2022 Tour of Homes Brochure Text (Additional Information Below):

This charming Cape Cod home was built in 1921 and purchased in the same year by the Hopkins family (Drs. Ross and Blanche and their son John). As a “doctor couple,” Ross and Blanche would have been unusual at the time, regardless of their high profile positions.

Blanche Hopkins was the chief health inspector for the maternity hospitals in the State of Ohio, as well as the author of a book on prenatal, natal, and infant hygiene. Ross Hopkins served on the Ohio State Board of Health before being hired in 1921 as the first full-time health director for the Columbus Public Schools, where he worked to get a scale in every school to monitor children’s weight. Although he advocated smallpox vaccination for children, he would not implement the vaccine mandate enacted by the State Board of Health, leading to his resignation in 1922. It seems history does repeat itself - a vaccine conflict 100 years before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hopkins sold the house to Samuel Elno Goodfellow and his wife, Echo the same year.

The Goodfellows resided in the home for 25 years. An insurance professional for over four decades and a member of the York Lodge of Masons, Samuel worked at various times for the Royal, Queens, and Mayflower Insurance Companies. The cover on the ash clean out for the huge stone fireplace has the Royal Insurance emblem prominently displayed and was likely put there by the Goodfellows almost 100 years ago. Echo was a member of the Pi Beta Phi Mother’s Club and an accomplished golfer, honing her skills at the Scioto Country Club. Echo sold the home the year after Samuel’s death in 1949. Its valuation at the time: $6,260.

Helen and Leon Lisle, along with their daughter Marilyn, acquired the home in 1951. Leon was a cashier at the City National Bank and a member of the Elks Lodge. A stenographer for the bus line and, at various times, secretary to the Dean of the College of Law, Helen was also a member of the Junior Executive Club of Columbus.

After the Lisles, the home had several other owners from the mid-1970s to the present. Current owners Dr. Steven and Janey Gentile purchased the house in 2001 and quickly learned that the historic home needed a lot of love.

“We came to the house for a little celebratory picnic. When we flipped on the toaster, we flipped the breaker,” Steven remembers. The Gentiles saw a home with beautiful light, a double lot, and an amazing location. The mechanicals were terrible, but the house was a keeper. The Gentiles have undertaken multiple renovations in the past 21 years. The biggest renovation was in 2011, adding significant square footage and extra garage space. The intent with that renovation was to create more living space without changing the “cottagey,” homey feel the house exudes. The couple worked hard to seamlessly blend the new with the old. Can you tell where the old house stops and the new house begins?

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Additional Information:

Besides having a lot of knob and tube wiring, there was very low water pressure, indicating the need for a new water line. The living room windows had half-inch gaps, allowing outside air and water to come into the house; this had been managed by installing storm windows inside the house. The forced air furnace was relatively new but still used the duct work from an old gravity furnace making the temperature inside the home uncomfortable and difficult to manage. “The hall on the main floor (now hardwood) was one long cold air return,” Janey remembers.

Solving the problems required gutting the unfinished basement and reworking most of the house’s mechanical systems. Duct work was added, but many of the original vents remain. The Gentiles also took this opportunity to remove all the knob and tube wiring and install a new 200 amp electric service. The galvanized waterline to the street was also replaced with copper along with most of the other plumbing.

The main floor also received some renovation in 2001. When the Gentiles replaced the living room windows, the couple discovered the stone fireplace is not original. Another fireplace was concealed in the wall that was removed in a later renovation. The bathroom on the main floor—originally the primary bathroom—was gutted. The new corner shower—with subway tile, reminiscent of Janey’s years in New York City—was added to make better use of the small space. The porcelain hexagon tile on the floor was chosen to keep with the home’s era.

The bedroom beside the bathroom was the home’s primary bedroom until later renovations. This initial work also entailed stripping the woodwork on the main floor and removing the wallpaper that graced every room. They retained the original base board and added crown molding. The built-in cabinets with drop-down doors in the first floor hall are original to the house, although Janey did replace the handles.

Janey’s office on the first floor had originally been a bedroom. But French doors in a bedroom, you ask? No. The French doors replaced the original windows, which did not meet code for a bedroom exit. Replacing the windows would have required tearing apart the wall to add new structural support. Janey’s solution was the beautiful French doors which allow the outside into the office to give Janey a porch work break. This solution also allows the room to be classified as a bedroom for resale purposes.

The original front stoop was also replaced in the 2001 renovation. “We rerouted the front steps and added the porch,” Janey adds. “The porch is a great place to connect with neighbors out for a walk and watch thunderstorms during the summer months.”

The unusual live edge desk in Janey’s office belonged to Steve’s father, a retired physician in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The desk, which hangs from the wall, was designed by George Nakishima and was custom made for Dr. Gentile’s office.

“Steve and his dad rescued the desk when the office building was about to be demolished and took it to Mira Nakishima (George’s daughter) to be refurbished,” Janey explains. The panels under the desk’s main surface slide to reveal storage; no need for the usual desk drawers. To get added built-in storage in the office wall, space was “stolen” from the bedroom closet next door.

Before heading upstairs, glance at the main entry door which Janey designed to make the foyer more welcoming. “We also removed a coat closet (where the picture of the horse now hangs) to enlarge the foyer,” Janey notes.

The staircase to the second floor retains the original woodwork, but the previously enclosed passage was opened to add more light and air. At the top of the stairs, the wall was removed and replaced with a railing in keeping with the staircase railing. The loft under the eaves serves as Steve’s office.

Renovations require lots of problem solving, and this one was no exception. For example, the original second floor bathroom blocked access to a closet that would become the new laundry room. Solution? Move the bathroom over to allow access to the new laundry.

The second floor addition includes a bedroom for their daughter (whose original bedroom became Janey’s office) and the primary suite at the rear of the house. The suite is unique in that, while the bedroom, large closet, and bathroom are contiguous, each room has its own doors. This layout is handy when Dr. Steve works late night shifts. Pocket doors make great use of the space, and the unique soaking tub—perfect for the small space—offers a relaxing spot near the lovely windows.

Back on the main floor, the results of additional problem solving and planning are seen in the dining room, kitchen, and family room. For nearly the first decade that the Gentiles lived in the home, the current dining room had been a galley kitchen and dining room. “There was an added-on three-season room on a slab beyond the kitchen,” Janey recalls. The room was not well built, and the outside grading allowed dirt to collect next to the bottom sill, rotting the sill. The double-paned windows worked poorly and most had fogged due to broken seals between the panes.

In addition to adding the rooms upstairs, the 2011 renovation transformed the three-season room into the current spacious kitchen and family room. The galley kitchen became a bigger dining room where the extended Gentile family routinely gathers for meals.

The current main entry way to the dining room had originally been a solid wall. At one time the wall included a walled-over fireplace (in the living room). That fireplace and accompanying chimney had been removed in a previous renovation. The south facing French doors in the dining room were added to retain the view to the street and allow in the beautiful light from the living room.

The Gentiles also added a stone patio to the rear of the house, and doors that allow them to move seamlessly from inside the house to outside. During parties the doors will be propped open making the family room and patio one space.

Beyond the patio the back yard has evolved since the renovation. The fire pit and shed were added about six years ago. The shed stores the furniture in the winter and is a summer “She Shed” for Janey and her grandkids.

The retaining wall and driveway were replaced in the 2011 renovation. These features hide a great deal of drainage planning on the double lot and prevent flooding of the basement and the two-car garage under the house.

Senior yearbook photo of John Hopkins (nicknamed “Hoppo”), son of the original owners of the home and captain of the Grandview Heights High School football team in 1924.

Home in 2001 without front porch and rear addition from 2011 renovations, respectively.

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