CUDELL, FRANK (FRANZ) E. (1844-25 Oct. 1916), of the important architectural firm of Cudell & Richardson, was born at Herzogenrath, near Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), Germany, to Dr. Karl and Louise Krauthausen Cudell. He emigrated in 1866, came to Cleveland in 1867, and formed a partnership with John N. Richardson (1837-1902) in 1870. Cudell & Richardson designed a series of churches in the Victorian Gothic style: St. Joseph Catholic Church (1871-99), St. Stephen Catholic Church (1873-81), and FRANKLIN CIRCLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (1874-75). They also designed institutional buildings such as the Jewish Orphan Asylum (1888); and residences for the wealthy, of which the TIEDEMANN HOUSE (1881) and Jacob Goldsmith house (1880) were standing in the 1980s.
They also designed commercial buildings embodying lighter structure, more open walls, and the use of cast and wrought iron, demonstrated in the Geo. Worthington Bldg. (1882), the Root & McBride-Bradley Bldg. (1884-85), and the PERRY-PAYNE BLDG. (1889)—the first building in Cleveland to use iron columns, not a steel frame, throughout all 8 stories, and celebrated for its interior light court. The firm dissolved following completion of the Perry-Payne Bldg., and Cudell retired in 1903. He was interested in the Group Plan, pointing out flaws in the Group Plan Commission's plans. Cudell was a liberal thinker, pamphleteer, and inventor. He bequeathed the property for the Cudell Ctr. to the city (see CUDELL). Cudell was married twice. His first wife was Marie Heffenmuller (d. 1887). He married Emma Mueller, daughter of former lieutenant governor JACOB MUELLER, in 1889. Cudell died in Cleveland and was buried in LAKE VIEW CEMETERY.