92 Walhalla
After reading the entry on this web site about 100 Walhalla, Sarah Ellis contacted me with some information about her own house, 92 Walhalla. She shared the following:
An interesting article from the OSU website, and
An article that appeared in the This Week newspaper in 2009 when 92 Walhalla was on the homes tour.
Thanks Sarah!
August 5th, 2017 at 4:52 pm
Shirley,
I find this background information fascinating. How would I go about finding out the history of my house, 55 Northmoor Pl.? I’ve been told by neighbors that is was built as The Electric House of the Future, but I can’t find anything to corroborate that.
thanks,
Judy
August 10th, 2017 at 11:04 am
Pretty interesting question! Your house was supposedly built around 1938. I found a Popular Science Magazine spread about “the Electric Home of the Future here:
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/the-electric-home-of-the-future/
Of course, the drawings are “theoretical” but the houses of course share the same architectural style. What a kick if your floor plans matched theirs, or if your house still has some of the model electric appliances. Does it?
I did not find an inventory about your house at the Ohio History Connections State Historic Preservation Office, nor any specific information about it at the Columbus Landmarks Foundation. I asked around and here are some suggestions from Mary Rodgers, CHS President:
“Contact John DeFourney, the realtor for the seller of the house, as he may know. I am pretty sure it was featured in a Columbus Dispatch article.
“The longest owner on the record was Zoey Rorris. She has passed away and is buried at Union Cemetery. I believe that one of Zoey Rorris’ children (Evangeline) still lives in the Columbus area. Ancestry shows her in the 1960 Makio and in several Columbus directories using the address 55 Northmoor. I …suggest you contact the Greek Orthodox Church, tell them the purpose (finding out more about the house) and ask if they can put them in touch with Evangeline. Zoey and her husband Constantine were very involved in that church. They were the first generation to come to America. Evangeline is very likely a member. She may have been married. If so, they would know her married name. Zoey owned the house from 1945-1969. Evangeline was in college in 1960 so most of her childhood would have been spent in the house. She may be a great source of stories!”
I also suggest visiting the Local History and Genealogy Department at the downtown Columbus Metropolitan Library, and see whether they have any suggestions.
I find this topic very interesting and hope you’ll share whatever you learn, with me and this web site. Thanks!
April 18th, 2022 at 10:43 am
Hi Judy,
By complete happenstance, I came across this post. I was the owner of 55 Northmoor prior to the Drakes. We tried to find info about the Electric Home of the Future as well and didn’t have much luck. Nor did John DeFourney have any history. At some point, I believe we ran across an old article from an electric cooperative but without much information. It was indeed the 1939 Electric Home of the Future and the house next door was the Gas Home of the Future. One of the distinctions of your home were the valance lighting over each window. They were fit with Lumiline bulbs – incandescent tube lighting that had a really nice effect. When we moved, the living and dining room fixtures were still operating. The bulbs, while pricy are still available online. I know we left a half dozen or so behind in the basement.
I know the Drakes made some rather unfortunate changes to the house, most significantly the bathrooms. The tile under the veneer they had installed was in excellent shape. The master was tanwith a terra cotta trim, the hall bath was black and salmon with all black fixtures. The master also had an extremely unique toilet/sink. The toilet tank was in the back of the sink. The Drakes replaced all the fixtures. We tried to maintain as much of the original integrity as possible. I still have photos and would be happy to share them with you if you’re interested.