The Historic Marquard House Gone Forever
The now empty lot standing at 3260 Warren Road was once home to a beautiful Georgian/Bavarian-style mansion. Before its life as a mansion however, it sat simply as a moderate-sized brick-and-frame farmhouse. The farmhouse structure was originally built sometime in the 1860s, and wouldn’t grow in size until being purchased by Philip H. Marquard in 1908. So how did this structure become such a notable landmark in this West Park neighborhood of Cleveland, and why was it abandoned only to eventually be torn down?
Marquard owned the Marquard Sash and Door Manufacturing Company. The company was founded around 1890, and operated for years on Lorain Avenue. Marquard’s company produced intricate architectural millwork of all kinds—some of which could be seen on his own home. Although Marquard owned and operated this business, it always came second to his passion for building. His passion led to him founding Marquard Home Builders, Inc., which would be the company responsible for the construction of thousands of homes throughout Cleveland. The company was also one of the main developers of the West Park neighborhood in its early years.
It’s definitely a unique sight to see as someone moves in and transforms such a plain farmhouse into a mansion with 52 rooms. The home even had its own chapel. So why did he need 52 rooms? Marquard had 12 children, so the need for space was an important one. In addition to being a home for his family, the grounds and mansion had become a gathering place for friends and neighbors from the early 1910s through the early 1940s. There were celebrations in the ballroom, and around the grounds people would enjoy the playground, tennis courts, bowling alley and theater. For some events, the house, even as large as it was, was not large enough for all of the people attending. Marquard then teamed up with the Regnatz family to construct a large banquet and catering hall on the property.
Philip H. Marquard died in his home on October 14, 1942. Soon after his death, the home’s life would once again take an entirely new turn. A man by the name of William Bauer—the former president of a packing company, purchased the home. Upon taking ownership of the home, he converted it into apartments and rented the property to the U.S. Government, offering living space for families of war workers. The history of this home of course doesn’t end there. By 1958, the building had become a public apartment building containing 11 three-room suites, 4 four-room suites, and 2 five-room suites. It operated for years to come as the “Manor House Apartments.”
Unfortunately, life for the home started to fall apart by 2009 as delinquent property-tax bills piled up. Numerous complaints about the property were being reported to the city’s building department as well, as the home had sat 75% vacant since 2004 and was beginning to fall into disrepair. It seemed that the mansion was on its way out when it was put up for a tax-delinquent sale in 2009 for $50,000.
It appeared that life was about to be brought back to the home when the St. Mary Romanian Orthodox Cathedral purchased the property. They had plans to transform the home into a museum, or possibly a housing facility for immigrant families and the elderly.
After quoting repairs at $600,000 to $800,000 or more, they had realized they were in over their heads on this project. The home contained more asbestos and was much further deteriorated than they had initially thought, and with the need for maintenance and repairs on their own campus, plans for the house were stalled and eventually abandoned entirely.
Family descendant Tom Marquard had no knowledge of the 2009 sale of the home. He had always hoped to purchase it, turning it into a bed and breakfast, restaurant or conference center. The last he had heard, the home was nearly $400,000 and out of reach financially. Although Tom was unable to purchase the property, that did not stop him and his commitment to its preservation. In 2013 Tom did all he could to obtain the Cleveland Landmarks Commission’s historical designation for the Marquard House. In June of 2013, the house was nominated when Ward 17 councilman Martin Keane sent a letter of appropriateness to the Cleveland Landmarks Commission. In turn, they sent a letter to the property owners in October 2013. They commission then met with the church to discuss moving forward, but had still not gained their consent. The society had made efforts over years to discuss plans of moving forward with restoration of the mansion, but the church would not agree to a meeting.
Tom had attempted to place a historic marker on the tree lawn in front of the home. This was met with lack of response from the City of Cleveland. Since Tom could not obtain a grant for the marker, as well as its placement and maintenance, the West Park Historical Society was charged a fee of $3,000. Tom pushed forward, and applied to have the home listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 12, 2015. The property was then determined likely eligible, but was never able to pass for inclusion. Three years later, the home was demolished in October 2018. Demolition started Monday October 15, 2018 and was finished by the end of the week.
OHIO’S FORGOTTEN HISTORY PARTS 1 & 2:
My 6th and 7th books, and first two in a series of books showcasing Ohio’s abandoned and forgotten history. The house shown in this blog post is one of the places featured in part 2. Orders for my abandoned Ohio books are currently open, and you can find more info about the books at either link below:
Part 1 – HERE
Part 2 – HERE
Both books can be ordered together as a bundle on either page.
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