Abram Garfield was the youngest son of President James A. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, and an architect who practiced in Cleveland, Ohio. Garfield received a bachelor of arts from Williams College in 1893 and a bachelor of science in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology three years later. By 1898, Garfield had joined with Frank Meade to form the architectural firm Meade & Garfield in Cleveland, Ohio; the firm was noted for its residential designs. When the partnership ended in 1905, Garfield opened his own firm until 1926 when he along with Rudolph Stanley-Brown, George R. Harris, and Alexander Robinson started an architectural practice. In 1935 it was renamed Garfield, Harris, Robinson and Schafer until Garfield’s death in 1958. The firm, which still exists, is now known as Westlake, Reed, Leskosky Architects. Garfield specialized in residential architecture, designing large houses in Shaker Heights and other Cleveland suburbs, but his work also included more modest houses for the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority and institutional projects such as schools and a hospital. Garfield served as chairman of the Cleveland Planning Commission from 1930 to 1942 and was a founder and first president of the Cleveland School of Architecture, which became part of Western Reserve University in 1941. He was named a trustee of the university that year and two years later was made an honorary lifetime member of the board; he received an honorary doctorate from Western Reserve University in 1945. Garfield was also a director of the American Institute of Architects from 1919 to 1922 and served on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1925 to 1930, including as vice chairman from 1929 to 1930. In 1949 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate Academician. He lived in Bratenahl, Ohio. A number of his works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Works
Garfield's works include:
Casa Apava, an estate built in 1918 for Chester C. Bolton and Frances P. Bolton on Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach, Florida. After Ron Perelman sold this house and two adjoining properties to Dwight Schar in 2004 for a reported $70 million, Forbes magazine described this as "the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S." It was sold for $71.2 million in 2015.
Elizabeth B. and Dudley S. Blossom Estate Service Compound, 24449 Cedar Rd. Lyndhurst, Ohio, NRHP-listed
