2489 Coventry (1988)

This elegant Jacobethan eclectic home was built c. 1915 by David J. Champion, founder of the Champion Rivet Company. It occurred to Champion, who worked as a stenographer (he had one of only three typewriters in the city of Cleveland!), that rivets, previously made of wrought iron, could be manufactured out of steel. In 1895, he founded the Champion Rivet Company, which at the time of his death in 1935, was one of the largest manufacturers of rivets in the world.

This massive residence has a double gable roof with two gabled projections on the façade and three large brick chimneys. The windows are grouped into continuous ranges with half-timbered and diamond shaped designs in the spandrels. The side wing carries the half-timbering up into the gable. The entrance has a gabled porch roof, next to a bay window. On the first floor, the large, oak paneled center hall has leaded glass windows, graceful floral millwork, and beautifully carved woodwork. Note, especially, the "C" in the intricately worked newel post, the coeur de lion in the arch leading to the main staircase, and the fleur de lis in the leaded glass windows on the landing between the first and second floors.

The house features extensive decorative plasterwork (note the wainscoting downstairs) and floor-to-ceiling built-in wooden cupboards. The butler's pantry has an original and cleverly concealed plate warmer. Oak woodwork and numerous bay windows suffuse the house with light and warmth, qualities preserved by the present owners. For instance, within the confines of the original kitchen they have created a modern, highly functional work space. Light, cheerful colors unify the rooms of this sizeable house into a comfortable family home for the 1980s.