Monday, October 8, 2018

Price Hill Brick Beauty

This beautiful home recently hit the market and I was happy to provide the house history to the listing agent, Bill Draznik.

This home was built in 1885 for George H. Grimmelsman, and designed by architect Theodore Richter. Early in his career, Richter worked with other well-known Cincinnati architects such as James McLaughlin, Edwin Anderson and George Rapp. By the time this house was constructed, Richter has his own firm. He is known for many residential buildings in Over-the-Rhine, Clifton, and for the Church of the Holy Family in Price Hill.

1904 Sanborn Map
Grimmelsman was born October 28, 1858 in Cincinnati. He married Frances Elizabeth Romelbaum in 1881 and this home was soon filled with their eight children by the time of the 1900 Census.

1900 Census
George worked as a banking clerk for The Safe Deposit Company and became Secretary by 1895. The Central Trust Company merged with The Safe Deposit Company and George was the superintendent of safe deposits and was a company director. His wife Frances passed away in 1910 and George died in 1916. The house was passed down to the adult children remaining at home, Henrietta, John and Joseph.
1920 Census
The 1920 Census shows that they began renting rooms as a source of income. Ads from the Cincinnati Enquirer show updates were made to entice renters.


In 1944, the Grimmelsman family sold the home and between then and 2005 it was transferred to different owners 19 times! The present owners have greatly updated the home but still keeping many of the original details. There are views of downtown Cincinnati from every level and amazing roof top deck.


This amazing home deserves owners who can appreciate its history. To arrange a showing, contact Bill Draznik with Coldwell Banker West Shell at bill.draznik@cbws.com.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

A Swiss Chalet in East Walnut Hills

This amazing home just came on the market! It hasn't been for sale for over 55 years. What a rare opportunity to own a historic and amazing home.
Be sure the check the interior photos by clicking here.
Cincinnati Enquirer, Tuesday, August 11, 1891; p. 5
This home was completed in 1892 and designed by Lucian F. Plympton for Albert Day Fisher. Fisher was a very successful grain merchant who was born in Indiana. According to a 1979 Cincinnati Enquirer article, there are two legends as to why it was built in the Swiss-style. One is that Fisher and his wife spent their honeymoon in Switzerland and wanted their home to be in the same style, although they were married for over 10 years when the home was built. The other story is that Plympton's wife came from Switzerland and she inspired this home. However, census records show she was from Verona, Italy.

Once constructed, the home was featured in two issues of the Inland Architect magazine in 1896 and 1897.
Inland Architect Vol XXVIII No 6

Inland Architect Vol XXX No 5
The Fisher family only lived here until 1907, when it was sold to Mark Davis, a business man in the insurance field. After his death in 1931, his wife and children owned the home until 1944. The home was sold in 1949 and again in 1959 to Katherine Hanna, who was the director of the Taft Museum. 

Hanna shared the home with her longtime friend, Janet Weigel and they dedicated time and money to keeping up the home. Multiple articles featured the unique style and story of the chalet.
Cincinnati Enquirer; Sunday, January 15, 1961 - Click here to see all four pages.
Cincinnati Enquirer; Sunday, May 27, 1979 - Click here to read full article.
Cincinnati Enquirer; Wednesday, September 7, 1988
After Hanna's death in 1988, ownership transferred to her friend and companion, Janet Weigel until her death in 2017. The following photos were taken in the late 1990s and are courtesy of the University of Cincinnati's Architecture and Urban Planning Collection.









Now the home is ready for new owners to love it as much as Katherine and Janet did for nearly 60 years. Contact the listing agent for more information.

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Stites House - Columbia/Tusculum

This photo on Instagram from cincinnati_revealed inspired me to dig a bit into the history of this home.

cincinnati_revealed on Instagram
While the Hamilton County Auditor has the year built as 1865, it turns out that part of this home are much older (1830s) and built by one of the founding families of Hamilton County. As I started my digging, I found a wonderful article in the Cincinnati Enquirer that had explored the history of this home in 1970, so please enjoy this look back into the history of this home!



This article was retrieved from Newspapers.com from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Sunday, August 16, 1970, The Enquirer Magazine; pages 26-32.