Cleveland Architect Database
The Cleveland Architects Database is a listing of architects and master builders that have worked in Cleveland, since the 1820s and the buildings they designed here and abroad up to and including the 1970s. Sources include City of Cleveland Building Permits, professional publications including American Architect and Builder News, Inland Architect, Interstate Architect, the Ohio Architect and Builder, the Annals of Cleveland, the Plain Dealer, the Leader, the Press, Material Facts, the Bystander, and Cleveland Town Topics. Additional source material reviewed at the Cleveland Public Library Fine Arts Department, various books on Cleveland architecture, the American Institute of Architects Guide to Cleveland Architecture and a catalogue of architectural drawings maintained by the Western Reserve Historical Society were consulted. The Cleveland Necrology file maintained by the Cleveland Public Library, the United States Census, and Cleveland City Directories were reviewed in compiling accompanying biographies.
For this database, an architect is defined as anyone that identified himself or herself as an architect. Generally, these people had an office in the city or designed multiple structures here or in the immediate surrounding cities. This project began as a hobby by Robert Keiser over several years. Craig Bobby has researched many of the entries and donated photographs of those buildings. This is an ongoing project and will be updated on a regular basis. PLEASE NOTE: All entries have not been fully researched and require citations. Please confirm any unsourced entry
Architects
Taylor, William (architect)
Biography
William R. Taylor was born in Cleveland and was educated at Western Reserve University and Case School of Applied Science. He was a member of the firms of Fulton and Taylor and Fulton, Taylor & Cahill. He was listed as a registered architect in the November 1940 Ohio Architect. He was a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity, the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, and Sleepy Hollow Country Club. He is buried in Lake View Cemetery.
Sources
Cleveland Necrology file October 4, 1964
Representative Clevelanders
Tenbusch & Hill (firm)
Biography
Tenbush and Hill were an architectural firm that was founded in Duluth, Minnesota in 1899. The principles were Gerhard Tenbush and I. Vernon Hill.
| Building Name | Address | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endion Passenger Depot | 15th Avenue East and South St, Duluth, MN | 1899 | Standing |
| Walter Turle House | 2216 East Superior Street, Duluth, MN | 1899 | Standing |
| Commercial-Residential Building for the Superior Realty and Improvement Co. | 10502-16 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1900 | Demolished |
| St. Matthew Church | 3256 Scranton Road, Cleveland, OH | 1900 | Standing |
| Apartment Building | 1850 Superior Avenue NE, Cleveland, OH | 1900-1 | Standing |
| Apartment Building for Thomas Mulcare | 1644 East 86th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Demolished |
| St. George Church | 1401 East 21st Street, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Demolished |
Tenbusch, Gerhard (architect)
Biography
Gerhard A. Tenbusch was born in Germany and came to America at the age of seventeen. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the 1890's he worked as a draftsman and then architect in Duluth, Minnesota. He was a partner with I. Vernon Hill by 1899. He moved to Cleveland in 1900, maintaining a relationship with Hill who remained in Duluth until 1901. Their offices were on the fourth floor of the Electric Building. After that firm dissolved in 1901, Tenbush moved his office to the Rose Building. Tenbusch specialized in church architecture in the early years of his career, later specializing in commercial design. Initially he worked as an architect and later entered real estate. He formed the Estates and Investment Company, which he headed for several years. He lived at 1854 East 79th Street and had an office in the Buckeye Building. He died at the age of sixty-seven and is buried in Calvary Cemetery.
| Building Name | Address | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Schuette Residence | 330 West 6th Street, Appleton, WI | 1890 | Standing |
| John Fraser Residence | 1602 Jefferson Street, Duluth, MN | 1892 | Standing |
| Cathedral of the Sacred Heart | 201 West Fourth Street, Duluth, MN | 1893-6 | Standing |
| Episcopal Residence | West Fourth Street, Duluth, MN | 1893-6 | Demolished |
| Apartment Building | Giddings Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Standing |
| Apartment Store | Marcy Avenue & Stanley, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Demolished |
| Catholic Church | Sheridan, WY | 1901 | Unknown |
| Four Story Addition to Koch & Henkes Store | Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Demolished |
| Franciscans Church | Wichita, KS | 1901 | Unknown |
| Frost Wire Fence | Welland, ONT | 1901 | Standing |
| Residence for W. H. Heils | Beechwood Street, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Demolished |
| Smith Bedstead Company | Lake Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Standing |
| Swedish Lutheran Church | 7505 Wade Park Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Standing |
| St. Lawrence Church | Union Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1902 | Demolished |
| John Stuber Residence | 1821 East 79th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1903 | Demolished |
| St. Paul Croatian Church | 1369 East 40th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1903 | Standing |
| St. Paul Parish House | 1369 East 40th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1903 | Standing |
| Apartment Building | East Madison Near Hough, Cleveland, OH | 1905 | Demolished |
| Apartment Building for David Feder | East 79th Near Wade Park, Cleveland, OH | 1905 | Demolished |
| Remodeled House and Terrace | E. Madison and LaGrange, Cleveland, OH | 1905 | Demolished |
| Buckeye Building | 2084 East 4th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1906 | Standing |
| Commercial Building for Koch and Henke | Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1906 | Demolished |
| Tenements and Stores for J. B. Gebhardt | Woodland Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1906-7 | Demolished |
| Prospect Building | 1040 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1910 | Standing |
| Six Story Office Building for Union Realty and Investment Company (Union Building) | 1836 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1913-4 | Standing |
| Advance Building | 1510 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1915 | Demolished |
Sources
"Realty Dealer Dies"; Plain Dealer; 2.23.1933
Cleveland City Directories
Interstate 3.17.1900
News 2.23.1933
Press 2.23.1933
Image Source(s): Craig Bobby
Thomas, James (architect)
Biography
J. William Thomas was born in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Architecture where he was a roommate with Carl Howell. After graduation he went to work in the New York office of Cass Gilbert. In 1908 he formed the partnership with Carl Howell in Columbus. Thomas continued in practice under his own name following the death of Howell in 1930. Thomas originally lived in Shaker Heights, moving to Hudson in 1941. He was a member of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and a president of the Cleveland chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He was listed as a registered architect in the November 1940 Ohio Architect with offices at 3868 Carnegie Avenue. He retired in 1955. In a 1964 interview with Richard Campen, he said that the new buildings in Cleveland - the Erieview Tower, the East Ohio Building and the Illuminating Building, were engineering, not architecture, and that they disturbed him. He predicted that they would be obsolete in ten years.
Sources
Campen, Richard It's Engineering, Not Architecture : J. William Thomas Reminisces and Questions Modern Design Plain Dealer 15 November
Cleveland Necrology file
Obituary J.William Thomas, 96, Dies: was architect Plain Dealer June 20, 1973
Thomas, Lewis (architect)
Biography
Lewis W. Thomas was an active Cleveland architect from 1903 to 1917. He was a partner with Edward A. Richardson in 1903 and then was in business by himself. In 1905 he lived in the Pelton Apartments in Tremont and later moved to Warren Road in Lakewood. He left Cleveland in 1917. He was living in Flint, Michigan in the 1920 and 1930 censuses.
| Building Name | Address | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood High School | Franklin Boulevard, Lakewood, OH | 1904 | Demolished |
| Storage Building | Euclid and Olive, Cleveland, OH | 1906 | Demolished |
| Miles Theater | 911-9 Huron Road, Cleveland, OH | 1913 | Demolished |
Sources
Cleveland City Directories
Cleveland City Directories
Titcomb, Edwin (architect)
Biography
Active in Cleveland 1891-1898 as a draftsman and architect per the Cleveland City Directories. The 1900 census shows him in New York City. He later moved to New Jersey. He had relocated to Los Angeles, California by 1912 and was a draftsman for the firm of Parkinson and Bergstrom. Later for R.D. Farquhar. Also listed as Edwin C. He was married to Dr. Lillian Ray Titcomb who was elected president of the Women's University Club of Los Angeles in 1923. Mrs. Titcomb received the M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins in 1908.
| Building Name | Address | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residence ffor William Van Tine & William Cleminshaw | 2349 East 87th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1891 | Demolished |
| William F. Bulkeley Residence | 2231 Chestnut Hills Road, Cleveland, OH | 1895 | Standing |
| Donaldson Residence and Studio | 4960 Melrose Hill, Los Angeles, CA | 1921 | Standing |
Tousley & Thebaud (firm)
| Building Name | Address | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christ Protestant Episcopal Church | 10808 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1909 | Standing |
Tousley, Charles (architect)
Biography
Charles Edmund Tousley was born in Brunswick and moved to the Village of Brooklyn Centre. In his early career he was the editor of the "Cuyahogan." He later became a draftsman for George J. Hardway. He and Hardway were the editors and publishers of the "American Builder," a Cleveland-based publication that chronicled building activity in the city. Early in his career as an architect, he designed several homes along Archwood and Denison Avenues in the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood. He later was the architect for several Cleveland Telephone Company buildings, apartment buildings, and terraces. From Brooklyn Centre he moved to the east side, where he lived on East 55th Street and East 61st Street, before moving to Elbur Avenue in Lakewood. He died of Bright's Disease on June 13, 1924, and is buried in Royalton Cemetery.
| Building Name | Address | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Telephone Company | 2016 West 65th Street , Cleveland, OH | n.d. | Demolished |
| Store Additions for Auld & Couger | 500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1894 | Demolished |
| George Zottman Residence | 2128 West 100th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1895 | Standing |
| Residence for Ebeneezer Adams | 7511 Franklin Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1895 | Standing |
| Stephen Ashby Residence | 7517 Franklin Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1895 | Demolished |
| Weldon Davis Residence | 3515 Archwood Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1895 | Standing |
| Addition to Archwood Avenue Congregational Church | 2704 Archwood Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1896 | Demolished |
| Stable for William Grief | 11835 Edgewater Drive, Cleveland, OH | 1896 | Standing |
| Commercial-Residential Building for Adam Kroehle | 3829-33 West 25th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1897 | Demolished |
| Nancy Tousley Residence | 3201 Archwood Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1897 | Standing |
| Residence | 2804 Archwood Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1897 | Standing |
| Cleveland City Mission Society Church | 9902-6 Denison Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1898 | Standing |
| Alonzo E. Hyre Residence | 3325 Archwood Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1899 | Standing |
| Cleveland Telephone Company | 3026 Scranton Road, Cleveland, OH | 1899 | Standing |
| Cleveland Telephone Company | 6133-7 Broadway, Cleveland, OH | 1899 | Standing |
| Dr. George Farnsworth Residence | 3219 Denison Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1899 | Standing |
| Gustave Kroehle Residence | 3303 Denison Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1899 | Standing |
| Residence Addition for D. Auld Jr. | 7029 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1899 | Demolished |
| Residence for William Stevens | 1773-5 East 20th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1899 | Demolished |
| Barn for Cleveland Telephone Company | 1949 East 90th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1900 | Demolished |
| Cleveland Telephone Company | 2136 East 19th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1900 | Demolished |
| Apartment Building for Ashby & Turnbull | 3543 Scranton Road, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Demolished |
| Apartment Building for P. J. Turnbull | 7512 Franklin Boulevard, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Standing |
| Cleveland Disciples Union Church | 2026 West 50th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Standing |
| William C. Keyser Residence | 3006 Denison Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1901 | Standing |
| Cleveland Nickel Works | West 67th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1903 | Demolished |
| Apartment Building for Frank Hohlfelder | 3107 West 14th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1904 | Demolished |
| Commercial-Residential Building | Pearl & Archwood, Cleveland, OH | 1904 | Unbuilt |
| First Baptist Church | 235 Woodlawn Avenue, Bucyrus, OH | 1904 | Standing |
| Guernsey Apartment Building built for Ebeneezer.E. Ashby | 1567-77 West 29th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1904 | Standing |
| H. H. Pratt Residence | Unknown | 1904 | Unknown |
| Apartment Building for Dr. Corlett | East19th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1905 | Demolished |
| Thomas Callaghan Residence | Jennings Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1905 | Demolished |
| Dr. William Ebersole Residence | 1894 Roxbury Road, East Cleveland, OH | 1906 | Demolished |
| Residence for Weldon Davis | 3100 Archwood Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1906 | Standing |
| Sabina Terrace for Ebenezer Ashby | 4401-17 Franklin Boulevard, Cleveland, OH | 1906 | Standing |
| Terrace for Ebenezer Ashby and Amelia Sparrow | 4603-25 Franklin Boulevard, Cleveland, OH | 1906 | Standing |
| Alteration to Mary Deland Residence | 3815 West 33rd Street, Cleveland, OH | 1907 | Demolished |
| Mission House for Presbyterian Society | Lake Chautauqua, NY | 1907 | Unknown |
| Office for T. A. Rodefer | Bellaire, OH | 1907 | Unknown |
| Residence for Dr. Follansbee | Bedford, OH | 1907 | Unknown |
| F. E. Wardell Residence | 2600 Norfolk Road, Cleveland Heights, OH | 1908 | Standing |
| Giffhorn Terrace for Ernest Giffhorn | 13732-40 Euclid Avenue, East Cleveland, OH | 1908 | Standing |
| Residence for F. Hennessey | Cleveland Heights, OH | 1917 | Unknown |
| Residence for Hazel Hennessey | Lake Avenue and Erie Cliff Drive, Lakewood, OH | 1917 | Demolished |
Sources
Cleveland City Directories
Cleveland Necrology file
Men of Ohio in Nineteen Hundred p70
Image Source(s): Craig Bobby
Travis Walsh & Associates (firm)
| Building Name | Address | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willoughby Methodist Church Parsonage | 15 East Spaulding Street, Willoughby, OH | 1955 | Unknown |
| Bedford YMCA | 460 Northfield Boulevard, Bedford, OH | 1956 | Standing |
| Esst Cleveland Savings and Loan | 5816 Mayfield Road, Mayfield Heights, OH | 1956 | Demolished |
| Hillcrest YMCA | 5000 Mayfield Road, South Euclid, OH | 1956 | Standing |
| Mentor Plains Methodist Church | 7271 Lake Shore Boulevard, Mentor, OH | 1956 | Standing |
| Parma South Presbyterian Church | 6155 Parma Road, Parma Heights, OH | 1956 | Standing |
| YMCA Building | East Cleveland, OH | 1956 | Unknown |
| Cleveland Pearl Road Church (Exterior) | 4200 Pearl Road, Cleveland, OH | 1957 | Standing |
| Faith Lutheran Church Educational Wing | 16511 Hilliard Road, Lakewood, OH | 1957 | Standing |
| Westlake Christian Church | 25800 Hilliard Boulevard, Westlake, OH | 1957 | Standing |
| Shaker Square Beverages at Severance Center | 3480 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights, OH | 1963 | Unknown |
| Firest Methodist Episcopal Church Remodel | 3000 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1965 | Standing |
| Tritity Cathedral Old Hall Remodel | 2200 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1965 | Standing |
| Hough Salvation Army | 6000 Hough Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1969 | Standing |
Tuttle, Bloodgood (architect)
Biography
Bloodgood Tuttle was born in Chicago and was educated at the University of Chicago. He began his practice in Detroit and moved to Cleveland in 1920. He was retained by the Van Sweringen Brothers to build two groups of demonstration homes in Shaker Heights, one group of five on Van Aken near Southington Road and another group of four on Van Aken west of Parkland Drive. He lived at 1944 East 75th Street. He died in Mt. Sinai Hospital of a cerebral hemorrhage.
| Building Name | Address | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| David R. Jones Residence | 10416 Lake Avenue, Cleveland, OH | 1922 | Standing |
| Residence | 18850 South Woodland Road, Shaker Heights, OH | 1923 | Standing |
| St. Francis Chapel at John Carroll University | Washington Boulevard, University Heights, OH | 1923 | Unbuilt |
| Harold Alexander Residence | 18850 South Woodland Road, Shaker Heights, OH | 1923-4 | Standing |
| Fairmount Presbyterian Church | 2757 Fairmount Boulevard, Cleveland Heights, OH | 1924 | Standing |
| Residence | 18405 Van Aken Boulevard, Shaker Heights, OH | 1924 | Standing |
| Residence | 18419 Van Aken Boulevard, Shaker Heights, OH | 1924 | Standing |
| Samuel Hartman Residence | 2543 Euclid Heights Boulevard, Cleveland Heights, OH | 1924 | Demolished |
| William F. Gray Residence | 16650 South Woodland Road, Shaker Heights, OH | 1924-5 | Standing |
| Fred Fishback Residence | 19100 South Woodland Road, Shaker Heights, OH | 1925-6 | Standing |
| Midland County Courthouse | 301 West Main Street, Midland, MI | 1925-6 | Standing |
| James Murray Residence | 1335 Yellowstone Road, Cleveland Heights, OH | 1926 | Standing |
| Residence | Warrington Road, Shaker Heights, OH | 1927 | Standing |
| William Brownlee Alexander Residence | 18585 Parkland Drive, Shaker Heights, OH | 1927-8 | Standing |
| Herman Hersch Residence | South Moreland and Onaway, Shaker Heights, OH | 1929 | Standing |
| Kroger Warehouse | 3105 East 55th Street, Cleveland, OH | 1929 | Standing |
| Residence | St. James Parkway & Clarkson Road, Cleveland Heights, OH | 1929 | Standing |
| Residence | 3624 Glenallen Drive, Cleveland Heights, OH | 1930 | Standing |
| Sterling W. Alderfer Residence | 114 Ely Road, Akron, OH | 1930 | Standing |
| Bert Kent Residence | 2712 East Overlook Road, Cleveland Heights, OH | 1936 | Standing |
| Krieger Office Building | Unknown | n.d. | Unknown |
Sources
Campen, Richard - Distinguished Homes of Shaker Heights
Cleveland City Directories
Cleveland Necrology file
Obituary - Plain Dealer February 24, 1936 2:3
Withey and Withey Biographical Dictionary of American Architects
Image Source(s): Craig Bobby