Category: Publications

House on Evening Star Lane

This handsome, Mid-Century-Modern house was designed in 1957 by architect Walter F. Sheblessy for himself. Sheblessy developed Evening Star Lane on the gardens of the Samuel Taft estate; his own house was the first to be built. He designed five of the other Modernist houses on the street. Evening Star Lane forms a rare, Modernist enclave within the predominately traditional architectural context of Clifton.

Sheblessy (1910-95, with architecture degrees from UC and MIT) designed the house very specifically to accommodate itself to the topography and views, and to the garden features of the earlier Taft estate. The entrance front of the house to the north is more closed and private, while the garden front to the south is far more open and overlooks the lovely remains of the Taft gardens, with stepped stone terraces, concrete columns from an old Taft pergola, and spectacular views of the Mill Creek Valley. The exterior composition of the house, characteristic of Modernism, is long and low; the public spaces are in the center, while diagonally to the left is an open carport that terminates in a detached, studio-guestroom wing. To the right is the bedroom wing. The exterior composition expresses the multiple levels and functions of the spaces within. The central block, containing the public rooms, has shallow, sloped roofs resting on exposed beams; the carport / studio wing has flat roofs, while the bedroom wing is higher and has shallow, curved roofs, also with exposed beams. The exterior walls have elegant, patterned brick veneers; the brickwork of the house was originally a pinkish-salmon color that the current owners have painted in subtle, monochrome grays.

One moves through the entry foyer into the grand, open-plan, public spaces of the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Floor-to-ceiling windows, with wrap-around, butt-joined corners like those of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, offer spectacular views toward the southern slope of the gardens. The ceilings are high and beamed, with beautiful, exposed wood decking. The public spaces are in the diagonal juncture of the plan, with several angled walls. The living area is focussed around a giant, brick chimney and fireplace. Window-doors in both the living and dining areas open out onto expansive wooden decks, effectively blurring the lines between inside and out. The current owners have done extensive work on both the house and gardens with assistance from architect Fritz Kuhlmann and landscape designer John DeVore. Adjacent to the entry, they removed a small, triangular study and added a skylight which serves both to light the interiors and open them more to the kitchen, which was sympathetically remodeled. The public spaces originally had wood-paneled walls which the owners removed in order to further lighten the interiors.

The right-hand wing is split-level, with the bedrooms up a few steps, while down a few steps is a basement recreation room that the Riches have finished; it opens directly into the gardens. The bedroom wing above, has curving, wood ceilings and exposed, wood laminate beams. The current owners combined two smaller bedrooms to create a master suite with a lovely, remodeled bath. A cantilevered balcony, also recalling Frank Lloyd Wright, juts from the end of the wing. All walls stop short of the curving ceilings to allow continuous views and a sense of Modernist open planning to permeate even the bedrooms.

The current owners have furnished the house with appropriate Modernist furniture and art. The dining furniture is Scandinavian Modern; the living room furniture is in an elegant and understated modern idiom with a small glass and chrome table by Modernist designer Eileen Gray. On walls shared by the living and dining areas are Higgins glass “rondelets” by artist Brenda Tarbell and a modern painting by artist Kay Hurley. In the hallway of the bedroom wing are prints by contemporary artist Shepard Fairey and prints by popular, Mid-Century Cincinnati artist Charlie Harper. The house, with its gardens, furnishings and artworks, creates a beautiful and highly consistent Modernist environment.

House on Woolper
By Laura Kageorge and Jared Powell

This grand, 20th-century English Tudor Revival house sits prominently above the street. Detailed with medieval vernacular elements, the exterior of the lower story is clad in red brick while the upper stories are of medieval heavy timber with off-white infill. The house has two projecting gables; both have centered quatrefoil motifs. The gable to the left contains an oriel window; the entry porch is between the two. Medieval canted chimneys with beautiful brick detailing emerge from the roof.

The exact date of this house is somewhat unclear, but it probably dates between 1898 and 1907. A house existed in this block in 1898, but perhaps not the current house. The property was owned by Samuel M. Richardson, chief financial officer of the Westwood Brick Company, which was owned by James N. Gamble (of Procter and Gamble). In 1907, Cincinnati architect James Gilmore (1875-1962) designed a house for Richardson in this block that cost $7,000, a large sum of money for that date. The current house resembles other documented houses by Gilmore in East Walnut Hills and elsewhere; he seems often to have employed similar compositions with twin gables and de-emphasized centers. Stylistically, the 1907 date seems more likely for the house than the earlier date of 1898. [Information in this paragraph from: notes from the current owners conveyed in the 2015 Clifton House Tour informational emails; and notes from the digital Cincinnati Architecture Database of architectural historian Walter E. Langsam. For additional information on architect James Gilmore, see Langsam’s Biographical Dictionary of Cincinnati Architects (on line; maintained on the website of the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati)].

Entry to the house brings one through the front porch into a small vestibule that then opens into a grand entry hall. A “U”-shaped oak staircase anchors the entry; it has square columns and spindles that act as a screen. The walls are of plaster, painted gold. To the left of the stairs is a majestic, 19th century grandfather clock with elaborate ornamentation. Opposite the stairs is a quaint alcove with a bench.
Through double pocket doors to the right is a parlor with a collection of neoclassical furnishings. Behind a column screen, an inglenook with small alcoves on either side contains a fireplace with a Georgian style mantelpiece. White Tuscan columns on simple bases support molded soffits in the coffered ceiling above. Two leather-upholstered sofas center the room. These rest upon an oriental rug, one of many throughout the house. On the right stands a Steinway baby grand piano. Leaded, diamond-paned windows bring light into the room from behind. To the left is a prominent, Elizabethan-style desk beneath a window overlooking the back yard. Classical, symmetrical cabinets housing the owner’s collection of Rookwood pottery are located on either side of the entry to the parlor.

In the upstairs hall hangs a large brass chandelier. The newels of the stair railing are ornamented with wooden urns. Early 20th-century, mother of pearl, push button light switches are located in the upper hall as well as an antique speaking tube and blown glass doorknobs.

The master bedroom contains Victorian, Chesterfield style sofas and a late Victorian wardrobe with a cherry finish and beveled glass. Opposite the bed is a built-in window alcove with a bench, to the left of which is a recessed fireplace alcove with a shallow arch and turned wooden corner guards. The second bedroom contains a chair, grand wardrobe, and bed, all in late Victorian, Eastlake style. The chair is upholstered in the original horse-hair and the bed is made of burled walnut.

The third bedroom has been converted into a family room with an elaborate, 20th-century, medieval style brass chandelier and a prominent fireplace. Recessed in a shallow alcove, the fireplace is adorned with wood columns and built-in bookshelves with decorative glass. Studded metal plates protect the floor in front of the hearth. The room also holds some of the owner’s personal collection of John Rettig paintings.
The fourth bedroom is furnished with a Victorian, half tester bed, an Eastlake chair, and a dresser with a mirror supported by two obelisks.

In the hall is a decorative metal light. The bathroom contains a marble tub and shower, black and white mosaic tiles, and a marble sink. The tight, winding back stairs lead from the upstairs hall to the first floor hallway and open into the kitchen and service area. Here is the receiving end of the antique speaking tube as well as an antique telephone. The kitchen ceiling is of painted tin that was added by a previous owner. The kitchen is separated from the dining room by a pantry with a door to keep the kitchen smells and serving staff hidden from the dining room. Along the back is built-in pine shelving with glass-paned doors. Perpendicular to the shelving is a built-in wooden counter with an early copper sink.

The dining room has a deep, beamed ceiling and oak wainscoting. Views to the front yard are seen through the oriel window. Opposite the window is a grand, burled pine firebox surrounded by brick, forming a shallow arch that is ornamented with foliate brackets and Tudor Roses. Built-in shelves have glass doors with a leaded circle pattern. A large, Cincinnati-built, medieval style sideboard with custom brass studded hinges, a beveled mirror, and baluster-supported shelving add a medieval touch to the room. A Jacobean style table and chairs, upholstered in English Arts and Crafts “Strawberry Thief” fabric designed by William Morris add a mix of textiles to the room, which also contains one of the many oriental rugs.

This posting contains a write up and a single photo of another house on the Clifton House Tour. We’re not giving the address away, but you get a lot of interesting reading below.

Read more general info about the tour and buy tickets here.

The first reveal can be found at this article.

By Jin Hyun Lee, Katherine Dunton
This house was built in the late 1960s by SCHOLZ HOMES Incorporated. The architectural style is Midcentury Modern, which is characterized by horizontal compositions, large glass windows, open plans, simplicity, and integration with nature. The original owners were the Encrot family. Steven and Mary Martin are the present owners, having purchased the house in 2003. This house is located on a portion of the old Samuel Taft estate; the area around this house was near the greenhouse and the outdoor gardens, within which the current owners have created a pond. This house, as with others on the street, was designed for expansive views. The exterior of the house has a low profile and symmetrical layout, with a gabled entryway and diagonal wings on each side. The front door is set within two, square, stained glass windows. The house also has a deep roof overhang and exposed beams that run front to back in the central pavilion. The exterior is clad in brick and stone. Scholz Homes was founded in 1946 by Donald J. Scholz of Toledo, Ohio. The company specialized in luxury residential designs and grew to become one of America’s largest home-builders in the 1950s and 1960s. Scholz specialized in luxury residential design because soldiers were returning from WWII and wanted elegant homes. Donald Scholz was influenced by both Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright. This, combined with his appreciation of nature, drove the design of his California-style, contemporary ranch homes. Key features of Scholz homes included strong horizontal lines, vibrant colors for the interiors, spacious open plans, cathedral ceilings, ample windows, rear patios partially covered by overhanging roofs, sleek and modern kitchens, and high-end appliances. This house possesses many of these features including horizontal lines, an open plan, ample windows, and a covered rear patio. A fieldstone entry transitions into hardwood floors throughout the first level, installed by the current owners to replace wall-to-wall shag carpeting. Exposed beams accent the ceilings. In the central portion of the house is a formal living and dining room. The living area is sunken, indicating a change of function within the open plan. Down the hall to the right one observes a bedroom/office space, then the bathroom, which occupies the angle formed by the diagonal wing, creating a unique room shape. A second bedroom is on the right. At the end of the hall is the master bedroom. The current owners combined two bedrooms to create a master suite with a large bathroom and walk-in closet. In the left wing is the kitchen. Walking through the dining room to the kitchen the wood flooring changes direction to echo the diagonals of the floor plan. The current owners completely updated the kitchen, including adding a skylight. Beyond the kitchen is an informal family room and the stairs leading to the basement. The basement was finished by the current owner and functions as a workout space in one area and a more formal office space in the other. The basement office opens into the backyard at ground level. This elegant house features prominently amongst its modernist neighbors on the Lane.

On April 12 at 4pm, Clifton will celebrate the dedication of the Probasco Fountain in it’s new location. The fountain has been cleaned, refurbished, and is now adorned with new lighting and a new water feature on top. The effort to pick a new location for the fountain was the work of a CTM Committee comprised of Trustees, members, and representatives from the City of Cincinnati. They did an outstanding job. Please join in the festivities on April 12 at the fountain. Henry Probasco is making a return appearance for the ceremony.

In order to gather information from the Clifton community that allows response to developers with a clear and unified voice, Ludlow 21 Working Group published a survey online at Survey Monkey in January 2015. Running for a month, the survey collected responses from over 310 participants and formed a picture of the preferences we share for a revitalized and enduring neighborhood and business district. Click Ludlow 21 Citizens Survey to view the survey results as presented on February 17, 2015, at the Ludlow 21 Working Group public meeting at Clifton Recreation Center.”

Clifton resident Paul Buckley volunteered his time to do the analysis of the survey results. This is notable because Paul is an expert in this area. Paul is a retired survey research professional who has worked in the following capacities:
Senior Scientist at National Opinion Research Center at U. of Chicago
Director of Operations at Abt Associates, a commercial survey firm
Research for Dept of Education, Dept of Justice, Centers for Disease Control, Business and Non-profits.