Last stop, 500 Riverside Drive. Built in 1916.
This home is known as Villa Riviera and has adapted Mediterranean architecture with Italian influences. It was built for William Bach, who, along with being a major inventor of the Owens Bottle Machine Company, is known for inventing the first automatic washing machine in his home laundry room. The true front of the home faces the Maumee River with windows giving it a panoramic view of the water.
The home has panels of white Italian marble inserted into the exterior walls above the windows. The home features terraced formal gardens, and ornate Italian fireplaces enhance the living room, library, and dining room. Includes a theater and ballroom and is paneled with wood from Denmark and lighted by hand-wrought iron sconces.
The small square building on the side of the house was a garage for Mrs. Bach's wife's electric vehicle. The building had a turntable so she never needed to back out of the garage. The bronze statue of a man looking out, sitting on a rock in front of the Toledo Museum of Art, was originally on the hill facing the Maumee River on the Bach property.
We hope you have enjoyed this tour of Eagle Point County brought to you by the Rossford Convention and Visitors Bureau and a grant for the America 250 Ohio Commission.
As your tour comes to an end, we hope you see Rossford a little differently.
Not just as a place on the map—but as a story. One built by many people, from many places, across generations.
Thanks for exploring with us.
