herr2ck: Keeping Up With The Joneses

Photos from two separate occasions in February 2026. I knew I didn’t do this one justice and returned at a later date.

The W. H. Jones House is a grand Richardsonian Romanesque house on East Broad Street, one of the last remnants of its formerly opulent residential nature for several blocks. Naturally, the house was planned for demolition at one time, but it has been saved and was even undergoing restoration work when I visited.

The W. H. Jones House is located at 731 East Broad Street in the Olde Towne East neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by Broad Street to the north, Capital Street to the south (Engine House No. 12 is on the other side of the alley), the Central Assurance Company to the east, and a fast-food restaurant to the west.

History

Historic drawing of the house. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)

The W. H. Jones House was built in 1889 at a cost of $11,250. Its architect is unknown; it could possibly be a Yost & Packard work, but it is dissimilar from their other residential buildings. Jones reportedly purchased the plans to an existing mansion in Barnesville, Ohio, indicating that it was probably designed by a non-Columbus architect or firm. The house is an example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style with its vaulted windows, contrasting stone trim, and solid appearance, although its massing is closer to Queen Anne houses of the time. (The OTE Neighborhood Association also states it has Chateauesque features, but I don’t really see any French or Renaissance influence on the house.) I’ve written about it before in other articles, but East Broad Street was formerly a quiet, tree-lined boulevard where the well-to-do built grand mansions, and most of these houses were demolished in the urban renewal era until about the 1980s as Broad Street became choked with cars.

William H. Jones, who commissioned the house, owned the Jones Dry Goods Store (another source calls it Jones-Witter). He lived inside with his wife Josephine until 1923, and the family maintained ownership of the house first with two grandsons living inside and later through its use by the Schorr-Ketner Furniture Company. The house naturally went through alterations, though none were severe, and much of the original ornamentation still remained through the years. The only major change was a concrete display annex at the corner of the property built sometime in the 1950s or 1960s, which has since been demolished. The dry goods store remained in business until 1966 and was so successful that it had a second office in New York City.

The house in 1976. (NRHP listing)

The house received historic designation first in 1978 with its listing on the National Register of Historic Places that year. Next, it was listed on the Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 1984. It was at risk of being demolished around this time (the restaurant next door was built in the mid-1980s) for a Long John Silver’s, but the Olde Towne East Neighborhood Association successfully prevented its demolition.

The W. H. Jones House went through owners rapidly in the 21st century, such as a community organization and an alternative school. According to Google Maps, it is used as offices and art studios today a la Milo Arts, known as The Mansion 731 and operated by local nonprofit OTE Arts. Additionally, a gym called The Active is located in the carriage house.

Photos

I took these photos in two sessions--one that was a quicker, more general view of the house earlier in February, and a second that focused on the house’s intact Victorian details later in the month. As usual, I let the two mingle together, though, in order to paint the full picture.

The main facade faces north, so sadly this brick beauty will never be fully lit by the sun. Anyways, the house has been in more or less the same condition since 2007, but part of the cornice was removed between 2022 and 2024 (hopefully for restoration) and has not yet been replaced.

The house has a complex, eclectic massing that was common for buildings in the style. The main body of the house is rather symmetrical (though the front wing is shifted a bit to the side), and the horizontal expanse of the porch is balanced visually by the circular tower. Much of the exterior is brick, but there is a wide palette of materials in use here--a light stone water table, dark stone trim, wooden ornament, cast-iron cresting, and slate roof tiles.

At least there’s a bit of sunlight here:

The porch has its original stone steps and banisters, as well as the woodwork and canopy:

Also note the original entrance doors, too--it is very remarkable how intact this house is on the exterior. We’ll see more in the coming photos. Before we go, here’s another look at the porch’s columns and entablature:

This front-facing wing is just jam-packed with details. It certainly livens up an otherwise dull, repetitive facade.

The second floor has a large and small window separated with an ornamental panel:

Loving this little fella…what sharp teeth you have!

The gable has various bands of stonework, along with a small area with an alternating checkerboard of brick and stone:

One of the corner’s tourelles, which have highly elaborate entwining ornamentation and a tall pinnacle:

Most high-style Victorian mansions were built with this stuff, but way back in the 1950s people decided streamlined buildings looked better, and thought that same logic applied to the architecture of their fathers. There’s some convoluted architectural discourse simplified for you. As a result, it is rare for houses of this age to have their original decor still hanging on.

The tower in its entirety:

The base has a series of vaulted windows, with two bands of stone above--one carved and another hewn smooth:

It has a stone string course with leafy ornamentation and more snarling dragons:

The second floor has rectangular windows, with the central one being much shorter in height:

Unlike the stereotypical Queen Anne tower, this one lacks a conical or witch’s-hat turret, instead ending simply with a flat roof:

Another closer look at the ironwork and cornice:

Let’s pivot to the east facade now.

I love the porch’s woodwork. It has been painted, but that would have been the case historically, too:

Two intricate, weaving column capitals support an entablature with an exaggerated lintel. The cornice is a typical classical design with dentils, modillions, and an egg-and-dart pattern, but the other ornamentation is more Romanesque in character.

Original leaded-glass windows in the side entrance--I believe that worker was in the process of restoring one:

Ironwork above:

This window nearby is vaulted with stone voussoirs:

Not the best picture, but these two corner windows, separated only by a florid column, ironically speak to the eventual fenestration tendencies of Modern architecture despite their presence on a fanciful Victorian-era house:

Detail of the two vaulted windows in the gable:

One of the adjacent pinnacles, which still has its stone ornamentation:

All of the chimneys are intact, and some still stand to their original height. This is uncommon, as reducing chimneys was a common alteration to historic houses such as this one.

I liked this unified dormer and chimney elsewhere on the roof:

Note the original hexagonal slate roof tiles. These aren’t that uncommon, but it’s still interesting to see versus the bland asphalt roofs of contemporary houses.

Next up is the west facade. On my first visit, the masonry had a beautiful golden glow cast by the setting sun:

A view of the facade in its entirety, as far away as I could get:

The dragon’s eyes appear to glow red in this unusually warm lighting:

This bay window is very interesting, and though the woodwork is decaying a bit, the glass is in good condition:

Note the varying patterns in the individual panes:

The wood cornice nearby is looking a little patchy, but the ornamental panels are in excellent condition down to the serrated leaves.

A stone base to a pier nearby:

Bit of a sharp angle, but the gable here has the original windows as well as some masonry anchors above:

Hard to imagine this was once someone’s side yard, and now it’s a drive-thru lane for a Chinese restaurant.

This carriage house is reportedly the largest remaining in Columbus--it’s certainly the largest that I know of:

Yes, I know I chopped off the roof of the tower by accident. Based on the shingled treatment of the second floor, I wonder if the architect was influenced by Shingle houses?

Overexposed view of the tower by itself: