At nearly 100 years old, the Harcourt manor represents a stunning piece of Cleveland history. It's an architectural and design marvel, a flowing Arts and Crafts meets Elizabethan revival masterpiece envisioned by Cleveland's former dean of architects, Frank Meade, and built by Kermode Gill, the man whose family erected the Terminal Tower. It was once described by a Cleveland reporter in the 50s as "a country place in the city" and as being "English Tudor, stone and massive." With an imposing stone facade, complete with tower and crenellated parapets, the reporter was accurate. However, once inside, the rooms flow into one another, and there's not a single room in the home without a window, which, despite the home's nearly 8,000 square feet, gives the sizable space a unique lightness.
The estate speaks to a bygone era, a time when denizens of the North Coast were among the nation's wealthiest and most famous. It now sits atop Cedar Glen, in the historic Cleveland Heights neighborhood of Ambler Heights, awaiting its next owner.
"The Gills had two boys and one girl, and they all moved away. They weren't interested in the house, so my parents bought it. When my parents bought the house in 1955, it had fallen into a fairly steep decline," says Jim Herget, whose family is only the second to live at 2178 Harcourt, after the Gill household. "When my mother passed away, she gave the home to my wife Jane and I, and my wife got busy restoring things."
The Hergets had all the floors, paneling and ceilings restored in the gorgeous ballroom, book ended with two wood-burning fireplaces. "A German fellow came every day for two years, all dressed in white, head to toe, and would leave every day without a speck of paint on him," says Herget. "He would do all the painting with a sponge, and all the glazing." Intricately detailed flourishes along the walls have been painstakingly refurbished, making it easy to envision the way the ballroom must have truly roared in the Twenties.
"The house is an Arts and Crafts house, and what that means is the house itself is the art," says Herget. Throughout the home are cleverly hidden storage spaces, another hallmark of the Arts and Crafts style.
The woodwork of the grand foyer and across the main hall, which features an elegant ladies' powder room, have also been rehabbed, with the assistance of specialists who also helped restore Akron's Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens. "You could have a party here, and invite 100 people and never know they're there," says Herget.
The morning room, which was designed to resemble an Italian courtyard, retains the rare green marble border treatment and a stunning fountain, whose restoration was completed by the Cleveland Museum of Art. On the ceiling, hand sponged painting resembles open skies, and intricate stenciling was restored by hand.
The morning room opens to a screened-in porch the length of the house. "Mr. Gill would, in his declining years, sit outside reading Zane Grey novels," says Herget. "I know that because Bill Gill, the grandson, came by and told me stories."
The estate's former pool and bathhouse were filled in and torn down, respectively, and grassed over for an expansive play yard for the Herget children. The property, which spans more than an acre, still features the original allée stonework and allegorical sculpture that once surrounded the pool. The landscaping also includes now-century-old peony, wisteria and hydrangea.
The stunning original fireplace - one of eight in the home - and its andirons and fork feature prominently in the living room, beside Mrs. Gill's RCA Victor radio with one of the world's first remote controls, a large box with buttons corresponding to the less than a dozen radio stations. Also in the living room is a 100-year-old piano that features elaborate woodwork.
The dining room features faux gold leaf detail, original to the home and restored by hand-stenciling, and the lovely coffered ceiling shows no damage - unusual in a home of this age. The solid silver light fixtures still cling to the restored wood paneling, helping to illuminate the elegant room.
The detailed brass in the breakfast room was restored, and it's easy to see why the octagonal nook has been a favorite room with members of both families who've called it home. It's almost like a lighthouse, with its panoramic views and great windows.
It was that room and the property's complementary octagonal tea house that first intrigued Herget's mother, a young Ursuline College student, who used to sit in study hall admiring the Gills' home from afar. "She would watch the servants taking tea out to the tea house at 4 o'clock, and she'd say, "Someday, I'm going to live in that great big house," and her friends would laugh," says Herget. "She had the last laugh, though."
The adjoining butler's pantry still remains - complete with the original warming press - though it and the entire kitchen has been gently overhauled, including the installation of a cast iron AGA stove. One pantry room does remain in its original condition, with the green-painted cupboards and blue glass inlay that was de rigueur for the period. The same style flourishes can be found at Stan Hywet Hall.
The cozy library features the original copper-impregnated canvas on the walls - though it's taken on a greenish hue as a result of oxidation - giving it a pleasant patina. A WWI map that came from Newton D. Baker's office hangs on the wall. Baker was the 37th mayor of Cleveland, serving from 1912 to 1915, before acting as Secretary of War from 1916 to 1921.
Mrs. Gill's upstairs office, which lead out onto another enclosed upstairs porch, is now a restful reading room.
The men's master bath still has the original needle shower fittings, though it's no longer functional, in its place a modern shower fixture. The entire bathroom is fitted with marble and extensive built-in cabinets. The lady's master bath features elaborate make-up area and soaking tub. There are two more attached bedrooms with full bath, and one additional bedroom with attached full bath. All have been restored.
On the topmost floor, Herget has created a saferoom, accessed through a door disguised as a bookshelf.
Though unrestored since the house was built, the wall treatments of the main guest room are still reminiscent of a courtyard. The former guest rooms have long been used as storage, but the in-law suite, with its own bedroom, sitting room and bathroom, was refurbished for Herget's mother, and boasts modern comforts without betraying the home's style.
The former servants' quarters, located on one wing of the home, remain unrestored, and contains a series of bedrooms, bathroom and a kitchenette.
The new owner will move in with the original plans from Frank Meade, as well as original photos of the home, taken for the family through the first half of the 1900s. The home features nearly all the original furnishings, in addition to the Gills' steamer trunks and suitcases, and trip logs from global sailing adventures during the 1920s. It's a historic showcase, but it's firstly a home.
For an idea of what life was like at Harcourt house when the Gill family lived there, click here. For galleries of the home with pictures by photographer David Hagan and Sarah R. Sphar, click here and here. Serious inquiries about the home are welcome, and should be directed to owner Jim Herget at jhl@bright.net.
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