livin g by Cameron Carr Photos courtesy of the Dublin Arts Council
Mansion of Memories
Looking back on building’s transition from arts advocate’s home to Dublin Arts Center While the large stone building at 7125 Riverside Dr. has changed ownership, seen thousands of visitors and experienced many modifications over the 80 years since its construction, in many ways its purpose has stayed the same throughout its life. Though the home was originally built for attorney Charles S.M. Krumm and his wife Sarah, it is more often associated with its next owner. The space was a focal point of lively, arts-related gatherings thanks to its second and longest owner, Eleanor Gelpi, who is remembered on her gravestone as the “first lady of the arts.” “They loved to entertain,” says Gelpi’s nephew and former Dublin City Council member David Amorose of the Gelpi family. Amorose recalls a Fourth of July party that attracted hundreds at a time when the city only had about 500 residents. Fire-
Gelpi’s nephews, David and Tony Amorose, volunteered time to bring the exterior closer to its mid-century appearance.
Eleanor and Andre Gelpi 38 • December 2021/January 2022
works, refreshments and celebrations beyond any he’d previously seen took place at the mansion. “As kids, we never saw a party that big,” Amorose says. “Way back when, if you had a soft drink, that was a special time. You didn’t have a Coca-Cola every day. When she threw that party, it was just amazing, it
had things you’d never had before or only on occasion would have.” More than just a 20th-century socialite, Gelpi was an advocate of the arts. She was the first female president of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, helped found the Greater Columbus Arts Council and was an active supporter of BalletMet. www.dublinlifemagazine.com
