Places
Homes Current
9448 Lake Shore Boulevard
Plat No. 631-02-011
Sublot 3 in the Adams & Burton Allotmend
Herman and Delia Vail received the three acres on October 4, 1922, as a wedding gift from Delia’s parents, Windsor and Delia White. The home is situated north of the White property on the east side of Lake Shore Boulevard. The property extended east to East 99th Street (Garfield Lane).
Bonhard & Parsson designed the 6,800 square-foot brick and stone Eclectic Georgian Cotswold brick house with seven bedrooms and 5-½ bathrooms.
Bohnard and Parsson were active between 1905 and 1932, with principles William A. Bohnard and Raymond Parsson. Initially, their offices were in the Chamber of Commerce Building, later moving to 1900 Euclid Avenue. The firm was mainly known for residential architecture in the Cleveland suburbs of Lakewood and Cleveland Heights.
Bohnard & Parsson designed three other Bratenahl residences: the Clairborne Pirtle home at 298 Corning Drive, the Dean Holden home at 11239 Lake Shore, and the Ingalls home at 11908 Lake Shore.
The house was built in 1925 to accommodate the changing panorama of the seasons, and every room enjoyed a superb view. It was called “the most enchanting house in the village." The simplicity of line, artfully handled in this brick home leans heavily to the English type.
The eaves are brought to different levels. The entry repressed from the left portion and advanced from the right side of the house makes an excellent play of light and shadow.
The rich tapestry brick, steep slate roof, and an extraordinary beautiful chimney plus other rustic Cotswold features gave the home a storybook charm. The 3 acres were just enough for Delia Vail to layout a Japanese rock garden with a murmuring brook and an English garden enclosed by a wall of stones hand-selected from her parents’ country estate in Hunting Valley.
One entered from the stone garden that fronted the house. Underneath this terrace was a huge wine cellar with stone walls and floor. There were a vestibule and reception hallway. To the front of the house was a large but well-proportioned living room. At the end of the hall was a morning room opening onto a formal side garden, designed to give the Vails privacy from the adjoining Baldwin property. At the rear of the house was an ample dining room with an attendant pantry and kitchen.
The stairway to the second floor was off the side hallway across from the morning room. The second floor had four spacious bedrooms, each with a view. The second floor also had two maid’s rooms and a bathroom.
On the third floor were three sleeping rooms, a storeroom, and a playroom. In the playroom, Vail had his ten-gauge scale model train on tracks circling the forty-foot room on stands built to accommodate them. Delia Vail commissioned an artist to paint the walls to represent the changing countryside. In the storage room, Delia saved her 1903 riding habit. She was an excellent horsewoman and one of the first in the country to forego side-saddle.
John and Joan Banker acquired the home on August 25, 1965, after having lived at 10401 Brighton Road. Joan Banker of Banker Real Estate was a successful real estate broker, and during her career, she sold many homes in Bratenahl. She had searched for four years for a house for her growing family when Judy Landis suggested the Vail property to her.
Anthony Fitch and Mark Mackert acquired the home on June 20, 1979.
Ivan and Michelle Haggins acquired the home on May 21, 1998.
Chester Scott acquired the home on June 11, 2004.
John Sexton and Antoinette McDonough acquired the home on November 17, 2010.