The Gale House Condominiums is a historic building in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. It was listed on the Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 2015. It was historically a mixed-use building, with retail (Gold's Pharmacy) on the first floor and residential space above. Today it houses residential and office space.[1]
The building is classified as a vernacular Victorian commercial structure. It has three stories, a stone foundation, brick walls, and brownstone bands. It has a sloping semi-flat roof. The three-story section has a hanging turret trimmed in brownstone on its southwest corner. The windows have limestone lintels and sills, some with a keystone motif. The building also has its original ornate cornice, featuring dental molding and scrollwork.[1]
The building was constructed in the mid-to-late 1800s by Franklin Gale, the editor of The Ohio Statesman. His family owned the structure until 1928. It changed hands several times. A single-story addition was built to the east in the 1930s, and expanded in the 1940s.[1] From about 1971 to 2009, Inkling Printing operated out of the building. It was then sold several times, most lately to Savage Real Estate, in 2014.[2] The building was restored to its near-original appearance, though no early photographs of it exist. Its original cast iron columns were exposed, as well as an original tin ceiling.[1] The first floor was renovated for retail storefront use, while the second and third were developed into a residential unit.[3]
The building features a "local landmark", a door on the second story with no stairs or balcony attached. A sign below it reads "Watch the 1st Step!", and an original stained glass transom window is set above it.[1]
