2330 Euclid Heights Boulevard (1982)
Recognizing the top of Cedar Hill as the "Gateway to the Heights," the Cleveland Overlook Company set about to develop a residential neighborhood in 1926. The original Buckingham was designed by architect Alfred W. Harris as a luxury apartment building. The estimated cost of construction for the project was $225,000. The area did indeed become a flourishing and diverse section of Cleveland Heights, encompassing single family homes, duplexes, converted carriage houses, a spritely commercial area and apartment buildings reflecting several types of architectural trends.
Today, the Buckingham has been redeveloped to offer still another mode of residential living, condominiums. The building has retained its charming old world exterior while allowing each unit owner to express his particular lifestyle and design sensibilities. There are forty units in the building including those with one bedroom, two bedrooms, or studios.
The two units which are part of the tour demonstrate the considerable potential of the space available within the complex. In one instance, architect Al Yanda worked with an owner to combine two units, one located above the other. The result is a most exciting contemporary townhouse centered on a vaulted living room with a balcony. Its decor is distinctly Scandinavian and the overall effect that of precise design and elegant spareness.
The owner of the other unit opened for the tour has utilized the more formal, traditional elements inherent in the original Buckingham suites. The interior here is structurally unchanged and has been allowed to suggest and therefore complement the furnishing and accessories.
These two condominiums seen together serve beautifully to remind the viewer that architecture can sometimes be a kind of treasure chest, hiding unusual delight behind a familiar facade.