2548 Euclid Heights Boulevard (1998)

This Georgian-inspired brick house was built circa 1915 by developer Harold Hays Brown as his own home. Mr. Brown had purchased land along Euclid Heights Blvd. and built several homes in a variety of styles. The blueprints for this home are extant and fortuitously in the possession of the current owners. It is believed that the house was renovated in 1925 by Brown's widow, and then not again until the present owners moved in eight years ago.

The front hall is classic Georgian. Sweeping arches, added in the 1925 renovation, lead to the living room. Similar arches lead from the living room to the sun room. Oak floors are found throughout the house, with inlaid detailing adding interest. The dining room is elegant, as befits a Georgian home, with ceiling molding, high wainscoting and French doors.

The present owners completely renovated the kitchen, which hadn't been touched since 1925! It featured a cast iron sink on legs with a radiator under it, two tables and some shelves. It had literally no counter space. The refrigerator was on a "refrigerator porch," which is a small room with an outside entrance for ice delivery. The refrigerator porch is now a laundry room, and all that's left of the original kitchen are the shelves. The owners stripped and refinished the cabinets in the butler's pantry, which otherwise remains as it was when they moved in.

The second floor has a lovely curved wall at one end and a sitting area looking out onto the back yard at the other. The master bath has a chandelier and a shower but no tub, unusual for a house of this age. Also unusual is the sunken tub in the guest bathroom. The owners have replaced all of the bathroom floors. The guest suite, which is over the garage, is part of the former servant's quarters.

The owners have created a restful and intriguing garden containing both Japanese statuary and statuary from the classical Greco-Roman period. A picturesque chair constructed of pear tree branches is truly unique to this garden. Not only do the owners find respite in this idyllic place, but so also do a few neighborhood raccoons who occasionally come to fish in the goldfish pond.