Monday, October 7, 2013

The Lewis Kies House, Cleveland, OH

The Lewis Kies House, Cleveland, OH. 1874 Photo: Wikimedia
The Kies house is a particularly fine mansion, a survival in a city that has mostly had its mansions ripped away. The house gives a grand impression with its symmetrical plan, its paired brackets and paneled cornice, and its brick walls, which could have been stuccoed once. The central bay projects and is topped by a fascinating broken triangular pediment, a feature that can be found on some high style Ohio Italianates. Other examples seem to include some kind of doo-dads in the central open part. The windows are spare, with simple stone or iron drip moldings and segmental arched tops. The central bay, as on most of these Italianates, has tombstone windows, and a porch, which looks oddly plain to me. Perhaps a balcony or some extra parts were removed. All in all, a fine survival.