{"nrhp_refnum":"74001551","name":"Garford, Arthur L., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"509 Washington Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elyria","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.36546065300007,"lon":-82.10558449399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-12-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large three-story stone and shingle residence at 509 Washington Avenue in Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio, built in 1895 on the Garford family farm land and designed by Arthur N. Oviatt of Cleveland.","why_significant":"It was the home of Arthur L. Garford, an important Ohio manufacturer and politician around the turn of the century. It is also an unusually well-preserved, lavishly appointed Shingle Style mansion, with an interior considered more significant than the exterior.","narrative":"Built in 1895 on former family farm land in Elyria, this three-story stone and shingle mansion at 509 Washington Avenue was the home of Arthur L. Garford. Architect Arthur N. Oviatt of Cleveland designed it in the Shingle Style, with many gables, projecting bays, a wide veranda and a porte cochere on stone posts. The interior is remarkably intact, with original woodwork, wall coverings, metal fixtures and stained glass. Carved sculptured heads serve as brackets and capitals, the main hall walls carry silver leaf and the ceiling gold leaf, and several windows have Tiffany leaded glass. Garford began making bicycle saddles in the 1890s and became head of a manufacturing company and an officer in many other firms. He was a delegate to Republican National Conventions, helped form Ohio's Progressive Party in 1912, and ran for governor in 1912 and for senator in 1914. The house is valued both for his story and for its preserved interiors.","period_of_significance":"1895 (19th and 20th centuries)","architect_builder":"Arthur N. Oviatt of Cleveland","architectural_style":"Shingle Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in excellent condition, unaltered, on its original site, and used as a private residence; the third-floor ballroom has been temporarily partitioned into sleeping rooms.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.845266-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/74001551.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001551/684b648fce-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001551/684b648fce-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arthur_L._Garford_House,_Hickories_Museum.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arthur_L._Garford_House,_Hickories_Museum.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"00001663","name":"Elyria Downtown-West Avenue Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/elyria-downtown-west-avenue-historic-district-00001663/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989843","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116478548"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/garford-arthur-l-house-74001551/"}