The OES visited Broadwin Apartments on September 25, 2005. Built in 1925 as the Broadwin Hotel and later known simply as The Broadwin, this eight-story building at 1312 East Broad Street was one of several luxury apartment buildings constructed along Broad Street in the first half of the twentieth century. The design of The Broadwin was typical of the period, with a Renaissance Revival architecture style, complete with rusticated stone walls on the two-story base and brick walls with quoin corners on floors three through eight. The main lobby had marble floors, and the building originally had its own restaurant. The Broadwin also featured an attached parking garage, a rarity at the time it was built. The Broadwin was marketed toward people who wanted a fashionable East Broad Street address but were unable to own property.
Newspaper articles revealed that at least three people have died at The Broadwin over the years. There was a fire on the second story in 1963, but luckily everyone escaped unharmed. Two of the three deaths we found could be attributed to old age. The other, however, was more sinister. In November of 1992, a friend discovered the body of Phyllis Lee Owensby in her unlocked sixth-floor apartment. She had been stabbed to death, marking the city’s 100th homicide of the year. Thankfully, an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers helped police solve the case, and Philip Bates was arrested for the murder.
As time went on, the influential residents who occupied East Broad Street moved to other areas, and The Broadwin began its inevitable decline. The building had been neglected for some time by the late 1990s and was in dire need of a renovation. All of The Broadwin’s residents had moved out of their apartments by 2000, so renovations could begin. The building sat vacant for some time, but by 2006, plans called for The Broadwin to be redeveloped into a 43-unit condominium building. The developers wished to preserve as many of the building’s original features as possible while adding modern amenities. The OES visited The Broadwin during an open house that was set up to attract potential buyers for the condominium units. Several units had already sold, but many others were still available, especially on the upper floors. Unfortunately, funding dried up, and several contractors walked off the job in March 2007. The 25 homeowners who had already purchased their condos sued the bank and eventually settled out of court or received compensatory settlements after the trial. In total, the bank responsible paid out $19 million to the residents and developers.
In 2012, six years after our visit, The Broadwin developers were awarded a $1.1 million state tax credit to assist in the renovation process. The building is now slated to be renovated into 42 apartments at a total project cost of $8.8 million. As of this posting in 2014, the Broadwin Apartments still sit vacant after fourteen years. At this point, we do not know if the planned renovations will ever come to fruition. Hopefully, the developers can finish their project and reopen this grand old building.
Location Information: Restoration Pending
The Broadwin is located at 1312 East Broad Street in Columbus; Franklin County.
Photographs: Exterior, Historical, Common Areas, Basement & Garage
The Broadwin Apartment building sits at the intersection of East Broad Street and Winner Avenue.
The building is of typical Renaissance Revival architecture style that was common in the 1920s.
Looking up at the quoin corners of The Broadwin.
The front side of The Broadwin. Notice the lower two floors use rusticated stone while the higher floors are brick.
The main entrance to The Broadwin.
The back side of the apartment building.
There was a gap in the middle of the building to allow light in through the windows.
Standing inside the gap and looking north toward the roofline.
To the south is the middle section of The Broadwin.
A small alley between the two sections of the building.
A receiving dock at the rear of the building.
This rollup door led to the parking garage.
A side entrance to The Broadwin off of Winner Avenue.
An older submitted photo of The Broadwin when the building was fairly new.
Another historical photo of The Broadwin when it was a fashionable place to live.
Inside the Broadwin lobby, looking out of the front door toward East Broad Street.
You can easily see that the lobby was constructed from the finest materials.
A look at the dusty marble floor.
The awesome woodwork on the ceiling.
We believe this may have been the restaurant area.
It was a large room just off of the lobby. There were some newer windows stored in this room.
This poster showed potential buyers the features and amenities that would be available once renovations were complete.
Another poster showed the layouts of each unit and which units were still available for purchase.
Notice the details above the windows.
A closer look at one of the boarded-over windows.
This door led to an office area.
Inside the office area, documents were strewn about the desk.
One of the old lighting fixtures.
Peeling paint and crown molding on the ceiling.
An office chair sat alone in this small room.
An office or lobby chair seen through this doorway.
Several pieces of office and lobby furniture occupied this room.
The elevator was out of commission.
Looking down the elevator shaft.
Looking up the shaft, you can see the elevator car stopped a few floors up.
This hallway off of the main lobby led to some of the apartments.
Looking from the hallway back toward the main lobby.
The doorway to Apartment A.
The stairway to the basement looked like something out of a horror movie.
Walking into the basement after descending the stairs.
The boiler room.
There was both old and newer machinery in the basement.
A long hallway led to other areas of the building's bowels.
This room looked like it may have been used for storage.
The hallways down here were rather narrow.
Entering the electrical room.
All of the wiring to this box had been removed, likely by scrap metal thieves.
A work bench with a couple of old incandescent light bulbs.
Another work bench had fluorescent light tubes and a fire extinguisher sitting on it.
The inspection tag on the fire extinguisher.
Miscellaneous maintenance items remained on some shelves.
A couple of old putty cans for wall repairs.
This cool sign was near the storage lockers provided for residents.
The extinguisher just below the sign.
This maze of piping reminded us of the old screensaver for Windows 95.
An old coal-fired furnace.
Looking inside the furnace.
The room with the furnace was mostly empty.
This hallway contained the storage lockers for residents who needed extra storage space.
A sticker on the door displayed the apartment number and name for the person renting the storage locker.
Duct work and a sewage pipe.
This door led to The Broadwin's parking garage.
Building management wanted to make sure they weren't responsible for the safe-keeping of any personal property.
A crawlspace was partially boarded over.
Walking into the parking garage.
The garage was up the ramp and to the left. You can see daylight peeking through the top of the door.
The ground level of the parking garage.
Of course, Broad and James Towing was responsible for hauling out unauthorized vehicles. This kind of towing is a staple of their business.
The painted columns on this level were peeling.
On another level, the columns looked pristine.
The parking garage was very dark on levels without windows.
