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The first decade of the twentieth century was a period of
extensive building and tremendous growth in Ashland. H.A.
Mykrantz, a leading attorney who wrote a legal advice column for
the Ashland Press, was the developer who bought all of the
Banning property for $12,000 in 1902 which extended from Center
Street to Eastern Avenue.
According to the Ashland Press, “Along the east part of the
tract it is planned to open up a street to be known as Eastern Avenue
to run south through other properties. From Eastern Avenue to Center
Street are to be laid out two streets in the court plan as found in other cities. It is planned to have two courts and two parks, one at the north side of the land and one at the south.”
From the beginning, Highland Avenue built up, but because he was unable to acquire adjoining land to the north, Banning Avenue was not developed as wide as originally planned, nor could it be extended to Center Street.
Mykrantz built this Queen Anne Victorian for himself in 1902. Four third story crescent windows and two arched windows help to define the character of the structure. Unique to the Center Street Historic District is the corner gabled wrap-around porch that welcomes guests to the home.
Inside the home, original woodwork can be seen from the corner fireplace mantle in the entry to the parlor, back to the butler’s pantry where the original bead board lines the walls. Pressed leather wall treatments, in a rosette design, cover the walls of the dining room and stairwell. During the last one hundred years, the Mykrantz home was raised approximately three feet creating a unique basement with a 10 foot high ceiling.
Andrew and Arlene Grudowski, purchased the home in 1988 and have done extensive restoration over the last twenty years. One of the first steps taken to restore the home was to take out and re-glaze all of the windows. The Grudowskis also restored the porch. Before painting the home, they used a carbon chip paint removal process approved by the federal government as a preservation/restoration technique. A friend, who works in historic preservation, assisted them in picking out colors for the home as a house warming gift. The current owner is Martha Risacher.
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