The Charles Frederick Myers house is a historic private residence in the Franklin Park neighborhood of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. The house was built in 1896 in an eclectic style. It was added to the

Columbus Near East Side District The Columbus Near East Side District is a historic district in the Near East Side of Columbus, Ohio. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. A portion of the district, the Bryden Road District, was added to the ...

(part of the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

) in 1978, and the

Bryden Road District The Columbus Near East Side District is a historic district in the Near East Side of Columbus, Ohio. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. A portion of the district, the Bryden Road District, was added to the ...

(part of the

Columbus Register of Historic Properties The Columbus Register of Historic Properties is a register for historic buildings and other sites in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The register is maintained by the City of Columbus Historic Resources Commission and Historic Preservation Offic ...

) in 1990.

Design

The Charles Frederick Myers house was built in an

eclectic style Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact th ...

, including elements of

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

, neo-French provincial, and

Queen Anne architecture The Queen Anne style of British architecture refers to either the English Baroque architecture of the time of Queen Anne (who reigned from 1702 to 1714) or the British Queen Anne Revival form that became popular during the last quarter of the ...

. It was among the most ornate houses built in the city in the 19th century, built on Bryden Road (one of three streets in Columbus where the grandest houses were built, along with East Main and East Broad). It is one of the largest and most ornate houses on the street and in the

. The architect is unknown, though is suspected to be a work of architect Joseph W. Yost or his firm

Yost & Packard Yost & Packard was an architectural firm based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The firm included partners Joseph W. Yost and Frank Packard. It was founded in 1892 and continued until Yost moved to New York City in 1899, after which Packard t ...

. The home's design has numerous similarities to the Joseph Warren Yost House, situated on Bryden a few blocks to the west. The exterior includes a square tower at the southwest corner, with diagonal brick details. The house has steep tile roofs with dormers, decorative chimneys, and terra cotta ornaments. An ornate fence and gate surround the property, though they are not original to the house. The house, upon completion, had a lavish interior with heavily carved wood, including black and Circassian walnut, mahogany, and cherry. Myers hired an artist from Germany to decorate the interior and paint murals. The house's centerpiece is the Great Hall, which has a large central stairway with a landing extending the length of the room. The stair's

newel post A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar of a staircase. It can also refer to an upright post that supports and/or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post"). In stairs having str ...

has four sculpted heads, once said to have been of a kaiser, though altered during World War I. The room also included a "Turkish Alcove" with a tented ceiling, cushions, oriental lamps, and Syrian draperies. The house has about 18 rooms, in addition to several unfinished spaces. It has four floors and an elevator.

History

The mansion was built in 1896 for Charles Frederick Myers, founder and owner of the United States Carriage Company. It was noted to be one of Myers' greatest legacies, as one of the finest residential buildings in the city. The elaborate structure was said to have been designed after a castle in Myers' homeland in Germany. The house's construction required water and sewer lines to be extended east from Wilson Avenue. Upon completion, the Myers family lived in it for several years, though Charles died during a trip to Germany only a few years after the home was finished. From 1921 to 1940, the Ryan family lived in the house, and the "Rinkey-Dink" neighborhood club met there. After 1940, the house was turned into a nursing home. The house was part of the Stella Marshall Memorial Homes, which operated nursing facilities in neighboring houses. Many of these, including the Myers house, ceased to operate in 1977 when found to be uncompliant with state standards. It was added to the

(part of the

) in 1978, and the

(part of the

) in 1990.

References

External links

* {{Columbus Register of Historic Properties Franklin Park (Columbus neighborhood) Houses completed in 1896 Houses in Columbus, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Columbus, Ohio Eclectic architecture Historic district contributing properties in Columbus, Ohio Columbus Register properties

Design

History

See also

References

External links