Great Homes, Great Towns: German Village, Columbus, Ohio

Just south of downtown Columbus, you'll find a neighborhood whose brick-lined streets are oozing with charm and whose residents are beaming with pride: German Village. Apropos to its name, the neighborhood was built by German immigrants in the mid-1800s and was later restored in the 1950s after the descendants of the immigrants left the area post-World War II. The neighborhood has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the city assists in preserving the historical integrity of the town. But it's the residents of German Village who have taken it upon themselves to maintain its unique beauty. "It may be the architecture and the charm that draw us to German Village, but it's the people that keep us here," said Chris Hune, resident and past trustee of the German Village Society.

Houses and Gardens

When you walk into German Village, you know you’re in a special place.

“The first thing you'll notice are the brick streets, the brick sidewalk and of course all the brick homes,” said Hune. The houses, only a few feet from one another, were mostly built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its Queen Anne-, Italianate- and Dutch Double-style homes have been preserved and restored such that, from the exterior, the neighborhood streets seem old-fashioned and quaint. “You can still see the old carriage houses that held the horses and carriages over a hundred years ago. You can almost imagine how the Germans settlers left it,” said homeowner Quinn Porner.

But the interiors of the homes are a different story. Hune organizes the annual Haus und Garten tour, which since 1960 has showcased 10 to 15 of German Village’s most impressive homes to about 5,000 spectators.

“Often you’ll be floored at the interior design of a home when you walk in the door,” she said. While some might be French Country style, just as many are strongly contemporary in design. The pride homeowners have in their interior design spills over to their gardens as well. With only a limited space, residents see them as extensions of their homes -- sculptures, fountains and exotic wildlife abound, while the front yards are carefully manicured with flowering window boxes, framed by impressive iron-rod fences.

Porner says that homeowners have been very creative with updating homes while preserving structural integrity. One homeowner who owns two neighboring houses joined them with a passageway. Another has converted the garage into an office and has an underground tunnel connecting the two. The preserved traditional exteriors juxtaposed with the imaginative, carefully designed interiors make the Haus und Garten tour the wondrous, crowd-drawing event it has been for the past 50 years.

Fred and Howard: German Village’s Patron Saints

Columbus, Ohio, is known for being one of the most welcoming cities for homosexuals in the country. And German Village is no different. Beyond its open, warm nature, the restoration of German Village is largely a result of the efforts of partners Frederick Holdridge and Howard Burns in the 1960s.

The couple purchased a home and opened Hausfau Haven -- a quirky general store that immediately became a community center and keystone of the town. Homeowner Quinn Porner says that, at the time, the neighborhood was run down and in shambles. But Holdridge and Burns, passionate about the arts and historic preservation, turned the neighborhood around. Holdridge served as president of the German Village Society, was a founding member of the Contemporary American Theatre Company, brought back Oktoberfest and created the aptly named “Fun Committee,” which launched, among many events, a pet parade, an event dubbed “Casserole and Carols” and a “family portrait,” when the entire village poses for a big group picture in Schiller Park.

The loving pair, who were together for 50 years, are credited with helping shape the gay community in Columbus. While both have since passed on, their legacy remains in the preservation of the town, the rich schedule of events and German Village’s familial community. And if that’s not enough, the German Village Society gives out a Fred and Howard Award each year for a person who displays exceptional service in the community.

Community Spirit

German Village isn’t just a preserved, picturesque place because of a city ordinance. The passion and dedication of its residents are what make the community special.

The neighborhood is the largest privately funded historic community on the National Register of Historic Places. And on top of that, a great many of the residents are volunteers -- dedicating time to carefully maintain its two parks and organize one of the German Village’s many events. And the calendar isn’t sparse. Every month boasts a different event -- from the massive neighborhood garage sale dubbed Village Valuables in May to the Haus und Garten tour in June and theater productions in Schiller Park throughout the summer. And the year closes out with the festive Village Lights event, when the city streets are lined with luminaries and businesses keep their doors open late into the night to kick off the holiday season.

Unlike many manicured neighborhoods, German Village is diverse in both age and income bracket of its residents. From young professionals to families to empty nesters, the community welcomes people in every stage of life. With options to rent and affordable homes to buy, the neighborhood is accessible for newlyweds just starting out. And for the wealthier bracket, there are larger, gorgeous historic homes. But don’t expect many to let go of their properties in German Village. New resident Matt Eshelbrenner says that his house had one resident from the 1930s until the '90s. “That’s the way it is for the majority of houses on our block. Some have turned over maybe twice in the last 100 years. And others pass on from one generation to the next,” he said.

Besides dedication to the neighborhood, the residents have a deep loyalty to one another.

“It's a very close-knit group. We celebrate each other's accomplishments, we hold hands when something tragic happens, it’s just that kind of place,” said Hune. This sense of community is overwhelmingly voted as the No. 1 defining trait of German Village by its residents.

While the neighborhood works on dozens of organized events, many residents say it’s the impromptu social gatherings that make the place truly special. You might walk past a neighbor’s home and be invited in for a glass of wine. Or you cook too much food for dinner and invite neighbors over, and they’re there in five minutes. The inviting, familial community of German Village is something of an anomaly in a city as large as Columbus. “German Village has the feel of a small town in a large city,” said Josie Merkel, who originally moved to the neighborhood in 1971. While it may be hard to pin down exactly what makes German Village as special as it is, Porner said it best: “We like to say magic happens in German Village.”