The ELOISE FLAGLER VAIL-KNIGHT RESIDENCE, located at 2193 Harcourt Dr. in CLEVELAND HEIGHTS in the AMBLER HEIGHTS Historic District, is a 4,967-square-foot, three-story Tudor Revival & Colonial style residence designed by architect FRANK B. MEADE at the cost of $10,000 in 1907. Meade designed an additional 4,110 square-foot, three-story Tudor Revial residence at the cost of $27,500 at 2197 Harcourt Dr. which was connected by a covered walkway. Both structures were featured in a 1909 issue of the Western Architect publication as the residence of George I. Vail. The homes were also highlighted in the 1911 Gravure Illustration Company’s Art Work of Cleveland Ohio. Both Tudor-style homes were built for STANDARD OIL CO. Organizer, George Ira Vail I.; his wife Fannie Case-Vail; daugthers Virginia Vail; Eloise Vail-Knight; son George Ira Vail II; wife Elizabeth Wickham-Vail; grandaugther, Elizabeth Vail; and grandson George Ira Vail III. Additionally, a 1922 Cleveland Blue Book lists George Ira Vail I’s grandaugther, Catherine Frances Knight; HARRY LORENZO VAIL; wife Sarah Augusta Wickham-Vail; and son HERMAN LANSING VAIL as residents. The carriage house was shared by the Vail family which included seven rooms and a horse stable on the 2197 Harcourt Dr. property. In 1915, a separate garage was built on the 2193 Harcourt Dr. property. The 2193 Harcourt brick home is a retangluar plan with an asymmetrical front porch with round columns and bracketed cornice with corbeling on the corner brackets of pedimented gable with half timbering and gingerbread on eaves. The interior features elegant millwork, leaded glass windows, five fireplaces, and built-ins. The first floor contains a foyer with staircase, dining room, study with hand-carved paneling, and sitting room. On the second floor are five bedrooms. The third floor contained live-in servant’s quarters. On January 13, 1917, Fannie Vail deeded the property to Eloise Vail-Knight. At an unknown time, the walkway was removed from both homes. Owners of the home from 1918 to 1995 included: John Mercier Parker; Dewey Edith French; William Hogarth Hill; Daniel Dewey; Henry Epping; Jeffrey Sinclair; and Chestnut H. Thomas. Recent cosmetic changes to the interior included an enlarged gourmet kitchen wth a domed eating area, renovated master suite with glamor bath, and a third floor recreation room. Today, the home is privately owned.
Angelina Bair
View image at HaitiTrust
View image at HaitiTrust
Finding aid for the Herman Lansing Vail Family Papers. WRHS.
Sources:
City of Cleveland Heights Planning Department. Eloise Flagler Vail Knight Residence File. (n.d.).
The Cleveland Blue Book Social Directory. (1922).
Cleveland Landmarks Commission. Frank Meade Architect Buildings. (n.d.).
Cuyahoga County Auditor. Deed of Sale to Eloise F V Knight. (1917).
Cuyahoga County Auditor. Deed of Sale to Edith French Dewey. (1928).
Cuyahoga County Property Search. 2193 Harcourt Drive. (2024).
Gravure Illustration Company. Art Work of Cleveland Ohio. (1911).
Haiti Trust. The Western Architect: Residence of Mrs. George Vail, Cleveland, OH