Table of Contents
Timeline — Historical Map — Early Ads and Praise — Prominent People
Early Ads and Praise for Highland Park
Imagine that it’s 1920. You’re a young, professional man from a good family. You’ve survived the Great War. Soon, you’ll marry your high school sweetheart and start a busy life of parenting, civic obligations, and card parties. It’s time to trade-in your Jordon Playboy roadster. You pick up the paper. Before you get to the cars, you see an advertisement for a new subdivision. Your credit is good, and chances are that your future father-in-law will buy the lot. Your fiancee’s best friend’s cousin keeps the books for a local architect. Convinced, you pick up the phone and dial 1660. You want a beautiful home in Highland Park.
“The things that we see are often a suggestion for our thoughts.” Thus began the quest for Homes Beautiful in Highland Park. This June 27th, 1919 ad appeared in the Hamilton Evening Journal and is one of the earliest known advertisements for Highland Park. What do you see from your window?
The fictitious home in this July 3rd, 1919 ad for Highland Park illustrates the belief that a house must not only be beautiful, but also be situated on beautiful property. It would be some time before before actual construction began.
It is ever true that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. To make her task easier, Highland Park appealed to husbands to give their wives the ultimate in modern and convenient home-making – a house built in Highland Park. The Hamilton Evening Journal, July 11, 1919.
Won’t you be our neighbor? The Hamilton Daily News, May 21, 1920.
The brick houses referred here may be those on the 600 block of Haven Avenue. If so, they are among the oldest in the neighborhood. The Hamilton Daily News, October 21, 1922.
The Hamilton Daily News, June 2, 1923.
By 1923, stylish homes that give Highland Park its character began to appear. These homes weren’t just expressions of taste, but also commitments to marriage, children, and the city at large. The Hamilton Daily News, October, 29, 1923.
Half the neighborhood we call Highland Park isn’t Highland Park. It’s Lawn Park, a rival subdivision bordered by Cereal Avenue to the north, and the intersection of Dick and Virginia Avenues to the south. Like Highland Park, Lawn Park espoused the Home Beautiful, but with especially strict residency requirements. Recognize these two homes? The Hamilton Daily News, June 2, 1923.
The Lawn Park name slowly faded into history, and the two halves of the neighborhood are now known as Highland Park. The Hamilton Daily News, May 22, 1925.
Forgotten, but quaint, Elm Park centered on Alberton and Beal Avenues. The Hamilton Daily News, October 9, 1926.
Home Beautiful attained, 1300 Cereal Avenue on the original border of Highland Park. The Hamilton Daily News, August 28, 1926.
A beautiful city depends on beautiful homes, and 917 Virginia Avenue was among the most beautiful homes of all. The English Tutor cottage-style home was designed by Hamilton architect Frederick Mueller for Judge Burns. Sadly, the house has been demolished. The Hamilton Daily News, August 28, 1926.
935 Virginia Avenue, The Hamilton Daily News, September 18, 1926.
Highland Park wouldn’t be Highland Park without its dozens of Dutch Colonials. This one was the home of Mr. & Mrs. Herman Margerum. The Hamilton Daily News, May 4, 1929.
1005 Haldimand Avenue was the honeymoon home of Mr. & Mrs. George Cummins. The contractor and builder, Mr. Ralph A. Kennedy, lived right around the corner at 603 Haven Avenue. Notice the ads for the many trades and businesses that went into creating a Home Beautiful. Also noticed the headline top-left, “Build and Climb with Hamilton Fastest Growing City in Ohio.” The Hamilton Daily News, July 6, 1929.
1005 Haldimand Avenue was the honeymoon home of Mr. & Mrs. George Cummins. The contractor and builder, Mr. Ralph A. Kennedy, lived right around the corner at 603 Haven Avenue. Notice the ads for the many trades and businesses that went into creating a Home Beautiful. Also noticed the headline top-left, “Build and Climb with Hamilton Fastest Growing City in Ohio.” The Hamilton Daily News, July 6, 1929.
A cozy bungalow with all the modern amenities was one of the most desirable home types of the 1920s. This one still stands on Park Avenue. The Hamilton Daily News, August 29, 1929.
There are three contenders for the oldest house in Highland Park: 665 Marcia Avenue, 606 Marcia Avenue, and 670 Marcia Avenue. All three remain respected addresses. The trees have matured and the awnings are gone, but 670 Marcia Avenue still looks as it did at the time this ad was placed in 1932. Even after 100 years, Highland Park is our Home Beautiful. The Hamilton Daily News, September 23, 1932.