The BURDICK HOUSE, a noted example of modern architecture on Stratford Road in CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, was constructed for HAROLD B. BURDICK (1895-1947), a Cleveland architect. The Burdick house was built in 1938-39 as a prototype for an economical middle-income house. Modern materials not commonly used in domestic architecture at that date were used in the construction, such as Armenite (a masonite board) and linoleum, plywood and plywood veneer walls, and stainless steel. Curved deck railings and some curved interior walls suggest the modernistic aesthetic of the ocean liner and streamlined vehicles. The house is framed of steel, and its most characteristic feature is the large expanses of plate glass and glass-block windows. The house also incorporated one of the earliest uses of fluorescent lighting and had an all-electric kitchen. Located in a typical neighborhood of traditional houses in Cleveland Heights, the house stands out because of its simple rectangular shape, bare stucco walls, and large windows. Burdick lived in the house from 1939 until his death in 1947.
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