Eastlake Guesthouse

Eastlake Guesthouse is a short walk from High Street, in the Short North Arts District of Columbus, Ohio. It is a Victorian Queen Ann-era home, built no later than 1872, which makes it one of the oldest houses in the area, and the first Eastlake house. The Eastlake elements primarily consist of exterior columns and screen porches on both floors, with the interior woodwork and mantles showing early Eastlake interior. It also has limestone foundations and steps, brick walls with fifty-foot chimneys, and a terra cotta tile roof. Only a shallow running-stone foundation wall was found when the basement was dug out for fitness. The house structure is one of her great strengths. It's a reminder of the reality of permanence and asks that we "steward" the property while we're here. The current owners have done this by fixing up the place and then sharing. The house was built as a one-family house with servants, but the increased population of Columbus soon made it a type of shared residence either as an apartment, or as a rooming house or a fraternity in the 1900s. The house was divided into five rental units when we came. Even during this division, the architectural coherence of the original house was maintained. When we raised our children, we lived in part of the house while renting the rest. These rental quarters of the house have been made available as suites in the guesthouse.