October 11, 201410 yr This made me think of that house in Cleveland Heights http://www.spotproperty.com/2424-stratford-rd-cleveland-heights-oh-44118-831283263 Ouch. This house looks like an urban transformer station, sans electricity. On the market, it's open tomorrow. 2424 Stratford Road, Cleveland Heights http://www.howardhanna.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MlsNumber=3658513&PRM_MlsName=NorthernOH The glass block is terrible but those mid century modern features are fabulous! The property has good bones, but doesn't show well. Plus, there are lots of upgrades to be done. This property has potential. Even as a historic home, I don't think it's work 299k. I wouldn't pay more than 225k. I would love to buy this as an investment property.
October 11, 201410 yr Well I think we can end this thread now -- we have a winner. Seriously, what compelled them to continue the glass block motif into the basement wet bar?
October 11, 201410 yr This made me think of that house in Cleveland Heights http://www.spotproperty.com/2424-stratford-rd-cleveland-heights-oh-44118-831283263 Ouch. This house looks like an urban transformer station, sans electricity. On the market, it's open tomorrow. 2424 Stratford Road, Cleveland Heights http://www.howardhanna.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MlsNumber=3658513&PRM_MlsName=NorthernOH The glass block is terrible but those mid century modern features are fabulous! The property has good bones, but doesn't show well. Plus, there are lots of upgrades to be done. This property has potential. Even as a historic home, I don't think it's work 299k. I wouldn't pay more than 225k. I would love to buy this as an investment property. Agreed, if all the glass block was replaced with floor to ceiling windows, that would be pretty great. It looks like someone last bought this in March 2013 for $138,000. I'm assuming they upgraded the kitchen, baths, and put in new carpet. $299k is too much if you ask me.
October 11, 201410 yr $299,000 for THAT? Hell, you can get one of those homes in Trotwood for about the price of a #1 combo at Church's WITH the upgraded drink! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 12, 201410 yr $299,000 for THAT? Hell, you can get one of those homes in Trotwood for about the price of a #1 combo at Church's WITH the upgraded drink! Lawd. Well that house is in CH and in a very, very nice neighborhood and as I said, the bones of the house are solid.
October 12, 201410 yr Agreed, if all the glass block was replaced with floor to ceiling windows, that would be pretty great. It looks like someone last bought this in March 2013 for $138,000. I'm assuming they upgraded the kitchen, baths, and put in new carpet. $299k is too much if you ask me. Step one: Buy House Step two.....
October 12, 201410 yr It looks like the architect really liked the glass house concept that was popular amongst modernists but didn't like the idea of neighbors being able to see him all the time. The obvious solution? Glass block. Today, we'd just end up with a frosted glass house.
October 12, 201410 yr It looks like the architect really liked the glass house concept that was popular amongst modernists but didn't like the idea of neighbors being able to see him all the time. The obvious solution? Glass block. Today, we'd just end up with a frosted glass house. There are so many other options like wall to wall curtain systems.
October 13, 201410 yr I get it. You want light during the day, but don't want your snoopy neighbors looking in while you walk around in your undies. I take more issue with the awful wood paneling than the glass block. At that level it's a structural statement of the house, not just dated decorating tastes that you might swap out. Seriously, though. For $300K, you need to do something about that awful paneling. I had that in my basement in 1975.
October 13, 201410 yr I give that particular house a pass because of its historical interest. In a region like NEO where builders and clients have traditionally been so extremely conservative with their residential architecture, this house is a pretty notable exception. No comment on the interior, but I kind of like the restrained blend of art moderne, deco, and streamlined that show up in the exterior, glass block and all. Even if it's not everyone's cup of tea, it's not an eyesore or anything.
October 13, 201410 yr I get it. You want light during the day, but don't want your snoopy neighbors looking in while you walk around in your undies. I take more issue with the awful wood paneling than the glass block. At that level it's a structural statement of the house, not just dated decorating tastes that you might swap out. Seriously, though. For $300K, you need to do something about that awful paneling. I had that in my basement in 1975. You should look again. that paneling is fabulous.
October 14, 201410 yr Give me wood paneling or give me death. And some linoleum in the basement. Make it look like the Angry Video Game Nerd's basement.
October 14, 201410 yr And suspended ceilings. One of my uncles is fond of telling the story about his friend who would get too drunk and overwhelmed at parties and would check out. They'd track him down and wake him up and bring him back to the party. So he started getting creative with hiding places, culminating in the time when he climbed up into one of those suspended ceilings. My uncle said you could see the thing sagging and when they got him out of there he was covered in lint.
October 14, 201410 yr Give me wood paneling or give me death. And some linoleum in the basement. Make it look like the Angry Video Game Nerd's basement. I could do some serious Usenet posting in that room.
October 19, 201410 yr A diamond in the rough: http://www.trulia.com/property/3023736939-1707-Blue-Rock-St-Cincinnati-OH-45223
October 19, 201410 yr I never quite got the intention of glass block as used in bar windows. Is it to stop outsiders from looking in or insiders from looking out? I can think of reasons supporting both. Or is it neither and just a really unfortunate trend in small-bar-America.
October 19, 201410 yr A diamond in the rough: http://www.trulia.com/property/3023736939-1707-Blue-Rock-St-Cincinnati-OH-45223 Now that house is hideous and the picture quality does not help. I say tear down and rebuild!
October 19, 201410 yr I never quite got the intention of glass block as used in bar windows. Is it to stop outsiders from looking in or insiders from looking out? I can think of reasons supporting both. Or is it neither and just a really unfortunate trend in small-bar-America. It's to prevent insiders from being thrown out through windows, and outsiders from smashing in through said windows.
October 19, 201410 yr I never quite got the intention of glass block as used in bar windows. Is it to stop outsiders from looking in or insiders from looking out? I can think of reasons supporting both. Or is it neither and just a really unfortunate trend in small-bar-America. It's to prevent insiders from being thrown out through windows, and outsiders from smashing in through said windows. In that regard glass block is a visual indicator, much like barbed wire. When you see it, you know you're in a cruddy area.
October 19, 201410 yr A diamond in the rough: http://www.trulia.com/property/3023736939-1707-Blue-Rock-St-Cincinnati-OH-45223 Now that house is hideous and the picture quality does not help. I say tear down and rebuild! Yeah I've never understood real estate agents who can't take a decent photograph. It's not as if a building fidgets and throws a tantrum. Compare these photos to seemingly anything being sold in NYC -- where agents obviously hire professionals to photograph seemingly every listing. Sure, there's no such thing as a listing under $500,000 in NYC and so there is more room in the budget to hire a pro, but even if you're selling a $50,000 property, where you'll make $1,500 as the selling agent, it's not the only property you're gong to sell all year. Get a decent camera or at least an iPhone 4!
October 20, 201410 yr My landlords/management company are terrible photographers. I basically have faith in them that their properties look 10X better in person due to my experience with them and my knowledge of the areas where their properties are located.
October 24, 201410 yr Love the vinyl topped table and chairs. Looks straight out of the 70s... not a hip new place in OTR. If you didn't indicated that this was a NEW space, I would assume it was some dive that hasn't had an update since 1984
October 24, 201410 yr Wait, is that table and chairs actually the furniture they chose? I looked in through the windows before the tables and chairs were in and kind of figured that was just a workers' break table. There are some really good selections from what I saw on the interior and then some very questionable ones like the glass block. I'll hold full judgment until it's finished and open and occupied.
November 6, 201410 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/11/06/take-a-look-inside-otrs-newest-restaurant-the.html
November 6, 201410 yr Yeah they're trying to look like a circa-1989 Howard Johnson breakfast buffet. Who thinks this is cool? Who is comfortable in those chairs?
November 7, 201410 yr Marge Schott would be proud. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 20, 201410 yr Yeah they're trying to look like a circa-1989 Howard Johnson breakfast buffet. Who thinks this is cool? Who is comfortable in those chairs? Hipsters?
November 20, 201410 yr No. Look in the windows and tell me if you see a single "hipster" eating at The Mercer. It's older white business people. Just like most expensive restaurants anywhere in the region.
November 20, 201410 yr No. Look in the windows and tell me if you see a single "hipster" eating at The Mercer. It's older white business people. Just like most expensive restaurants anywhere in the region. Hipsters have almost left OTR entirely at this point, it is full on yuppie, with a handful of exceptions. Which is why this instance of glass block is that much worse, it isn't even ironic, it's just theater.
November 20, 201410 yr I don't know if I'd agree with that statement. I'd say that the population of hipsters has stayed pretty consistent but the population of other types of people has dramatically increased, lessening the prominence of "hipster" culture in OTR. This place's "styling" (if you want to call it that) does somehow work in my opinion with the exception of the glass block. It's so brightly lit from the behind (kitchen) that it just looks obnoxious in a place so dimly lit.
November 21, 201410 yr It's wonderful how the block "window" perfectly frames that crappy air conditioner.
November 21, 201410 yr I've been noticing of late how many glass-blocked windows have real windows in them.
December 1, 201410 yr No, GLASS BLOCK is not terrible. But the way it is used in the photo shown IS terrible....it's bad block used in a silly way. Here is a fantastic example from 1936. (Owens-Illinois Research Laboratory, Toledo, Ohio - Walker & Weeks, architects) [/img]
December 30, 201410 yr This made me think of that house in Cleveland Heights http://www.spotproperty.com/2424-stratford-rd-cleveland-heights-oh-44118-831283263 Ouch. This house looks like an urban transformer station, sans electricity. [/img] THE SCOURGE OF HOUSE FLIPPERS! This IS THAT HOUSE in Cleveland Heights. No, not a power station, just an old modern house. It is the: HAROLD BURDICK HOUSE, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, built in 1938, Harold Burdick, architect BUT, it isn't just any house. It has a noted history and is/was a rare and distinctive piece of modern architecture. But once again a house flipper knowing nothing about the house, not understanding the architecture, not seeing the value of a historic house and not bothering to ask anyone informed about what they should do, has blundered in and F___ it up for no good reason.....and they want to be paid $100K+ for having done their worst for the least possible cost. The before and after photos below of the kitchen and bathroom is shocking. The existing kitchen in the house was, frankly, absurd. Of it needed to be redesigned and reconceived. I can't argue with that, but what has replaced the existing kitchen is so inappropriate and misconceived that I can't believe our flippers were unable to see that. If anyone who understands and appreciates the house they can surely demolish this kitchen and create something that fits with a modern house circa 1938. But what has been done to at least one of the three bathrooms is a much greater outrage. These bathrooms didn't need to be replaced and the new bathroom is straight out of a new suburban tract house in the outer burbs. The original bathroom(s) are tile, mirrors, glass block with elegant original fixtures and chrome fittings. I'm sure these bathroom did not meet current expectations for a modern bathroom but they did not need to be totally destroyed and replaced. Almost any older house is going to have limitations as well as those things that many people like about old houses. If you can't accept and enjoy the house and its historic qualities then why buy an old house. Why would anyone interested in buying a house like this want a bathroom like what has been built to replace the original. The master bedroom has also been destroyed and all of it's modest, but interesting original details have been removed. Again, why would a potential buyer want a bedroom like this rather than the bedroom as it had been. The obsession with painting walls aqua blue I think shows how little the seller knows about selling real estate.[/i][/b][/b][/color] HAROLD BURDICK (1895-1947) Burdick was among those architects in Cleveland who worked for local firms and independently for many years and had a hand in the design of many project in Cleveland. Before opening his own firm he had a hand in the design of two of the finest and most memorable buildings in Cleveland, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland while with the office of prominent Cleveland architects Walker & Weeks where he worked after returning from WWI. Later he was the talent at work on the Moreland Courts Apartments in Shaker Heights while with architects Mead & Hamilton. Burdick lived in the house with his family until his premature death in 1947 at age 52. The house is as rare bit of early modern residential architecture in Ohio. It's design seems rooted in the International Style and in Art Deco. Burdick went to Cornell and likely got a Beaux Arts education in architecture. The work he did in Cleveland was in eclectic historical styles and he may have designed nothing else in a modern style. MORE ABOUT THE HOUSE Cleveland Memory Project: http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=BHB Cleveland Memory Project - digital images: http://images.ulib.csuohio.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/clevehts/id/2082 Cleveland Heights Historical Society: http://www.chhistory.org/HeritageTour.phpTourIndex=TourAZ&Listing=S&Street=Stratford_Road&NoAdd=2414&No=198 Ohio Historic Places Dictionary, Volume 2: https://books.google.com/books?id=YfvhVln0D20C&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197&dq=Harold+Burdick&source=bl&ots=kwhjvtD1ap&sig=Xb7HsZuwUPlmGmUC0avG-7wZQgI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=djGiVKKhJofnoASgg4LYAw&ved=0CJ4BEOgBMBg#v=onepage&q=Harold%20Burdick&f=false The HAROLD BURDICK HOUSE is on the NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES since 1974. THERE IS A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL RESERVED FOR HOUSE FLIPPERS Here are the tragic before and afters:
Create an account or sign in to comment