Broadway House No. 1
North Broadway was developed by the Loren and Dennison company in 1897; it was intended to be the place to live, and it was. James Loren originally planned to call it the Oakland Addition, but the post office requested he change the name to avoid confusion with another neighborhood. It had a small railroad depot and post office at North Broadway’s east end at the Big Four Railroad track. This house at 510 North Broadway Street was the first house built in the subdivision. It was built around 1890. It was sometimes called Acton Place, for reasons I was unable to discover. By 1894 it was owned by a man named E. Howard Gilkey. The William W. Daniel family purchased it in 1896, and the house remained in that family’s hands until 1961. It burned down in 1966. My Clintonville and Beechwold book has a photograph of the original house; this photograph shows the fire. The spot is now occupied by Columbus Speech and Hearing Center. (Photo from an unnamed newspaper clipping)
Tags: Evanston, James Loren, N. Broadway
October 15th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
I am sure by now you have heard that according to the “youngsters of the day” this house was thought to be haunted. It was especially daring for one to go into the basement during daylight hours. I recall a workbench in the basement that was maybe two feet wide by 8 fett long which had the appearance of a coffin. Such imaginations. I seem to also recall the garage which was located near the north west corner of the lot and somewhat close to the alley. If I am not mistaken, it may have been a wooden carriage house. When the carrige house was tore down, there was a depression in the ground which eventually was covered with brush. This became a hiding spot for kids to hang out in. Ledges were made into the dirt and we would place candles on them.