Tour Stop 1 – 837 Park Street
Owner: Jenny Klaus & Mike Falkenhain

Built in 1888, this house beautifully illustrates how architectural tastes and styles have transformed over time. It followed the Victorian fashion in the neighborhood. Look closely and you can spot remnants of this era in the rugged arches over the ground-floor windows and doors, the fish scale shingles in the gable ends and the neatly carved stone base. Rear addition was completed in the 1950s.

Homeowner renovations include a 3-car garage and patio, attic converted to primary bedroom with ensuite bath, front porch restoration, outdoor living area with terrace and fireplace, kitchen remodel with mudroom, pantry and full bath addition. Design and construction partners include Urban Order Architecture, Ketron Custom Builders, Derrick Layer Custom Homes, and Archadeck.

The interior design is a combination of vintage and modern finishes – the perfect backdrop to display the owner’s art collections and special items gathered from travels to Sedona and New Orleans plus original pieces painted by their daughter.

“We made the decision in 2005 to stay in Victorian Village and raise our children here. We adapted our home to the various stages of their childhood… our living room has been a playroom, basketball court, and roller rink; the backyard a mini-baseball field, putt-putt, and hockey field. As the kids have grown, the house and backyard have adapted to all our interests including craft room, porch reading, gardening and sports – the house and backyard are still our favorite playground.

We have always loved living in the Short North, near downtown, the University district and especially Goodale Park. We enjoy the restaurants, shops, art galleries and the North Market.

Most of all, we love our home because it is a part of us – unique, eclectic, and perhaps chaotic at times – but always home to us.”

Tour Stop 2 – 847 N. Park Street
Owner: Regan Walsh & Nick Lanctot

Built in the 1880’s, this Victorian home features a classical front porch and a shallow second floor bay window. The bracket detailing on the porch is repeated again along the second floor eave and at the third floor dormer which beautifully unifies the facade. The structure is yellow roman brick, uncommon in the neighborhood.

In 2012, Regan and Nick, were looking for a house in the neighborhood. They credit their friend, who is now a neighbor, for providing a tip the house would be for sale – they ended up purchasing the home and celebrating the closing at Rigsby’s over burgers and beers.

The home has four bedrooms, three full baths, two half baths, two offices on the third floor, formal living room and dining room, open kitchen and family room with a 3-season screened-in porch. Raising a family in the historic home, they made the decision to update the floorpan by extending the home 20’. This allowed them to create a larger eat-in kitchen that opens into the family room, two additional bedrooms, and a powder room on the first floor. A finished basement serves as the ideal playroom for their two young daughters.

Owners partnered with Urban Order Architecture to design the addition including the 3- season screened-in porch. Construction by Aurora Industries including matching the original crown molding and trim to the existing part of the house. Yard Solutions landscaping service transformed the backyard into a clean and simple yard with blue stone pavers.

You can find Regan & Nick playing cards or board games on either porch most of the year. They love walking with their daughters to the North Market, dining on High Street,
walking to school and strolling around Goodale Park with their dog, Penny.

“Autumn and spring are our favorite seasons here–because of the changing
leaves and blooming flowers.”

Tour Stop 3 – 61 W. 2nd Avenue
Owners: Steve & Vanessa Marks

Built c.1860, this home is a perfect example of an Italianate home which is an early Victorian style with tall narrow windows, deep overhangs and a simple uncomplicated roof line. Notice the beautiful carved lintels over the windows and doors, the recessed paneled entrance and the ornately detailed front doors. The attic windows just below the cornice help to direct the eye upward to make the home seem taller and even more imposing from the street.

The 2023 tour makes for the 40th anniversary since this property was on the home and garden tour. While still a stunning brick Italianate nestled in the heart of historic Victorian Village. The second time on tour will be a bit different. This home has 4 spacious bedrooms and 3.5 baths, offering ample room for comfortable living in a generous 3,700 Sq Ft providing a perfect blend of elegance and functionality.

The Marks Family have poured a lot of love into numerous updates: 2nd-floor laundry, a newly renovated 3rd-floor bathroom, spacious master bedroom with an en suite bath. Special touches include heated floors, James Martin vanity, overhead rain shower head and Bluetooth can lighting/speakers. The home has been meticulously renovated, showcasing modern finishes and thoughtful design elements.

Outside features an oversized 2-car garage and carriage house, and 500 additional sq ft for a home office or man cave. The most recent updates include a new roof and professionally landscaped front and back yard. It’s a true oasis in the heart of the city.

Tour Stop 4 – 1334 Neil Avenue – bonus stop
Owner: Stauf’s Coffee

Stauf’s Coffee repurposed this beautiful Gothic Revival church with a rugged stone exterior featuring limestone detailing, large openings and a rectangular tower placed on the front corner. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries renewed interest in the Middle Ages was influencing the design of churches in the Romanesque and Gothic styles. Built during the late Victorian age the unique red mortar was probably influenced by the period’s exuberant use of color which makes the building stand out along Neil Avenue.

“We found this opportunity to repurpose an old church that hadn’t been a church for 25 years,” Stauf’s Coffee Roasters President Mark Swanson told Daily Coffee News. “In this particular area, there weren’t many opportunities to get coffee, so we felt like we’d be a good fit.”

Stained glass that had to be removed was repurposed into an art piece that hangs above the center of the cafe; church pews were updated and turned into cafe seating; the sanctuary’s doors were saved and reused. In addition to the beautiful seating area inside of the coffee shop, there’s also a large patio out front.

In order to balance the building’s past and the present demands of consumers, Stauf’s settled upon a midcentury modern interior design aesthetic through its selection of sofas, white tables, and a polished wood floor. Enormous stained glass windows create colorful splashes of light that shift with the sun, while the high ceilings and white tile behind the bar brighten and open up the space. (Partial Source Credit: DailyCoffeeNews.com)

Tour Stop 5 – 398 W. 5th Avenue

Gables Green Mansion, built in 1899 features grand halls, fluted woodwork, and a blend of original historic charm and contemporary luxury. This classic Queen Anne home is unmistakable with its dramatic corner tower topped with a faceted dome.

The style was know for mixing materials and textures to create interest and shadow lines, and here horizontal siding mingles with recessed panels and flared shingle walls. The neoclassical porch has arched openings on solid square columns with round medallions. The second floor balcony has a shallow arched beam supported by an elaborately curved, shingled bracket which contrasts nicely with the delicate eyebrow-roofed widows to the east.

The home includes 4 large bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms and a first floor laundry room. The sleeping porch, complete with a daybed, just off the queen suite is a serene escape from the day. Leaded glass windows with operable transoms for natural air circulation are through-out the home.

The chef’s kitchen features stainless steel appliances + bar with seating perfect for cooking for the family or entertaining guests while they watch the chef at work. The dining room has a bay window as a dramatic backdrop. The home includes a carriage house with 1 bedroom, living-dining rooms & full basement.

The owners describe their home “as a perfect blend of historic charm and contemporary luxury.”

Tour Stop 6 – 1077 Neil Avenue
Owner: Jack Decker

Built in 1902, this home is a classic American Foursquare – a two-story, square-shaped house with a front porch, a hipped roof, double-hung wood windows and dormer windows in the attic. The name ‘Foursquare’ comes not only from the general massing, but also from the floor plan, which typically has four rooms per floor, one per corner – which has remained largely intact. Note the classical porch details and the great oval stained glass window.

A 5 year plan inevitably turned into a 25-year renovation, largely guided by the creative vision of Jack’s late wife, Barbara Austin. A century of grime was stripped from the first-floor oak woodwork and the décor returned to the home’s original historic character including William Morris designed wallpaper and retention of original stained glass windows on the landing.

Jack noted the house has benefitted from care by previous owners – most all woodwork is original and the home retains the original floorplan. Jack utilizes the 19th century pocket doors to provide flexibility in the first-floor space just as previous owners have done throughout the years.

“All first floor overhead fixtures are original and three of them once operated on both gas and electricity as a hedge against the latter’s disappearance as only a passing fad!”

Third floor was originally for live-in servants and included a speaking tube leading to the kitchen. This floor is now a primary suite displaying vintage posters, record albums and mirror discoball.

Landscaping has been expanded and deteriorated garden retaining walls replaced with limestone blocks salvaged from the demolished Ohio Penitentiary.

Kitchen addition design by Urban Order Architecture, construction & homeowner ‘therapy’ by Epic Group Ohio. Third floor design by architect Alfred Berthold, construction by J. L. Will & Co.Interior/exterior carpentry by the late Joseph Kelch.

Tour Stop 7 – 507 W. 2nd Avenue
Owner: Charles Wince

Built in 1917 this Victorian clapboard house with shingled gabled ends uses ‘arrow’ shaped shingles to create an upside-down fish scale look. The exterior whimsical details are only the beginning of this immersive creative experience by the owner and artist, Charles Wince.

Charles purchased his ‘’fixer upper’’ in 1988 for $39,800 in the area previously referred to in the 1950’s as ‘Flytown’. As for renovations – Charles says there have been A LOT. “I believe the fact it was in such a shabby condition when I bought it, that I had no constraints on letting my imagination fly! If I had purchased a really nice dwelling with oak trim and finished floors, I would have hesitated to paint murals, create mosaic tile floors and invite other local artists to paint cabinet doors with their own work. Today it’s as much a museum as it is my home.”

“As with the back garden, it wasn’t a cared for lawn with plantings when I bought the home – it came with bare dirt and weeds so ANY improvement WAS an improvement!”

“Despite being known as ‘’WinceWorld ‘’ my home / museum is a collaborative creation with other local artists and not just me as a singular artist. Paul Volker came up with the unique spiral walkway, Melissa Vogley Woods painted much of the murals on the 2nd story, landscaper Greg Maynard advised me on what to plant where as well as donated labor and many plants and M.J. Bole gifted me with some of her amazing ceramic creations.

A polychromed rocking chair and taxidermy deer head with string lights (and HELL IS REAL painting) greet visitors. The decorative stylised window frame are harmonised by a Victorian pallet of green, red, and yellow. Window frame and faux-functional fence posts might be described as cartoonish-Rococo riffs on the porch’s spindles and columns. source: RawVision.com

Tour Stop 8 – 903 Neil Avenue
Owner: Kasey & Shawn Conyers

Built in 1898, this classic Queen Anne home has an asymmetrical front facade that balances a strong gable end with a Palladian attic window against the three-story slate-wrapped tower on the corner. Porch detailing features a sunburst design, expressing the victorian attitude of the sun rising on a new, exciting era.

“The house sat vacant for a year prior to our move into the house in 2008 – the last major renovation had been in 1978. The previous owners marked their renovation work with their signature and the date, so it’s been fun uncovering and discovering their project timeline one room at a time as we’ve done our own renovation work. This house was on the fifth Victorian Village Home & Garden Tour”. Kasey & Shawn are the 8th owners of the house.

“The rear addition and 3rd floor are our favorite areas of the home. The addition is so bright with big windows overlooking the pool and backyard. The 3rd floor is cozy and comfy during the cold winter months. Our favorite season in the house is summer. We love coffee on the front porch and experiencing the neighborhood events such as the Doo Dah parade. But we also love relaxing in the backyard garden and pool area.”

“All of the art in the house are originals we’ve collected over the past 20 years from around the world. Some works are from local artists including CCAD students and our children. Others have come from our travels in different parts of Europe, Bali, and the United States.”

“We love our neighborhood, so leaving for the suburbs after the boys were born wasn’t something we saw ourselves doing. Living in the city gives them a greater appreciation for the time we spend out in nature. It’s a good balance and gives them a unique perspective growing up as city kids.”

Tour Stop 9 – 655 Neil Avenue, Unit #401
Owners: Robert & Rachel Stern

Westminster-Thurber’s Heritage Pointe is a modern high-rise with glass curtain walls to maximize views and light. Residents have access to first-class amenities, engaging programming and exceptional care and services to combine luxury living with the value and safety of a life plan community.

When Westminster-Thurber announced the new building in 2020, the Stern’s knew it was time to consider one floor living. They wanted to continue living in the walkable neighborhood of the Short North and Victorian Village as enthusiastic fans of the Short North Stage and patrons of the local restaurant scene.

“The JMM Architects designed layout for our apartment attracted us.” The open concept features a large living room, kitchen and sunroom. Natural light from the floor to ceiling windows flows from room to room. The interior space is designed by Judith Politi Interior Design.

“The utilization of space and the amount of storage amazed us. And the additional feature of having a 250+ square foot balcony sold us. We have a large art collection that we have found ways to present in our new home. Seeing our art in a different venue makes us feel as if we have a whole new collection.” Their art extends to the front balcony where they enjoy socializing and the skyline views.

The Stern’s art collection ranges from local artists to international celebraties including Alexander Calder, Han Xin, Denny Griffith, Rick Borg, Fred Fochtman, Sharon Hildebrand, David Jewell, Neil Riley and Roger Williams. The glass sculpture collection includes Martin Blank, Christopher Ries, La Von Van Williams Jr, and Lino Tagliapietra. Rachel Stern is an artist in her own right and has converted one of the 2 bedrooms into an active painting studio.

BONUS!
Heritage Pointe ~ Top Floor Party Room

Tour attendees are invited to visit the top floor Party Room where neighbors gather to socialize and watch games on 3 separate TVs. The room is equipped with the new Hearing Loop technology that sends sound directly from the room’s AV system to an individual’s hearing device. Residents that might have previously skipped game day and other activities due to hearing issues, can now enjoy a rich audio experience with their friends and neighbors. The Party Room also features comfortable lounge style furniture, fireplace, kitchen, bar, and balcony with city skyline views to the south and Goodale Park to the east.