The Circus House, also known as the Sells House, is a building in the

Victorian Village Victorian Village is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, United States, north and near west of downtown. It is an established neighborhood built when a streetcar line first ran along Neil Avenue around 1900 with a fair number of established trees ...

neighborhood of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. The three-story, house was designed by

Yost & Packard Yost & Packard was an architectural firm based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The firm included partners Joseph W. Yost and Frank Packard. It was founded in 1892 and continued until Yost moved to New York City in 1899, after which Packard took ...

in an eclectic style, using elements from numerous architectural styles. It was built for the family of Peter Sells, one of the owners of the

Sells Brothers Circus Sells Brothers Circus was a circus founded by Ephraim, William, Lewis and Peter Sells in Columbus, Ohio, United States. History The circus, more formally known as the Sells Brothers' Quadruple Alliance, Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus, ran ...

. The house is located at the northwest corner of

Goodale Park Goodale Park is a public park in the Victorian Village area of Columbus, Ohio. It was donated to the city in 1851 by Lincoln Goodale. For a few months during the Civil War, it was a staging area for Union troops known as Camp Jackson. ComFest, a ...

, one of the first city parks in Columbus. Peter and Mary Sells' house was built in the 1890s, with influence from a family trip in 1891. The building was completed in 1895, and furnished with décor from the family's world travels. Peter Sells split from his wife in a widely publicized divorce in 1900, and he died in 1904. The house subsequently saw a range of commercial uses, from an office building to a daycare center, a fraternal order for commercial travelers, a nursery school, and an alcoholics' recovery house. In 1998, the house returned to single-family residential use, and each of the three owners have completed various renovations to the house during their ownerships. The house is a contributing property of the Victorian Village Historic District, overseen by the Victorian Village Commission, and the Near Northside Historic District, on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

History

Early and commercial uses

The house was commissioned in the 1890s by the circus owner Peter Sells of

designed the house with influence from the Sells family trip to California in 1891. The dramatic rooflines, curved

Moorish style Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

windows, and terracotta-tile roof suggest a similar profile to that of a circus big top. The firm also designed the carriage house, occupied by the servants of the Sells family. The house was completed in 1895. Once settled in the new residence, the Sells' furnished the house with pieces from their travels around the world, creating a lavish and exotic feel to the interior. Sells built it to placate his wife Mary, who did not share his enthusiasm for the circus, animals, and the frequent travels the business involved. Mary was alleged to have taken an affair with William Bott, the wealthy owner of the Bott Brothers' Billiards and Saloon. Urban legends recall that the Sells kept lions or elephants in the house's basement or carriage house, and that a carousel was installed in the house's third floor, though no evidence supports the legends. The Sells family occupied the house until 1899, when Peter and Mary divorced due to her alleged infidelity. The ensuing divorce trial was front-page news, as Columbusites became fascinated with the scandalous circumstances the divorce was filed upon. Peter Sells gained the split from his wife in December 1900 and removed her from his home. Since Peter's death in 1904, the usage of the Sells Brothers house has varied greatly, ranging from a nursery school to the House of Hope for Alcoholics, a shelter house for recovering alcoholics, only from 1960 to 1961. The Columbus chapter of

United Commercial Travelers United Commercial Travelers or UCT is a non-profit financial services membership organization that supports communities and causes across the United States and Canada. The organization is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, just south of Grandview H ...

was noted as an early good steward of the house. It was first used for offices in 1920; one of the owners was the local

Fraternal Order of Police The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and th ...

, from 1953 to 1959. In 1963, it became a daycare center, which operated until 1997. It was sold the next year for $429,000.

Return to residential use

After a long time in commercial use, the building once again became a private house for the Brownstein family after their 1998 purchase. Under their ownership, it was restored to a pristine condition, and was resold in 2008 with a list price of $1.4 million. The Hardings purchased the house; Fritz Harding, formerly a trustee of the

Columbus Historical Society The Columbus Historical Society (CHS) is the historical society for Columbus, Ohio, chronicling the city's history. The society office and museum building is located in the Franklinton neighborhood. In 2020, the Columbus Historical Society aims ...

and a department chair at the

Columbus College of Art and Design Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CC ...

, reworked the interior to reflect its circus theme. Amid decorative additions, the family also installed a geothermal system and rainwater catchment cistern in the house. The Hardings finished repairs and subsequently moved to a quieter house, selling the Circus House for $1.55 million in December 2016. Its next owner, Weston Wolfe, altered portions of most of the house's rooms, staining the floor, painting trim, adding black quartz flooring in the entrances, switching out most of the light fixtures, and renovating the two first-floor bathrooms. Weston also installed a 20-by-38 ft. pool at the house in 2017, finished a bathroom on its second floor, and added a kitchen on its third floor. In June 2019, the house was back on the market Wolfe had sold his business and filed for bankruptcy, with nearly all of his debts from the house. In January 2020,

Huntington Bank Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is an American bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is ranked 521st on the Fortune 500, and is 26th on the list of largest banks in the United States. The company's banking sub ...

foreclosed on the property; around this time the house was broken into by vandals at least once. Wolfe had hoped to use the house to entertain customers for his insurance company, though instead it led clients to believe Wolfe did not need their business in order to be successful. During Wolfe's ownership, the house fell into extreme disrepair, with trim and mantelpieces torn off, tile and flooring removed, plumbing and mirrors smashed, and the electrical line to the house severed, among other damage estimated at $1 million. At foreclosure, the house was put up for auction, though failed to attract its minimum bid. It was relisted in July 2020 without a minimum. The Henry family then purchased the house for $873,400. The new owners estimated a repair at at least the cost of sale, and hired an architect and a designer to restore it. Fritz Harding estimates the house is eligible for the

, and hopes the current owner's renovations will lead to its listing. The new owners planned to live in the house, rent out the first floor for events, use the third floor as a short-term rental, and convert the carriage house into a permanent meeting space for Riegel Financial, which Paige Henry is president of. The renovations involved replacing the electrical service and wiring, pouring concrete for a remaining dirt portion of the basement floor, repairing plumbing and gas lines, replacing its geothermal unit, and adding solar panels to the garage roof. Decorative changes included wallpaper, murals, redoing the staircase, and restoring fireplaces. The work was completed by March 2022.

Attributes and design

The eclectic building is widely considered one of Columbus's great houses, designed by perhaps its most famous architects. The Circus House is usually credited to Frank Packard, though designs are signed by his firm

, with George Henry Bulford surmised as a major contributor to the design. The architects utilized elements of

High Victorian Gothic High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Prom ...

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

and French chateau design, sometimes also called "Circus Gothic". The house stands out on Dennison Avenue with its steep red-tile roof, flared out like a circus tent. The three-story house features a pair of round first-floor rooms which have exterior brick cornices resembling the fringe of a circus tent. The house has divided into twelve rooms, including four bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and two half-baths. It has geothermal heating and solar panels atop the garage. The house has changed throughout its ownerships, including with the removal of its three front-facing dormer windows some time before 1973. Before 1965, the house's east-facing porch was simply repaired, with a decorative cornice removed. The cornice was recreated during the house's 2020-2022 renovation. The Circus House includes its own 1,656-square-foot

carriage house A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack. In Great Britain the farm building was called a cart shed. These typically were open ...

at the neighboring 217 Buttles Avenue. During their ownership, the Hardings renovated the carriage house into a two-bedroom, 2.5-bath home to allow for its use as a guest and rental space. They commissioned a four-car garage (finished in 2011) and large patio nearby, with an outdoor fireplace and 30-ft. chimney, resembling the chimneys that are part of the Circus House. Wolfe purchased the carriage house separately from the Hardings in 2017 for $480,000, and attempted to sell it in April 2019 for $650,000, relisting for $525,000 in 2020. The Henrys purchased the building months after buying the main house, and began renovation in early 2022. The Circus House has been included in numerous home tours in the area including the Short North Tour of Homes & Gardens. It has been the location for prominent gatherings, like an

After-School All-Stars After-School All-Stars (ASAS) is a national non-profit organization that partners with schools across the United States to expand the learning day for low-income children. It provides after-school programs. Currently, ASAS serves nearly 92,000 ...

event with Arnold Schwarzenegger in March 2017, and other activities including art exhibits and filming for a music video and a horror movie. A chest of circus memorabilia, which once belonged to Willie Sells (a brother of Peter), is kept in the house and always sold with it. The chest first came to the house during the Brownsteins' ownership, when it was given to them by a neighbor.

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External links