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Bikes Can Be Faster than Autos
When I was researching my post for 3125 North High, I came across this article about the Washburn family.
Accidents are not in themselves funny, but in this case, it is…a bit. The policeman, on his bicycle, caught the hit-skip car? Two automobile wheels passed over the child’s leg and she was not seriously injured? The policeman let the hit-skip driver go? Times have changed!
[Article from the Columbus Dispatch, accessed from the NewsBank database of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. A detailed citation can be found by clicking through the image above.]
3125 N High: “Built Like the Rock of Gibraltar”
This is another Clintonville building I’ve been curious about; it has a very strong presence on North High Street. Externally it is a virtual twin to the building across the street, 3110 North High Street (compare them here); and the current owner told me he believes it is a Sears home.
Here’s a summary of ownership based on research plus the auditor’s site:
- 1893–DeWitt and Nellie Washburn
- 1920–Austin M Ojeda, Mabel Mathews Ojeda
- 1924–Clara B Lawrence and Sadie J Ulrich
- 1935–Marshall H and Agnes E Bullock
- 1964–Agnes Bullock; by Dec 1964 the property was put up for sale
- 1966–Edward G and Maxine Tracey
- 1988–Partnership of ASdad [? or Asaad] Sabag [or Sabing] & Josephine H Millisor
- 1997–Yoshiaki Yoshinari and Arved Ashby Jr (North Oak Gallery).
- 2020–Ashby Arved Jr
- 2021–current owner
In August 1893, John F Coe sold some property, 300 acres, in Clinton Township to Dalton DeWitt Washburn for $5600. I’m not sure this is the same property as 3125 North High, but it may well be. Old maps show Washburn owning an extensive piece of property at this location between what is now North High Street and the Olentangy River.
In 1901 (April 15), the Washburns sold some of their property, along with additional acres, to William and Clara Kimble (aka Kimball). William was a dairyman; see my book page 52 for a photograph of his nearby dairy. The 1910 census shows the Kimballs as living at 3119 N High, next-door neighbors to the Washburns at 3125 N High. That said, in 1906 the Washburns themselves had an address on South Front Street, and also owned several lots in the Northwood housing subdivision, so they did not move to 3125 N High immediately after purchasing from Coe.
The Washburns were “members of society” (who among us isn’t?! In this case, I mean that they were listed on Columbus’ Blue Book) and I assume they were the owners who built the current large brick house, with a yard of about 3 acres. Maps from 1910 show a brick building at that location, likely this house. They certainly bought and sold other properties in the Old North or Clintonville neighborhoods, as well.
The Washburn family lived at the 3125 North High property until 1919. Sadly, DeWitt Washburn died in 1915, leaving the property to daughter Eliza and her brother Revilo DeWitt Washburn. Son Revilo died intestate in 1916 (at age 16) so his sister Eliza inherited this and several other properties. Dewitt’s wife Nellie, as guardian for Eliza, sold the property in 1919, when Eliza was age 16 [sic], to Austin Ojeda. The property sold is described as being 255 feet deep.
Ojeda lived in the house with his family until 1922. (A portion of Lot 1 seems to have been sold off around 1920.) He had graduated from OSU in 1910, in Engineering, so was still a young man. In January 1922, Ojeda relocated to New Orleans, and later to Chicago (and later to Argentina), where he was appointed consul representing the Argentine government. In March 1922, two acres of “good fertile ground with a number of fruit trees rear of 3125 N High” were put up for sale. Ojeda subdivided his property in 1922 and may have built the brick homes immediately to the west. Initially, the Ojedas tried to rent the house out; it is described as being “an eleven-room single brick with reception hall, music room, large living room, dining room, breakfast room and kitchen on the first floor; 4 large bedrooms on the second floor; two servants rooms on the third floor; a large [cemented?] basement with two furnaces, one for gas and one for coal; a large garage suitable for three cars.” Wow. I’m wondering where that garage was located and what egress it had. By the following year, Ojeda was attempting to sell the house instead of renting it, and in 1924 Ojeda sold it to sisters Clara B Lawrence and Sadie J Ulrich.
I believe it was Clara and Sadie who “duplexed” the house between 1924 and 1930. Clara and Sadie let apartments during their ownership; the 1930 census shows 8 people living at this address. The house remained duplexed until very recently (ca 2024). Clara and Sadie advertised it as a property with great commercial potential when they sold it to the Bullocks.
Marshall H Bullock (b. 1882), was a manager with Western and Southern Life Insurance Company. The Bullocks never lived at 3125; in 1930 and 1934 they with their 6 children lived at 36 West Lakeview, and by 1942 lived at 40 West Schreyer. Marshall died in 1963. Agnes continued to own the 3125 property until 1964. Though Marshall and Agnes owned the property, they likely purchased it for their son Donald H Bullock M.D.’s practice. Donald graduated medical school in 1934. Dr Bullock was listed as having this address as his practice and also, for a time, as his residence. Donald died in 1981 at age 73.
After Marshall died in 1963, Agnes sold the property, in 1964, to the Traceys. This is what the house looked like in 1964 and 1965.
Edward Tracy was an art instructor from his home and had a lively advertisement for his instruction, gift shop, and gallery. Dog sitting! Children entertained!
I do not know anything about the Millisor and Sabag partnership, though I found a Josephine H Sica Millisor, from Marion OH, who died in 2001 at age 81.
This nice realtor picture shows the house in 1966. I especially like it because it shows the outside entrances to the duplex, on the south side of the house.
I believe the building served as the North Oak Gallery under artist Yoshiaki Yoshinari’s ownership. The Clintonville Spotlight did a nice article on the building in 2021.
And a final note: the building may well be visible in the streetview here.
[Links courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch, the County Recorder, and Clintonville Spotlight. Specific citations can be found by clicking though the links. The 1964, 1965, and 1966 photos are from the MLS realtor files at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.]Clinton Inn Restaurant (3363 N High)
For many years, the addresses of 3361 and 3363 North High were a single res-taurant space owned & managed by Sam Spandos and his brother.
In 1946, though, the space was divided and 3361 became part of Clintonville Electric. The space at 3363 continued as a restaurant under various names–Sam Spandos Restaurant, Lee’s Restaurant, Far North Restaurant, and Mrs Rose DeMatties Restaurant.
In 1950 the space reopened as the Clinton Inn. Described as “under new management by Rose and Tommy,” it was a 24-hour restaurant (just as, I believe, its predecessors were). I am not sure who Tommy or Rose are, but the restaurant had variously been listed as Mrs Rose DeMatties Restaurant from 1947 to 1949 and I assume there is a relationship.
The restaurant was destroyed in a massive fire in 1953; you can read more about that here. In March 1954, Hinton announced the opening of a new sales room at 3361-3363, taking over the space after a fire had destroyed the businesses at those addresses.
I’m sure this is when the architecture of the buildings became more streamlined; for comparison see here.
Beth Tikvah in Clintonville
I recently learned that Congregation Beth Tikvah–a synagogue currently located at 6121 Olentangy River Rd in Worthington–was once located at 3392 North High (southeast corner of North High and East North Broadway). The congregation met there from July 1962 until development plans for that corner required that they move. According to this February 1968 news article, they located a building to purchase after much hunting and just in time. In March they moved to 3199 Indianola until they built a new larger synagogue in 1981.
The 3392 N High assembly-house location was a house that was torn down to make way for an office building–this is the current white office building at 3400 N High. I do not have any pictures of the older Beth Tikvah building but would love one!
Here‘s a very nice history of Beth Tikvah written by one of its members and past presidents Marty Seltzer.
As a small sidenote: this is another location near that corner, probably also torn down to be replaced by the larger white brick building. This is a 1965 picture of a building at 3382-3384 North High, 1 or 2 doors south of the Beth Tikvah assembly house. It housed a dentist in the front, a doctor in the back, and also had space upstairs for another professional.
(Newspaper articles courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch and accessed from the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s NewsBank database. The 3384 N High photo is from the library’s MLS database. The synagogue shared their history with us.)
Tropicana Record Bar (3361 N High)
On November 10, 1945, Lloyd Hinton–the owner of Clintonville Electric–opened the Tropicana Record Bar at 3361 North High. It was described as having “a continental atmosphere… with four recording rooms each complete with custom-built high-fidelity sound equipment.” Another description called it a “tropical motif with cabana style wall settings and palm trees completing an atmospheric layout” with 5 listening rooms. The store sold records and record players, and hosted music celebrities for signings and photo ops.
Unfortunately in September 1953, a raging fire destroyed the Tropicana Record Bar and the restaurant next door. It began in the basement and became an intense fire, “felling” 15 firemen (all of whom survived). Lloyd Hinton owned the record business and said his loss was estimated to be $5000 (several thousand records). The owner of the buildings (Sam Spandos and his brother) stated the property was almost a total loss.
In March 1954, Hinton announced the opening of a new sales room for Clintonville Electric Appliances at 3361-3363, taking over the spaces after the fire destroyed the businesses at those addresses.
(Images courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch, accessed via the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s NewsBank database. Specific citations can be found by clicking through each link.)
Clintonville Electric
In my previous post, I described the progressive “takeover” of the addresses 3361 North High through 3367 North High, by the business Clintonville Electric [Appliance] Store. Lloyd Beaman Hinton owned that business.
From the library:
Lloyd Beaman Hinton (6/3/1904 – 4/18/1994) is said to have founded Clintonville Electric Company in 1939. Hinton was an appliance salesman in Springfield, Ohio before moving to Columbus and becoming manager of Clintonville Electric at 3367 North High. He ran and expanded the business for 20 years until his stepson, Phillip William Karshner (6/1/1934 – 7/9/2022) took over. Karshner retired in 2004 and sold the business to Paul Holmes, Scott Jester and Tom Cover. The store moved to 2136 Bethel Road the same year and was closed in 2008 due to bankruptcy.
Some very nice photos can be found on the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s web site here. You’ll see photos of the founder Lloyd Hinton, and employees, as well as some terrific pix of the interiors and exteriors of the business.
In 1945, Lloyd Hinton lived at 35 West North Broadway (but it seems he was renting that home) and later at 541 Walhalla (and eventually on Teteridge.)
(Link courtesy of The Columbus Metropolitan Library, Local History & Genealogy Dept.)
