BURDICK, HAROLD BENNETT (5 Oct. 1895-24 May 1947) was an eclectic architect who designed some 28 homes in SHAKER HEIGHTS and whose own residence represented the first complete architectural statement of the modern house in Greater Cleveland.
Born in Cleveland to Dr. Halbert and Mariette (Bennett) Burdick, Harold graduated from Cornell University's School of Architecture and then served as a second lieutenant during WORLD WAR I.
Returning to Cleveland after the war, Burdick worked for the architectural firms of WALKER & WEEKS and Mead & Hamilton before establishing his own firm. His first major design, completed in 1924, was a French Provincial house at 19000 South Woodland Road. Burdick designed in Colonial, English Tudor, French, Georgian, Neo-Classical and Jacobethan Revival styles. His period of greatest activity occurred during 1928-1929.
During 1938-39 Burdick built a glass block house for his own residence at 2424 Stratford Road, CLEVELAND HEIGHTS. It was one of the few local homes designed in the International Style and it reflected the "streamlined" look popular in the 1930s. Featuring an all-electric kitchen and possibly the first domestic use of fluorescent lighting, Burdick planned it as a prototype for a quality house in an economical price range.
Burdick helped design the Cleveland FEDERAL RESERVE BANK and the Moreland Courts Apartments in Shaker Heights.
Burdick married Marjorie Donnell on 29 June 1932. Burdick had two children, John (previous marriage) and Ellen. Burdick belonged to the First Baptist Church and is buried in LAKE VIEW CEMETERY.