Even before stepping inside 2908 Franklin Blvd., you're certain the home is steeped in history. The dark Victorian facade is adorned by a mysterious gothic gable. Though it stands out amongst quaint rows of brownstones and craftsman homes, the 1872-built abode is the type that gives Ohio City its unique charm.
The black brick construction is at once modern and historic, the house showing years of legacy and the color becoming ever popular as the paint choice for a home's exterior. The wrought iron gates out front bring memories of the entrance to our grandmothers’ gardens and the grand wooden door is the statement piece bringing it all together.
Upon knocking on the door, Paul and Ann Meeker come into view; stepping aside to reveal the entryway boasting a hardwood curved staircase straight ahead and an opulent, green and white floral-wallpapered room to the right. The central room on the main floor is perfect for conversation with its denim-blue sofa, elegant high-back chairs and original fireplace.
“It was built by a surgeon who served in the union army. He'd been an assistant surgeon at Gettysburg, from New York State,” Ann says. “The house on the outside is very similar to what this house was when it was built.”
The house became a complete overhaul project. The two Northeast Ohio natives, married for nearly a decade, purchased the house in 2018 and just moved in at the beginning of December 2022.
This is not their first foray into remaking homes. The couple also restored a four-unit complex on Clinton Avenue, catching the attention of their neighbor and real estate agent.
“Ray called and said, ‘I have a house you need to look at,’” says Paul. “So, we came and looked at it and we liked the house, and it had some history.”
The house at the time was vacant and derelict; its walls, windows, doors and rooms were in desperate need of restoration to their former glory, and it would need someone with enough spirit to take up such major tasks.
Enter, the Meekers.
Their main goal, especially for Ann, being the history buff of the duo, was to preserve the house and its original features as much as possible. In fact, they feel that is what gives it their own personal touch.
The house boasts original doors — albeit, stripped of more than a dozen layers of paint — that have been re-edged and re-hinged. The biggest piece of history (and perhaps the biggest undertaking) though, is the plaster moulding on the ceiling.
The original plaster is what can be seen there today, but the journey in finding the right person to keep it alive was one of the biggest hurdles. Paul and Ann finally hired someone out of Columbus, from the only company left in Ohio that performs the task, to keep this piece of originality in the home.
“The footprint of the house is the original footprint,” Ann says. “The kitchen was two separate rooms, and there was no kitchen here, but the two rooms here, we combined. Above the kitchen were two servants’ rooms, we combined them to one so that they function for modern times.”
She also notes that they put in bathrooms, something the 19th-century model did not have. They even put in new subfloors and had to jack up the entire frame of the house since it was sinking into the ground when they purchased it.
Needless to say, it is a whole new house, but its roots in history make it feel as though it has been this way for centuries.
As with most things in the world today, though, the coronavirus pandemic slowed their project down.
“During COVID, we kept it so it was only one crew at a time,” says Paul. “We’d have either the carpenters in or the plumbers in or the electricians, but we tried to keep it so it was only one group at a time.”
Five years, a pandemic, and a broken ankle and wrist for Paul later, the house is done and is being enjoyed by not just the family, but Cleveland at large.
At the end of 2022, 2908 Franklin Blvd. was the subject of the SNOOP! Tour from the Cleveland Restoration Society, which opened up the Meekers’ home for the public to learn of the historical significance and view the beautiful renovations.
“This house has a character that you just don’t find in a new house, and it has a warmth and grace that is just fabulous,” says Paul.
“This is a testimony to history,” says Ann. “This is a statement of the history of its time. The way it was built, what it was built [from], materials-wise, the society at the time. It reeks of stories and times. To destroy this, would be a huge loss.”
