Moment in Time (February 3, 2022)

The area between the rivers, now known as the Tri-Village area, was developed from several different fronts. A previous Grandview Moment in Time discussed the early contributions of the Griswold and Price families in the platting of the western edge of Marble Cliff, and the Thomas farm on the east side of Grandview was purchased and developed nearly twenty years later by the Thompson brothers of the Northwest Boulevard Co. But it was in the late 1880s and early 1890s that several prominent Columbus business leaders had the idea of designing a residential community near downtown, but away from the industrial pollution, and focused on the central sections of what was then undeveloped farmland.

The heart of what would become Grandview Heights was on the bluff above the Scioto River valley at the northern edge of Franklin Township. The land was part of the holdings of the Walcutt family, Jacob Zollinger, and several other settlers. George C. Urlin, Fred H. Croughton, W.A. Pope, and Edward Denmead purchased tracts from the above landowners west of Grandview Avenue and between the river and Fifth Avenue, and platted them for development.

This photo looking east shows the home of George and Alice Urlin, built on the bluff overlooking

Goodale, on the site of the current Summit Chase condominiums. Urlin and several other

prominent Columbus businessmen purchased tracts of land that were subdivided into lots that

comprised the heart of what would become Grandview Heights. George and Alice are shown at

the left in a portrait from his photo studio.

Denmead was a director for the Columbus Evening Post - Democratic, President and Treasurer of the American Art Tile Company, Director of Accounts for the City of Columbus, and Manager of the Columbus Transfer Company. He and his family lived on the east side of Columbus in a home designed by famous architect Frank Packard. Croughton was Secretary of the Park Building, Loan, and Savings Company located in the Park Hotel Block at 611 N. High. His home was was listed as 216 Marshall Ave. in Columbus. W.A. Pope and his wife Clara owned a farm south of Dublin Pike and east of Grandview Avenue on which an Indian mound was located. Their plats, the Croughton and Denmead, and the Croughton-Denmead-Pope subdivisions, included the area immediately west of Grandview Avenue.

Urlin came to Columbus around 1873, where he established the Urlin Mammoth Art Studio on South High Street. His other ventures included ownership of the Columbus Bicycle Factory and the Columbus Laminated Tube Tire Company. The Urlins’ Suburban Real Estate Company platted three separate Grandview Heights subdivisions that included a huge amount of land stretching from Fifth Avenue to Dublin Road. He an Alice built their home on the site of the present Summit Chase Condominiums in what he called the Urlin’s Grandview Heights subdivision.

In 1901, most of the area from river to river and north to King Avenue was incorporated as the Hamlet of Marble Cliff. The following transcription accompanied the original plat filed for the incorporation:

“Beginning at the intersection of the South side of Third Avenue and the West bank of the Olentangy River, thence up the West bank of the Olentangy River and the West corporation line of the City of Columbus, Ohio, to a point 200 feet north of the North line of Fifth Avenue; thence West 200 feet distant from and parallel with the North line of Fifth Avenue, to the East right of way line of the Hocking Valley RR , thence Northwesterly with the East right of Way of the Hocking Valley RR to the North line of King Avenue; thence West with the North line of King Avenue to the center of the road running North from Fifth Avenue, between lots #1 and #19 of Miller's Subdivision, thence south with the center line of said road 670 feet; thence west and parallel with King Avenue aforesaid to the east bank of the Scioto River; thence southerly and easterly with the east and north banks of the Scioto River to the East line of Croughton, Denmead, and Pope's Grand View Subdivision; thence North along said east line of said subdivision to the South side of Third Avenue to place of beginning."

Much of the area in the hamlet was detached in early 1903, and was incorporated as Grandview Heights in 1906. The remaining far west side of the hamlet was established as the Village of Marble Cliff in 1908. Urlin added another development along Cambridge Road that was annexed to Grandview in 1911. Other homes near the site of the Urlin mansion can be found on the free History Walks app at grandviewhistorywalks.org.