Joseph-Cherrington House
Also known as: Key, Butler & Harrison, Attys.
Why it's listed
Built in 1863, this two-and-a-half-story brick house at 785 East Broad Street in Columbus combines Italianate and High Victorian features. It has a low-pitched hipped slate roof, an irregular plan, and tall narrow windows with carved stone segmental arched hood molds and bracketed stone sills. A brick stringcourse runs under the cornice, which has frieze windows. The north facade has a segmental arch portico on Tuscan Doric columns and a round-arched bay window. When it was built, East Broad Street had just been annexed out to 20th Street, and the street's earliest development favored Italianate design on large estates. It is the second oldest of five remaining Italianate examples there. Residents included Wilden E. Joseph, a holloware manufacturer who became secretary of the Masonic Temple Association, and later Harold Cherrington, a Columbus Dispatch dramatic editor and journalist. A law firm restored the house after 1965 and uses it as offices.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it represents the earliest period of residential development along East Broad Street, when large estates were built there in the mid-nineteenth century. It is the second oldest of five remaining Italianate examples on the street. It also shows distinct Italianate characteristics in its roof, windows and cornice details.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 86003429, listed December 17, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 785 E. Broad St., Columbus |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | December 17, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86003429 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | High Victorian/Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored by a law firm after 1965 and in use as law offices; interior listed as very good and exterior as excellent. A small service addition was built at the rear. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Columbus Near East Side District |
| Coordinates | 39.96435, -82.97955 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 86003429.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q105082029
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.