February 2026.
East Broad Street, formerly a tree-lined boulevard filled with the Victorian mansions of the upper class, is now a car-dominated wasteland. This post explores some of the street’s less significant landmarks east of downtown Columbus. I also categorized it as “Near East Side” because the buildings on the north side are in King-Lincoln Bronzeville, while those on the south are in Olde Towne East.
History
A page from Art Work of Columbus, OH titled “Traffic was much lighter on East Broad Street in 1897.” (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
Columbus’s residential districts of vogue have shifted many times over the past two centuries. In the mid-19th century, stately Italianate and Second Empire houses sprung up on Town Street east of downtown, which are now a historic district today. East Broad Street in the same area was similar. Although these stretches would be considered part of downtown or the Discovery District today, they were decidedly residential and on the outskirts of town at the time. (When the Kelton House was built in 1852, it was the easternmost house on the entire street.)
This particular stretch of East Broad Street was far out of city limits in the 1850s, but in 1852, a plank road to Big Walnut Creek was built along the street by the Granville Plank Road Turnpike Company. With the road allowing access to this countryside, the large open lots spurred early development, and some Italianate houses were built as the first residences in the area. (One example is the Baker-Taylor House, built in 1856 at 1400 East Broad Street, which still stands today.) The stretch of East Broad Street from about I-71 to Alum Creek was annexed by the city of Columbus in the 1870s.
In 1872, the city of Columbus redesigned East Broad Street to have a central two-lane roadway, and two “carriage-ways,” which were separated from the road by a median planted with trees. This made the street a “handsome avenue” and encouraged further development by the upper-class residents who began to move there. In particular, the stretch nearest Franklin Park (at that time the county fairgrounds) became very desirable.
A page from Columbus Illustrated documenting the opulent homes on the street. I spy Italianate, Gothic Revival, and Queen Anne homes. (Wikimedia)
As the decades went on, there were two principal “silk stocking districts” by the late 19th century--the Bryden Road Historic District in Olde Towne East and the East Broad Street Historic District. Broad Street was arguably more important due to its role as the east-west axis of downtown, and due to the fact it became the National Road (US-40) west of High Street. Most of the existing houses on the street were built between 1880 and 1910.
By the 1920s, East Broad Street’s character had begun to change. With the rising impact of the automobile, the boulevards dividing the carriage-ways were removed in 1928, and the entire street was made open to car traffic. The Victorian houses were often converted to offices or subdivided into apartments, and denser luxury apartment buildings were being built instead of single-family homes. Bexley and other streetcar suburbs such as Clintonville were the newly fashionable neighborhoods for the well-to-do, but Broad Street was still nothing to scoff at.
However, post-World War II development resulted in the decline of East Broad Street. I-71 severed its connection to downtown east of the Jefferson Avenue Historic District in the 1960s, and it was soon trapped between the rapidly declining King-Lincoln Bronzeville and Olde Towne East. Bronzeville was always a historically Black neighborhood and the houses on East Broad Street were built deliberately south of it such that “the help” was able to walk to work, but not so close so as to risk any dastardly integration. However, with the trend of white flight and the possibility of middle-class Black people to move to houses previously unavailable to them, those left behind in the surrounding neighborhoods were too poor to leave.
Vacant and since-demolished service station on the street, which reflects its pattern of development since. (NRHP listing)
Slumlords and urban renewal schemes resulted in the loss of significant historic fabric from the 1970s until the new millennium. Although a stretch of East Broad Street from Ohio Avenue to the railroad tracks/Bexley was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as a multiple property listing, it and other listings frequently reference buildings that no longer stand. What little new development exists along the street is suburban in character, and the street itself has turned into a de facto expressway. Compared to the relative intactness of Town Street and Bryden Road, Broad Street’s fall from grace is very shocking.
Photos
As usual for these “dump articles,” this post covers a greater distance in less depth. Other places I have covered in more detail in this area include the W. H. Jones House, Broad Street Presbyterian, Garfield-Broad Apartments, Broad Street Christian, Pilgrim Missionary Baptist, and the Columbus Foundation.
Central Assurance Company (741 East Broad Street)
This late Art Deco office building was completed in 1942 for the Central Assurance Company. It has a bit of Stripped Classical influence with its proportions, materiality, and two Tuscan engaged columns, but the ornamentation and corner piers are decidedly Art Deco.
The current tenant seems to be The Breathing Association, although they did not appear to be in business when I visited.
This Ohio Historical Marker is hidden at the rear of the building:
After doing some research online, this marker was installed on 3rd Street across from the Ohio Statehouse in 2006. It stood as of 2025 but apparently has been removed and stashed back here?
East Broad Street Commercial Building (747-751 East Broad Street)
The building in 1981 as a Chinese restaurant. (NRHP listing)
A circa 1930 commercial building in the Jacobethan Revival style, it is an example of the commercial center of Columbus extending further outward from downtown due to more suburbanization in Bexley. These early structures tried to blend in with the surrounding architecture in style and scale, as can be seen here. Along with short-term doctors’ offices and insurance agencies, more established tenants included a Kroger’s at 751 E Broad from 1930 to 1946. Interestingly, a Chinese restaurant was present in the building from its opening until circa 2000. First was Golden Lotus, which operated from 1930 to 1950, and it was succeeded by Jong Mea from 1950 until after 1986. That restaurant installed a faux Chinese roof and neon sign in the mid-1950s, which have since been removed.
Vaulted entrance portal:
“Romeo and Juliet balcony” above the entrance:
Shiloh Christian Center (St. Paul’s Episcopal Church)
1986 photo of the church building. (NRHP listing)
A Gothic Revival church built in 1903, it was constructed for the St. Paul’s Episcopal congregation. They existed as early as the 1840s with a church at 3rd Street and Mound Street built from 1841 to 1846. The congregation outgrew this location over time and decided to move to this well-to-do street before 1891, as the Sanborn map from that year shows a frame church on the site that they used.
The NRHP listing does not mention it, but the Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Historic Society attributes the building’s design to Frank Packard. Google Maps shows the building being for sale as of 2011, though it seems that St. Paul’s vacated at some point prior. Since 2014, the church has been used by the Shiloh Christian Center.
These entrance doors are original, and they are surrounded by a pointed doorway similar to English Gothic architecture:
Rose window and nave above:
C. E. Morris House (875 East Broad Street)
Circa 1898 view of the house. (Wikimedia)
One of the grander remaining mansions on East Broad Street, this house is an example of the Chateauesque style. It was designed for Charles E. Morris, who owned the Morris Ironworks, along with his roles as a real estate attorney and president of the Hotel Lincoln Company. Morris and his family lived in the house until 1924, and it was subdivided into apartments thereafter before being converted to commercial use. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Its current owners have returned the house to residential use.
East side of the house from a nearby gas station:
I thought the cast-iron fence and urns were original, but they don’t even show up the the NRHP listing’s photos:
I don’t blame the owner for covering their house in greenery.
Broadmoor Apartments (Broad Street Apartments/Ralston Apartments)
1986 view of the apartments. (NRHP listing)
These Renaissance Revival apartments were built in 1916 by the firm Howell & Thomas, designed as a four-story complex but built with only three. They were known as the Broad Street Apartments until 1939, when they were renamed to the Ralston Apartments. The building is an early example of the luxury apartments springing up on Broad Street in vogue in the 1920s, as it was the first of these developments. Unlike later designs, it respects the scale of the nearby houses.
The apartments were popular with businessmen who wanted an easy commute downtown, as well as elderly single adults who could no longer maintain a larger home. They remain highly intact on the exterior, aside from certain windows being replaced with vinyl. Since 1950, the complex has been known as the Broadmoor Apartments.
These windows are not original, but the brick detailing and terra-cotta ornament is better visible here:
Central courtyard:
Eastern end of the west wing:
Unger Residence/Erwin & Sara Schueller House (904 East Broad Street)
The 1986 National Register listing for this one describes it as Queen Anne, but I’d call it an unusually lively American Foursquare house. It was built for Dr. Erwin W. Schueller and his wife Sara in 1909. Erwin died in 1924, but Sara remained in the house until the mid-1940s, and it was converted to offices after her departure. The house is used by a consulting firm today.
I very much like the vibrant cornice, dormer, and bay windows on this house. It also has a large porch. The symmetry and massing of the house is why I attribute it to the American Foursquare style.
Cambridge Arms
Cambridge Arms is a Renaissance Revival apartment building completed in 1928. It is the tallest building on East Broad Street, towering above its conventionally scaled neighbors. Like the Broadmoor Apartments, it was primarily occupied by businessmen in commuting distance of downtown and upper-class retirees. It was originally planned to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, but the owners objected, and it was only listed on the 18th & East Broad Historic District (part of the Columbus Register of Historic Properties) in 1988.
In 2003, the current owners mailed a request to have the property re-listed, as they did not object to its listing. The apartments are currently subsidized housing for senior citizens.
St. John Paul Preschool (957 East Broad Street)
The auditor’s website claims this house was built in 1920, which is pretty blatantly wrong. The portion at left seems to be a circa 1860-1880 Italianate house with an addition on the right (which is what may have been built in 1920). It also has an addition in the rear, which is used as a preschool today.
Shedd-Dunn House (965 East Broad Street)
1981 photo of the house. (NRHP listing)
This high-style Queen Anne house is in fair shape overall, but its porch appears to be in the process of being rebuilt due to heavy structural deterioration of the original design. (Its original Eastlake woodwork can be seen in the above photo.) It was built in 1888 for the Shedd family, who operated a wholesale grocery business, and they lived in the house until 1912. Its second resident was Eggleston Dunn, who was secretary and treasurer of the Dunn-Taft Dry Goods Company. Dunn lived there until the early 1940s.
After Dunn’s departure, the house was converted to offices, and beginning in 1949 it was home to local architecture firm Tibbals, Crumley, & Musson. The firm designed Hopkins Hall and The Drake at Ohio State. As of 1982, former partner Noverre Musson operated his own firm out of the house. According to Google Maps, it is the DADDS Health and Wellness Center.
Although I highly doubt that the porch will ever be restored to its original splendor, the house still retains its original slate tiles, windows (although some are boarded up), and cast-iron roof finials. It is an excellent example of the more fanciful Queen Anne houses in Columbus.
A better view of the house’s uneven massing from across Broad Street:
James & Mary Hanna House (1021 East Broad Street)
This Beaux-Arts house was built from 1898 to 1899 by local architects Yost & Packard. A rear stable was also built by partner Frank Packard. A Columbus Dispatch article from October 29, 1898 wrote that it has a “quiet, unpretentious style of architecture…yet has an air of dignity and grandure [sic] that seems to invite closer inspection.” The article goes into extensive detail about the house’s layout, writing that the third floor was the servants’ quarters, entertainment hall, and children’s playroom. Interior finishes were equally opulent, including parquetry floors, quarter-sawn oak wainscoting, and mahogany and curly birch finishes in the library and parlors.
Historic photo of Hanna’s paint company building. (Don in Westerville)
James Hanna, who lived in the house with his wife, founded the Hanna Paint Manufacturing Company with his brother Clarence in 1888. The headquarters of his company was located at 111 East Long Street in a building also designed by Yost & Packard, which has been demolished since. In 1896, Hanna’s company became the largest paint company in Ohio. They apparently still existed as of 1979 but seem to have gone out of business since.
Hanna was apparently quite the socialite, involved with Broad Street United Methodist, Columbus Athletic Club, Columbus Club, and the local country club. He died in 1936. His wife Mary did the same in women’s circles at the time, such as the Colonial Dames of America and Nightingale Cottage. She seemed to be a nurse, as she was a charter member of the Instructive District Nursing Association and Columbus Society for the Prevention and Cure of Tuberculosis. She lived at the Deshler Hotel before her death in 1956.
The Hanna family owned the house until 1975, although it was unoccupied for several years during that period. It was sold to the North American Equitable Life Insurance Company that year, and they “sensitively adapted” it for office use. According to Google Maps, the carriage house is used by a radio station, but the house itself remains a private residence. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The side entrance is finely detailed, with a circular pediment over the entrance and two bordering bay windows.
I’ve never seen a name over an entrance in the manner of a commercial building. It’s also very remarkable how historically intact this house is.
Frank & Marie McElroy House/Scofield-Sanor House (1031 East Broad Street)
A 1900 Frank Packard design, it’s interesting how this one “completes the set” with its neighbor. Although it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the “Scofield-Sanor House,” it was actually built in 1902 for Frank McElroy and his wife Marie.
Illustration of Frank McElroy. (Don in Westerville)
The Colonial Revival design was apparently drafted by McElroy himself, who had worked in a machine shop earlier in life, and he was inspired by a similar home that his uncle owned in Delaware. Frank Packard then adapted McElroy’s designs to build the house. Frank McElroy founded the F. C. McElroy & Company Insurance Agency (later the McElroy Insurance Company), and he was also a Freemason and a member of Broad Street Presbyterian. He died in 1942 and was followed by his wife in 1957, although the Columbus Dispatch article announcing her death noted that she lived in the Governor’s Terrace apartments at 1162 East Broad Street at that time.
The McElroys seemed to have moved out as early as 1910, when Lovett T. Scofield moved in. Scofield was president and treasurer of the Andrus-Scofield Company, which sold coffee and spices. In 1918, Dr. Daniel G. Sanor lived in the house, moving out in 1931. Another owner named Gertrude Starr used it as a boarding house during the Great Depression until the beginning of World War II, and the Ohio State Grange began occupying the house in 1950.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and it is now used by a law firm.
George Hoster House (1114 East Broad Street) [demolished]
Historic photo of the house. (Olde Towne East)
This Queen Anne house, like several others in the area, was demolished in 1961 to build public housing. The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority was one of the contributors to the destruction of this area’s fabric. They bought most of the block in the early 1960s and replaced it with a housing project in 1963. A new apartment complex stands on the site today. I chose this house in particular because it was home to George Hoster, son of Louis Hoster, founder of the eponymous brewery.
Sources:
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985202
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/id/11272/rec/42
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https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985226
https://www.ghmchs.org/st-pauls-episcopal-church
https://gis.franklincountyohio.gov/parcelviewer/
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985198
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/137890820
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985234
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988517
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985236
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985212
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985210
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985220
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985064
https://remarkableohio.org/marker/93-25-the-breathing-association/