The House on the Corner

 

August 28, 2013 was an eighty four degree, ninety five percent humidity mid-Ohio day.  What started out as showers in the morning had ended up as a sticky, airless afternoon.

If it seems to you I’m always dragging my poor husband out to do unpredictable things with me, you would be right.  On this particular day we headed to the house at the corner of Fifth and Walnut Streets in downtown Mansfield to flesh out a story I’d been working on.  The article, a review of the book The Corner of Fifth and Walnut, is in the November/December issue of Heart of Ohio Magazine.  I have to admit I set out to do this story to answer my own curiosity.  If, in the effort,  a lot of other people get the same result, then it’s worth doing…don’t you think?

The house, long boarded up for security reasons, is currently owned by Grant Milliron, also the owner of Milliron Industries.  When I spoke to him about the house, I asked if a ‘tour’ would be possible.  Grant said he had a bag with 500 keys in it; he would see what he could come up with…and sure enough I ended up with a key to the house!

So it was that we found ourselves parked on Walnut Street, directly in front of the red brick house on the corner.  We struggled up the small incline; stone steps visible but un-usable in the corner of the yard.  The snaggle-toothed front porch greeted us; I hoisted myself up on it at the risk of ruining a good pair of slacks.  Why don’t I think of these things before hand? 

Larry stood checking out the hinged cover on the front door.  We carefully made certain not to stand too close together as we crossed the spongy wooden deck.   After determinedly working the padlock, the door cover swung open, and the actual door to the house stared out at us.  I could read the obscenities spray painted on the inside of the glass as I peered into the darkness.

I carried one of two huge flashlights we had brought along; it’s bright beam sliced into the darkness of the small room to the left of us.   Directly in front of the entrance door a staircase wound its way up into the second floor.   Although the peeling paint spoke of the years that have passed, I could imagine a little girl in dark stockings wriggling up that staircase, chased by a little boy in suspenders and knickers.   Eileen Levison’s comment* about this being a great house for children with creative minds came back to me; the nooks and crannies they enjoyed while they were at play stood out to me as we carefully explored.

The plywood covered windows did their job, keeping even the smallest glimmer of light at bay.  Inching around the first floor we found small rooms partitioned off to make even smaller spaces.  Many doors covered with ceiling tile; soundproofing for what purpose in this eerily quiet house?  The thick, red brick walls kept the sounds of traffic and life in general at a dreamy distance.

Larry climbed to the top of the staircase and, peering around,  announced it might not be prudent to go up there with so little light.   He also pointed out that the 150 year old wooden floors might take offense at our added weight; I did not disagree with him.

The years, the vandals and the elements have left their mark on the house at the corner of Fifth and Walnut Streets.  My fondest hope is that someone comes up with an idea to restore it, there is so much left to work with!  How I would love to be involved in that project. 

My husband says I see things the way they could be, while he is bound fast to reality.   Still, I can’t help wonder…is there someone out there who can hear the children scampering up the steps, and perhaps see the circus marching down Fifth Street?  If that person comes along, Mary Eileen Schuler Levison’s former home will be around for a long, long time.
 

*The Corner of Fifth and Walnut, written by Mary Eileen Schuler Levison

Book Review:  The Corner of Fifth and Walnutr, November/December Heart of Ohio Magazine