Short North
Tour of Homes & Gardens
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HOME TOUR – SUNDAY SEPT 21, 2025
CELEBRATING SHORT NORTH PIONEERS
This year’s 50th Anniversary Tour Of Homes & Gardens celebrates and acknowledges ‘pioneers’ who embraced our historic neighborhood and took a chance despite uncertainty. Their commitment, care, perseverance and belief in community laid a foundation for the vibrant place the Short North has become today.
In the 1970s and 80s, Columbus’s Short North was a place most people passed by rather than stopped to explore. The once-grand homes and commercial buildings along in the area had slipped into decline, many divided into rooming houses or left vacant. Yet this very neglect attracted preservationists, artists, gays, bohemians and those who were drawn to the raw, affordable spaces that allowed for creative freedom. These folks saw possibility where others saw blight.
For those who had a love of old houses, the Short North offered a rare chance to save remarkable late-19th- and early-20th-century homes from demolition. They invested sweat equity, painstakingly peeling back layers of neglect to reveal the original craftsmanship and beauty of these structures. At the same time, artists and independent entrepreneurs were moving in, converting storefronts and apartments into studios, galleries, coffee shops and gathering places. This blend of historic preservation and artistic energy created a cultural revival—that would become a new identity rooted in creativity and community – the Short North Arts District.
Together, these daring residents gave the Short North its foundation as both a historic district and a cultural hub. Their work not only safeguarded the architectural fabric of the neighborhood but also sparked an arts-driven renaissance that transformed the area into the lively, eclectic destination it remains today.
So many have contributed to making this neighborhood what it is today and while we don’t have space to honor all, we spotlight three individuals whose impact has been especially meaningful to this year’s tour.
Linda Schuler ~ 1976
LINDA SCHULER
Linda Schuler, who passed away on October 1, 2022 purchased 110 W. 1st Avenue in March of 1995. At that time, Linda did a 9-month renovation. I came along and we began our life’s journey together May 2, 1996.
Linda was an urban pioneer who started buying property in the Short North in the late 1970’s before women were able to get a loan in their name and most banks insisted women have a husband or father co-sign. She convinced the bank to lend her money and purchased 124-126 W. 1st Avenue (August 1976) where she lived prior to buying and moving to 110 W. 1st Avenue (Purchased March 1995). Linda would go on to renovate a total of 12 properties, NINE were on her own street, West 1st Avenue and one in Italian Village. Linda never sold any properties but instead kept all as rentals she managed.
I decided it would be a fitting tribute to Linda to renovate the house we shared together. She had always wanted to renovate it but the other properties and projects took priority. I started working with John Behal and Dan Morgan from Behal, Sampson, and Dietz now known as BSD Partners on June 30, 2023. Construction started in July 2024, and I moved back into 110 W. 1st in June of 2025.
Renovation of Tour Home 110 W. 1ST Ave.
Dean Berlon & Steve Hurtt
Steve Hurtt and Dean Berlon:
urbanorder architecture
If you’ve attended the Short North Home Tour in recent years, chances are you’ve admired the work of Steve Hurtt and Dean Berlon of urbanorder architecture. In fact, their projects have been featured in every one of the past 20 years of tours. This year is no exception where five of the nine homes on the tour showcase their vision.
Their journey with Italian Village began in the late 1980s, fresh out of OSU, when they discovered the neighborhood’s historic charm and potential. Their first project was a duplex from 1870—one of the area’s earliest homesteads, originally built for a father and son to live side by side. Steve and Dean took on the renovation, launching not just their architectural careers but a lifelong commitment to preserving and reimagining historic homes.
From there, they rescued another abandoned home before turning their attention to a row house on a prominent corner at Summit and Warren Streets. The landmark building—a once-bustling neighborhood grocery—was vacant and in danger of demolition after a failed renovation left it gutted, with no windows and a collapsing rear brick wall. Over the next two years, Steve and Dean painstakingly brought it back to life, doing much of the design and restoration work themselves: roofing, masonry, mechanicals, windows, and more. Its transformation was a turning point for the neighborhood, sparking a wave of investment and renewal across Italian Village.
Since then, they’ve continued their mission, restoring multiple properties—including their own architectural studio, housed in an 1880s commercial storefront where urbanorder architecture has practiced now for over 25 years.
Their work doesn’t just preserve the past—it reimagines it. Their homes on this year’s tour are testaments to their commitment to thoughtful restoration and timeless design, blending historic character with modern living.
urban order architecture has received multiple accolades and awards including: National and regional Chrysalis Awards, Columbus Landmarks Foundation Awards, National Association of the Remodeling Industry Awards, University District’s Golden Paint Brush Award, featured in Woman’s Day Magazine, Green Builder Magazine and Professional Remodeler.
