Clarence
Mack: Architect In Lakewood
Clarence Mack designed, built and furnished
upper middle class housing in Cleveland's emerging suburbs
of Lakewood, Shaker Heights and Rocky River. Kingwood in Mansfield,
Ohio was his largest commission. A successful land developer,
Mack provided a complete package for an upwardly mobile clientele.
Mack designed houses that satisfied the need for tradition
while providing for modern practicality.
Clarence Mack
Clarence Mack was born in Cleveland on April
29, 1888. His father Louis Mack was a clerk for the New York
Central and the Erie Railroads for a total of 67 years. Clarence's
older brother Roland and younger brother Vincent later helped
Clarence to build houses. By 1904, the upwardly-mobile Mack
family had moved to 1520 Clarence Avenue in Lakewood. The
1910 City Directory lists the males residing at this residence
as Louis, Roland (an accountant), Clarence (a trimmer) and
Vincent (a clerk).
According to Mack, his grandfather, father and
uncles were house builders. One of Clarence Mack's uncles
worked on the construction of Theodor Kundtz's mansion which
was located at 13826 Lake Ave. Clarence visited the building
site as a child, so he knew "every beam and joist and
mortise in it."
In a 1965 letter to LHS curator Margaret Manor
Butler, Mack explained his work in this area. "The houses
in Lakewood and Shaker Heights as well as elsewhere in Ohio
and Michigan were all built prior to the financial crash in
November of 1929. Although I had studied architecture for
ten years prior to the first world war, both in America and
Europe. I did not commence those houses in Lakewood until
1920. I lived in most of them, as I also furnished them and
they were sold furnished to the new owners. I purchased many
of the furnishings in Europe on annual buying trips. Most
of the houses are of late Georgian design, based on old traditional
examples, both in this country and England."
Clarence Mack built at least 19 homes in Lakewood.
The first Lake Avenue home was built in 1922, and the last
in 1927. Most of Mack's Lakewood homes were built on land
"purchased from Theodore Kuntz [sic] who has the Hungarian
Castle on the lake built by an uncle of mine. There were thirteen
houses in that group on both sides of Lake Ave and two painted
brick ones on Edgewater Drive on land purchased from the Hutchinsons."
Mack later paid Kundtz for the land with profits from the
home sales.
Mack went on to build a total of eight houses
in Shaker Heights and, with his brother Vincent, four modest-sized
dwellings in Rocky River. At the other end of the size and
economic spectrum is Kingwood mansion, located on 47 acres
in Mansfield, Ohio.
Following his Ohio building projects, Mack moved
to Florida in the 1930s. In 1938, as the Depression was reaching
its conclusion, he began designing and building houses in
the Palm Beach area. He completed two major housing developments
called Regent's Park and Parc Monceau. He retired in 1960.
Mack died in Palm Beach on January 6, 1982 at the age of 93.
The Complete Package
Mack took part in the housing boom in Lakewood,
building classically styled Georgian and French Eclectic homes
for his wealthy clientele. In addition to their carefully
designed exteriors, Mack's houses included interior details
such as imported marble mantels, crystal chandeliers and furniture
in style and proportion to the architecture of the house.
He provided a complete package: house, furnished
interiors and landscaping. If his clients were unwilling or
unable to make decisions on wall colors, lighting or furniture
and its arrangement, Mack handled these details as well. Mack
wrote that "most of the furnishings were brought from
England and France when first purchased, in all of the houses."
These furnishings included desk and table lamps, side tables,
crystal sconces, four-poster beds, Chippendale-style mirrors,
chairs, couches and even libraries complete with matching
book bindings. Because of the large scale of the rooms, Mack
positioned furniture into conversation groupings. Many of
the living rooms have combinations of couches and side chairs
that could seat twenty people.
Mack could influence his clientele because he
knew their tastes and needs. Many were company owners and
newly wealthy. They had not inherited family heirlooms, but
Mack's interiors and replica furnishings could give the impression
that they did. Mack offered a stage set for living, just waiting
for an occupant to inhabit, while providing interiors that
could be personalized further.
While Clarence Mack built in traditional, established
styles, he remained a man who was very much a part of his
times. Mack said, "While the style of houses has been
inspired by traditional examples, the floor plans were all
laid our to meet more modern demands of comfort." Many
Mack designs have long hallways for easy circulation and powder
rooms and coat closets next to the centrally located front
door. He also provided specialized storage: pantries next
to kitchens, large walk-in closets for bedrooms, dressing
rooms with built-in drawers. The interiors are flooded with
natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows, and mirrors are
used extensively to reflect the light and bring the outdoors
inside.
Mack's designs included the convenient placement
of a two- or three-bay garage, fully acknowledging the important
place the automobile had come to represent in the lives of
his clients.
Mack Homes in Lakewood
1. 1460 Waterbury, 1914
Mack built this frame, two-story side gabled house for his
family, who moved in upon completion. On the building permit,
Mack is listed as the owner, with 1520 Clarence as his address.
 2.
1467 Lewis Drive, 1919
The lot for Mack's second house shares a back property line
with the 1460 Waterbury lot. This house has a steeply pitched
gambrel roof, a massive center chimney and an attached garage.
3 & 4. 13881 and 13883 Lake, built 1922
These Georgian style houses are brick with flat-top hipped
roofs. Both have an attached two-car garage which originally
had glass-paned doors.
 13883
Lake was sold fully furnished to Bernard P. Pearse, the secretary-treasurer
of Atlas Foundry Company.
 13881
Lake was sold fully furnished to Harlan Newell. Newell was
the vice-president of Society for Savings and later commissioned
Mack to build a home for him in Shaker Heights at 19200 South
Park Blvd.
 5.
13867 Lake, 1923
Construction of this Georgian house started in October 1923.
The brick house has a flat-topped hipped roof, a projected
center front gable and brick quoins at the corners. The house
was sold to Edward H. Fishman.
6. 13851 Lake Avenue, 1923
Built in the French Eclectic style, this brick home has an
asymmetrical plan that surrounds a courtyard. Mack used this
design in part to conceal the view of the garage opening from
the street. The walls of the house had been treated to resemble
whitewash. The window frames were painted in what was described
as "a rich blue-green." The garage door was painted
in wide stripes of green and blue. Photographs from the twenties
show a wooded lot with sunlight filtered through the trees.
The floor plan of this house shows a large center hall with
a lavatory and coat closet. The living room, morning room
and dining room include floor to ceiling windows. There are
six bedrooms in all, with two above the garage. William D.
Becker, the vice-president of the Valley Steamship Company
was the first owner of 13851. He previously lived just down
the street at 13431 Lake Avenue.
 7.
13843 Lake Avenue, 1923
Francis Richey purchased the salmon-colored brick house at
13843 Lake Avenue. The restrained facade is only embellished
with attention to the frontpiece and the cornice. The front
entrance originally included a swan's neck pediment and elegantly
designed ironwork handrails and lamp posts. Mack explained,
"The entrance doorway was inspired by one at Westover,
Virginia, although it did not have the large stair landing
window above it."
 8.
13835 Lake Avenue, 1923
This French Eclectic has a steeply pitched roof and a tower
at the front entrance. Constructed of stucco over tile, the
house was described in 1925 as "built of buff-colored
stucco" with shutters of a lighter tone. Charles Richman,
who operated the successful men's clothing company, Richman
Brothers, purchased this house and adjoining lots. Mack furnished
the house with items he "brought from France as it was
a French style house" and landscaped the entire grounds.
Most recently it was owned by Ziggy creator Tom Wilson.
9. 13857 Lake Avenue, 1923
A French Eclectic with whitewashed brick and unpainted quoins
at the corners, this house was first owned by James W. Wilson,
the treasurer of the Insurance Center Building.
 10.
13875 Lake Avenue, 1924
The house is side-gabled with exterior paired end chimneys.
While on the same size lot as the other Lake Avenue houses
(70' x 200'), this house has a smaller footprint with 1397
square feet. It was purchased by Charles E. Doty, whose offices
were in the Hippodrome Building in Cleveland.
11. 1038 Homewood, 1924
The 1038 Homewood house has a hipped roof, central chimney
and hipped dormers. The main entrance is on the south side
of the house, perhaps to shelter the owner from winds coming
off Lake Erie, which is just 150 feet away. The owner listed
on the building permit is Miss Margaret Smith, whose daughter
Kathy later owned the house.
1925 Houses
Mack had five houses under construction in 1925. The two sets
of houses were planned in close relationship to each other.
The three houses on the north side of Lake Avenue were in
Georgian style and the two houses on Edgewater Drive were
in the French style.
In 1925, House & Garden sent the
New York photographers Tebbs and Knell to illustrate an article
about the three houses at 13842, 13840 and 13834 Lake Avenue.
These photographs are now part of the Cleveland Public Library
collection.
 12.
13842 Lake, 1925
The emphasis of this house is on the front entrance. Inspired
by an 18th-century London doorway, this one of Mack's most
beautiful and refined doorways in the Cleveland area. The
first floor of the house contains a powder room, deep closets,
central hall, dining room, kitchen, library, living room and
a narrow screened-in porch. The second floor has four bedrooms
with walk-in closets, two bathrooms, a cedar closet and a
large linen closet with drawers. The basement or service floor
contains the garage, a sitting room, bedroom and bathroom
for a staff member, laundry room and several storage rooms.
Eugene E. Ledogar was the first owner.
 13.
13840 Lake, 1925
The house is Adams-style with a strong vertical presence due
to the three stories above ground level. The House & Garden
article described the house as having "very dark green"
shutters and including a reception foyer, service room and
motor rooms. The first story or service floor is differentiated
from the second and third stories by a stone belt course.
Charles E. Myer purchased the furnished home, shown in the
photographs.
 14.
13834 Lake Avenue, 1925
This three-story brick house is adorned with different window
treatments that accentuate each story--nine over nines with
alternating triangular or curved pediments on second floor
and plain, six over six on third floor. James W Fraser, who
worked at Bituminous Construction, moved here from 1060 Forest
Cliff.
 15.
13823 Edgewater, 1925
16. 13825 Edgewater, 1925
 Both
of these French Eclectic homes were built on land bought from
Captain Charles L. Hutchinson family. 13823 was originally
built for Hutchinson's son, John T. Hutchinson.
17. 13810 Lake, 1926
This variation of the Georgian Style has a hipped roof, paired
end chimneys, cornice with dentils. Addie Hackenberg, second
wife and widow of Harvey Hackenberg, moved here from Grace
Avenue.
18. 1106 West Forest, 1926
 Mrs.
George Newell commissioned this house and is listed as the
owner on the building permit. The floor plans include a center
hall, living room, loggia with a terrazzo floor, dining room,
morning room, kitchen and attached garage on the first floor.
The second floor had four bedrooms, two bathrooms and an area
designated as a studio with a second set of stairs over the
garage. The studio and loggia are distinct elements not found
in Mack's other work in Northeast Ohio.
 19.
13845 Lake Avenue, 1927
Mack wrote in a letter to Margaret Butler that the last house
he built in Lakewood, "although English Georgian [on
the] exterior, had some French interior, particularly a white
and gold-paneled library with a French marble mantle with
a Trumeau over it, brought from France." A trumeau is
a mirror with a painting above in the same frame.
The first owner was Robert Hascall, who inherited
several companies from his father and served as president
of Hascall Paint Company, Tropical Paint and Oil Company and
Union Products.
Unfounded Attributions
Several additional homes in Lakewood have been
attributed to Clarence Mack but evidence either has not been
found or directly refutes the attribution. Clarence Mack,
with an address of 1460 Waterbury, was listed as the owner
of fifteen of eighteen building permits on file. (One permit
for 13883 Lake Avenue is missing). Two houses were commissioned
and therefore the owners' names are listed. As more information
becomes available, more houses designed by Clarence Mack may
be added to the list.
Other Mack Houses in Ohio
Charles King commissioned Clarence Mack to design
his 27 room mansion on a 47 -acre country setting outside
of Mansfield in 1926. The home cost $400,000. The mansion
is now Kingwood Center, dedicated to horticulture education.
Mack built seven houses in Shaker Heights in 1928 and 1928,
on South Park, South Woodland and Courtland. He also built
a house on Landon in 1938. In Rocky River, Mack built 21024
Aberdeen and 21165 Aberdeen in 1927. 21121 Aberdeen in 1936
and 21873 Avalon for Mr. andMrs. Gillingham in 1937. A set
of blueprints show a design for Mr. and Mrs. Otto Rhein of
Avalon Road, but this house was never built.
This article was adapted from Clarence Mack:
Houses of Distinction, a Cleveland State University Master
of Arts in Art History thesis by Ann Marie Wieland dated May,
2001. Building permits, Mack letters and the Clarence Mack
Collection of professional papers at the Cleveland Public
Library were reference sources for the thesis.
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