Even by the unconventional standards of the historic Rush Creek neighborhood in Worthington, Steven Guy’s house stands out.
For starters, it is one of the few homes in the 51-home community that was not designed by Frank Lloyd Wright disciples Ted Van Fossen and Martha Wakefield.
It is also, at 3,336 square feet, unusually large by the standards of Rush Creek, whch is the nations’ largest collection of Wright-inspired “organic” homes. Also unusual in a neighborhood of carports, the home includes a two-car garage.
But it is the design that really sets the home apart. The home was build in 1966 in three pods, supplying the home its name — 3 Bears.
“It’s a very unique space, with underground tunnels built into the hill,” said Guy, who bought the home in 2002 with his wife Suzanne, who passed away in 2023.
Now, for the first time in more than 20 years, 3 Bears is for sale. The home, on East South Street in Worthington, has been listed for $995,000 by Cynthia McKenzie, owner of CyMack Real Estate.
Inspired by Wright’s Fallingwater home in Pennsylvania, the home was designed for Rush Creek to run between two of the three pods, allowing water to rush under an upper level deck.
While dramatic, the design also led to some flooding, and in the ealry 1980s, the creek was rerouted, said Guy. Today, it frames the home’s lawn, bringing a steady babble of water to the site.
“The setting is spectacular, to hear the creek and see the creek,” said McKenzie. “You turn into the driveway and you’re in another world. You’re so close to shopping and all the things in old Worthington and still engulfed in trees.”
In 2013, the Guys significantly updated and expanded the home, adding space to the kitchen and connectiing the lower level of the pods. The result is a four-bedroom, four-bath, bright and airy home, with an unusually large kitchen by Rush Creek standards.
Visitors enter the “papa bear” pod on a landing. Up half a flight is a loft — featuring one of the home’s three fireplaces — overlooking the living and dining areas on the main floor. Below are two bedrooms.
A family room added in the 2013 renovation connects the lower level of “papa bear” to “mama bear,” which includes an enlarged primary suite featuring a walk-in closet and private loft which the Guys used as an office.
A lower-level hallway links “mama bear” and “papa bear” to “baby bear,” which includes a garage on the main level, above a fourth bedroom, featuring a built-in Murphy bed, and bathroom.
The overall result is a web of connected rooms, nearly all of them with doors to a deck or patio, fluidly linking indoors and outdoors.
Trees hide the home from the street and shade the lot. Behind the home, the ground slopes to the creek and includes a treehouse and fire pit. For the Guys’ two sons, one of whom became a marine biologist, the creek and woods offered an ever-changing adventure.
“The boys played endlessly in the woods,” said Guy. “It was a wonderful place to relax and just be in nature.”
With his boys now out of the home, Guy is downsizing but hopes another owner can enjoy the home as much as his family did.
“This was just a great place to raise a family,” Guy said.
Real estate and Development Reporter Jim Weiker can be reached at jweiker@dispatch.com and at 614-284-3697. Follow him @JimWeiker
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: One of largest homes in historic Rush Creek neighborhood hits the market for $1 million
Reporting by Jim Weiker, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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