Livingston Heights Place / Dr. Roberto Villalon (1925-2008)

Side A: Dr. Harley Manuel and Charles E. Jones were frustrated by the restrictive covenants and redlining that kept Black residents from purchasing homes in desirable Columbus neighborhoods. Deciding to create their own neighborhood, the two men purchased 10.5 acres of farmland in March 1945. They divided it into 42 lots that became Livingston Heights Place. The first lots were sold to pharmacist Waldo W. and Harriet Tyler in 1946. Other early residents included Edward J. Cox, William and Esther Toler, David D. White, Dr. William K. Allen, and Dr. Harry Jefferson. Later residents were Dr. John H. Rosemond, Llewellyn (Jack) A. Coles, Captain Amos A. Carter Jr., Sammy Hopkins, William “Bill” Willis, and Dr. Richard Ruffin. Twenty homes were built between 1948 and 1967 within the subdivision’s boundaries of Johnson Park, Livingston, Byron, and Waverly. Side B: Dr. Roberto Rafael Villalon was born in Cuba in 1925 and came to America to escape communism following the Cuban Revolution. He became a U.S. citizen and completed his residency at The Ohio State University in 1968. Villalon taught OB-GYN at OSU between 1967 and 1991 while also holding positions at Grant Hospital as well as medical institutions in Cuba and Chile. In 1992, he set up a private practice at 3452 E. Livingston Avenue where he offered preventative care, lab testing, and surgery for women of all incomes. He also volunteered his services to the ECCO Family Health Center and the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. Robert Villalon retired from private practice in 1991 and was named the 1993 “Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan” by Governor George Voinovich. He died in November 2008.