Lakewood Lore

Paint king's mansion kept elegant by granddaughter

When varnish tycoon Francis H. Glidden built his beautiful mansion in Lakewood's Clifton Park in 1910, he called it "Inglewood" and placed the name on all his household crystal and personal stationery.

Today, his granddaughter, Virginia Foley, says she may rekindle his practice in like manner.

Through the years of her residency, she has maintained the elegance and architectural integrity of the three-story, 15-room showplace. Surely it is deserving of a title.

"Grandfather Glidden took infinite care in overseeing its construction 83 years ago," she pointed out. "He rode out from his office on Cleveland's East Side at the end of every workday, anxious to check on the progress being made.

"At the beginning of each trip crosstown during those early day of the automobile, grandfather, who was 80 at the time and had never driven a car, always would say to his chauffeur, 'Speed 'er up to 20 John.'"

Later, John had his living quarters in the carriage house of the mansion, which is located at 17869 Lake Road.

Inglewood's architect was Edwin Glidden of Baltimore, a cousin of the owner.

Edwin belonged to a firm that had built Baltimore General Hospital. He created the interior of Inglewood in the Adam style, originated by the brothers James and Robert Adam, who were 18th century English architects and furniture designers in the neo-classic tradition.

From the fine-woods front door and six fireplaces to the spacious living and dining rooms with their Corinthian columns and bas relief ceiling detail of garlands and urns, all inside features manifest the Adam decorative motif.

However, the manor's exterior is California Spanish, a stucco styling that Glidden desired in spite of his architect's early misgivings.

Glidden had become fond of Spanish architecture while visiting California and Mexico on train trips sponsored by the Cleveland Grays military organization, according to Virginia.

On his new estate, Glidden included a fine white-pillared structure to be used as a chicken coop. After laws forbade poultry, the fancy coop became a playhouse for his grandchildren, Virginia recalled.

Within the home, a special Glidden touch was an oratory (one person chapel) that he had installed as a birthday surprise for his wife, the former Winnifred Waters of Maine, who during her advanced years was an invalid unable to attend church with the family.

Winnifred died a year after Inglewood was completed. She had borne Glidden eight children.

It should be noted that two of the Glidden sons -- Frederick A. and Francis C. -- also built area mansions shortly after the turn of the century.

In 1905, Frederick put up "Franklyn Villa" on Lake Road, a short distance east of Inglewood in Lakewood. It is now the home of Arthur and Martha Bates.

Francis C. built what is now known as the Glidden House, a French Gothic landmark at Cleveland's University Circle. It dates back to 1910, the same year that Inglewood was erected.

It was occupied by descendants of the Glidden family until 1953. It now shares its historic charm in providing public meeting and banquet facilities, and in furnishing bed and breakfast accommodations.

Patriarch Glidden was born in 1832 in Newcastle, Maine. He was a short but sturdy youth brimming with energy and ambition when he left school at 14 to work in his brother Edward's general store.

Glidden's family had sailing vessels that plied the eastern coastal waters. At 17, he opted to go to sea on one of them. After several years of testing the hardships of a mariner's life and losing the sight of his left eye in an accident during one of his voyages, he returned to Newcastle.

In 1852 he embarked in the dry goods business. After it failed, he journeyed in 1859 to Alabama to become a purser on a Mississippi steamboat.

The following year, when the Civil War broke out, he was taken before a southern conscript bureau and held to do duty as a soldier without sidearms in the Confederate Navy.

After the war, Glidden returned to Maine and the dry goods business. In 1866, he joined the sales staff of the eastern varnish firm of Wm. Tilden & Nephew. After two years, the company opened a branch in Cleveland and named Glidden manager of it.

In 1876, he and two partners established their own varnish manufacturing business here under the name of Glidden, Brackett & Co. Shortly after the turn of the century, the company began adding color to its product lines, calling them Jap-a-Lac -- a name that became know around the world.

In 1906, the company began construction of its big plant complex near Lakewood, at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Berea Road. In 1917, at age 85, Glidden sold out to a syndicate headed by Adrian B. Joyce, who formally was with Sherwin-Williams.

The ensuing years brought continued growth and wide diversification of products. The company merged with SCM Corp. in 1967 and, finally, in 1986, was acquired by London-headquartered Imperial Chemical Industries.

It is now operated as a member company of ICI's far-flung paint operations, and the Glidden trademark continues its prominence.

Beatrice Quigley, the youngest daughter of founder Glidden, inherited Inglewood in 1936 and lived there until her death in 1947.

Glidden's granddaughter Virginia, now 75, moved into Inglewood in 1938 to be with her mother. She and her husband George Foley, whom she married in 1942, raised their five children at Inglewood.

George died in 1972.

Virginia is a community leader. She had been an active volunteer at Lakewood Hospital through the years and once headed its Junior Board. She is a former board member of the Clifton Club and the Lakewood Nursing School, and currently serves as a trustee of Lakewood's Beck Center.

Grandfather Glidden died in 1922 at age 91 of hardening of the arteries. He is buried in an impressive family plot at Lakeview Cemetery, next to president James A. Garfield's memorial.

This article appeared in the Lakewood Sun Post February 3, 1994. Reprinted with permission.

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