2780 Fairmount Boulevard (1981)

This house was built in 1927 for Dr. and Mrs. Carl Hamann. Dr. Hamann, a well-known surgeon, was Dean of the Medical School of Western Reserve University.

The architectural style can be characterized as Jacobethan (a combination of Jacobean and Elizabethan) in its use of grouped leaded glass windows, stone mullions and expanses of brick and in its overall picturesque effect. The most striking feature of the house is the exquisite millwork throughout the family quarters. In the service areas, the same care in construction is seen in the original cabinetry of the pantry and adjoining areas. The recent remodeling of the kitchen harmonizes with the color of the original wood of the cabinets.

The placement of the library at the rear of the house between the living and dining areas makes it a focal point in the design and suggests the place it had in the lifestyle of the original owner. Dr. Hamann served as Directing Librarian of the Cleveland Medical Library Association and was widely published in his field. While the large number of bedrooms is a reminder of the continuing importance of servants for a successful Fairmount Boulevard resident of the 1920s, this house reflects the prevailing shift away from the home as a place for grand entertaining. The third floor, for instance, has an activity space, but not the imposing ballroom of large houses of several decades before. Large-scale entertaining had shifted to the clubs and the Hamanns, not surprisingly, belonged to many.