Check out the facts about Tiedemann House”aka Franklin Castle”: Many Clevelanders still refer to the stone home in the High Victorian Eclectic style that lies on the north side of Franklin Boulevard across from West 44th Street as “Franklin Castle.” In its 125 years of existence, the house has seen a significant amount of Cleveland’s west side history.
Hannes Tiedemann, a German immigrant who was successful first as a wholesale grocer and then as a banker, constructed Tiedemann House between 1881 and 1883. Cudell and Richardson, a renowned Cleveland architectural team, created the home. Franklin Boulevard was one of Cleveland’s most affluent residential streets when Tiedemann built the home there in the late nineteenth century, maybe second only to legendary Euclid Avenue’s Millionaires’ Row.
Hannes Tiedemann constructed his opulent home on Franklin Boulevard not just to give his family a more upmarket home, but also to serve as a first-time Cleveland dwelling for friends, family, and other German immigrants. The house was built to replace an earlier home that had been demolished to make way for it.
Check out the facts about Tiedemann House”aka Franklin Castle”
The rebuilt home was occupied by Hannes, his wife Louise, and their two surviving children, August and Dora, in 1883. The two kids there grew up and became adults. Both of their children later got married, giving Hannes and Louise a total of six grandkids, all of whom were males.
Franklin Castle was sold by Hannes Tiedemann in 1896, just one year after the passing of his wife Louise. The home had numerous changes in ownership and usage during the next century. The home’s name was Eintracht Hall for 47 of those years, from 1921 to 1968.
It served as the headquarters for the German-American League for Culture during this time, an ethnic cultural group that initially supported political issues and ultimately served as a German singing club.
Rumours that the house was haunted by Mrs. Tiedemann and her daughter Emma, who passed away before the house was even finished, from the eighteenth century started to spread on Cleveland’s west side around the time the German club sold the property in 1968. One owner of the property took advantage of these rumours in the middle of the 1970s and gave tourists tours of the allegedly haunted Franklin Castle.
Michael DeVinko bought the Tiedemann House in 1985 and invested a sizable quantity of money in its restoration. DeVinko, also known by his stage name Mickey Deans, spent more than ten years living in the home with Judy Garland, a famed singer and actress.
The home was severely damaged when it was set on fire by an arsonist shortly after he sold it in 1999. Due to the two economic recessions in the first decade of the twenty-first century, a new owner invested a significant number of money in repairs but was unable to finish the house’s restoration. A European couple bought the home in 2011, and they have made great strides towards its restoration.
Tiedemann House (Franklin Castle)
In its 121 years of existence, the house at 4308 Franklin Boulevard has gone by a variety of names. Hannes Tiedemann, a German immigrant, erected it between 1881 and 1883, and his family resided there from 1883 to 1896.
Later, when the mansion served as the headquarters of the German-American League for Culture from 1921 to 1968, it was referred to as Eintracht Hall. The became known as Franklin Castle in the 1960s. The image up top was captured in 1967. Photographic Collection of the Cleveland Public Library, source
Hannes Tiedemann Family
Hannes Tiedeman, his wife Louise, and their son August are visible in this image from the 1880s, arranged from left to right. The Tiedemann House, sometimes referred to as Franklin Castle, was constructed by Hannes Tiedemann between 1881 and 1883 and is located at 4308 Franklin Boulevard.
Franklin Castle Architect
German immigrant and partner in the Cudell and Richardson architecture business was Frank Cudell (1844–1916). The Tiedemann House, commonly referred to as Franklin Castle, was created by the company in 1881.
The chapels that the firm created in the late nineteenth century are what made it most well-known. St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church (1873–1881), which is close to West 54th Street and Bridge Avenue, and Franklin Circle Christian Church (1874–1875), which is situated on Franklin Circle at 1688 Fulton Road, are two of those churches that are around the Tiedemann House.
Steinberg
Hannes Tiedemann constructed this vacation home in Lakewood during the years of 1880 and 1881 close to the location of Lake and Cove Avenues as it is now. The vacation home was given the name “Steinberg.” The Tiedemann family and their servants stayed at Steinberg while the Tiedemann House (“Franklin Castle”) was being constructed on Franklin Boulevard between 1881 and 1883. Hannes Tiedemann sold his home on Franklin Boulevard following the death of his wife Louise in 1895 and moved to Steinberg, where he passed away in 1908.
Tiedemann Family Monument
Hannes and Louisa Tiedemann shared the sadness of losing small children to illnesses like measles, diphtheria, and typhus that were so common and fatal in the nineteenth century in America. The Tiedemann family memorial at Riverside Cemetery narrates the pain these parents endured in silence. The names of three of the couple’s infant children who passed away from sickness between 1863 and 1873 are listed on the monument’s reverse.
The name of the couple’s daughter Emma, who passed away from diabetes at age 15 in 1881, is written on the monument’s opposite side. None of the Tiedemann children passed away in the Tiedemann House, which wasn’t finished until 1883, in contrast to the rumours that have been circulating around Franklin Castle since the 1960s.
The German-American League of Culture
The German-American League of Culture, an ethnic cultural organisation that subsequently evolved into a German singing club, resided in the residence at 4308 Franklin Boulevard from 1921 until 1968. Members of the club condemned Adolph Hitler’s aggression against German citizens as well as Germany’s neighbours shortly after the Munich Pact, as this item from the December 20, 1938, edition of the Plain Dealer reveals.
A Haunted Castle for Cleveland
A family lived at 4308 Franklin Boulevard from 1968 to 1974, and they felt that the house was haunted. One of the owners reportedly said that she received a warning that the house was bad and that she should leave. The family left the home in 1974, and someone moved in. They gave the public tours of “Franklin Castle,” as can be seen in the above photo.
Promoting the Haunted Castle
In this image from 1975, a reporter from the Cleveland area explores a chamber at 4308 Franklin Boulevard that is concealed behind a panel. The media in Cleveland covered the spooky “Franklin Castle” in a number of articles in the 1970s.
The First Restoration
Michael Devinko bought the house at 4308 Franklin Boulevard in 1985, and he gave it a nineteenth-century makeover. Before selling the home in 1999, the Devinko family had resided there for more than ten years.
Tiedemann House, 2001
A terrible fire broke out at the home at 4308 Franklin Boulevard in 1999. Even though a new owner spent a significant amount of money on repairs following the fire, restoration was not finished. A European tapestry maker who aims to turn the house into two separate homes bought it in 2011.
| Homepage | Click Here |
| Haunted House Category | Click Here |