William R. Jeavons House

The Jeavons House. Photo courtesy of the City of Cleveland Heights.

The William R. Jeavons House at 2541 Arlington Road was built in 1910 and became a Cleveland Heights Landmark in 2000. Designed by prominent Cleveland architect Harlen E. Shimmin, the imposing beige brick home sits on a two-acre corner lot at the confluence of Arlington and Monmouth roads in the Shaker Farm Historic District.

Originally the core of the Van Sweringen brothers’ Shaker Village development, before the majority of it took shape in the city of Shaker Heights to the south, Fairmount Boulevard and the winding streets to either side, including Arlington, [featured] some of the most opulent homes in the emerging suburbs—so much so that Fairmount Boulevard was even called the Euclid Avenue of the Heights.

William R. Jeavons was the founder of the Perfection Stove Company, and his house incorporated many of his company’s innovations. The Tudor Revival-style house—which originally occupied 4.5-acres of grounds, until Jeavons and his wife, Grace, split off two new lots in 1919 to build homes for their son and daughter—features many wonderful period details, including leaded and stained glass, decorative brackets, and its original clay-tile roof. Its Tudor Revival cross timbering pairs with Arts and Crafts features—a common assemblage at the time.

The house’s interior was featured in the January 1913 issue of Ohio Architect and Builder, in an article about the interiors of Shimmin-designed houses, with extensive commentary on how it and other Shimmin houses reflected the emerging incorporation (“even in climates as severe as northern Ohio”) of sunporches, and innovations in tungsten lamps and vapor heating, as well as the elimination of ceiling lights, bedroom fireplaces and claw-foot tubs.

Interestingly, Jeavons’ son, William Norman Jeavons, was an architect who was a consultant to the Van Sweringens on their Shaker Heights master plan. Jeavons, who also founded the Hermit Club, designed many homes in Shaker Heights as well as his own house at 2505 Arlington Road, next door to his parents’ home.

Mark Souther

Mark Souther, a member of the Cleveland Heights Landmark Commission, wrote this article. This column is produced by members of the CH Landmark Commission, to highlight historically significant buildings in Cleveland Heights, and share its mission of preserving and protecting buildings, works of art and other objects of historical or architectural value to the community.

Read More on Cleveland Heights Landmarks
Volume 8, Issue 7, Posted 2:01 PM, 06.29.2015