Bosart - Brown Community Organization

Indy Star article on BBCO

Homes in Bosart-Brown harken to another era

By Colleen Cooper Russell
Star correspondent

If you seek affordable urban living, old houses and neighborly neighbors, the Bosart-Brown neighborhood on Indianapolis' Eastside is the place to find it, residents say.




On the Eastside: Most of the 450 residences in Bosart-Brown were built in the early 1900s to the 1930s. They range in size from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet. - Matt Kryger / The Star

Bosart-Brown

• Location: East of Downtown, bounded by Michigan Street, Washington Street, Emerson Avenue and Linwood Avenue.
• History: Built in early 1900s to 1930s. Neighborhood association formed in 2006.
• Housing style: Two-story, four-square houses or bungalows, most with second-floor dormers and wide porches. They range from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet.
• Price range: $80,000 to $120,000.
• Shopping: East 10th Street, Washington Street and Shadeland Avenue corridors, and Downtown Indianapolis.
• Schools: Scecina Memorial High School, Howe High School, IPS School 58, Little Flower Catholic School, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School.

"It's really friendly, and people really look out for each other," said Tom Kaster. Impressed by the generous porches and manicured lawns, he bought his house on Drexel Avenue last year.
Kaster also liked the fact that many of the original features of his 1920s house -- such as built-in cabinetry, unpainted woodwork, carved wood on the stairway, and brass door hinges and knobs -- were intact.
"It's got a lot of the original character to it, which really draws me to a house," he said.
Most of the 450 residences in the neighborhood were built in the early 1900s to the 1930s. They range in size from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet and in price from $80,000 to $120,000.
The majority are bungalows or four-squares -- boxy, 21/2-story houses with a dormer and a large front porch with wide stairs -- that sit close to the street on small lots.
"We love our home," said Ambor Mae Snider, who has lived on Bosart Avenue with her husband, Arthur, since 1964. "We feel safe here."
The Sniders raised six children in their four-bedroom, 1920s-era house.
"We have little kids around now playing again," she said. "That makes it real homey. We like to sit on the porch and watch them."
Steve Kennedy and his wife, Mary, like the area's historic architecture.
'There's a lot of good aesthetic features in the homes that you won't find in new construction," said Steve, who bought a four-square on Bosart Avenue four years ago. Some features in his house include built-in cabinets, a window seat and a bookcase with stained-glass doors.
Ten-year resident Don Borden capitalized on this community spirit and established the Bosart-Brown Community Organization last year.
The name derives from Brown's Corner park -- the neighborhood's southeast boundary at Washington Street and Emerson Avenue -- and the Wallace-Bosart house, built in 1841, at Washington and Bosart.
Bosart-Brown has some of the impoverished aspects of city living, too. There are some worn, shabby houses, payday loan stores nearby, and a struggling public school system.
But Patti Perrin, an agent with Re/Max Real Estate, who has sold several houses in Bosart-Brown, said the neighborhood will flourish along with Downtown, as it attracts people who like urban amenities but want to avoid the high price of living there.
"Downtown is just going to continue to get better and better and better," Perrin said. "And it is going to finger out to all these great little neighborhoods around the city."