William Gwinn Mather Residence and Garden photographs   Save
I. T. Frary Collection
Description: Sixteen photographs document the home of Cleveland iron-ore magnate William Gwinn Mather. In 1905, Mather consulted two nationally renowned landscape architects, Warren H. Manning (1860-1938) and Charles A. Platt (1861-1933), about plans for a new estate. Manning was a legendary plantsman and a park- and city-planning specialist who had worked for Mather on several northern Michigan mine projects while employed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Platt was a young artist-turned-architect widely praised for adapting Italian principles to American soil. Each encouraged Mather to purchase a five-acre parcel east of the city directly on Lake Erie, anticipating that the ever-changing lake panorama would give the garden landscape great distinction. Platt accepted Mather's commission with the provision that he design both the new house and landscape; Manning, disappointedly, agreed to serve as "planting adviser" on the project. The diverse partners began their work in 1906. Platt, a champion of formality, recommended symmetry and classical ornament, while Manning, a proponent of an emerging "American style," favored irregular groupings of mostly indigenous plants. Their unintended collaboration at Gwinn led to an exceptionally strong and varied design. The photographs were taken by Ihna Thayer Frary. The Ihna Thayer Frary Audiovisual Collection was given to the Ohio Historical Society by Mr. Frary in two sections. One was in March of 1963 and the remainder in May of 1965 by his sons, Dr. Spencer G. and Allen T. Frary following their father's death. I.T. Frary (1873-1965) was the publicity and membership secretary for the Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio. He taught for many years at the Cleveland Institute of Art and Western Reserve University's School of Architecture. He did much research of Ohio and American architecture and was the author of seven major works and numerous scholarly articles on architectural and art history. One of his major works was Early Homes of Ohio published in 1936. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3348_6642969_002
Subjects: Architecture; Arts and Entertainment; Plants and Animals; Mather, William Gwinn (1857-1951); Gwinn Estate Gardens
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)