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282 Corning Drive "Driftwood"
Plat No. 631-05-001
Standard Land Company sublot 1 Northern Part
The home is listed in the Ohio Historic Inventory
Robert and Katherine Bulkley purchased the four-acre lot at the northwest end of Corning on May 18, 1917, from the Standard Land Company and built a twenty-room tan Spanish Mediterranean stucco home designed by Meade & Hamilton in 1926.
The partnership of Meade & Hamilton coincided with the “golden age” of the suburban home that came in the years immediately before and after the First World War. After three years with Alfred Granger and six years with Abram Garfield, Frank Meade formed a partnership with James Hamilton in 1911 that was to last for thirty years.
Frank B. Meade was born in Norwalk, Ohio. Meade studied in Boston and worked as a draftsman in the office of William LeBaron Jenney in Chicago. In 1911 Meade succeeded John M Carrere as a member of the Cleveland Group Plan Commission.
Meade & Hamilton designed six additional Bratenahl residences: the Corning home at 281 Corning, the Haysmar Complex at 10221 Lake Shore, the Strong home at 10494 Lake Shore, the Sheffield home at 13003 Lake Shore, the Coe home at 13303 Lake Shore, and the Johnson home at 13405 Lake Shore.
The design of the 24-room home is notable because the lake could be viewed from virtually every room in the house. The spacious great hall ran centrally from the front to the back of the house as a way to provide not only a panoramic view but direct access across the outdoor terrace to the front lawn and the lakeshore. Off the center hall was the formal living room with a marble-framed fireplace and oversized windows offering a lake view.
A stunning library was also off the center hallway at the front of the house. Bulkley transported the oak paneling and the fireplace from the family home at 2926 Euclid Avenue. A black marble fireplace and dark chestnut walls made the library feel darker than the breezy living room.
A formal dining room at the back of the house and the smaller breakfast room had views of the lake. The second floor was accessible by front and back stairways. An elevator ran from the basement to the second floor. Five suites on the second floor, with four facing the lake, had their bathroom, a sitting room, or both. The third floor, with three smaller bedrooms and a shared bathroom, was for the servants.
The home was furnished with 15th and 16th-Century Italian furniture. Robert’s mother bought the antique pieces in Europe for her Paris apartment. Certain walls were scaled to the exact size of the heirloom tapestries they were to accommodate.
Katherine White Merkel Reswick, acquired the home on August 2, 1966.
Harry L. Jackson, a former Lubrizol executive, acquired the home on December 26, 1969.
E. Mandell deWindt, CEO of Eaton Corp, acquired the home on February 14, 1973. The house became a base for Eaton’s international social activities. Prince Charles visited in 1977, and Brazilian President Juan Figueiredo stayed in the house in 1983.
Edward F. Crawford, dba Francis Park LLC, acquired the home on February 28, 2013.
Park Ohio Industries Inc. acquired the home on December 18, 2014. Edward Crawford was a board chairman of Park Ohio Industries.