By Matt Fredmonsky
Record-Courier staff writer
The unassuming exterior of the house at the end of Lake Roger Drive in Sugar Bush Knolls belies its intricate, entertainment-oriented interior.
The house has been dubbed the “Kent Mansion” by its owner, who is looking to sell the more than 8,000-square-foot estate that once was home to the Porthouse family — namesakes for the Porthouse Theatre on the grounds of Blossom Music Center.
Owner Daryl Yane still marvels at the terrazo shuffle board court, redwood-trimmed overhangs and seemingly innumerable wet bars hidden throughout the house.
Yane, who bought the 13.5-acre property for $1.2 million in 1995 from Roberta Porthouse, said the 40-year-old house has a quality akin to Stan Hywet Hall, the Seiberling estate in Akron.
“This house was built for royalty,” Yane said. “It’s a real classy place. I always had the feeling I was just a steward of the property. You know, ‘You can stay here as long as you don’t screw up the place.’”
One could hardly argue Yane has made many mistakes with the slight decorative changes made to the house. Original tile and light fixtures remain in many of the house’s five full baths. Wall-to-wall carpeting was replaced with a mixture of hardwood and marble flooring.
The house remains largely original, with many of its ornate carvings and trim looking as new as the day they were finished.
Numerous bars, an in-ground pool, a large walk-in cooler in the basement and pocket doors hint at the house’s natural tendency for entertaining guests. Its guts look more like the bowels of an aircraft carrier. A massive water-based heating system occupies two large rooms in the basement, where dozens of pipes and ducts fan out across the ceiling and 600-amp electrical service is distributed throughout.
The house was finished in 1962 by Cyril Porthouse, an industrialist who headed or owned several successful area businesses throughout his life, including Pyramid Rubber Co. and Questor Corporation in Ravenna,
Porthouse also served as mayor of Sugar Bush Knolls, the village located south of Streetsboro and north of the Twin Lakes area. He died in 1990. Roberta Porthouse lived in the home for 34 years until she relocated to live with family members in 1995. She died in 2000.
The Porthouses’ “challenge gift” of $60,000 in 1968 provided the initial funding for the theater at Blossom Music Center that opened five yeares later and was named in their honor.
Yane estimates it could cost more than $5 million to duplicate the house today. He’d be happy to get the $1.3 million asking price — happier still not to have to sell it at all.
“I think the house is a masterpiece,” he said. “I really do.”