W.C. Retszch House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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W. C. Retszch House
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Front of the house
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | 129 Springfield Pike, Wyoming, Ohio |
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| Area | 2.1 acres (0.85 ha) |
| Built | 1907 |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| MPS | Wyoming MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 86001642 |
| Added to NRHP | August 25, 1986 |
The W.C. Retszch House is an old and important house in Wyoming, Ohio, United States. It was built in 1907. A businessman from the Cincinnati area first lived here. This house is now a historic site because of its special design.
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What Makes the Retszch House Special?
This house is two and a half stories tall. It sits on a strong stone base. The outside walls are made of weatherboard, which are overlapping wooden boards. It has an asphalt roof.
Cool Architectural Style
The Retszch House mainly shows a style called Neoclassical. This means it looks like old Greek and Roman buildings. It has a triangular top part called a pediment. There are also tall, round Ionic columns on its large porch. This porch wraps around the house. It has a delicate, narrow railing called a balustrade.
Special Details of the House
The main door is in the middle of the front of the house. It has narrow windows on the sides, called sidelights. Above the door is a window called a transom window. This window is made of colorful art glass. There are chimneys on both ends of the house. In the middle, there's a window that sticks out from the roof, called a dormer. Many parts of the outside have a fancy border called a cornice. A big wrought iron fence surrounds the whole property.
Why Wyoming Grew: A Look at History
Wyoming, Ohio, became a busy place because it had good ways to travel. It was near an old road that connected Cincinnati to places up north. This road was improved in 1806 and is now called Springfield Pike.
Transportation Helped Wyoming Thrive
In the 1830s, another important way to travel appeared. The Miami and Erie Canal was built nearby in 1828. A town called Lockland grew up along this canal. Later, in 1851, trains came to the area. The Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad was built between Lockland and Wyoming.
Wealthy Families Built Homes Here
Because Wyoming was close to the factories in Lockland and had easy travel to Cincinnati, many rich business owners moved there. They bought farms and built large country homes. Most of these big houses were in the Wyoming Hills area. This growth continued until the Great Depression in the 1930s. W.C. Retszch was one of these important business owners. He built his house in 1907. At that time, he was the president of the National Label Company.
Becoming a Historic Site
In 1979, a local group started looking for old and important buildings in Wyoming. They wanted to protect them. This led to many houses, including the Retszch House, being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Why the Retszch House is Protected
The W.C. Retszch House was listed on the Register for two main reasons. First, its architecture is very special and important. Second, it is connected to W.C. Retszch, who was a notable person in the area's history.
