6

HIS HOME IS HIS CASTLE

While it’s true that construction on the house history would come to call the Franklin Castle wasn’t officially started until 1881, plans for a change on the property were conceived on June 1, 1876. It was then that an agreement was made between Hannes Tiedemann and his neighbor and former business associate John C. Weideman, who owned the property just to the west. The agreement was for the installation of a sewer line to run across the Weidemans’ property. John and his wife, Laura, agreed to the terms and to share the future costs of repairs and replacement of this sewer line with Hannes and Louise Tiedemann. The line would tie into the new home Hannes would soon build on Franklin Street. Hannes was planning improvements on his Franklin Street property before he even boarded the vessel that would take his family abroad for three years.

It has long been debated as to when the Franklin Castle was actually constructed. Many publications have given years like 1860, 1865, 1880 or 1883. The Cuyahoga County Auditor’s Office even gives a construction date of 1867. Few in recent years have actually gotten the date of 1881 correct. Clues to this are left all around the house in the smallest of details, from the hardware used to the style of the fireplaces, mosaic floor and trim work. Further clues are found in the county assessor’s books at the Cuyahoga County Archives, where a property value drop of more than $500 is recorded in 1881, and by 1883, a $6,000 property value increase is shown. Also, there’s a detailed image from the City Atlas of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1881 that depicts no structure on the site, the first house having been demolished and the second still being erected. Construction for the Franklin Castle was completed in late 1882 or early 1883.

It should be noted here that it was during this era that Franklin Street became Franklin Avenue. The reason for this change is unclear, though it would not be the last time that the designation would be altered.

In the designing of this new Franklin Avenue house, Hannes Tiedemann again chose to employ the architectural firm of Cudell & Richardson. When construction on the Franklin Castle began, Frank Cudell employed his knowledge of German architecture now more than ever. It was evident that Hannes Tiedemann wanted a home that emulated the great dwellings found in his native land. Cudell & Richardson was more than happy to oblige.

With two twenty-three-year-old men—Charles F. Thiele Jr. and Louis Wangelin—as draftsmen on the project, plans were drawn up, and construction of the new house commenced. Also assisting on the project was a twenty-nine-year-old man named Peter Kohnz, who not only worked for Mr. Cudell but also boarded with his family.

To begin with, the original name of the house was not the Franklin Castle. The fact is, it had no name. Houses in the city were not given names by their owners. They were simply known by the names of the families that occupied them. The distinction of giving homes fancy names was reserved for country estates and summer residences. Hannes Tiedemann also observed this practice. The name he chose for his East Rockport residence was Steinburg.

Secondly, many people have theorized that the Tiedemanns simply had their original house modified in 1881 by adding secret passageways, a turret, ballroom and stone faces. This again was not the case. The City Atlas of Cleveland from 1881 plainly shows the Franklin Avenue property with no house located on the site.

When completed, the house was a true showpiece of the area. The style has often been debated, with some claiming that it’s of Gothic Revival design while others contest that it’s Victorian, Chateauesque or Romanesque. While Victorian describes the era it was built, this is a vague and loosely used term. The best description of the house comes from architectural historian Tim Barrett, an architectural designer and consultant for the City of Cleveland.

“Stylistically this is a High Victorian Eclectic–styled house,” stated Barrett. “Simply, it is a mixture of styles, as is the norm with many late nineteenthcentury buildings. The double-pitched, or mansard roof is from the Second Empire style. The towered asymmetrical façade celebrates the then-popular Queen Anne style.”

Along with these styles, there are many other subtle influences at work. The beautiful sandstone dormers are of an Ogee design, partially concave and partially convex, and are more reminiscent of the Flemish style. The whimsical Queen Anne style specifically features turrets, ornamental dormers, balconies and porches and generally exhibits an animated exterior, which this house certainly has.

Of the many wonderful features this house has to offer, the ornate doorknobs and hinges found throughout seem to immediately grab everyone’s attention. These fixtures were primarily made by Branford Lock Works of Branford, Connecticut. Also found are a few pieces from Russell & Erwin.

The home is filled with a variety of wonderful hardware pieces, many of which feature images of butterflies, flowers and sparrows. These were done in the Eastlake style, named for Charles Locke Eastlake, who wrote the book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and Other Details. Most of the pieces that appear in the house can be found in hardware catalogues from 1881. Wanting to keep up with the latest styles, Hannes Tiedemann selected the most recent designs available.

It’s also a good bet that Hannes Tiedemann wanted to maintain a constant motif throughout the house and also would’ve had the Eastlake style represented in his furniture and wall décor. Many hints still remain in the house that reinforce this idea. The two massive fireplaces on the second floor are unmistakably of the Eastlake style, as are the numerous hand-carved floral details that flank a majority of the interior doorways.

The many magnificent features of this house vary from floor to floor, and it’s best to address each level as if one were taking a tour of the home. Imagine if you will that the Tiedemanns have just moved in and have given us special permission to take this chance to view their splendid home.

Our carriage enters through the low front gate and rolls up the brick driveway to the side entrance, where the coachman stops the horse. We exit the carriage beneath a steeply sloped porte-cochère and are greeted at the door.

Now, it’d be best to start this guided tour on the first and lowest floor, commonly referred to as an English basement. This first level is where the servants reside. Entering the home from the driveway side, or east entrance, we first come onto a landing and are faced with a set of stairs ahead of us that would take us either up to the left or down to the right.

Earliest known photo of the Franklin Castle. Collection of William G. Krejci.

Floor plan of the Franklin Castle’s first level, as it originally appeared when the house was complete in 1883. William G. Krejci.

Coming down onto the servants’ level, one immediately notices the lavish hardwood floors, magnificent white oak wainscot paneling and door trim and beautiful gas-lit light fixtures. Instantly, we come to a room on our right. This is the servants’ bedroom. It features a walk-in closet and has its own back entrance and fireplace. In all, the house contains thirteen fireplaces. Continuing down the corridor, we next come to a dumbwaiter service that runs to the fourth floor. This is ideal for bringing food trays up from the kitchen to the dining room, as well as carrying steamer trunks to the guest bedrooms upstairs. Beyond this and on the right is a washroom and, through that, the coal room. At the end of the corridor, straight ahead, is a small bathroom that contains a toilet and a sink. There’s no bathtub in the house at this time, and baths have to be taken at the public bathhouse up the road. Still, indoor plumbing and a toilet are definite luxuries for this time. Furthermore, Frank Cudell was also an inventor, and in 1878, he invented the ball sewer gas trap that prevented sewer gasses from backing up into houses. It would definitely have been incorporated here.

At the end of the corridor, on the left, is the kitchen where a wood-burning stove, a sink and an ice chest are found.

Turning back toward the stairwell, on our right we find the doorway that leads into the servants’ dining room, opposite the dumbwaiter. Here, too, we find a lovely fireplace. Continuing on through this room, we come to a set of pocket doors. Through these, we enter the servants’ parlor, where we find another fireplace, a mate to the one in the dining room. We also notice the beautiful wooden Colonial blinds featuring Eastlake-style latches. Across the room, there’s a doorway that leads to the right and into a small room that connects to the kitchen. This is the root cellar.

Back in the servants’ parlor, we see a narrow stairwell in the southwest corner, spiraling up slightly to the second floor. Walking up this stairwell, we find a narrow sliding pocket door that leads us into the foyer, just inside the main entrance. We step through the small pocket door and, after closing it, find that it blends in perfectly with the surrounding red oak wainscot paneling. So well is this pocket door hidden that had we not just come through it, we’d not even have known it was there. The floor in the foyer is beautifully adorned with a mosaic tile design not unlike those found in Eastlake’s book. The purpose of the stairwell we have just ascended is so that the servants could answer the front door without having to walk through the entire house.

Door hinge, doorknob and key escutcheon plate from Branford Lock Works with mosaic tile floor in front foyer of the Franklin Castle. Photo by William G. Krejci.

We continue up to the second level, through the glass double doors, and enter the main part of the home.

We’re now standing in a long and wide corridor at the front of the house. The ceiling here is twelve feet high. Ahead and to our right, we see two doors. Entering through the first, our attention is immediately drawn to a wonderfully ornate fireplace, built to emulate a dark green and black Italian marble that showcases a beautiful mirror above the mantel. The fireplace is actually carved slate and has a faux finish. The ceiling carries fine plaster molded details, and the furniture here is of the highest quality and comfort. We also notice two other things right away. First off, we see a difference in the style of the door hinges. On the first level, they carry a flowing floral design, while the ones on this floor feature butterflies and bamboo. These are from Branford’s Oriental line of hardware.

The other thing that we notice is the rounded nook across the room accented by many narrow windows. This is the interior of the turret, maybe the most recognizable feature from the outside of the house. Two of these windows are actually cleverly disguised doors that lead out onto the front and side balconies. The window sashes actually open completely by passing into a cavity in the ceiling. This grand and elaborately decorated room that we are in is the parlor, primarily used for entertaining when friends and relations come to call.

Floor plan of the Franklin Castle’s second level, as it originally appeared when the house was complete in 1883. William G. Krejci.

Continuing across the parlor and passing through a set of mahogany pocket doors, we enter the Tiedemanns’ dining room. Here we find a beautiful gas-lit chandelier, a table large enough to accommodate the family as well as guests and another fireplace matching the one we just viewed in the parlor. The only difference between these two fireplaces is that this one is finished to emulate a reddish Italian marble. Two doors lead out of this room: one into the corridor we first entered from and another that takes us to the back of the house.

We reenter the corridor from which we started, at the end of which is a glassed-in office that adjoins the back corridor. Here, Hannes Tiedemann does much of his work at home. The office is trimmed in redwood, as are the cabinets, shelves and drawers. It also contains its own fireplace. Another nice feature about having this glassed-in office was that whenever a guest came to call, Mr. Tiedemann could see his visitor without even having to leave his desk. Both the front and side entrances are visible at a glance.

Stepping from the office and into the back corridor, we see directly ahead of us and down a short flight of steps, the doors through which we first entered the house. In this corridor we see on our right a door that takes us back into the Tiedemanns’ dining room. On our left, we see an alcove with two doors leading off of it: one to the left and one to the right. Straight ahead in this alcove is where the dumbwaiter service lets off on the second floor.

Walking first through the door on our left, we find ourselves standing in a guest bedroom. This room was reserved for male guests who stay with the family. Tucked in the corner sits a fireplace. Leaving this room and crossing the alcove, we find ourselves in the bedroom of August Tiedemann, Hannes and Louise’s eldest child. August is in his late teens by now, and the décor of his bedroom reflects this. Of course, he has a bed and bureau in here, but the style of these are quite masculine. He also has a small desk, just a place where he could sit in privacy and compose letters. This bedroom is also equipped with a fireplace, likely a match to the one in the previous bedroom, though not tucked into the corner but placed on the east wall, directly above the one in the servant’s bedroom on the floor below. Across the room is a very small cloakroom and another door. Through this door is a walk-in closet, which is shared with the guest bedroom across the hall, thus the previous room would have been reserved for male guests.

Leaving this bedroom and retreating from the alcove, we find ourselves once again in the back corridor facing the stairs. We ascend these, come to a landing where we turn to the right in a 180-degree fashion and continue up to the third floor, where again, the ceiling is twelve feet high.

Floor plan of the Franklin Castle’s third level, as it originally appeared when the house was complete in 1883. William G. Krejci.

At the top of the stairs, we see a door straight ahead of us and, on our right, another alcove similar to the one on the second floor, where we see the dumbwaiter and two sets of doors. The bedroom that sits directly in front of the stairs was reserved as a guest bedroom for female visitors, which also contained its own walk-in closet and a fireplace, which is located directly above the one downstairs in Mr. Tiedemann’s office.

Turning to the right and entering the alcove, we enter the door on our left, which takes us into the bedroom of Dora Louise Tiedemann, Mr. and Mrs. Tiedemanns’ youngest child. As she’s only about twelve at this time, we’d find personal effects fitting a girl of her age, porcelain dolls and the like. There’s also a smaller bed and vanity. At the foot of the bed sits a trunk that holds items of value to Dora. Later, it’ll be used as a hope chest. Across the room, located in the right-hand corner, is an ornate fireplace. Beside this is the entrance to a walk-in closet.

Departing this room and entering the one across the alcove, we find ourselves in the bedroom of Hannes’s wife, Louise Tiedemann. It’s a fact that in some Victorian families, the husband and wife didn’t share a bedroom. Having separate bedrooms for spouses, however, was a luxury only afforded by the wealthier class. This bedroom, being directly above August’s, matched his as far as having a closet and fireplace in the same locations.

Exiting this bedroom and alcove, we pass the stairs on our left and guest bedroom on our right and enter the master bedroom that is occupied by Hannes Tiedemann. The amenities in this room are some of the grandest in the house. The gas lights are extremely ornate as are the bed and bureau. The fireplace on the east wall is of white Italian marble and features a federal shield. Another thing this bedroom features is its own balcony. Stepping through a narrow window and out onto this balcony, we see that it’s accented by a hand-carved sandstone railing and spindles. This balcony faces east and offers an impressive view of the neighborhood. At the other end of the balcony, we see that it adjoins with another room, that being Mrs. Tiedemann’s. This balcony was used by Mr. and Mrs. Tiedemann so that they could discreetly see each other at night without disturbing the rest of the house.

Off of Mr. Tiedemann’s bedroom, through a set of pocket doors, we enter his personal sitting room. Here, the furniture is equally as luxurious and comfortable as that found one floor below in the parlor. This room also features a white Italian marble fireplace, a mate to the one in Mr. Tiedemann’s bedroom. Like the parlor below, it also boasts a circular nook, the third floor of the turret. Here, another narrow window in the center leads out onto a small sandstone balcony with iron railings. Across the room on the right is an arched entryway that leads to a long alcove that serves as Mr. Tiedemann’s dressing room. On the left is another window that leads to yet another sandstone balcony, which sits directly above the front entrance of the house.

Floor plan of the Franklin Castle’s fourth level, as it originally appeared when the house was complete in 1883. William G. Krejci.

Returning through the dressing room, sitting room and Mr. Tiedemann’s bedroom, we retreat once again to the back of the house. We come to the stairs and press on to the fourth floor. Just as before, we reach a landing, turn to the right and continue up.

The first thing that we notice, as we reach the fourth and topmost floor, is the small balcony that overlooks the landing between the third and fourth floors. This is a musicians’ gallery. When the Tiedemanns host large gatherings, they’ll have a string trio placed on this balcony, playing fine music for the guests as they arrive. The wonderful thing about the placement of this gallery is that the music can still be heard—yet not too loudly and overpowering—throughout the fourth floor.

At the top of the stairs, we reach two doors, one to our left and one to our right. Through the left-hand door, we enter the vast ballroom where the Tiedemanns host their many parties. It features hardwood floors, elegant gas-lit chandeliers and an open space measuring twenty-four by thirtytwo feet. On the far end of the room are two sets of windows with built-in window seats. The one on the right is much larger than the other, which sits in the center of the wall. On the far left is another circular alcove. This is the topmost part of the turret. With an impressive view of Franklin Avenue below, a couple can slip away from the excitement of the gala and take in the cool evening air from the tower room. Here also in the ballroom sits a piano, as Dora Tiedemann is quite a talented pianist. It should also be noted that the walls here taper in slightly, following the shape of the mansard roof.

Returning to the doorway through which we entered the ballroom, we notice to our right a slender door tucked slightly out of the way in the corner of the ballroom. This is the access to the musicians’ gallery and to a passage that runs the length of the ballroom, used primarily for storage. It’s this space in between the walls that many in later years would regard as a secret passage, though there is nothing secretive about it. The entrance is in plain view.

Exiting the ballroom, we find ourselves back at the top of the stairs. Across from us is another door. We enter this door and are now in one more guest bedroom. Off of this guest bedroom are two more passageways and a door that leads back into the cloak room. This back bedroom has one completely out-of-the-ordinary feature though. Carefully hidden in the floor is a trapdoor. Lifting up this door reveals a space in between the floors large enough for a person to enter. We are now in a shallow passage running between the third and fourth floors. This passage follows back for a short distance and abruptly ends in a wider room. The height of the passage and room is only about three feet. We are in the trunk space, where servants and house guests store their steamer trunks after arriving and emptying the contents into dressers and closets.

Fourth-floor ballroom. Courtesy of the Cleveland Public Library Photograph Collection.

Above this fourth floor is an attic space, accessible only by a ladder. The attic ceiling is only about four feet in height.

Returning down the many stairs that ultimately carried us to the topmost floor, we find ourselves once again on the second floor. We move down the corridors and arrive at the main entrance in the front of the house. Crossing through the mosaic-tiled foyer and stepping over the threshold, we are now standing outside of the home. Here, many notice two distinct grotesques carved into the stone, flanking the doorway. Rumor has it that having these faces are Mrs. Tiedemann’s way of dealing with the grief of losing her precious children in infancy. It’s fairly safe to say that this isn’t the case. Many homes of this era are most noted for their playful exterior features. The reason that this is not commonly found on other homes in the area is that few could afford such amenities.

Close inspection of the sandstone lintel directly above the main doorway reveals another feature that is easily overlooked. Placed on the keystone we see that Mr. Tiedemann’s initials have been engraved, just a simple reminder of who it was who first owned this house.

Just around the left-hand side of the front steps, an engraving can be seen declaring the names of the designers, Cudell & Richardson, Architects.

Another impressive feature is the many wonderful wrought-iron balconies. It’s a good likelihood that these were hand crafted by Hannes Tiedemann’s blacksmith friend and co-inventor of the wrecking apparatus, Bernard McGroder. We also notice that a large ornamental finial caps off the peak of the tower. This, too, is likely built by Mr. McGroder.

Walking around to the side entrance and to our waiting carriage, we can get a better look at the porte-cochère. We see right away that it is quite unlike most others. Instead of having pillars to support it, as is commonplace, we see that it’s free-standing and is supported by wooden cornices that are mounted to the side of the house.

Over the years, many have wondered where the sandstone to erect this house was quarried. Sadly, no definite record can be located, though there’s one clue left behind. Cudell & Richardson would’ve been consistent in purchasing its building materials from the same suppliers. It’s known that St. Stephen’s Church on West 54th Street and Courtland Avenue, one of Cudell & Richardson’s sacred landmarks, was erected using Amherst sandstone. The firm likely would’ve used the same for this project.

Grotesques above the front door with a stone on the west face of Franklin Castle bearing the names Cudell & Richardson—Architects. Photo by William G. Krejci.

Just after the completion of the Franklin Castle, the original Wolverton carriage house, located on the northwest corner of the property, was demolished. A new, two-story carriage house with a sandstone façade to match the new home was erected on the site, but this time, it was built at the northeast corner. The lower level housed the horse, buggy and straw and hay, while the upper floor was occupied by Mr. Tiedemann’s coachman, John Mueller.

Hannes Tiedemann’s personal fortunes soared to an incredible amount, and this was reflected by the construction of his houses in Cleveland and East Rockport. Living in the city wouldn’t have been as enjoyable as being out at the country estate. It was a necessity though, as it was closer to his and his son’s places of employment and to his daughter’s school, located just one block from the Franklin Castle on Kentucky Street. To make life in the city more enjoyable, he spared little expense in making that house a place that would rival any other the neighborhood offered.

It still does today.