Victorian Village is a neighborhood located north and near west of downtown Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

. It is an older area with a fair number of established trees for an urban setting. Neil Avenue, a street running north/south and eventually crossing through the campus of The Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

, is its main thoroughfare.

Neil family

In 1827, Columbus businessman William Neil purchased 300 acres (1.2 km²) of farmland just north of downtown Columbus from Joseph Vance

Joseph Vance

Joseph Vance was a Whig politician from Ohio. He was the 13th Governor of Ohio and the first Whig to hold the position.Vance was born in Catfish , Pennsylvania...

, and by 1853 owned all of the land from west of High Street to the Olentangy River

Olentangy River

The Olentangy River is a tributary of the Scioto River in Ohio.It was originally called keenhongsheconsepung, a Delaware word literally translated as "stone for your knife stream", based on the shale found along its shores. Early settlers to the region translated this into "Whetstone River"...

, south to First Avenue, and north to Lane Avenue. He constructed a road on this vast property to reach his farm, which became known as Neil Avenue.

Transportion and hospitality magnate

In 1839, he began the construction of the first of three Neil House Hotels at a cost of $100,000, which stood across from the statehouse until 1974. He also ventured into the stage coach business, owning lines to Wheeling

Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Cleveland, Sandusky

Sandusky, Ohio

Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....

, Marietta

Marietta, Ohio

Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Ohio, United States. During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory. Marietta is located in southeastern Ohio at the mouth...

 and Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, and at one point said to own all of the stage lines from Cumberland, Maryland

Cumberland, Maryland

Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...

 to St. Louis. By 1845 he had ventured into the railroad industry, the new transportation technology from that time. He was involved in the construction of the first rail to Xenia, and would operate rail lines to Cleveland and Indiana.

Politics

Neil was considered a leader in Ohio, although never a politician. He was friends with many national and state officials, including U.S. President William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...

, in which a cane Neil used was made from a
buckeye tree given to him by Harrison.

Family

Neil was married to Hannah Shwing, one of the city's most charitable characters and founder of the Columbus Female Benevolent Society, Hannah Neil Mission, and Home for the Friendless. Their children included Ohio First Lady Anne Neil Dennison, Elizabeth McMillen, wife of William McMillen, as well as three sons, William Jr., John, and Col. Henry.

Victorian Village

After Neil's death, he gave the land to the state, eventually becoming home of the future Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

. By 1879, the area was thriving and became a center of Victorianism

Victorianism

Victorianism is the name given to the attitudes, art, and culture of the later two-thirds of the 19th century. This usage is strong within social history and the study of literature, less so in philosophy. Many disciplines do not use the term, but instead prefer Victorian Era, or simply "Late 19th...

 in the city.

Most of the houses within the village were originally built in the early 1900s, when a streetcar line ran through that part of town. Some of the wealthier citizens wished for a location convenient to the train, so residences quickly sprang up in the area.

Decline

80 years ago with the proliferation of the automobile, many residents moved to northern and western suburbs of the city, resulting in a decline of the neighborhood. The nearby Flytown

Flytown

Flytown is a neighborhood just northwest of downtown Columbus encompassing portions of the present-day Arena District and western sections of the Victorian Village...

 and Short North neighborhoods suffered similar decline.

Renewal

Blighted with crime and decay, restorationists were inspired by the success of the revitalization project in German Village

German Village

German Village is a historic neighborhood just south of downtown Columbus. It was settled by a large number of German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century, who at one time comprised as much as a third of the population of the entire city...

 and undertook their own in the neighborhood in the last half of the 20th century. The area underwent gentrification

Gentrification

Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...

 when Bohemian

Bohemian style

In modern usage, the term "Bohemian" is applied to people who live unconventional, usually artistic, lives. The adherents of the "Bloomsbury Group", which formed around the Stephen sisters, Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf in the early 20th century, are among the best-known examples...

 types moved in and purchased homes in the range of $80,000; the same homes cost $300-$400K today. Gentrification attracted an influx of lesbian and gay residents, who would contribute to the restoration of the neighborhood.

Present

Today the village is one of the most attractive in the city, and some of the homes have been split into rented apartments, while others remain as historical landmarks. Still others have since been purchased and restored to their original style.

Goodale Park is the center of the community, surrounded by elaborate Victorian-style homes, including the Sells Mansion, built in 1895 by Peter Sells, owner of the Sells Brothers Circus

Sells Brothers Circus

-History:It ran from 1862 to 1863 and again from 1871 to 1895. It merged with the circus operated by Adam Forepaugh to form the Forepaugh-Sells Brothers' Circus in 1900. It later merged with the Floto Dog & Pony Show into Sells Floto Circus.-External links:...

, and designed by Frank Packard

Frank Packard

Frank L. Packard was a prominent architect in Ohio.He designed the porch for the home of President Warren G. Harding in Marion, Ohio . Known as stick style architecture the house was designed by Harding and his wife and constructed in a neoclassical architecture style...

. It also the location of Cocoa Manor, once host to filming of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a reality television series providing home renovations for less fortunate families and community schools etc...

. Victorian Gate condominiums are located on the east side of the park.

Lifestyle

The neighborhood is considered a diverse village, including residents of different sexual orientation, made up of families and singles, homeowners and tenants. It is one of four in the city with its own architectural review commission.

Once a year, usually in September, the community holds the annual Victorian Village Tour of Homes and Gardens, with approximately a dozen houses opening their doors for people to walk through and admire. The night before, an additional "bonus" house not on the general public's list is toured as part of a fundraiser for the area. Dinners served in local restaurants, and occasionally individuals' homes, also support it.