis & Greenfield Rapid Transit Company laid tracks down the center of Washington Street. Shortly thereafter, the Citizen's Street Railway ran its new electric trolley line from Irvington to downtown Indianapolis along what is now US Route 40.
Taking advantage of this new age of transportation, business owners quickly built commercial blocks on Washington Street. A new school, and other services from the city drew many new residents to the area. Homes began popping up everywhere.
Irvington quickly became a favorite haunt of the Midwest's best fine artists and writers. It was here that the famed "Irvington Group" of artists lived, met, and exhibited their art. The namesake group was led by noted artists William Forsyth, Dorothy Morlan, Clifton and Hilah Wheeler, and others. Pleasant Run Creek was a favorite subject of those landscape artists in the group.
Today, many of the artists' homes and studios remain standing. The Irvington Lodge, Bona Thompson Memorial Library, and Studio School & Gallery are public venues where arts are currently taught and displayed.
The area contains excellent examples of every major American architectural style including Italianate, French Second Empire, Victorian Gothic, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival. The Benton House is a charming example of the Second Empire style of architecture, and is remembered for its association with Silence Benton, president of Butler University during its early years. The Julian House was the home of George Washington Julian, famous abolitionist. Julian welcomed Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth to his Irvington home. His daughter, Grace Julian Clarke, a lifelong resident, was a statewide leader of the Indiana suffrage movement and the first female columnist for the Indianapolis Star.
Several popular events and festivals attract people to the neighborhood throughout the year. The Irvington Farmers Market is one of the most popular farmers markets in Indianapolis. There's the Annual Irvington Folk Festival, a week of performances, workshops, lecture and film offered free of charge. The Irvington Historical Society hosts an ice cream social featuring art, music, and of course, ice cream. The Irvington Garden Club sponsors annual annual events to show local gardens, homes, and art, and the Irvington Home Tour is now in its 42nd year.
The best-known Irvington event is the Historic Irvington Halloween Festival, held each fall since 1947. The festival is the nation's oldest and largest Halloween festival. East Washington Street is closed through downtown to hold the street festival. Events of the week-long festival include a 5-mile run, pageant, live music, contests, Halloween-themed movies, storytelling, ghost tours, live theater, roller derby, a "haunted puppet show," and many other fun family events.
The Irving Theatre, built in 1913, was originally used for a nickelodeon, although it served many purposes throughout the decades until it closed in the mid-1990s. There, it sat unoccupied, until it was repoened in 2005. The theatre is a hub for live music, films, art, community, and private events. With a capacity of over 700 people, The Irving is one of the city's largest venues.
Irvington, today, has more linear blocks of brick streets than any neighborhood in the city, and its naturalistic plan is considered Indianapolis' largest and most developed example of Victorian Romantic landscape design. The 400-year-old "Kile Oak" tree on Beechwood Avenue, is thought to be the oldest Bur Oak in the country, and boasts a limb spread of 125 feet, and a trunk circumference of 16 feet.
Irvington, like much of Indiana, has a history of Temperance. In 1908, 70 of the state's 92 counties forbade the sale of alcoholic beverages within their borders. Marion County was not one of them, but not all residents were happy with that decision. In 1909 the women of Irvington rose up against a proposed German Beer Garden at Wonderland Amusement Park. Although the management was within its rights to sell beer, local beer distributors, fearing a public relations nightmare, refused to sell their products to the park. To this day, a local covenant banning alcohol sales in Irvington is still on the books (but who looks at the books? ;-).
The Irvington Development Organization (IDO), was founded in 2002 to ensure that revitalization efforts remained compatible with the historic character of the Irvington community, and to enhance the quality of life for Irvington and Indianapolis residents. The IDO has had many triumphs in recent years,including luring new businesses to the neighborhood, attracting private and public investments for redevlopment of historic buildings, and awarding grants to local businesses and property owners to improve their buildings' appearances. Today, they continue to spearhead such popular community initiatives like the Irvington Streetscape Project, Irvington Green Initiative, and Irvington Neighborhood Plan.
While the community of Irvington is known for its wealth of historic homes with price ranges to fit any budget, with so many value-enhancing inititives planned for the future, Irvington may not stay affordable for long! To secure your place in Historic Irvington, Indiana, call msWoods now.
