Bentley-Kent house photograph   Save
Ihna Thayer Frary Collection
Description: Taken by photographer Ihna Thayer Frary in 1921, this photograph shows the Bentley-Kent house in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. This house is an example of the Classical Revival architectural style which was popular throughout the Midwest due to Thomas Jefferson's passion for Roman architecture and culture. The large Doric columns supporting the pedimental awning over the porch, resting on top of a high basement, are a typical architectural feature for a Classical Revival home, resembling that of a Greco-Roman temple. This house sits on a deep basement in order to adapt to its landscape. The house is included in Frary's book "Early Homes of Ohio" and was also published in "American Architecture" according to a note on the back. Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1873, Ihna Thayer Frary was a prominent American art and architecture scholar, whose primary interest was the architectural heritage of the region of northeastern Ohio known as the Western Reserve. In addition to serving as publicity and membership secretary of the Cleveland Museum of Art, he was a professor of Ohio and American architecture at the Cleveland Institute of Art and Western Reserve University’s School of Architecture. Over the course of his career, Frary was a design consultant for private clients and designed furniture, and was an active member of several prominent arts councils in the Cleveland area. In 1963, Frary and his two sons donated his entire photographic collection to the Ohio Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection). The Ihna Thayer Frary Collection consists of 4,000 5 x 7 photographs of private residences, churches, taverns, and public buildings, as well as select rural buildings, bridges, archaeological sites, and public monuments. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P_112_B54A_1125_01
Subjects: Frary, I. T. (Ihna Thayer); Photography--Ohio; Western Reserve; Houses; Domestic architecture; Classical Revival (European revival style)
Places: Chagrin Falls (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)