Like so many homes in the Old West End, this building at 226 Jefferson Avenue was created as a single-family rental or spec house. It appears on the Sanborn insurance maps in 1899 but may have been constructed slightly earlier. Census data and City Directories suggest that it was converted to up-and-down apartments before 1920 with a rear extension made at that time. Substantial changes were made for a third-floor apartment added around 1927, extending the façade forward, altering the roofline, and adding dormers.
For many years, from at least 1927 to 1975, the main floor was rented by the John Richard Yates, Jr. family. John worked as a salesman at Efird’s Chain Department Store, which stretched from 413 Main Street through to Patton Street. John died in 1957 at the age of 90, outliving both his first and second wives. The apartment then passed to his son Ernest who died in 1975.
In his report on this structure, architect Richard Morris observed that the home originally had a small front porch flush with the outer portions of the bay window. The façade originally had a hip roof with a gable over the front window bay. Because the home is not terribly large (about 2,700 square feet on the first and second floors), Morris suggests that the building be returned to single family use and its original façade restored. His depiction of the home’s original and possible future exterior is shown at right above. Morris’ full report is available to prospective purchasers.
