This in-town estate offers spectacular views of Lake Erie and Downtown Cleveland.

 

 

The indoor pool is in the center of the house and is trimmed in white marble, and flooded with natural light.

By RITA KUEBER
Palatial, yet serene. Stately, yet inviting. Built on a magnificent scale, yet possessing charming, even quirky artistic details throughout. It’s somewhat difficult to determine if the appeal of 11518 Harborview is the building itself, its extensive gardens, or its setting directly on the shore of Lake Erie. Every aspect of this property is unique, unlike anything else in Northeast Ohio. This is truly a setting fit for royalty.
Sited on nearly two acres on the Cleveland/Lakewood border, the original structure was a grand home built in the 1930s. The Colonial style with hardwood finishes is evident in the southernmost part of the house. A large covered patio leads to beautifully carved double doors and to the interior. A small den/library is paneled in wood. Down the hall are maid’s quarters and access to the garage and kitchen. Up a winding hardwood staircase, a two-story rotunda/foyer leads to several traditional bedrooms and baths.
In the early 1960s, the structure was given a complete overhaul/addition that creates the glamour the house exudes today. A sunken living room has a fireplace and has imported white marble flooring, as much of the house does. The ground level offers the first of many spectacular views of a water feature, meticulously groomed side and back patios, and of course Lake Erie.
Simply put, the house is luxuriously opulent. The gleaming white kitchen – one of two full kitchens, has state-of-the-art appliances, frosted glass cabinets, a work-island, an eat-in area with fireplace, large butler’s pantry, pendant lights and access to one of many outdoor patios. Adjacent is a sleek, modern dining room that seems to float mid-air, surrounded by glass panels and open spaces.
Past the dining room is one of two possible master suites. The one has an eye-popping onyx inlay set into the wall, tray ceiling, an antique mantel for the fireplace, a Chihuly light fixture – one of several throughout the house, and a wall of windows facing the lake, plus French doors leading out to a private balcony.

One of two full kitchens with dazzling onyx inlay, pendant lights and clean, modern lines.

In the center of the house is a two-story atrium for the indoor pool. This room is all large windows and white marble pillars – the whole as glamorous and alluring as a movie set. It leads to the outdoor patio to the side, then further, northward again, to an additional living room, the second full kitchen, sitting areas and access to the lake side of the house. Upstairs from the pool, on the outside of the atrium, is another master suite that includes a bedroom, private office with views east to Downtown Cleveland, and possibly the largest and most sumptuous bathroom in the city, actually a series of rooms all dressed in marble and inlaid tile.
The lowest level is an extensive entertainment area with a media room, bar area, wine room that holds hundreds of bottles, an exercise room and separate spa areas as well. The entire house has central air.
Outdoors, “out back,” is a series of terraces that gradually drop to the lake itself. A unique glass cabin on the second to lowest terrace is reminiscent of a Parisian train station, and is quite visible to boaters on Lake Erie, as are the green swaths of lawn. All five terrace levels create a seawall to protect the estate.
11518 Harborview Drive has 15,000 square feet of space. The house has seven bedrooms, eight full baths and two half baths. The three-car garage is heated. Harborview is a private road just west of Edgewater Park. The house is in the Cleveland School District. At press time the house is listed at $6.5 million with annual taxes of $65,050. Contact Adam Kaufman at 216.831.7370, or adamkaufman@howardhanna.com.