Levi Tucker Scofield (originally Schofield) (November 9, 1842– February 25, 1917) was a prominent architect and sculptor from

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He served as a Captain in the 103rd OVI in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and designed many public buildings and several monuments during his career. He was a third generation Cleveland resident and the Schofield Building, which he designed, is named after him.

Early life

Scofield was born in Cleveland to William Benedict and Mary Scofield. His grandfather, Benjamin Scofield, came to the city in 1816 from New York and was responsible for the construction of many of Cleveland's earliest buildings. In 1856, Scofield's father built the Scofield Block on Erie Street out of which his mother ran a boardinghouse on the second and third floors. Scofield attended

Cleveland Public Schools Cleveland Metropolitan School District, formerly the Cleveland Municipal School District, is a public school district in the U.S. state of Ohio that serves almost all of the city of Cleveland. The district covers 79 square miles. The Cleveland ...

and trained as a builder and architect, working under his father.

Civil War

In 1861, at the age of 19, Scofield joined as a private in Battery D of the 1st Ohio Light Artillery under the command of Colonel James Barnett. His unit took part in battles including Perryville,

Chickamauga Chickamauga may refer to: Entertainment * "Chickamauga", an 1889 short story by American author Ambrose Bierce * "Chickamauga", a 1937 short story by Thomas Wolfe * "Chickamauga", a song by Uncle Tupelo from their 1993 album ''Anodyne'' * ''Chic ...

. When his enlistment ended, he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant of the 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, eventually attaining the rank of captain in 1864. During his service, he served largely as an engineer on the staff of

Jacob Dolson Cox Jacob Dolson Cox, Jr. (October 27, 1828August 4, 1900), was a statesman, lawyer, Union Army general during the American Civil War, Republican politician from Ohio, Liberal Republican Party founder, educator, author, and recognized microbiologist ...

. Scofield published a book in 1909 detailing his experiences during The Battle of Franklin.

Career

Following the war, he briefly worked in New York before returning to Cleveland. Scofield's architectural work is broad and included institutional buildings, residences, and public art. Some of his more well-known projects included the

Athens Lunatic Asylum The Athens Lunatic Asylum, now a mixed-use development known as The Ridges, was a Kirkbride Plan mental hospital operated in Athens, Ohio, from 1874 until 1993. During its operation, the hospital provided services to a variety of patients includ ...

(1868), a

Kirkbride plan The Kirkbride Plan was a system of mental asylum design advocated by American psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883) in the mid-19th century. The asylums built in the Kirkbride design, often referred to as Kirkbride Buildings (or si ...

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

in Athens, Ohio, now on the campus of

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

; and the

Ohio State Reformatory The Ohio State Reformatory (OSR), also known as the Mansfield Reformatory, is a historic prison located in Mansfield, Ohio in the United States. It was built between 1886 and 1910 and remained in operation until 1990, when a United States Federal ...

(1886) in Mansfield, Ohio which served as the backdrop of the film

The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...

(1994). His firm designed five

between 1869 and 1883. Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (Cleveland)

Scofield was part of a commission established to construct a memorial to those from Cuyahoga County who served in the Civil War. The commission included a number of prominent local veterans including General James Barnett. Despite significant resistance, the southeast quadrant of Cleveland's

Public Square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

was selected as the location for the structure. Scofield served as both chief architect as well as sculptor for what would become the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. Both Barnett and Scofield are honored with busts above either main doors. Scofield's name is listed on tablet 14. The monument opened in 1894 with a dedication ceremony attended by

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

. It remains open to the public and free to visit to this day. Scofield also designed a well-known statue called '' These Are My Jewels'' which is a Civil War monument currently on the grounds of the

Ohio Statehouse The Ohio Statehouse is the state capitol building and seat of government for the U.S. state of Ohio. The Greek Revival building is located on Capitol Square in Downtown Columbus. The capitol houses the Ohio General Assembly, consisting of the H ...

It was initially exhibited at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

in Chicago in 1893. Ohio State Reformatory Mansfield 08

In 1901, Scofield began construction of the Schofield Building, a 14-story structure that would serve as the headquarters of his architectural firm. During construction, a worker named William O’Neal was injured when a wall collapsed, burying him. Scofield was arrested on September 16, 1901 for violating local building codes which lead to the unsafe conditions that caused O'Neal's injury. He was later acquitted due to insufficient evidence. In October 1901, a man fell from the building. Scofield was not arrested due to the intervention of Cleveland mayor Tom L. Johnson who suggested the contractor be arrested instead. Upon completion, Scofield's office was located on the Northwest corner of the building on the top floor which allowed him to look down across Euclid Avenue towards the completed Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Public Square. The building's red terra cotta facade was modernized in 1969 with a steel and enamel facade. The building was restored in 2019 for around $50 million which included the removal of the modernized facade. The building now serves as the Kimpton Schofield Hotel and the Schofield Residences. Schofield Building (NBY 4145)

Scofield's personal residence was built in Cleveland's Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood in 1898. Since then, the mansion has fallen into significant disrepair. Efforts are underway to preserve and restore the structure.

Personal life

Scofield married Elizabeth Clark Wright in 1867. Together they had five children: William, Donald, Sherman, Harriet, and Douglas. Scofield's four sons all worked at his architectural firm. The Scofields were members of First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland. Elizabeth Scofield died in 1914 and was interred at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...

in a mausoleum designed by her husband. Three years later, in 1917, Scofield passed away at his home. He too was interred in the family mausoleum. The Scofield mausoleum was used as a temporary resting place for assassinated president

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

in 1881 while the construction of his memorial was undertaken nearby. Scofield was the first Cleveland architect taken into membership in the American Institute of Architects. He was known to be a friend and golfing partner of

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

Projects

* Schofield Building (Euclid Ninth Tower) (1902) 2000-2034 East 9th StreetEuclid Ninth Tower
/ref> * Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1894), Scofield worked on the Civil War monument for seven and a half years without compensation and contributed over $57,000 to its cost. *

, Athens, Ohio * Asylum for the Insane, Columbus, Ohio * North Carolina Penitentiary * Cleveland House of Corrections *'' These Are My Jewels'', a Civil War Monument installed at the

in Chicago in 1893, and then moved to the grounds of the Ohio State Capitol *

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The ci ...

References

External links

A history of Cleveland and its environs: the heart of new Connecticut
Volume 2 By Elroy McKendree pages 391-394
History of the Western Reserve
Volume 3 By Harriet Taylor Upton, Harry Gardner Cutler
Levi Tucker Scofield
Cleveland City Planning Commission
Scofield, Levi T.
North Carolina Architect & Builders {{DEFAULTSORT:Scofield, Levi 1842 births 1917 deaths Architects from Cleveland Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland