Historic undertaking at Akron's Stan Hywet Hall as its grand chandelier is restored

The chandelier has witnessed a lot of history.

It is believed that the giant chandelier in the Great Hall at Stan Hywet has hung in place − pretty much undisturbed − ever since F.A. Seiberling and his wife, Gertrude, and their children first moved into the then new massive Akron estate in December 1915.

It cast light over family gatherings and visits by famous guests from President William Howard Taft to actress Shirley Temple and Helen Keller.

And since the estate opened for public tours in 1950s, it has been a fixture to marvel for tens of thousands of guests.

Historic visit: 'Antiques Roadshow' coming to Akron's historic Stan Hywet Hall in June

The chandelier is hard to miss in the middle of the Great Hall but often has to compete for attention of visitors with the room's soaring ceiling, large tapestries, the grand fireplace and the mounted trophies, including a massive stuffed American elk head.

The chandelier certainly caught the attention of the caretakers of the grand estate last year, when workers set out to replace a burned out lightbulb.

Curator Julie Frey said the worker was startled when there was a spark as they attempted to replace the bulb and then things went dark.

The chandelier blew a breaker in the historic house.

They were able to reset the breaker.

Frey said the chandelier was inspected and it was determined that it didn't pose an immediate risk but the experts noticed that some of its hidden internal wiring appeared to be original, making them more than 100 years old.

Any necessary repairs and maintenance on the chandelier was always troublesome for workers because it meant bringing in scaffolding or a lift to reach it as it is suspended some 30 feet off the ground.

"We always had to go to it," Frey said. "It never came to us."

How to restore a 475-pound chandelier

The estate decided to take down the chandelier after the end of the last season this past January and have it sent out for renovation and to have modern wiring installed.

Over the ensuing months, workers have been toiling to make the chandelier look like new − sort of − and install a new pulley system in the estate's Grand Hall so it can be safely lowered by workers for future repairs and cleaning.

The task of working on the chandelier was left to Cleveland's Halper Lighting Solutions that specializes in restorations and unique lighting jobs.

The biggest challenge with this particular job, said company founder Bob Halper, was the fact they weren't exactly sure what they were getting themselves into until the 475-pound, 6-foot-tall chandelier was lowered and taken back to the shop.

It didn't exactly come with an owner's manual.

The Seiberlings were notorious record keepers and packrats keeping everything from old Christmas cards to tennis rackets to medicine bottles.

Frey said they searched the estate's extensive records that accounted for where much of the original architectural features originated from but there's no mention of the giant chandelier.

Frey said it is believed that the Manor House's interior decorator Hugo Huber designed and created the chandelier himself in his New York City workshop.

Halper said it is clear whoever did build it built it to last.

Its 28 arms that fan out are made of forged steel.

This made it particularly tricky, Halper said, to fish the modern electrical wiring through.

The chandelier's decorative pieces are made of a combination of brass and wood.

Making it look grand and pretty once again was left to artist and restoration expert Laurel Herbold.

Once it arrived in the shop, Herbold said, the first task was to remove decades of dust, grime (likely from the fireplace) and even bird poop from some uninvited guests who likely entered through open windows back in the day.

"It was just filthy," she said.

Uncovering hidden gems at Stan Hywet Hall

After the cleaning, Herbold said, they were able to get a better idea of original colors of the painted accent pieces that are best viewed by guests from the second floor balcony in the Manor House that overlooks the Grand Hall.

It appears that some of the pieces may have originally been covered by gold leaf.

To restore that would prove too costly and too troublesome for cleaning and beyond the restoration's $35,000 grant from the Babcox Family Foundation.

Herbold said the original chandelier was likely very shiny when it was new.

There was a concern that making it look like it did when it was first installed might look out of place today as the original furnishings in the Great Hall − such as the giant tapestries − have faded over time.

Herbold said they chose to use a subdued − yet an historically accurate − color palette for the restoration.

Although it needed some TLC, Herbold said, the chandelier was in remarkable shape aside from stress damage to its wooded cap that had to be repaired.

"It had never been fully cleaned," she said.

Jobs like this can be daunting, but Halper said that's all part of what makes it fun and interesting.

"This is the coolest job we have ever done," he said. "It was just so interesting."

His firm is also charged with restoring the exterior lighting at Akron's historic downtown Mayflower Hotel.

What's new at Stan Hywet this year?

The theme this season at Stan Hywet's Manor House is Connections: Love & the ties that bind, which takes a look at the relationships within the Seiberling family.

Frey said the goal is make the family relatable in the love stories and courtships.

Visitors will also learn of some lesser known facts like the time one of the Seiberling sons consulted a psychic to help decide which of three potential girls to pursue and a son-in-law who felt like an outcast.

"Even though times have changed," Frey said. "This exhibit shows some family problems are the same."

There are guided and self guided tours of the estate available.

What special events are at Stan Hywet this year?

"The Antiques Roadshow" will be taping at the estate in June. Tickets for that closed event have already been distributed by the show.

Historic setting: Ohio Shakespeare back to two summer shows at Stan Hywet

Other events include: Founders' Day Weekend, June 9 to 10; the Father's Day Car Show, June 18; Off the Vine: An Evening Pairing of Food & Wine, Aug. 18; the Molto Bella Auto Show, Sept. 10; and Ohio Mart, Oct. 5 to 8. Murder in the Mansion is select nights in October, and Deck the Hall is select evenings Nov. 24-Dec. 30.

For more information and to reserve tickets, visit stanhywet.org.

Craig Webb, who has a sudden urge to clean his tiny dining room light fixture, can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Stan Hywet Hall's grand chandelier is restored for the first time