February 2026.
Franklin Park, on the east side of Columbus, gives the eponymous neighborhood its name. It is probably best known for its glassy conservatory, which was under construction when I visited. The park is actually a lot larger than Columbus’s better-known parks (Schiller Park, Goodale Park, Topiary Park), but it’s pretty out of the way versus the others, which are closer to downtown and more…ahem…gentrified areas.
Franklin Park Conservatory is located at 1777 East Broad Street in the Franklin Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Franklin Park itself is bordered by Broad Street to the north, Franklin Park South (Fair Avenue) to the south, the Big 4 tracks and Bexley to the east, and Franklin Park West (Miller Avenue) to the west. Its south and west sides are bordered by houses, which this post specifically covers.
History
The overwhelming majority of these houses date to the turn of the 20th century. The 1899 Baist map shows the south end of Franklin Park South platted, but only one home was built at that time on the entire stretch (1697 Franklin Park West). This was still true as of the 1901 Sanborn map. However, by 1910, several houses were completed on Franklin Park South and West, with about ⅔ of the lots being occupied. The east side of Columbus was expanding in population beginning in the late 19th century, but this was mostly centered on Olde Towne East and King-Lincoln Bronzeville, as Franklin Park is much further east than those two neighborhoods.
These houses are part of the Near East Side Historic District, and as such they experienced the same initial investment, decline during the mid-century, and revitalization as of recently. Since they border a park, they’re a bit more fancy than others in the neighborhood and were generally maintained better.
Photos
27 Franklin Park West
A circa 1900-1910 Craftsman house, some unique details on this one include the rear bay window and the porch piers that poke through its roof. The projecting brick area with a chimney in front of the bay window is most likely an alteration, as the shade of brick is slightly different and the chimney obscures windows in the attic.
45 Franklin Park West
A lovely Tudor Revival house dating to 1910-1920, 45 Franklin Park W has a picturesque design that is overall symmetrical but has an asymmetry with its porch and fenestration. The large bay window at center has a massive gable end above with a jerkinhead roof, which is a rare form that looks like the peak’s edges have been chopped off at a 45° angle.
59 Franklin Park West
This house was also built circa 1910-1920. It looks to be mid-renovation, with recently installed porch flooring not yet concealed by wood boards or a similar finish. It is connected to its neighbor via this New Traditional addition, which has Renaissance Revival styling cues:
65 Franklin Park West
Attached to neighboring 59 Franklin Park W, this house has some uncommon historic details such as its original windows remaining.
69 Franklin Park West
This c. 1910 house is a wide American Foursquare design with some Beaux-Arts styling cues, as seen in the classical porch and pilasters between windows on the second floor and dormer. Another interesting detail is the clay tile borders along the edges of the hipped roof. It was restored between 2011 and 2014, which fixed the sagging porch (though it’s still a little uneven) and painted the formerly white exterior a more lively palette of green.
85 Franklin Park West
Another American Foursquare, 85 Franklin Park W was built circa 1900-1910. It has some modern alterations such as black paint and new vinyl windows, which went over a coat of formerly tan paint.
103 Franklin Park West
103 Franklin Park W is a heavily altered Colonial Revival structure. Its original portico and frieze are intact (though both are poorly proportioned), but the brick exterior has been stuccoed over and painted. The auditor’s website dates it to 1899, which seems a bit early to me, but I’ll include it regardless.
109 Franklin Park West
This is a Tudor Revival house, which dates to 1906. It has decorative half-timbering and some Craftsman styling cues like the low roof pitches and wide overhangs. The porch’s enclosed windows and the house’s color scheme are insensitive alterations to the original design, while the windows themselves are a bit more sensitive to the style with their diamond faux-muntin pattern.
117 Franklin Park West
This tall Craftsman from 1907 with a shed-roofed dormer and detailed roof eaves has received an addition on a formerly vacant lot next door. It actually does a pretty good job at responding to the original architecture, and the bay window’s large roof overhang is a period-correct detail, believe it or not. The only part that gives away its age right away is the large triple doors.
I like the corbels on the roof and porch:
Addition straight on:
Seriously, if you ignore the modern light fixtures and windows, this could pretty conceivably be a 20th century design. It even has art glass windows in the attic area.
Anne & Mabel Parrott House (139 Franklin Park West)
This 1906 Craftsman bungalow is unique in that it responds to its corner site in an unusual manner. Indeed, this indicates that it was designed by an architect, namely Frank Packard. The Franklin Park West side, which faces east, would typically be the primary facade on a normal house in the style. However, the porch here is inaccessible from the street. Where the house is actually entered is on its south side at Fair Avenue:
This south facade is not typically the primary facade on Craftsman buildings. In this case, it has a sort of Shingle-style appearance with its uninterrupted wood siding and copious windows. The roof edges of the east and west sides give the facade a uniquely geometric shape.
1505-1515 Franklin Park South (Old Children’s Hospital)
These simple Colonial Revival-ish brick apartments sit on the site of Columbus’s first children’s hospital, which opened in 1894. Its construction and operation was financed by fundraisers held by Columbus’s female residents, and it specialized on medical care for poor children. The hospital relocated to its current location off Livingston and Parsons in 1924. The apartments probably were built around that time.
1533 Franklin Park South
This unique Arts & Crafts style house has a clay tile roof, subtly flaring eaves on the roof, and dormers with tapering walls. Its color scheme is also very lively. The house was built between 1900 and 1910.
1541 Franklin Park South
A smaller American Foursquare design completed in 1904, it has the form and details that are pretty typical of the style.
1553 Franklin Park South
This American Foursquare house from 1911 has some classical details, such as the porch with Doric columns and pedimented dormer with a Palladian window. It has received some alterations, however.
1555 Franklin Park South
This great 1908 house is one of the more high-style buildings on the block. It has a Tudor Revival-inspired second floor with half-timbering, but the first floor is entirely clad in rough stone masonry. The end result is a very picturesque design.
1587 Franklin Park South
I’ve seen a lot of houses like this one in the University District (albeit not as well-taken care of) with the bay windows and corbelled roof. This example was built between 1900 and 1910.
1591 Franklin Park South
This is a simpler Colonial Revival house with a typical form and detailing of the style.
One interesting thing I noticed nearby was this albino squirrel. He’s a little tough to see in this photo, since he blends in with the road a bit:
You can see him better here as he stretches out on the tree trunk:
(My lens doesn’t go greater than 50mm, and I didn’t want to get closer and scare the squirrel off.)
1623 Franklin Park South
This is another one of those University District-style houses. 1623 Franklin Park S in particular has a lot of wood detailing in the gable and the porch’s corbels.
It also has a small porte-cochere on the side and an unaltered early 20th century garage in back:
1659-1661 Franklin Park South
This very contemporary house replaced a decaying, heavily altered American Foursquare design demolished between 2015 and 2017. The existing house was built in 2024. Its very boxy massing and window placement is much different than the houses that surround it, and to me it sticks out in a bad way from a block that is otherwise packed with historic houses.
All of these houses have a dialogue with each other through their similar size, height, form, and style. 1659-1661 doesn’t even try to be part of it. This is the end result of Modern architecture’s anti-contextualism and designing buildings in a vacuum instead of as part of a larger neighborhood.
1697 Franklin Park South
A slightly asymmetrical American Foursquare design, the bay window is nonetheless balanced by the smaller oval and double-hung window to its right. The dormer is still aligned with the oval window and off-center as a result. Interestingly, it was the first house built on the entire stretch of Franklin Park W from Franklin Park S to the railroad tracks, and as a result dates to 1899 or before.
1707 Franklin Park South
Another American Foursquare, this one is augmented slightly with a small cross gable and bay window on the west side. It also has its original hexagonal slate shingles.
The corner has street signs for the bordering streets:
1715 Franklin Park South
This is another very picturesque house in the area, and its unique design might also indicate that it was designed by an architect. It was built in 1917. Most of the facade is dominated by its large roof, though some walls peek out on the east side. Additionally, much of the exterior walls use masonry instead of brick or wood shingle like its neighbors.
The dormer has fancy art glass windows:
There’s also an arch into the backyard, which is very picturesque:
1727 Franklin Park South
I was struck by this house’s unusual design when I visited. It has two large vaulted openings inside the porch, and three smaller windows on the second floor that are grouped together with a colonnade. I think I saw another similar one elsewhere on the east side later on, probably on Bryden Road somewhere, but at the time the unusual window sizing and placement stuck out to me.
I’ve never seen a similar entrance portal or grouping of windows on a house before.
Frank & Eva Packard House (1739 Franklin Park South)
This house has a bunch of Tudor Revival detailing with its half-timbering and bay window. It was built in 1909, and beginning in 1917, it was the residence of architect Frank Packard and his wife. I don’t think that Packard designed the house, however.
1775 Franklin Park South
A heavily modernized American Foursquare, this house is currently home to Columbus Reclaimed, a home remodeling contractor. I’m not a huge fan of the black vinyl windows and the contrast between the unfinished wood balusters and black porch columns.
1791 Franklin Park South
A nicely maintained Colonial Revival design, its main entrance is off of Fairwood Avenue, while a porch with Doric columns faces Franklin Park. This is a great example of the style’s symmetry and classical details, which it borrows from older Federal and Georgian architecture.
1795 Franklin Park South
This is the only noticeably empty house on this stretch. A Google Maps snapshot from 2015 shows it with a “For Sale” sign outside, and its windows were intact through at least 2019. However, by 2022, its openings were boarded up, the stucco was painted the current unsightly shade of gray, and an original awning over the driveway was removed.
1801 Franklin Park South
I like the woodwork and paint colors on this tall Craftsman house. It was built in 1909. It has cool Arts & Crafts house numbers, too:
1811 Franklin Park South
Nothing really to write home about here, just one of the common American Foursquares in the district. It has doubled rafters and its original windows.
1819 Franklin Park South
This Craftsman has widely overhanging eaves, a long and low dormer, and thick Doric porch columns. I believe the shorter portion at left is an addition, as it breaks the original symmetry of the house. One of the later houses in the area, it was built in 1918.
The addition also blocks a window, further inclining me to believe it’s not original:
1865 Franklin Park South
Here’s another one of the more vernacular Tudor Revival houses in the area. The first two floors are very simple, but the roof is supported by large corbels, and the gable has decorative half-timbering.
1869-1873 Franklin Park South
These Tudor Revival apartments are very picturesque with varying roof profiles, towers, and gables. They were built circa 1910-1920.
The tower has casement windows, which are likely original:
Franklin Park S side:
Two entrances, which have vaulted portals and a gable form above:
Bay window with slate roof:
1889 Franklin Park South
This Craftsman has been covered in stucco and painted a pastel yellow color, which dates to at least 2007. It seems to have original windows but is in poor condition.
1889 is the last home on this stretch, as the Big 4 bridge spans this area and separates Franklin Park from Bexley:
I’m used to covering more lavish Victorian houses such as Queen Annes in my “residential area posts,” but it was a refreshing change of pace to photograph some early 20th century designs, particularly Craftsmans and American Foursquares. Although I do have a bias towards late 19th century architecture, as of late I’ve done my best to give more attention to an increasing variety of buildings and styles.
Sources:
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/columbusmaps/id/57
https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06656_005/
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