The BARTON R. DEMING HOUSE is a 15 room French Eclectic mansion located at 2485 Fairmount Blvd. in CLEVELAND HEIGHTS. It is an important historic structure relating to the history of the City of Cleveland Heights and that of the Euclid Golf & Fairmount Boulevard Historic Districts.
The four story 5,259-square-foot, six bedroom, 8.5 bath home designed by the architects HOWELL AND THOMAS in 18 Nov. 1913 as a model home showcasing the Euclid Golf Development. Canadian-born real estate developer Barton Roy Deming purchased land from the disbanded Euclid Golf Club to create the elite suburban residential Euclid Golf Allotment, which he promoted as “the Euclid Avenue of the Heights.” Deming choose a particularly challenging narrow strip of land with a deep gorge as the building site for his stucco and half-timbered home, breaking ground in1914. The house was designed to extend nearly to Fairmount Blvd. while the east side faces a deep wooded ravine.
Deming was familiar with planning high-quality residential communities as he founded the Deming Brothers Co. with his brothers Hubert, Grant, Orville, and Cecil in 1902 creating high-quality allotments in EAST CLEVELAND. A 1911 publication titled Art Work of Cleveland Ohio profiled Barton Deming’s East Cleveland home and Grant Deming’s residence in Cleveland Heights.
The estimated cost of construction was $6,000. In May 1917 the Barton Deming House was featured in the Architectural Forum as a one-room wide structure. The plans show a basement level billiard room and garage; kitchen and dining room on the first floor; living room and family bedrooms on the second floor; and servants’ room on the third floor. The design is an angled house with stone retaining walls that conforms to the site. A wooded ravine and creek were shared with Deming’s neighbor, P. W. Miller, whose estate was located at 12500 Cedar Rd. A wooden bridge connected to the rear gardens of the two properties In 1917, Miller’s prairie style home “Wildwood” and gardens were highlighted in the CLEVELAND TOWN TOPICS publication, Beautiful Homes of Cleveland.
After building the mansion Deming added a second-floor garden with a flagstone walkway, fountain, lush plantings, and pergola which was accessed by from Deming’s library. The 12-foot-high ceilings in the Deming house featured birch beams, decorated with Venetian stenciling. An 8-foot-tall white marble fireplace was imported from Italy. Open casement windows provided views of woodland gardens and a small stone outbuilding.
Deming lived on the property until the death of his wife Helen in March 1934. having unsuccessfully attempted to sell the property in 1923. Grant Deming Jr. his nephew assisted Deming with auctioning off the furnishings.
Deming sold the property to the Cedar Fairmount Company in 1936 Between 1939-1953 the house again changed hands as Theodore Gullia Sr.; Thomas Hunnicutt; & Edward Schweide; and Benjamin Gerson purchased the property.
The house was divided into apartments and offices during the 1960s or 1970s. The Deming house sustained heavy damages when the southeast corner retaining wall collapsed on 10 June 1966. Later, during the 1970s the property was damaged by a fire in an office located in the structure.1975, Louis Zipkin Owner of Zipkin Realty Co. purchased the Deming House for $35,000. From 1980 to 2006 the house changed hands through five different owners. In 2006, the Deming House was converted back into a single-family home by owner Eileen Burkhart.
In 2021 the property listed for $600,000 was purchased by the Frank Russo. The current owners of the property hired architect Don Tarrentino and general contractor, Will Craig to convert the mansion into individual apartments.
Angelina Blair
Last updated: 12/14/2023
View images at Cleveland Memory
View images at Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library Digital Archive
BR Deming Company. Digital Case: Euclid Golf neighborhood: Illustrated. (1921).
Cleveland Public Library Special Collections. Thomas & Howell Blueprints. (1913).
Cleveland State University Michael Schwartz Library Special Collections. Barton R. Deming File. (n.d.).
Fisher, Diana. Cleveland Historical: Barton R. Deming House. (n.d.).
Fisher, Diana. Historic Euclid Golf Allotment. (2007).
Fisher, Diana. & Fisher, Hugh. Images of America: Euclid Golf Neighborhood. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. (2004).
Fisher, Diana. & Fisher, Hugh. Cleveland Heights Historical Society: Barton Deming and The Legacy of “Euclid Golf.” (n.d.).
Gravure Illustration Company. Art Work of Cleveland Ohio. (1911).
Hirschfield, Mary. Cleveland Plain Dealer: Built to answer challenge, odd heights house is unique. (1963).
Morton, Marian. Images of America: Cleveland Heights. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. (2005).
Rice, Connelly Rice. Freshwater Cleveland: Historic Barton Deming house welcomes folks to the 'Euclid Avenue of the Heights'. (2021).
Scene Staff. Scene Magazine: Iconic Deming House in Cleveland Heights is Now for Sale for $600,000, Let's Take a Tour. (2020).
Scene Staff. Scene Magazine: Historic and Current Photos of the Iconic Barton Deming House in Cleveland Heights, Which Was Just Sold. (2021).
Washington, Julie. Cleveland.com: Unique Deming House in Cleveland Heights is perfect live-work site for owner Eileen Burkhart. (2014).