Object Details
- General
- Willard M. Clapp, vice president of the Perfection Stove Company, built his estate in the suburban Cleveland Heights neighborhood between 1922 and 1926. The Pennsylvania Colonial Revival style house was designed by Meade & Hamilton, a prominent Cleveland architectural firm. In addition to the main house, a gardener's cottage and chauffer's suite were situated on the estate, which encompassed one-half of a city block. Ellen Shipman was commissioned to design the grounds and Warren Manning likely provided the engineering and site-planning services. Shipman's designs for the estate included a wild garden, typical of her aesthetic, that featured a stone terrace with seating, water features, and outdoor sculptures. At the rear of the lawn, a naturalistic pool surrounded by irregular stones interplanted with a mixture of exotic and native plants. The garden was screened with a little woodland created with small specimen trees and rhododendrons. Throughout her designs, Shipman used locally sourced stones from a brook. Additionally, the estate included a formal garden, situated on an axis with the large house, and included a central reflecting pool surrounded by airy garden borders. The Clapp family remained on the estate until 1945, when the Curran family purchased the house. Persons Associated: Mr. and Mrs. Willard M. Clapp (former owners, 1922-1945); Paul Curran, Sr. (former owners, 1946-1955)Ellen Biddle Shipman (landscape architect, 1922); Warren Manning (landscape architect); Meade & Hamilton (architect).
- Alternate Forms
- Also known as the Clapp-Curran Estate.
- Landscape architect
- Shipman, Ellen Biddle, 1869-1950
- Owner
- Clapp, Willard, Mrs.
- Clapp, Willard M.
- Architect
- Meade, Frank B.
- Hamilton, J.
- Landscape architect
- Manning, Warren H.
- Collection Landscape architect
- Shipman, Ellen Biddle, 1869-1950
- Place
- United States of America -- Ohio -- Cuyahoga County -- Cleveland
- Clapp Garden (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Topic
- Gardens -- Ohio -- Cleveland
- Landscape architect
- Shipman, Ellen Biddle, 1869-1950
- Owner
- Clapp, Willard, Mrs.
- Clapp, Willard M.
- Architect
- Meade, Frank B.
- Hamilton, J.
- Landscape architect
- Manning, Warren H.
- See more items in
- Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection
- Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection / Gardens / Ohio
- Sponsor
- Cataloging of the Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection was made possible with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.
- Extent
- 8 Film negative
- Date
- circa 1926-1950
- Container
- Box 2
- Box 3
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.SHP, File OH101
- Type
- Archival materials
- Negatives
- Film negative
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Ellen Shipman garden photography collection.
- Collection Rights
- Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
- Bibliography
- Garden has been featured in Judith B. Tankard, The Gardens of Ellen Biddle Shipman (Sagaponeck, NY: Sagapress, Inc., 1996), p. 148. Garden has been featured in Judith B. Tankard, Ellen Shipman and The American Garden (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2018), p. 193, 272n3, 194. Garden has been featured in Your Garden, 1928, page 8. Garden has been featured in House and Garden, May, 1929. Garden has been featured in "Landmarks: Pride of Past, Pride of Place," clevelandheights.gov, The Cleveland Landmark Commission.
- Other Finding Aids
- The Garden Club of America collection, circa 1920-[on-going].
- Collection Restrictions
- Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
- Record ID
- ebl-1633715325312-1633715325363-0
