Stan Hywet Hall Photo Gallery

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This is the photo gallery that goes with my blogs, "The Complete History of Stan Hywet Hall." If you came here first, click on the link below to read the story of how Stan Hywet was created. You will then better understand how these rooms were created.

Stan Hywet Hall. Akron, Ohio. Home of Goodyear founder, Frank A. Seiberling.

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The Home

Walking up to Stan Hywet instantly creates a feeling of relaxed aw. The house is very large but isn't overbearing. This is probably because the house is spread out over a large area and not simply a huge square box which is not what the Seiberlings wanted. They wanted the house to feel welcoming.

The house was built in the style of an English Tudor Manor House.

Gertrude and F.A.,, (Frank) Seiberling, 1900

Stan Hywet's front entrance.

Reception Room

It was here that guests were seated to wait to be greeted by the family.

Great Hall

This was the main entertaining area of the house. This room is the tallest at three stories high.

The great hall during the early years when the Seiberlings lived there. Circa 1920s.

Another early view of the room.

Circa 1930s.

East Hall

View from the great hall down the east hallway to the music room.

After leaving the great hall and heading down the east hallway, the first door on your right is the library.

Library

Entering this room you get the sense of what early English manor houses were really like.

The room is large but has a very cozy feeling.

Just like a public library of the early 20th Century, this library is complete with removable spotter lamps to help in selecting a book in dark areas.

Trying to hide all modern aspects of the home, telephones in public rooms are all hidden. In the library the phone is disguised in a sculpture on the table.

And speaking of secrets, in keeping with the English castle style, there's a hidden passageway behind a revolving bookcase that leads out into the great hall.,

The sofa has worn areas from many evenings of reading. All of the furniture, rugs, drapes and accessories in the house are the originals.

1960s postcard of the library.

The library as it was when the family lived there. Circa 1920s.

The library circa 1916, when the Seiberings moved into the house.

The ceiling.

Frank Seiberling's favorite chair to nap in.

Library fireplace.

When leaving the library, the room across the hall in the reception room.

Back in the hallway, turning left takes you past another hidden telephone.

Telephone booth hidden in the wall of the hallway just past the library.

Chinese Room

On the outside front of the house, the Chinese room bay windows can be seen on the far left in the picture.

The Seiberling family spent a lot of time in the Chinese room playing cards and other games. It was a favorite room of Mrs. Seiberling.

The Chinese room had a working fountain.

The bay windows give a very wide view of the front lawns.

Teakwood paneled Chinese room with card table with automatic card shuffler.

In a panel on the wall...

...is another hidden telephone.

Music Room

There's two ways out of the Chinese room. One is into the hallway and the other takes you into the music room ast the far end of the house.

At one time, the music room was noted as being the largest room without any center supports in a private home in Ohio. It may still hold that title.

The music room is where several concerts were once held. It hosted weddings, large gatherings and parties as well. This is how the room appeared in 1916 when the family moved into the house.

Another 1916 view.

1916.

Music room fireplace.

Bay window across from the fireplace. The red drapes in this room came from the White House in Washington, DC. They were gifts from First Lady Mrs. Calvin Coolidge when they visited Stan Hywet.

There's a balcony at one end of the room with the room's entrance doors under it.

It was on this balcony where bands would play at family hosted events such as dances.

View of music room from balcony.

Under the balcony, next to the entrance doors, is a pipe organ.

The organ was built in 1915 but was crafted to appear centuries old. It can be played manually or with rolls that are stored in a hidden wal panel behind it.

The pipes to the organ are located across the room behind screens at each side of the stage.

The stage is where family members would perform little plays at holiday gatherings such as Christmas. Weddings were staged here plus several family portraits were taken on or in frnt of the stage.

Going out the stage doors takes you onto the patio at the far end of the house.

The Harpsicord came from England and was made in 1773. This piece was brought from England and was used by Mrs. Seiberling and several musical friends and guests to the estate.

There are three massive crystal Chandeliers in the music room.

The music room in 1930.

When leaving the music room, you can go through this doors into the fountain room.

Fountain Room

In the fountain room, the doorway on the left in the picture came from the music room.

When the Seiberlings lived here, this room was full of ferns and other plants.It acted as an indoors garden room.

The huge wall fountain at the far end of the room is where many family pictures were taken such as several taken on Frank and Gertrude Seiberling's 50th wedding anniversary.

Dining Room

Arrow indicates entrance into dining room from the great hall.

Stan Hywet's dining room can rival any such room in the world. Even though it's large and can easily seat 40 guests, the room has that cozy feeling that the Seiberlings enjoyed.

Robert V. Seawell's muraled frieze of Cantabury Pilgrims decorate the entire room just below the ceiling.

Many dinner parties were held here along with weddings and private family dinners plus holiday bashes.

Alcove at far end of room.

Arrow points to alcove.

The west hallway is outside these windows.

1915, The Dining Room, with the table set for lunch. Robert V. Seawell's muraled frieze of Cantabury Pilgrims has yet to be installed.

The dining room decorated for the 1923 Christmas wedding of daughter, Irene.

Butler's Pantry

Between the dining room and the kitchen, is the Butler's Pantry.

This is where the butler sent a lot of his time.

It was in this room where the butler would polish the silver and where meals were prepared. There was a warming oven across the room to keep side dishes warm until they could be served to the dinner guests.

This sink was used for washing smaller things such as plates, cups, silverware, etc.

Main Kitchen

The main kitchen is where all of the food for dinner parties and the family's meals were prepared.

The stove was both gas and woodburning. This was because in 1916 it was hard on some days to get the gas through over two miles of pipes to the estate. So, on those days, meals could still be cooked on the woodburning side of the stove.

Behind the kitchen is the main pantry. Most of the food used for meals were stored here.

State-of-the-art for 1916, the pantry included electric built in refrigeration units to store milk and other cold foods.

When leaving the kitchen through the side door, you are in the staff hallway with a staircase which runs from the basement to the third floor.

Staff Dining Room

The staff dining room is where the staff of Stan Hywet ate their meals. It was by the kitchen.

This room was complete with a fireplace and a sink so staff members could wash their dishes and other things and not have to take it all to the kitchen.

Breakfast Room

This is where the Seiberling family ate breakfast most mornings.

The room was designed in a corner of the house to take full advantage of the morning sun.

If there were only a couple of guests staying at the home, they were invited to take breakfast in this room also. If there were many guests, breakfast would be served in the dining room.

After Gertrude died in 1946, Frank Seiberling took all of his meals here.

Breakfast Kitchen

This much smaller kitchen is right next to the breakfast room.

It was here that small breakfasts was prepared. Also for large events held at the home, salads and some side dishes were done here. Also snacks were stored here like Frank/s favorite cheese and crackers.

Floral Room

Leaving t he breakfast room, turning to your right would put you at the outside door to the porch.This porch is at the west end of the house.

If you turn left when leaving the breakfast room, walk down the hall and, on the left is a strange room.

Originally it had no use other than storage. But Gertrude Seiberling wanted to use it for arranging flowers and floral designs for the holidays and other events. The room had a florist-type refrigerator, sink and work tables.

Tower

Another doorway from the great hall leads into the tower.

The tower staircase comes up from the basement and goes to the second floor balcony.

Even from a distance, the tower stands out.

On the first landing to the tower staircase is the door to the game room and Frank Seiberling's home office.

The staircase climbs past the enormous leaded glass windows.

As you climb the staircase, you will notice the painting of Gertrude Seiberling with the younger of the Seiberling children, Franklin Jr.

The top of the stairs.

There are three elevators in the house. One was used only to sent guest's luggage up to their rooms. The second is behind a hidden panet in the east hallway which acted as a freight elevator. The one pictured here is the passenger elevator and is located in the tower, next to the staircase.

Game Room

With it's entrance from the tower, the game room is styled after an old English pub.

The room is warm and comfortable and was a favorite meeting place for male guests.

After dinner with guests, the women would go to the fountain room or chinese room to talk while the men came to the game room to sit and have after dinner cigars and coffee. There is a small hidden panel in one wall that contains a refrigerated humidor where Frank kept his cigars.

The copper fireplace hood was hand forged by noted blacksmith, Samuel Yellin. He also crafted most of the hardware for the house such as hinges, door handles, etc.

The game room when the Seiberlings moved in, 1916.

Billiard table had optional bumpers so it could be transfered from a pool table with pockets to a billiard table without pockets.

Office

Frank Seiberling's home office was a place for him to crash when he got home from work. However, this room was a company office as well. Frank co-founded Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and was sole founder of Seiberling Rubber Co.

The telephone on his desk had private lines that went straight to Goodyear and, later, to Seiberling Rubber.

The radio Frank would use to listen to stock reports and sports broadcasts.

The stuffed dog did not belong to the Seiberlings. It was added several years ago when it was taken from the Goodyear museum after it closed down. The dog originally was owned by another rubber baron who couldn't part with it even after death.

Click the link below to head to the basement and second and third floors of Stan Hywet.

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