Grand Mansions

What Remains of The Grand Estates Today?

To recall the days of Longwood, look to the relocated marble fountain in front of City Hall. The fountain was located along the entry drive and was one of many sculptures that Severance used to adorn his estate. From the parking lot of the Severance Medical Building along Severance Circle, one can see the imposing brick stables, formerly part of the Severance estate. Two landscape remnants of the estate have survived: the allee of trees that lined the entry to the estate that can be seen behind the Severance Athletic Club, looking south from Taylor Road; and a pond on City property directly east of Courtyards of Severance at the northeast corner of the former estate.

Crossing Mayfield searching for remnants of Glen Allen and Ben Brae yields the stone wall in front of the Bluestone development and the stone pier at the southeast corner of the Lutheran High School East property. Glen Allen remnants include: an old farmhouse at 3555 Birch Tree Path that the Allens incorporated into their property (and may have been used for hired help); a bridge from the estate hidden in the rear yard of a Glen Allen home; and possibly a low stone wall behind the homes on the south side of the streets near the intersection of Woodridge and Edison Roads.

For more information on the subject, read "Cleveland Heights: The Making of an Urban Suburb by Marian J. Morton, and In Our Day; Cleveland Heights: Its People, Its Places, Its Past" edited by Suzanna Ringler Jones.