Celebrating Lakewood's History - Castle On The Lake

Hungarian immigrant Theodor Kundtz came to Cleveland at age 21 to work as a cabinetmaker. He soon established his own business producing sewing machine cabinets for White Sewing Machine Co., as well as bicycle wheels, car and truck bodies and church and school interiors.

By 1910, the company employed more than 2,500 workers at its five plants in the Flats and a huge lumberyard between Clifton Boulevard and the railroad tracks, between Manor Park and Giel avenues. Many fellow Hungarian immigrants worked for Kundtz and sought inexpensive housing in Lakewood.

Sadly, tragedy struck close to midnight on May 20, 1920, when the Kundtz Lumberyard burst into flames and burned for two days, leveling an area larger than Lakewood Park. Enterprising developers jumped on the chance to create four new streets of housing on the former lumberyard site: Chase, Bunts, Hathaway and Merle.

Kundtz settled his family in Lakewood, as well, acquiring a large tract of land stretching from Detroit to the lake. He built his castle-like home at 13826 Lake Ave.

The coach house alone is worth examining. Larger than many of the other Lake Avenue homes, the coach house stood on the west edge of the property. The Kundtz family moved into it in 1898, five years before the main house was completed.

Kundtz built the main house, where Kirtland Lane is now, between 1899 and 1903. The mansion on the five-acre estate included about 15 rooms. It was hard to determine the exact number of rooms because several cedar closets were each large enough to be an ordinary living room. The three-story house included a vast ballroom and a private bowling alley in the basement, and a five-story tower.

On the second-floor hall, the entire ceiling was covered with a hand-painted scene of an angel and cherubs.

The music room had 12 panes of stained glass around the tops of the windows. Kundtz used all of his woodworking talents on the interior of his house.

The Kundtz property was sold to Robert Morrow in 1945 for $60,000. About 1960, the Eggleston Development Co. paid $110,000 for the property and converted it into a 16-home subdivision. Before demolition in 1961, the Eggleston Co. held several “open houses” for the public to take a last look at the mansion.

Kundtz was knighted by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary in 1902, according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. In 1994, the American-Hungarian Foundation posthumously awarded Kundtz the George Washington Medal. He died in 1937 at age 85 and was buried in Lakewood Park Cemetery.

The Lakewood Historical Society’s mission is to celebrate Lakewood’s past, educate the community and preserve information like this for future generations. The society relies almost entirely on volunteers and dues from society members to achieve this. The society receives funding from the residents of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, a program that supports arts and culture in our region.

Want to learn more about the Lakewood Historical Society, find out about upcoming programs or purchase items? Visit us at www.lakewoodhistory.org.