Imagine living next door to the president of Ohio University.
George Weckman has lived next to three.
Weckman, 74, lives in and owns 19 Park Place, the home wedged between the residence occupied by OU’s president, currently Roderick McDavis, and the Walter International Education Center.
The professor emeritus of classics and world religions has resided there for nearly 40 years, playing neighbor to former OU presidents Robert Glidden from 1994-2004 and Charles Ping from 1975-1994.
Weckman lives on the bottom and second floors of the house — which was built as early as 1875. It’s not clear in maps that date back that far, however, if the house outlined in the images is the same as Weckman’s.
He rents out three apartments, located on the second floor, which were constructed in 1926.
Weckman declined to say how much he charges for monthly rent and how he acquires tenants, but he said he doesn’t have to advertise.
Robert Storm, a graduate student studying political science, lives in one of the house’s apartments and serves as a “butler” a few days a week in exchange for reduced rent.
He’s assisted with Weckman’s dinner parties for the McDavises.
“The goal, as it is for everyone who comes to dinner, is to provide a relaxing evening of good food and even better conversation where everyone is free to be themselves,” Storm said in an email. “I hope that (the McDavises) have felt that way.”
The McDavises and Weckman also frequently run into each other at the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church on 69 Mill St., which they both attend.
And though it wasn’t exactly for a cup of sugar, when Weckman’s power went out over the summer, he went to the McDavises, who let him charge his cell phone.
“As neighbors and colleagues, Dr. Weckman and I have much in common,” McDavis said in an email. “Not only do we share a street — we also share a wholehearted passion for OU.”
Despite its location on one of the university’s busiest streets, Weckman said he’s seldom bothered by campus noise, but driving around is sometimes difficult — particularly during the times when classes are changing. During those bustling moments, Weckman said it can be difficult to get out of his driveway.
Weckman, who began teaching at OU in 1968, bought the house in 1977 from William Fenzel, a former OU accounting professor for whom the residence hall is named.
At the time, the university was unable to afford such a purchase, according to documents in the Robert E. and Jean R. Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections. Weckman declined to say how much he paid for the house, but the property is currently valued at $351,000, according to the Athens County Auditor’s Office.
The university has no immediate plans to purchase the property, said OU Spokeswoman Katie Quaranta.
Today, Weckman’s house is adorned with a plethora of possessions, including paintings by local artists, knick-knacks he’s collected from various trips around the globe and two grand pianos.
Weckman has done significant work to the century home, including converting a full bathroom to a half bathroom previously used to house his mother’s lobsters.
He also boarded up the entry to the house’s subbasement, which Sigma Chi Fraternity previously snuck into to hold initiations.
“This building has changed with every decade, every group of people … that lived here,” he said.
With no wife or children, Weckman plans on living the rest of his days at 19 Park Pl. — though he’s given the university “first dibs” on the house in his will.
“I don’t see why I should go out in anything other than a body bag,” Weckman said.
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