As we take a journey through time, back to 1863 –  or 153 years ago – we can mentally restore these decayed ruins, blanketed in piles of dust, overgrown with moss and mold, visualizing images of what once was home to perfectly painted walls, lit by its large windows adorned with beautiful curtains.

The Steele Mansion was built in 1863 for a very opulent man, by the name of George W. Steele. Steele was a wealthy businessman who had called for the building of the mansion in 1863; purchasing it upon completion in 1866, and finally welcoming the Steele family in through its large, wooden doors; to live among the exquisitely painted corridors, brilliant wood workings, and admirable marble fire places in 1867. Steele would go on to use the front portion of the house, while the rear bit would be used by servants.

April 4, 1881 – the date George Steele spent his last moments on Earth. Succeeding his death at the age of 57, his family was now left with the mansion which they continued to maintain.

According to information gathered through other sources, the mansion was then passed between different members of the Steele family either close or extended over the course of several decades.

In the year 1917, a man by the name of E.D. Heartwell purchased the property and ordered as well for a house to be constructed beside it. Shortly after; in July during an unknown year, Heartwell then sold the mansion to a lawyer by the name of H.E. Hammar. Shortly after purchasing the property, Hammar passed away in 1920; only owning the mansion for a very short period of time.

In the year 1921, The Hammar Estate sold the dwelling to Lake Erie College; which sits crosswise to the mansion itself. Now the new home to four college presidents, the mansion was about to see even more life within its walls. Of course, the mansion had at this point already seen a great deal of peoples lives within its elegant corridors, but would only come to compile its stories over time. In 1958, a college president by the name of Paul Weaver said his goodbyes to the mansion, and migrated to the Morley Farm in Concord Township. The mansion was then after converted to a college dormitory, for students.

As we continue through 22 years, we end up in 1980 when the mansion was sought after by a company called Kertes Enterprises, a Cleveland company that had longed to purchase it and use its halls for a multifamily dwelling. Eventually, within the 80s’ someone had done just that; the mansion was purchased and used as a block of apartments.
In the year 1998 the Steele Mansion was purchased by Christina and Clyde Dubeansky of Painesville, Ohio; the town where the mansion itself stands.

Christina and her husband spent much of their time fixing up, and restoring the mansion to its former grandeur. Christina was quoted saying “my husband and I had sold our home and put everything we had into it. Not only did I think it was a beautiful historical home, but for the city as well, to have a home that was that grand restored to its original beauty was amazing. We loved living in it and restoring it. It was a dream come true for us. We had driven by it for years before we owned it and thought, ‘Some day, we’re going to know somebody who owns it and get invited in.’ We finished the restoration that the Karen and Doug Group started.”

A few years of restoration had passed, when in January of 2001 the mansion had caught fire while contractors were melting ice that had formed on the roof. This transpired during the Dubeansky’s ownership, and unfortunately they were left without proper funds to restore it once again.

Some years of bombardment by natural weather occurrence; with an open roof due to the temporary one falling in, and no caretaker turned the mansion into a canvas for nature itself. Floors were slowly beginning to grow moss of a bright green, windows became clouded, pieces of the architecture itself continued to break, and fall. The walls started to scream as paint began to lift from its grasp creating abstract patterns of decay throughout the houses corridors.

Pictured above ^ one of the last remaining descendants of George Steele

Christina is also quoted saying “I literally drove on the streets around it so that I didn’t have to pass by it. It made us heartsick every time we had to drive past it and see the damage. I felt bad for the neighbors around it for being an eye sore for them.” What Christina wasn’t aware of is how much of a beautiful, and floridly colorful scene this would in time, create for explorers.

The home was sold to Marous Brothers Construction in 2004, and shortly after was purchased by Painesville Resident Timothy Herron in 2006.
In early 2009, bombardment by a severe windstorm resulted in the collapsing of one of the mansions chimneys, partially destroying some of the floors inside and reaching to the boiler system damaging that as well. A little while after this, the city came in and knocked in two more, altogether caving in the floors all the way through to the basement level.
It was estimated by Doug Lewis that it would take anywhere from one to two million dollars to restore correctly and at this point it would have to be “somebody who would do it for the love of renovating the home or for historical reasons.”

Because of the buildings condition at the time, it was issued an order for demolition until it was sold at an auction by Timothy Herron to Arthur Shamakian; a person who would come to restore it with his wife Carol Shamakian.

Garbage was been cleaned up, and pieces of the mansion have been collected to be pieced back together. A structure that went from a beautiful creation to a beautiful disaster has now again become a stunning architectural masterpiece. All it needed was someone willing to put in the time, effort and funding.

The owner at the time of the mansions enigmatic decay would let us explore through, and was nice enough to give us bits of information here and there, not bothering to call the police as long as we would not vandalize or cause any other destruction or trouble.

Surprisingly enough; through the years it was left to rot, vandals, looters, and the like had never reaped the marble which once belonged to the fireplaces that lined the many rooms of this architectural masterpiece.

Come 2016, the mansion had been brought to an entirely new life and light. Thanks to the work of many teams, friends and family under the care of Arthur and Carol Shamakian, the Steele Mansion has been carefully pieced back to its former glory and opened a world of history to those interested enough to pay a visit.

The mansion now operates as an inn, where not only can you rent a beautiful and luxurious room for the night, but can also be transported back in time. The mansion not only offers rooms, but space for events, weddings, lunches and more.

Check out their website HERE