Cleveland Area History

Cleveland Historic Schools Feasibility Study

2012-01-20T11:43:00.000-05:00

With so much discussion of late regarding the demolition of historic Cleveland schools - most notably, of John Marshall High School and of the Cleveland School of the Arts - it seems worthwhile to look at why these buildings are being demolished.

I recently obtained a copy of Cleveland Historic Schools Feasibility Study, a report created by the Cleveland Restoration Society in 2006. Although the cost and population estimates have both changed since that date, the general numbers as well as the conclusions remain valid and worth taking a look at. In fact, if you care at all about preserving historic schools anywhere in Ohio, this is essential reading.

To quote the introduction to the document:

The Cleveland Restoration Society (CRS) undertook the Cleveland Historic Schools Feasibility Study as a means to better understand the guidelines used by the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC), the state agency in Ohio that oversees and funds school building projects. Our goal was to examine four historic school buildings currently scheduled for demolition in the Cleveland Municipal School District Facilities Master Plan to determine if these buildings could be renovated to meet current educational standards and still receive full funding from OSFC.

The four schools covered: William Cullen Bryant; Albert Bushnell Hart; Audubon; and Robert Fulton, are evaluated in detail, with illustrations of their merits and liabilities. Full architectural renderings, including floor plans of existing and proposed conditions are provided.

A few surprises caught my attention:

Demolition and environmental abatement costs are not included in the the OSFC's replacement costs.
The OSFC's estimates of the square footage of the buildings is higher (in once case, considerably higher) than the actual square footage, resulting in the OSFC estimating rehab costs to be considerably higher than they should be. How much higher?
- 34% (William Cullen Bryant)
- 11% (Albert Bushnell Hart)
- 8% (Audubon)
- 23% (Robert Fulton)

The CRS sums up the findings of the report far better than I can, so I'll quote them directly:

These proposed design solutions demonstrate that historic school buildings can be successfully renovated to meet 21st century standards and to provide a high level of educational adequacy. We can preserve these neighborhood landmarks and not only have
schools that are just as good as new, but better than new because of the materials, craftsmanship, and artistry that have been handed down to us
that we could not afford to replicate today. Not only can be have facilities that are better than new, we can save significant resources by
preserving older buildings. The Cleveland Municipal School District can save $17.1 million dollars by preserving the four buildings presented
in this study. We hope this cost savings will convince district administrators to reconsider using renovation and new additions as an alternative to replacing many of the City’s significant historic school buildings.

Please, take a look at the Cleveland Historic Schools Feasibility Study - if we're to preserve these historic buildings, we need to understand the financial issues behind their repair or replacement.

Guest Post: The Isaac Warren House, Part 2

2012-01-17T09:35:00.000-05:00

by Judy MacKeigan

[Note: see the first part of the story of this significant early Lakewood house in The Isaac Warren House.]

As the “official” family historian I have been given boxes of family papers, photos, and ephemera. Among these items is a black photo album, typical of the early 20th century, containing wonderful photos of my husband’s grandmother, Emma Blanck MacKeigan, her parents, Charles Blanck and Anna Meister Blanck, and assorted friends and family.

Several photos show the family both outside and inside their Rockport Township (later Lakewood) home. I had been trying to find this house by using census records and deeds, but the address that I had was somewhat puzzling. In 1910 the Blancks were listed in the Federal Census at what appears to be 2270 Alger Rd. Although the house number is blurred and difficult to read, the street name is clear. I have spent time driving up and down Alger, hoping to find the address, but to no avail. Thinking that the address may have changed I kept my eyes open for the house, but still no luck. I began to think that the section of Alger that the house stood on had been obliterated by I-90.

Last week I decided to take a closer look at the neighborhood via the wonderful maps on the Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery. On the G. M. Hopkins Cuyahoga County plat map of 1914 I found a brick house on the corner of Fisher (now Lakewood Hts. Blvd.) and what was marked as Warren Rd. That section of Warren, however, shows up as Alger on other maps, so I was sure it was the correct house.

I knew I had found the family home because of another clue found on that 1914 map. The owner of the land that the house stood on was listed as H. Johnson. According to a 1917 deed a woman named Henrietta Johnson had left land to Anna Blanck. I had puzzled for years as to who this woman was, how she fit into the family and why bequeathed this land to Anna. The 1910 census lists Charles Blanck as head of household who rented the house, but Henrietta was listed as a boarder. In reality, of course, she was the owner of the house where the Blancks lived as renters.
Enter Christopher Busta-Peck’s wonderful Cleveland Area History blog. After finding the 1914 map I put the words Johnson + Fisher Rd. in a search engine. One of the hits was the Isaac Warren House post made by Christoper in July of 2010. Clicking on the link I was amazed to find the same house that is pictured in our photo album prominently featured.

As I read through the post this paragraph jumped out at me: “The only daughter of Rebecca, who for many years was regarded as mentally unbalanced due to a siege of scarlet fever, fell heir to all the Warren acreage. She was finally judged sane and left her estate to the Warren family, after giving a large slice to a German housekeeper who had cared for her in her last days.” I realized that the “German housekeeper” was my husband’s great grandmother, Anna Blanck.

I still don’t know how the Blancks came to live in the house and take care of Henrietta. They owned land a little bit east of the Johnson land, and Charles Blanck was a chemist/pharmacist by trade. They had a fairly well to do middle-class lifestyle and I’m not sure Anna would have termed herself a “German housekeeper.”

I also can’t shed any light on the mystery of when or how the house disappeared. My father-in-law passed away several years ago, his mother, Emma, died in 1977, just three years after my wedding. And I would not have thought to ask her about the house anyway at that time of my life! The land left to the Blanck family by Henrietta was behind the old Warren house. They built a home on the land facing Lakewood Hts. Blvd. Anna then sold the land and house to her daughter Emma and her husband, Angus Stewart MacKeigan. My father in law was born and raised in that “new” house, and it still stands there today. But, of course, it does not hold the significance that the old Isaac Warren home had. I am hoping the “moved house” theory is correct and someone locates the lost house that holds so much history for both my family personally, as well as the greater community.

Emma Blanck and unknown friend outside the Warren House, circa 1915.

Anna Meister Blanck, in the dining room of the Warren house.

Emma Blanck, in the dining room of the Warren house.

Charles and Anna Blanck and Henrietta Johnson (presumably).

I want to thank Judy MacKeigan for sharing these family photographs, and for providing us more insight into this part of our history. If you have photographs or other materials that might provide further insight into the stories covered here, please contact ClevelandAreaHistory@gmail.com

Envisioning a Village, 150 Years Ago

2012-01-06T11:12:00.000-05:00

Village of Wellington, a painting by Archibald Willard, 1857. Image used courtesy of the Herrick Memorial Library and Ohio Memory.

One of the hard parts of illustrating the history of this area prior to the advent of color photography is obtaining compelling images to help tell the story. While black and white photographs can provide an excellent record, works in color are, to my eyes, much more attention-grabbing. They make me feel like I'm actually there.

I came across this painting ages ago - I'm not sure how I managed to forget about it. The canvas, painted by Archibald Willard in 1857, depicts the village of Wellington, in Lorain County.

The Spirit of '76, a painting by Archibald Willard, 1916.
Image used courtesy of the Herrick Memorial Library and Ohio Memory.

Archibald Willard, a native of northeast Ohio, is best known for the patriotic painting, The Spirit of '76, which he painted several versions of - the first being for the 1876 Columbian Exposition.

Willard's painting of Wellington illustrates a view of a city that still resembled a New England village, with rows of houses and a couple churches facing a central green. His vantage point was from the corner of Magyar Street, looking north on Main Street.

Wellington retains the village green, and some of the structures shown in the painting. Large trees now growing on the green prevent one from attempting to capture the same angle today.

Archibald Willard's rendering provides a way to visualize the historic appearance other town centers throughout the region.

Inside Our Most Important Early Industrial Landmark

2011-12-14T15:29:00.000-05:00

The Luster Tannery

In March of 2010, I provided a detailed history of the Luster Tannery, a finely-crafted stone building at 16360 Euclid Avenue. The structure, built circa 1850, was used for tanning animal hides into leather. Samuel Luster chose this location to built the tannery because of the proximity to Nine Mile Creek, which he divereted to provide the water needed for the tanning vats in the basement.

The building is especially large, given the time it was built - about 4400 square feet - twice as large (or more) than any stone building (churches excepted) this old in Cleveland or any of the immediately surrounding communities. It was surely a major landmark when built - and today, represents an important landmark of the transition between an agricultural and industrial economy. It is, quite simply, the most important unrecognized 19th century structure in Cuyahoga County.

When I first wrote about it, I noted that the building seemed abandoned, and that the back taxes, now more than $30,000, were the biggest obstacle to doing anything with the property.

The biggest obstacle I faced, however, was that I had no idea as to the interior condition of the property. What did it look like? What historic details remained? How could this information help me to better illuminate this significant piece of our history?

A couple of Cleveland Area History readers did a considerable amount of legwork and tracked down the owner of the property and obtained the owner's permission to go inside. Further, these colleagues found someone with a key to the building!

I'd been waiting for this day for ages. I knew that the tannery itself would reveal all sorts of heretofore details, and that the clues present would help explain so many unanswered questions. The way the basement was built would help reveal the path of the diverted stream. Perhaps the tanning vats, too difficult to remove, would still be present!

My quest for historic detail took me to the attic. Here, part of the original structure was revealed - in the form of a beam cut out to make for more storage space. This was not an isolated case - it was done to most of the beams supporting the roof. Said beams were replaced with lighter-weight lumber, which, with one exception (where there was a leak)seemed to be holding up well.

Other structural details were revealed here - though I'm not sure quite what they mean.

Astute readers will notice that I haven't talked much about the rest of the interior. That's because, while I have plenty of photographs, there really isn't much to see. The interior has been remodeled so many times that much of the historic detail has been obliterated. Even the ceiling joists on the first and second floors are replacements.

The basement, which I had such high hopes for, is covered with concrete block. Elsewhere, walls are covered by paneling or drywall, concealing some part of the story.

In some ways, the lack of remaining detail might be seen as an asset - as one might make it serve any number of uses without loss of historic material. That said, I'm sure that, underneath the various remodelings, there's original material that will help tell the story of the Luster Tannery - and whoever does the demolition will need to be sensitive to this.

This building could be repurposed in any number number of ways while retaining its historic presence.

View The Luster Tannery in a larger map

This map may help to illustrate the landscape as it was in 1926. In red there's the Luster Tannery, on the parcels currently owned by Immaculate Dry Cleaning. In blue, one can see Nine Mile Creek, coming down from the Heights and then heading under Euclid Avenue. (At an unknown date, but before 1950, Nine Mile Creek was put into a culvert and covered with fill.)

Nine Mile Creek was not a tiny stream. If the scale on the Sanborn fire insurance maps I've utized is correct (and I have no reason to believe it isn't - they're generally quite accurate), it was a good 20+ feet wide.

Try to imagine the tannery itself as it might have been then. The first floor would have had a row of windows, just like the second floor. And below the first floor, there would have been another story! This basement, half exposed on the hillside, is where the tanning vats would have been located. The stream would have been diverted through the wall at one point and out at another. This structure is probably all still present - it's just covered by dirt and fill.

Here's my vision: A new owner could obtain the tannery, at very low cost, through the Cuyahoga County Land Bank. He or she would replace the roof and gutters and remove the additions to the structure, as they are now quite deteriorated.

Over time, as they became available, he or she could obtain the other parcels that make up this block, bordered by Euclid, Hillsboro, and Belvoir - an acre all told. After removing the existing structures on the other parcels, the new owner could remove the fill that's been added over the years, daylighting Nine Mile Creek and revealing the hidden parts of the tannery.

You'd have a historic structure and the recreation of a historic landscape - it's an intresting vision. Further, you'd be almost next door to the most impressive early cemetery in the city or any of the inner-ring suburbs - First Presbyterian (Nelaview). Surely some benefit could come from the proximity between the cemetery and this industrial landmark.

FOUR, Yes, FOUR Historic Structures Nominated for Landmark Status

2011-12-07T07:43:00.001-05:00

Detail of a photograph, used courtesy of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission.

You may have heard about one structure that will be proposed for landmark status at the Cleveland Landmark Commission's meeting this Thursday, the Wolfe Music Store Building. The building, at 2112 Euclid Avenue, was designed in 1927 by noted Cleveland architects Walker and Weeks. The ornate terra cotta facade remains a reminder of the care that was put into the ornament and design of this building, built more than 80 years ago. Cleveland State University wants to replace it with a new building - will that building remain a part of the landscape in 80 years? If so, will it be so visually striking?

There are three more Euclid Avenue structures on the agenda - all true landmarks and all worth considering.

One is the Stager-Beckwith house, at 3813 Euclid Avenue. This mansion is one of five or so remaining from what was once "Millionaires Row". It was built 1866, by Joseph Ireland, architect.

Image courtesy of Cleveland Public Library

The house was illustrated in the Atlas of Cuyahoga County in 1874, just eight years after it was built. Note the ornate porch, now missing - and note how otherwise, it retains much of the original beauty.

Image courtesy of Cleveland Public Library

The gardens were quite extensive - try to imagine a house being built today with an estate like this at East 38th and Euclid. Today, the house is vacant.

The National Town and Country Club (Fenn Tower) is a residential complex at 1983 East 24th Street (on the north side of Euclid Avenue). It was built 1929-1930. George B. Post and Sons, architects, designed the structure. It is owned by Cleveland State University. I covered it in depth, back in December, 2009. Take a look at that story - the interior detail is impressive. The structure is an Art Deco landmark.

Finally, there's the George W. Howe house, at 2258 Euclid Avenue - also owned by Cleveland State University. It was built 1894, with Coburn and Barnum as the architects. It's one of five or so remaining residences built when this street was known as Millionaires Row. The front entryway to the house has some impressive detail.

The Cleveland Landmarks Commission meets on Thursday, at 9:00 am in room 514 of Cleveland City Hall.

New Blog Content In Search Of Preservation-related Questions

2011-12-06T14:08:00.010-05:00

I would like to take a moment and introduce myself to the readership of Cleveland Area History:

My name is Jessica Ugarte, and I am an enthusiastic new resident of the Cleveland area. I am also a preservationist at the Cleveland Restoration Society, with both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees in the field of historic preservation. Through a combination of classroom studies and preservation-related employment I have had the opportunity to be involved in stabilizing and restoring many different types of built culture. Over the past decade I have worked on projects like repairing the interior plaster of a 1920s theater, leading a project to stabilize an important 1890s home shortly after Hurricane Katrina, participating in the restoration of a 1910 steam locomotive engine, and heading a project for the National Park Service to stabilize and repair marble funerary monuments on remote islands on the Outer Banks. While I haven’t seen or worked on it all (yet), my years of focus on material conservation and science usually enables me to have a good idea of what needs to be done and even how to do it.

Cleveland Area History has asked me to start writing a regular column on this website where I will be answering reader questions about the materials, deterioration, repair, and even construction of their older or historic Cleveland-area buildings.
But in order for this to get started, I need to hear from you! Please email your inquiries along with your name, phone number, the property address and an image if possible to: jugarte@clevelandrestoration.org.
You can send me old building-related questions like “how do I repair a historic wood window,” “why do I see what looks like chunks of chalk in my home’s mortar,” “what is the best way to clean and restore a clear finish on historic wood” or even “so what’s the big deal with using vinyl siding on a historic home?”

While I promise to respond to all requests for information and assist in any way possible, not all questions and answers will be able to be posted here on Cleveland Area History. Additionally, depending on your particular question and needs, a more in-depth follow-up may be required.

I look forward to hearing from Cleveland Area History’s readers and finding out what questions may be on their minds.

Thank you!

Jessica Ugarte is employed by the Cleveland Restoration Society, a nonprofit that uses the powerful tool of historic preservation to revitalize our diverse communities, strengthen the regional economy, and enhance the quality of life in northeastern Ohio. www.clevelandrestoration.org

Condemned: The Best Frame Italianate House on Cleveland's East Side

2011-12-05T16:20:00.001-05:00

Two weeks ago, I brought public attention again to this impressive historic home, built in 1874. The response was impressive. I first detailed this massive 3,500 square foot house back on November 9, 2009 (The best frame Italianate house I've seen in Cleveland). It's also covered in Hidden History of Cleveland (History Press, 2011), pages 119-120.

When I drove by today, I saw that the property had been condemned. This means that if the code violations named in the condemnation notice are not corrected by the date specified (December 25, 2011) the structure may be demolished to abate the nuisances specified in the condemnation notice. I've reproduced the notice in full below. The code violations themselves are on pages 3 and 4.

The question at this point is whether housing court is able to reach the owner and take action there, perhaps transferring the house either to a third party or the county land bank before the city moves forward to demolish it.

Mystery Painting: Win a Signed Copy of Hidden History of Cleveland!

2011-12-02T11:42:00.000-05:00

Since I first saw this watercolor painting, Under the Bridge by Willard Combes in the book Masterworks from the Cleveland Artists Foundation, I've liked it. The image, painted in the 1930s, is said to be of a Cleveland neighborhood. But where, exactly, is that neighborhood?

The combination of a high-level bridge and residential street ought to provide enough information for one to identify the site where Combes found this composition - there aren't that many high-level bridges in this town - yet it remains unknown. The various maps available through the Cleveland Public Library might contain the clues you need.

Be the first to identify the site, either by posting a comment here or to the Cleveland Area History Facebook page, and you'll win a signed copy of Hidden History of Cleveland. If you can, a link to the map showing the location would be most helpful for the rest of us

The Vanishing Forties - No Longer Quite So Vanished

2011-12-01T13:10:00.001-05:00

Rudolph Stanley-Brown (American, 1889-1944). The Vanishing Forties, Cleveland, Ohio. Etching. The Cleveland Museum of Art. In memory of Rudolph Stanley-Brown 1950.185

In my quest for compelling historic imagery, I come across plenty of things that I can't use, simply because I can't figure out where the scene portrayed was physically located. This print, The Vanishing Forties, Cleveland, Ohio, by Rudolph Stanley-Brown, is one such case - one that's been bugging me since I first saw it, more than a year ago.

It's likely that Stanley-Brown made the print in 1924 or 1925 - he entered The Thirties and The Fifties into the Cleveland Museum of Art's May Show that year (May Show Database).

Photograph by Carl Waite for the Historic American Buildings Survey, November 2, 1936. Detail of the original, used courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The style of the house is very similar to two Cleveland structures, both now lost - the H. Mould house, at 2637 Cedar Avenue, and the Leonard Case homestead - documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), one of the many make-work projects that came under the auspices of WPA in the 1930s.

Photograph by Carl Waite for the Historic American Buildings Survey, November 2, 1936. Detail of the original, used courtesy of the Library of Congress.

I covered the Leonard Case house, which was built c. 1820, in detail, back in 2009. The H. Mould house is said to have been built later - 1860 - but the large central chimney makes me suspect an earlier date. I would guess, based on the title of the work, The Vanishing Forties, that the house was built in the 1840s - or at least that's when the artist thought it was built.

Detail, T.P. May residence. Rendered in 1935 by Isadore Wasserstrom for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

Yesterday, I was browsing through the HABS drawings for this region, when I came across the T.P. May residence, at 1458 East 12th Street, Cleveland, Ohio.

Detail, T.P. May residence. Rendered in 1935 by Isadore Wasserstrom for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

It looked similar to the house in Stanley-Brown's print - but only similar - there were several significant differences. The bases of the columns were different, as were the windows. The roof lacks the vertical lines, too, but that could be the artist's choice.

I was going to dismiss the possibility of the HABS drawings being of the same structure that Stanley-Brown depicted, but, out of stubbornness - I really wanted it to be the same one - I persisted, trying to identify details that were the same.

The tops of the columns and the trim above them are the same. So are the proportions of the porch. The same can be said for the spacing of the windows and the pitch of the roof. Both have brick foundations, at a time when stone would have been more common.

Detail, T.P. May residence. Rendered in 1935 by Isadore Wasserstrom for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

The front steps cemented my opinion that The Vanishing Forties does, in fact, depict this house. This detail, of the floorplan, illustrates them clearly. It can also be seen, in less detail, in the renderings above. Note that the steps aren't entirely in front of the porch, as would usually be the case, but partially set into it. Perhaps this was done when the sidewalk was widened, or perhaps the house was originally this way, allowing the builder to make the house a little bigger than he might have otherwise. Whatever the cause, it's an uncommon detail, one that confirms the identity.

I've seen other houses where the HABS architects reconstructed the original appearance of structures that have been changed considerably. One example is the H. M. Gillette residence, near Wellington, Ohio. In that case, a porch had been added around most of the house, concealing much of the detail. They were able to make measured drawings to show it as it was, and used an earlier photograph, by I.T. Frary, to aid in the illustration.

The HABS documentation includes some background information about the house:

The East Twelfth Street House was built previous to 1865 on the easterly end of T.P. May's sub-division. T.P. May was an influential early settler of Cleveland and a member of the first Board of Health. His sub-division extended from Erie Street (E. 9th) to Muirson Street (E. 12th) along the northerly side of what in 1865 became the extension of Superior Street...

The house while still having evidence of good design and sturdy construction has been used in recent years as a ware house and consequently many of the better details have been destroyed.

T.P. May residence. Rendered in 1935 by Isadore Wasserstrom for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

The four pages of renderings provide an incredible amount of detail - the hardware is included, as is the exact dimensions of the seam on the metal roof. With the information present here, one could build a house virtually identical to the original. The biggest obstacle would likely replicating the method of construction - modern tools simply don't leave the same tool marks as tools used in the 1840s.

One final note: the building in the background is the Hotel Statler, at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 12th Street.

Pioneer Post and Beam House - Threatened

2011-11-23T13:58:00.001-05:00

Back in January, I identified this pair of historically significant homes in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland, 15002 Sylvia Avenue (left) and 15006 Westropp Avenue (right). Both were built in the 1840s or 1850s, making them some of the very oldest in the area, and, to make them more significant, both seemed to have been built by the same builder, for the same family. The pair even made their way into Hidden History of Cleveland (History Press, 2011).

A few days ago, I saw that the one on Westropp Avenue had been condemned. I took a closer look. Someone had started to remove the aluminum siding. The yard looked overgrown. The doors had been broken down, presumably by city inspectors, seeking to gain access to the property. And there was a ton of stuff inside.

But did I see anything that really justified condemning the structure? No.

Photograph by I.T. Frary, from Ohio in Homespun and Calico, page 16.

Perhaps this photograph will make it easier to visualize the house as it was and may again be. The house in this photo is similar, save that the wing on our house was on the left side of the house and that ours has no second floor windows on the front of the house. There's a lot of great detail, I'm sure, hiding underneath the aluminum siding, cement shingles, and asphalt composition siding. How am I so sure of this? I'll reveal what I've been able to determine about original details in the structure later, once I've explained the history behind it.

The Dille and McIlrath families were some of the earliest settlers to the Collinwood area. They played a major part in the growth and development of the town.

1803
Dille

Ninety years ago, there was no family name in this locality more familiar than that of Dille, and no other family so numerically numerous. There were three separate branches of the Dille in the county, headed by two brothers and their nephew. David Dille, Jr., came in 1797 from Washington County, Pa., to spy out the land. He was a farmer and was looking for fertile soil upon which to locate. He did not find what he wanted in or near the hamlet at the mouth of the Cuyahoga, and finally decided upon a 100-acre lot in Euclid. This decision would seem to have barred him and his family from this local history, were it not that they sojourned six weeks in town while their log-cabin in Euclid was being built, and that the children and grandchildren intermarried into Cleveland families, so that David's descendants today - many of them of much local importance - are distributed over the length and breadth of this city. His brother, Asa Dille, Settled in East Cleveland, on Mayfield Road, and the nephew, Samuel Dille, Sr., on Broadway.

(Wickham. The Pioneer Families of Cleveland, 1796-1840, pages 68-69.)

1803
Dille

Asa Dille, Sr., brother of David Dille, married Frances Saylor. His log-cabin was on Euclid Avenue, just south of Mayfield Road. When Cuyahoga County was organized in 1810, he was elected its first treasurer. His name appears in connection with societies organized in Cleveland for philanthropic efforts, but nothing else is found concerning him. He had ten children, nine of whom attained majority.

(Wickham, page 71)

1803
McIlrath

There are many family reunions held every year in Cleveland, but none of them were organized so early or have so large a membership as that of McIlrath. Furthermore, this big clan has another point of superiority over others which is a matter of great local pride. Adult McIlraths in some of its branches, that of Alexander, for instance, can visit the McIlrath cemetery in East Cleveland and stand by the graves of their great-great-grandmother, their great-grandparents, and their grandparents, all of whom lived and died in that locality.

Can any Cleveland family beat that record?

...

One of the sons, Alexander, and his brother in law, John Shaw, came on in 1803, and each purchased 640 acres of land, much of it fronting on Euclid Ave., and extending north to the lake.

Samuel and Isabella McIlrath, the parents, started for East Cleveland in 1808. With other members of the family, they came in ox-teams, drawing household furniture, farming utensils, and the younger and frailer members of the party. They were six months making the journey, therefore must have traveled at their leisure. They settled in a log-house opposite Lake View Cemetery.

(Wickham, page 72)

Abner C. and Eliza McIlrath kept a tavern on Euclid Avenue, in East Cleveland, where they lived all their married lives, and raised 13 children. Their four sons served in the Civil War, and their names can be read on the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument on the Public Square.

...

It will be noted that the elder McIlraths, children of Samuel and Isabel, were middle-aged when they came to Cleveland. Andrew, the oldest son, was 50 years old; Samuel, his son, and fifth child, married in 1810, Betsy Carlton. Her maiden name was Davis, and she had Carlton children, Davis and Sherman Carlton - both fine men who removed to Elkhart, Ind.

Samuel McIlrath was address as "Squire" by the neighbors, and probably was a justice of the peace. Both Samuel and Betsey were warm-hearted and open-handed. There never was a time when their own household of children was not supplemented by tow or three children bearing other surnames, waifs who had lost one or both children in one of the fatal epidemics that occasionally prevailed.

(Wickham, page 73)

Note: Pioneer Families of Cleveland is worth a look, if you're interested in the histories of these or any of the other early families of Cleveland - especially the ones that may not have received so much attention. The full text is available through Heritage Quest, one of the many databases that the Cleveland Public Library subscribes to.

The eldest of Samuel and Betsey McIlrath's children, Hiram (born circa 1814), married Katherine (or Catherine) Day (born c. 1812), daughter of Hiram Day (Wickham, page 73). By 1840, they had two children, Nancy (born c. 1837) and Morris (born c. 1839) (1850 U.S. Census). This growing family likely needed more space. To that end, in 1843, he purchased a three acre parcel from his parents, for $50 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 184412120002). This is where he built the house, fronting on what is now East 152nd Street. A few years later, in 1853, he expanded the parcel by a half acre, for the same price again as the original purchase (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 185303210005).

The McIlraths were farmers, like most of families in the area.

One might presume that Hiram McIlrath would have built a house on this parcel as soon as possible - probably in 1844 - but the evidence suggests otherwise. The tax duplicates, available in the county archives, show Hiram's three acres being worth $26 in 1846 and $110 in 1848. The appropriate record for 1847 could not be located.

It's quite reasonable that the house was constructed in 1846, or possibly even 1845, and it just didn't make it onto the tax rolls. We know that it was built by 1848, so while we can't give an exact year, we can solidly place the date between 1844 and 1847.

By 1850, the value of their property had appreciated to $500 - a solid indicator of an improved house. Hiram and Catherine had had two more children, Cassius (born c. 1845) and Mary (born c. 1847).

Catherine McIlrath died, sometime between 1850 and 1856. By that year, Hiram had remarried. He and Mercy (or Mary) (born c. 1817) had two more children, Catherine E. (born c. 1856) and Harriet M. (born c. 1858) (1860 U.S. Census and Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 185604290010). Their other children were not living with them at the time - it's not immediately obvious what became of them.

As of 1860, Hiram was justice of the peace for Euclid Township (1860 U.S. Census).

In April, 1856, Hiram and Mercy sold the parcel (3.5 acres) and the house to Samuel and Sarah McIlrath, for either $500 or $600 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 185604290010). The exact relationship between Samuel and Hiram is unclear.

Eight months later, Samuel and Sarah McIlrath sold the property to Asa Dille, for $600 (AFN: 185612220011). Earlier in same year (May, 1856), Dille had purchased two other parcels - 93.25 acres, at a cost of $5,653.50 - from Samuel and Sarah McIlrath. The land was adjacent to this house. (The boundaries and surviving neighborhood farmhouses will be addressed in a future post.)

Polly (born c. 1797) and Asa (born c. 1782) Dille were farmers. While they'd been farming in this vicinity for quite a while, but with the purchase of the land from the McIlraths, they likely moved into this house. (They are adjacent to Thomas McIlrath in the 1860 U.S. Census - and the land his house is on is adjacent to this one on the 1858 Hopkins Map of Cuyahoga County.) Several members of the Dille family were laborers on the farm: Chas (born c. 1820); Darwin (born c. 1832); Henry C. (born c. 1838); Thos C. (born c. 1841); and Lucy (born c. 1834). It's unclear whether these were children or other relatives. One Fannie Dare (born c. 1839, a teacher, also lived with them at the time. The farm was said to be worth $8,000, and they had personal property worth $1,000 (1860 U.S. Census).

In 1867, Asa Dille's estate sold the property to Henry Westropp (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 186702220011). Henry (born c. 1813 or 1818) and his wife, Catherine (born c. 1822) immigrated to Ohio from Ireland in 1852 (1900 U.S. Census for Mary A. Westropp). As of 1870, ten of their children were living with them on this farm, said to be worth $8,000. The list on the 1870 U.S. Census notes: Mary A. (born c. 1842); Margaret (born c. 1850); Kate (born c. 1853); Ralph (born c. 1854); James H. (born c. 1856); John (born c. 1858); Patrick (born c. 1860); Bridget E. (Elizabeth?) (born c. 1862); William (born c. 1864); and Ellen (born c. 1866). Ralph, James H., and John worked on the farm with their father.

A decade later, Mary, James, Elizabeth, and William were still living on the farm. James was helping to run the farm while William was in school (1880 U.S. Census).

Henry Westropp remained in the house for the remainder of his life. The property was split among his heirs, after his death, in 1884. The fractional parts and splits are too numerous to document in the space available here.

In 1880, Catherine Westropp married William J. Busby (born March, 1852), an Irish immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1875. As of 1900, they occupied a house at 50 Westropp Road, adjacent to the house of her brothers, Patrick and John P, and her sister, Mary A. - 37 Westropp Road. The men were all farmers (1900 U.S. Census).

Detail, Plate 5, Flynn Atlas of the Suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, 1898. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

In this map detail, north is at the top. Erie Street (now East 152nd Street) runs top to bottom. From left to right, at the bottom, is Scott Avenue (now Hale Avenue, and mostly covered by Interstate 90). The street north of Scott is now known as Westropp. Between these two roads is a parcel, labeled "Cath. A. Westropp et al. 2 35/100 A" - the yellow shape between "Cath" and "A." is our subject house - 15006 Westropp Avenue. On the other side of the road is a parcel belonging to John A. Westropp - this was part of the farm.

The yellow shapes with Xs on them are barns or other outbuildings. One was likely a carriage house, while others may have been for chickens or cows. The one on the north side of the road, running parallel to it, was two stories high - all the rest of the outbuildings that survived to 1913 were only 1 story (1912-1913 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Cleveland, Ohio, Volume 8, Plate 13).

In 1910, Patrick S. Westropp, John P. Westrop, and Katherine C. Busby were all living in their childhood home, 15006 Westropp. Patrick was noted to still be working as a farmer (1910 U.S. Census).

Detail, 1912 Plat Book of the City of Cleveland, Volume 1, Plate 40. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

By 1912, the outbuilding with the biggest footprint on the 1898 map was gone.

Detail, 1912 Plat Book of the City of Cleveland, Volume 1, Plate 40. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

A wider angle view illustrates how much the neighborhood had changed by that date. The massive Collinwood rail yards, with their associated roundhouse and other buildings sit imposingly to the south. The Collinwood Memorial School - the red structure to the north of our house - had been built. Almost all of the blocks had been platted for houses, many of which had been built. Yet slightly off-center, shaded in red and blue, remains the undeveloped farmland, owned by the Busbys and Westropps.

John P. Westropp died Sunday, October 10, 1915, at 15006 Westropp. A funeral was held at St. Joseph's Church on the 13th, and he was buried at St. John's cemetery (Cleveland Necrology File).

By 1920, part of the house was being rented to Frank Kays, a pharmacist (born c. 1882) and his wife Ida M. Kays(born c. 1882) Kays. The U.S. Census taken that year has Katherine Busby as a resident, along with a nephew, Harold Westropp (born c. 1906) and two nieces, Margaret M. Westropp (born c. 1908) and Henrietta A. Westropp (born c. 1908). The three were born in Indiana.

One Elizabeth Gregory evidenly also a tenant, judging from this entry in the Cleveland Necrology File, dated January 5, 1924:

Gregory-Elizabeth, wife of the late Thomas E. Gregory, sister of Mrs. Mamie McNeil, Mrs. Rose M. Edwards and Mrs. Clara George, suddenly at her residence, 15006 Westropp avenue. Funeral from late residence and St. Jerome's church, Lake Shore Boulevard, at 9 a. m. Wednesday.

Though he is not listed in the 1920 Census, Patrick Westropp seems to have remained a resident of this house - at least he was at the time of his death, April 13, 1929. His funeral was held at St. Jerome's Church on Tuesday, April 16 (Cleveland Necrology File).

A husband and wife, Frank and Josephine Borkovac (both born c. 1872) rented part of the house as of 1930. Frank worked on a punch machine, in the steel industry, while Josephine worked cleaning private homes (1930 U.S. Census).

Henriette Westropp married John Martick. After the wedding, he moved into this house. Henriette lived here until her death, on July 31, 1934. A funeral was held at St. Jerome's Church, at East 152nd Street and Lakeshore Boulevard (Cleveland Necrology File).

Catherine retained ownership of the property - and probably lived here - for the rest of her life. In 1934, it was transferred to her nieces and nephews (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 193410090075). Her heirs sold it to Dewey and Edna Pettit, in 1944 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 193711160003 and 194408030076).

The Pettits lived here for the rest of their lives. It wasn't until 1985 that the property transferred, through Edna Pettit's estate, to Richard L. Pettit (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 00021263).

Richard Pettit sold the house to James R. Major, in 1987 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 00369967). In 2002, Major sold it to the current owners, Sandra H. King and Henry King (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 200207031082).

There's much more to be unearthed regarding all of the families who called 15006 Westropp home. I've only cut it as short as I have due to limited time.

Photograph by I.T. Frary, from Ohio in Homespun and Calico, page 16.

As I mentioned above, the original appearance of the house on Westropp was likely very similar to this one. A wing, similar to the one here, existed on left side of the house, when facing the house from the exterior, rather than the right, as on this example. It was removed between 1920 and the mid 1950s.

The lines of the Westropp house don't look so sharp, mostly due to several layers of material hiding the original lines - aluminum siding over cement shingles over asphalt composition shingles over the wood siding. I'm sure that with these removed, it would look a lot more appealing.

The front doorway probably looked like the one in Frary's photograph, with a massive pediment balancing the (visually) empty space on the second floor. Ignoring the space above the door, ours would have probably looked something like the entrance on the Brainard Residence (demolished 2010).

The front door itself was likely similar to, if not identical, to this original door, found on the first floor, south wall.

This moulding, a relatively common shape for the period, surrounds the front door and the sidelights (the small vertical windows on either side of the door).

In this shot, a wider angle, one gets a better idea of the look of the doorway. Note that the sidelights have been boarded up, and that a wall now covers some of the trim.

A large chimney runs through the center of the house.

To your right, from the entrance, is the parlor. The three windows in that room retain the original trim and paneling, as shown here. The large quantity of material left in the house prevented an effective wider angle shot.

The beams that make up the frame of the house protrude from the four corners - in each case, about 5 inches. They were covered, at the time of construction or soon after, trim with a rounded edge. At some later date, this was concealed with plaster.

In the basement, the beams, some hand-hewn, that make up the structure of the house, are still visible.

The massive chimney, perhaps five feet wide, which once provided heat for the house still remains. Wood beams were added later for support.

Structural elements are also visible on the second floor.

On the outside, this nice trim, part of the gable end, remains, hinting at what might be present underneath.

Overall, there doesn't appear to be anything especially wrong with the house, other than the level of debris, both inside and outside the house, and the half-removed aluminum siding. There isn't any evidence of water getting in, and there don't seem to be any structural issues. It's a solid house, with good lines, and plenty of historic interior detail.

What happens next?

I have not yet seen the list of code violations - I've requested these, and any other public records associated with the condemnation of the property, and I expect to have them in hand next week. I'll share them at that time.

While the busy intersection may not make this the best location for a private residence, it could work quite well for an office, I would think. That would as an excellent way to preserve the structure.

Historic photographs of this house or the surroundings would be most welcome, as would any additional history of this structure and the families that called it home.

This house, built by Hiram McIlrath, between 1844 and 1848, factored into the lives of two of the earliest families to settle this area, the McIlraths and the Dilles. To quote I.T. Frary (Early Homes of Ohio, page 61),

We build monuments to the memory of heroes. These structures are monuments erected by the heroes themselves.

Correction: The story previously referred to the outermost layer of siding on the house as being vinyl siding. It is, in fact, aluminum siding. While this may suggest the motivations for the removal of some of the siding, it does not change any of the other facts, nor the conclusions reached.

Threatened: The best frame Italianate house on Cleveland's east side

2011-11-22T10:27:00.002-05:00

I first detailed this massive 3,500 square foot house back on November 9, 2009 (The best frame Italianate house I've seen in Cleveland). It's also covered in Hidden History of Cleveland (History Press, 2011), pages 119-120.

The house was built in 1874. We can learn some details of the construction, thanks to a court case involving payment involving the contract for the house:

"Agreement entered into this 8th day of October, 1874, between Jan Zoeter and A.W. Lamson, whereby said Jan Zoeter this day agrees to sell to A.W. Lamson a certain house and lot situated upon the south side of Superior street between Norwood street and Denham avenue, being the first lot east" [east of an existing house belonging to one Mr. Griffin (AFN: 188111190002) - actually Ernest Giffhorn] and so on describing the property.

Then follows: "Said house being now in course of erection and completion, said house to be finished in every respect by said Zoeter in a good workmanlike manner, with inside walk and fences, well and cistern, lot graded and sodded, and barn, all to be conveyed to said Lamson by a good warranty deed free from incumbrances when finished. Said A.W. Lamson agrees to pay the said Zoeter for the same the sum of $8,000, $2,000 down, the balance, $6,000, in four equal annual payments, secured by a mortgage on said premises, and at 7 per cent interest; said payments to bear date the day when possession is given of said Lamson. This contract is subject to verbal arrangements between the parties as to the manner of finishing said house.

Reprint of Decisions of Ohio Courts (Below Supreme Court): Contained in the Cleveland Law Reporter, Volumes 1 & 2 (1878-1879), Cleveland Law Record, 1856. Cleveland Law Register, 1893.
Weekly Law Bulletin, 1897, pages 235-237.

Alfred W. Lamson was a principal in the law firm of Pennewell & Lamson. He later served as a judge on the court of common pleas in Cleveland. (Special thanks to Craig Bobby for his work in tracking down this information and several other small but important facts that would have otherwise been omitted.)

Circa 1956. Photograph courtesy of the Cuyahoga County Archives

Here's a photo of the house from the 1950s. Virtually all of the detail present in this historic photo remains.

A recent photo from a similar angle illustrates just how much the trees and bushes hide the beauty of the house.

Alfred W. Lamson lived in this house until 1879.

As a result of the lawsuit mentioned above, wherein which Lamson owed Jan Zoeter $7,063.41 on this house, the property was sold at sheriff's sale, in 1881, and returned to Jan Zoeter (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 188111190002).

Jan and Jane Zoeter remained owners of the property for a decade, until 1891, when they sold the house to Stephen Taylor, for $7,000 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 189106130002). In 1895, Taylor sold the house to Byron E. Helman, for $8,500 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 189508130036). Two years later, Helman sold the house to Phillip Platten, for the same price (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 18970721001).

Phillip Platten sold the property to George W. Ford, in 1906 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 190602130007). Later the same year, Ford sold the property to John J. and Rosa J. Fischer, Swiss immigrants (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 190611160053, 1920 U.S. Census). The Fischers would remain in the house for the rest of their lives (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 190902270025 and 192903140066). After Rosa's death in 1929, the property transferred to their children, Otto J. Fisher, Ernest J. Fischer, and Johanna R. Fischer.

Otto worked as a superintendent in a steel mill, while his brother, Ernest, worked in one as a toolmaker (1920 U.S. Census).

Otto, Ernest, and Johanna kept the house as their residence for the next 30 years. It only transferred out of the family after the last of three, Johanna, died in 1961 (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 195703020029; 196104080041; 196109060005).

Johanna Fischer's estate sold the house to Francis and Adele Neimanas, who also lived their for the rest of their lives, April 29, 200, and March 26, 1994, respectively. In 2004, their heirs sold the house to James Baker (Cuyahoga County Recorder, AFN: 200304030916; AFN: 200405041037; AFN: 200405041038; AFN: 200405041039).

Let's take a look at the house itself. As you approach the front porch, you notice that the front of the house appears to be stone. This is, in fact, not stone or faux painting, but wood carved to look like stone.

The columns that support the front porch feature incredibly detailed carvings.

The windows also feature intricate carvings.

Here's a detail of one of the windows. Imagine how expensive it would be to have just one piece like this made today.

You'r greeted by the massive front doors, which somehow have remained intact.

Once you step inside, you can see the stairs to the second floor. This massive bannister provides both visual and physical support for the railing. Note the trim on the side of the stairs, as well as the faux painting on the baseboard in the background. It's rare for such a surface treatment to remain intact.

The spindles have been replaced,yes, but I'm sure suitable replacements could be found at a reasonable price from Buffalo ReUse.

When you step into the front room and look back at the stairs, you notice that the trim and doorway here, too, remain original and even retain their original finish - the only thing marring the door is a deadbolt lock.

An arched doorway with pocket doors separates the front room from the one behind it.

Even the plaster ceiling medallion - which would have had a light fixture hanging from the center - remains intact. There are similar ceiling medallions, in similar condition, in many of the rooms.

The pocket doors remain functional, as demonstrated so ably by my assistant.

Then you step back into this room. Like the front room, it had a fireplace.

Photograph by Tim Barrett

I suspect that the fireplaces were marble, like those in the Beckenbach residence, just across the street, shown here. It's worth noting that the Beckenbach residence and St. George's Lithuanian Church have been saved, which bodes well for this community.

If we take the stairs up to the second floor, we observe similarly high finish quality.

A hallway leads from the front to the back of the house. Toward the end of the hallway, a curved wall provides a visual separation between the front of the house and the area where the help would have lived.

Yes, there are some problems that become obvious here, the most notable being falling plaster in the rear rooms. The roof will likely need to be redone. I don't expect there to be significant structural issues - there is no evidence of water inside right now.

The little details are worth noting, too, like this doorknob, one of a few different varieties in the house, all correct to the period.

Even the latches on the windows are beautifully detailed.

Another look at the exterior reveals more impressive trim. Here, we can see the original wood gutters and the fine detail present.

The house, while quite large, at 3,500 square feet, sits comfortably on the lot.

And just when you thought that's all there was to see, something else catches your attention, hidden behind the trees - a carriage house! The structure, with the beautiful arched doorways, for both people and carriages, is an extremely rare example at best. A view from the rear reveals large holes in the roofing material. While it can and should be saved, it will take some work.

For a house that has sat vacant for so long, the condition is impressive. (According to the neighbors I spoke with, it's been empty for at least seven years.)

Why is it threatened? Because the city is trying to condemn as many houses as possible. Vacant structures like this one, no matter how impressive, are easy targets - especially when their owners are uninterested in doing anything with them.

The Lamson house is the best frame Italianate house on Cleveland's east side - this isn't an exaggeration. For the price of new plumbing and a new roof, you could call it home.

Need more information? Check out my full set of photos of the house.

A Church and the Landscape - The Congregational Church at Claridon

2011-11-18T10:48:00.001-05:00

Photograph by I.T. Frary. 1922. Scanned from a photocopy of an original in the I.T. Frary Audiovisual Collection at the Ohio Historical Society.

On Wednesday, I illustrated how the changes in landscape around St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Church affected the perception of the structure, from something monumental to something more ordinary. Today, I hope to illustrate how more subtle changes affect the perception of a historic structure.

The Congregational Church at Claridon was built in 1831, at the intersection of Mayfield Road (US 322) and Claridon-Troy Road, in Geauga County. (If you took Mayfield Road east from Interstate 271 and continued east for 16 miles, you'd end up there.)

The church is an especially good example of the type built in this area during the time specified.

As you look at these photographs, try to notice how the church has been changed over time.

Photograph by I.T. Frary, in the collections of the Ohio Historical Society. From the Cleveland Artists Foundation exhibition Designing History: I.T. Frary; Interior Design and the Beginnings of Historic Preservation in Ohio.

This photograph, circa 1929, was used by Frary in his landmark work, Early Homes of Ohio, which remains the best work on Ohio's architectural heritage as a whole.

Finally, we have a photograph that I took, back in March of this year.

The most obvious change is that the windows are no longer arched, but now have rounded tops. But there's another significant change. Look at the stairs leading to the church.

In 1922, there are just two front stairs. By circa 1929, there are three. And today, there are four.

Note how much the church feels like it's part of the landscape in 1922. Something's lost in the addition of stairs - to my eyes, it feels more separated from the landscape. Perhaps that was the intention.

As in Tremont, these changes, large and small, make a difference.

St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Church, Again

2011-11-16T08:50:00.000-05:00

The Dominance of the City. Ora Coltman, 1933-34. Image used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

When I came across this painting, The Dominance of the City, by Ora Coltman, I was impressed. The canvas, painted in 1933-1934, was the first New Deal mural in Cleveland. The description on the Cleveland Public Library website notes:

The large center panel shows a view of bridges over the Cuyahoga River in the Cleveland flats. The artist's intent was "to glorify the genius of Cleveland which contemptuous of the obstacles of the river and its valley, had thrown across it these broad level highways making one community out of two, the mercantile east side…linked up with the south-side foreign residents. " The right panel of the mural shows the St. Theodosius Cathedral and its surrounding Tremont neighborhood. The left panel is the Ohio Bell building representing Cleveland as a center of commerce.

Detail, The Dominance of the City. Ora Coltman, 1933-34. Image used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

My attention was drawn to the right hand panel, illustrating St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Church. It reminded me of another painting of the church and the Flats, painted in 1912 by Frank Nelson Wilcox, which I discussed in Caboose and Russian Church.

The historic church remains today, while many of the houses around it are gone. But that's not the most significant change in the appearance of the church.

In these paintings, the church is portrayed as sitting at the very highest point in the landscape, while the viewer is placed in the Flats. In such an elevated position, it is impressive, and suggests grander things.

Today, most of those who view the church see it from Interstates 90 and 490. They're (physically) closer to the position of the church, and as a result it loses something of what makes it impressive.

Little Russia, Cleveland. Ora Coltman, 1926. Image used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

This can be seen in a lesser degree in Coltman's Little Russia, Cleveland, painted for the Jefferson Branch of Cleveland Public Library.

Am I saying that we should remove the interstate highways for a more appropriate historical landscape? No. I bring this all up to suggest that we can better view the landscape as a whole (and the significance of this church within the community) by visualizing the landscape around it at the time it was built.

Imagine yourself in the Flats in the 1910s and try to see what the visual impact of this church must have been.

Cleveland’s Role in Origins of Baseball in America

2011-11-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

Since the game of baseball became an immensely popular sport in the mid-1850’s in the New York & Massachusetts region of the country, theories have existed as to when and where the game originated. The most popular theory is the Doubleday Myth, call so because it has been thoroughly debunked by great research and the discovery of prime sources that prove the theory to be a myth. Historians have exhaustively tried to solve this great mystery, and have turned up some interesting evidence over the past ten years.

Author David Block’s “Baseball Before We Knew It”, is probably the best comprehensive book on the matter. Block has discovered evidence that some form of bat and ball games were being played by the ancient Egyptians. He has discovered woodcuts of children playing bat and ball games from as early as 1301! The current general consensus is that our modern game of baseball is derived from changes in some sort of bat and ball game implemented by the New York Knickerbockers in 1845. Prior to these changes, base ball was most likely known as town ball, which is the rue American origin of the modern game. In fact, “town ball”, may have been called base ball many years prior to 1845.

In 2004, Baseball Hall of Fame Historian and noted author John Thorn discovered a reference to a ban on “baseball” in a town by-law in the town of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The by-law was written in 1791, and was enacted to keep the game from being played within 80 yards of a new town meetinghouse built in the town. Evidently, kids were breaking windows by playing the game well over 200 years ago. Laws such as this became very common as the game became more popular. There was even a ban on ball playing in Cleveland, enacted in 1845 (see above photo). The ban reads as follows: "it should be unlawful for any person or person to play at any game of Ball, or at any other game or pastime whereby the grass or grounds of any Public place or square shall be defaced or injured." The ban was lifted in 1856.

You may ask, how does Cleveland fit into the mystery? Recent discoveries here in Cleveland corroborate what Mr. Thorn found in Pittsfield. In addition to the 1845 Cleveland ban on ball playing, which suggests that the game was popular enough to warrant a law banning it’s play in order to save countless windows around public square, I have found other references that show the game was being played here close to the same time as when the game was banned in Pittsfield.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is located a mere 35 miles from the Connecticut border. Connecticut claimed the Western Reserve as a territory from 1662 to 1800, and Cleveland was, and still is, by far the largest, and one of the oldest settlements in the Western Reserve. The land was settled by residents of Connecticut, and Cleveland was founded by Moses Cleaveland of Connecticut. According to an newspaper article from the Cleveland Leader from July 9, 1859, the game of baseball had been around Cleveland for quite some time.
“Baseball was a favorite game of the early settlers and we are glad to see the manly sport is still in vogue, at least in “benighted Ashtabula.” A game was played in Jefferson, and the first side to win 100 “scores” was to be declared the winner. There were 13 innings without a score. Joshua R. Giddings, 64, scored every time at bat.”

The find here is that the article ties the game in with the “early settlers”, which were people that came here in the time period of 1796 to the early 1800’s. The fact that a 64 year-old person was playing the game suggests that the game was popular, and maybe something he learned in childhood. A 64 year-old man in 1859 would have been a child during the time of settlement.

Another reference describes how the game had been around for some time in the area.

“Large crowds of men, both old and young, resort daily to the Public Square to engage in the invigorating old game of baseball. Police endeavored to stop the players on Apr. 4, but the city marshal informed the players that they were breaking no law, so playing was resumed.” (Cleveland Leader, April 8, 1857)

It is interesting to note that this game at Public Square (see above photo of ball diamond on Public Square in 1859) took place right after the ban from 1845 had been repealed in 1856! Further, that fact that again, old residents as well as young people were playing “the invigorating OLD game of baseball”, suggests that the game had been around the area for quite some time.

A final piece of evidence comes from a Cleveland newspaper article from April 15, 1841.

“Playing ball is among the very first of the ‘sports’ of our early years. Who has not teased his grandmother for a ball, until the ‘old stockings’ have been transformed into one that would bound well?… There is fun, and sport, and healthy exercise, in a game of ‘ball’. We like it; for with it is associated recollections of our earlier days.”

The article again references “early years”, and ”earlier days”. For a city that was a mere 45 years old at the time of the article, early years and days can only solidify that argument that the game was being played by the settlers of Cleveland and the Western Reserve.

A case can be made that the game of “ball”, “town ball” and/or “base ball”, was imported from Connecticut, a mere 35 miles from the earliest reference to the game in America in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The game was cultivated, and played by our earliest settlers, who passed the pastime down to their children and grandchildren. The popularity of the game was such that the city banned its’ play in 1845 due to the same issues leading to the ban in Pittsfield in 1791 – broken windows and ruined grass. The evidence found here in Cleveland merely corroborates the theory that the great game of base ball, in some form, was being played in America for quite some time.

SOURCES:
Cleveland Newspaper Digest, 1841, 1857, 1859
Baseball Before We Knew It, David Block
Baseball Hall of Fame
Base Ball on the Western Reserve, James Egan Jr.

PHOTOS:

1845 City of Cleveland Ban on Ball Playing - ohiohistory.org
Ambrotype of Public Square in 1859, foreground shows outline of a baseball diamond
ohiohistory.org (photo of ballfield on Public Square)

Cleveland's Oldest House - Identified

2011-11-14T12:34:00.000-05:00

Photo from the Cleveland Press Collection, used courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project.

Last week, I shared this photograph, of a structure said to be Cleveland's Oldest House. The caption noted that it was located at West 93rd and Lorain - but I couldn't find anything in the historic maps of that area that matched up with the footprint of the house.

I offered a signed copy of Hidden History of Cleveland, for anyone who could identify the location of the structure or whose house it actually was.

Craig Bobby took up the task. He said,

I decided to "look up" whatever I could regarding the alleged Lorenzo Carter house, demolished in 1932, by looking in the Press, circa September 15, 1932. I did succeed in finding what was needed, published, by the way, in that very same date's edition.

Detail, 1913 Sanborn map. Used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library. Loren is the street running left-right near the bottom of the image. Our house is at the corner of Loren and East 93rd, the street running top to bottom.

He continued,

This house was neither at West 93rd nor Lorain; it was at East 93rd and Loren. This would be a small number of blocks north of Harvard, just outside of the original Newburgh Village. The article misidentifies the side-street as 'Lauren'. Its exact address was 3890 East 93rd -- it was on the northwest corner. You could see, from looking at the 1913 Sanborn map, that the house was set back considerably from the street. It has such a setback on both the 1881 and 1858 maps. The house behind it in the 1932 photo was the first house on the north side of Loren.

Detail, Plate 26, 1881 City Atlas of Cleveland, Ohio - used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library

Craig Bobby said,

I checked the 1881 City Of Cleveland Atlas and the 1858 Cuyahoga County Map. This house was on the property of Alonzo Carter, not Lorenzo Carter. I also looked at various historic Censuses and found an Alonzo Carter in Newburgh as far back as 1850. Both the 1840 and 1830 censuses have an Alonzo Carter living in Brooklyn, not Newburgh. I personally believe that they are all the same person. Those older censuses only listed age-groups, but, considering this, they seem to be about the same person, with knowing that the 1850 census has his age as being 60. Assuming from all of this that Alonzo Carter moved from Brooklyn to Newburgh sometime between 1840 and 1850, I think that it could be legitimately suggested that the house was built by him whenever that was that he arrived there in Newburgh. If not, then he acquired an already-built house. Regardless of the story of the alleged "primitive" construction features made visible during demolition, I still can not accept that this house was built in 1800 -- at least not the house as we see it in the photo. Could it have been a log cabin extensively remodeled in later years? We will never know.

The Dictionary Of Cleveland Biography article on Lorenzo Carter says that he had a son named Alonzo. I am willing to believe that this is that person. The Dictionary says Lorenzo was at least born in Connecticut, while the 1850 census says that Alonzo was born in Vermont. Lorenzo could have moved from Connecticut to Vermont -- they are quite near each other. The 1850 census also says that Alonzo Carter had a son named 'Lorain'. I believe that this is a misspelling; I bet his name was Loren (likely a 'diminutive' of Lorenzo). This should 'explain' why the side-street was named Loren. And, according to the Cleveland Necrology File, Alonzo Carter died in 1872 (quite possibly in this very house) at the ripe old age of 82.

He was kind enough to provide a copy of the article as well.

For his efforts, Craig Bobby will receive a signed copy of Hidden History of Cleveland.

While we now have the correct location for the photo, we are left with more answers than questions. Perhaps someone else, at some future date, will take interest in this and see what else can be learned about the history of this historic home.

An Early House at a Reasonable Price in a Neighborhood Few Will Object To

2011-11-09T16:03:00.000-05:00

Photograph by Laura Howard

Many of the structures I've argued for have been in the city of Cleveland and inner-ring suburbs. These are the neighborhoods I'm most familar with and are where advocacy is most needed. Today, however, I'll share one in very different surroundings - 3514 East Pleasant Valley Road, in Seven Hills, Ohio.

The house, built circa 1850, is listed for sale for $64,900 - dangerously close to, if not less than, the value of the lot as vacant land. It was brought to my attention by reader Laura Howard, who was kind enough to share her photographs of the structure.

Photograph by Laura Howard

The basic form of the house, a 1 1/2 story block, is hidden by landscaping, an inappropriate later porch, and aluminum siding - all of which could be easily removed.

House, East of Shalersville, Ohio. 1926. Used courtesy of the I.T. Frary Audiovisual Collection at the Ohio Historical Society.

This house, located east of Shalersville, Ohio, helps illustrate the historic appearance of our subject house. The only major difference is that the house on Pleasant Valley has a larger, more ornate, doorway.

Photograph by Laura Howard

As seen from one side of the main part of the house, it becomes obvious how (visually) tacked on the front porch is.

Photograph by Laura Howard

On the opposite end of the house, a closer view of the gable reveals more intricate work than one ususally sees done with aluminum siding. This suggests similarly proportioned, more finely detailed, trim underneath.

Photograph by Laura Howard

Inside, the detail of the front door, which is original, is more readily visible than it was outside. Also visible in the railing, for the stairs to the second floor, and a banister.

Photograph by Laura Howard

The railing has a rather nice form, as seen here, from the second floor.

Other than an original door or two, that's the extent of the original trim in the house.

Photograph by Laura Howard

There is a rather nice arched doorway on one side of the dining room, probably installed in the 1920s.

This house was probably moved to this site at an unknown date. The 1858 Hopkins Map of Cuyahoga County shows the parcel the house was on, 193 acres, as being owned by one J. Leonard but the only structure on the parcel was on another road.

By 1903, the parcel the house was on had reduced to 91 and 3/4 acres, as shown in the Maps of Cuyahoga County Outside of Cleveland. The land, owned by, J. Packard, did include a house on Pleasant Valley Road - but not in or near the location of this structure. The house was therefore moved here after that date.

What's the catch, then?

The foundation. Laura Howard's photographs reveal a basement with walls that are buckling. She noted that there are significant humidity issues inside - the structure will definitely need intensive dehumidification issues, in addition to the foundation work.

The idea of having to install some sort of bracing in the basement doesn't bother me much. Why? Because most of the basements in these houses are so short that they're of limited use at best.

While we don't know where the house came from, we can be sure that the original location wasn't far away - while it may not be original to the site, the house is part of the original fabric of this community. Underneath the landscaping, the porch, and the aluminum siding, there's a beautiful little house, worthy of someone's attention.

The Project of YOUR Dreams?

2011-11-08T09:55:00.002-05:00

The Luther Moses House: An Update

On Sunday, October 30, a group of Cleveland Area History readers visited the Luther Moses house, at 5611 Lexington Avenue, in Cleveland. The group included an architect, staff of the Cleveland Restoration Society, and other associated professionals.

The evidence present points the conclusion that this house can and should be saved. It's going to be a labor of love, but there's the interest among the readers of this blog to make it happen. Further, many among you seem to be willing to devote some labor into making this project happen.

I could go into the specific details of what's needed here, but before that, I need to address the most important problem:

This house needs someone who's willing to take it on as their project, most likely as a residence or office. Perhaps you're that person, or maybe you know someone who might be right for it. While I can campaign for this house and bring together the labor necessary to make it happen, without a dedicated individual or group willing to take it on as their cause, it's just not going to happen.

Does this mean a ton of money? Not necessarily. I believe between donated labor and other incentives that a dedicated individual or couple could have this structure at a reasonable price point.

This is a historically important house, one that will surely be lost if something isn't done soon. Are you willing to step up?

I'm going to be meeting with the brother of the owner on about the 15th. At that time, I will discuss our options to ensure that the house is properly secured to survive the winter.

Next week, I'll illustrate the floorplan (thanks to Ted Rusnak!) and discuss some of the options one might have with the house. I'll share some of the revelations that have come thus far. Cassidy Laudadio is researching the history of the structure.

All of this will help to paint a better picture of why this structure is important. But the importance is for naught if someone isn't willing to take this on as their cause.

This house is of a finish quality unmatched in pre-Civil War construction in the city of Cleveland, east of the Cuyahoga River. Surely something this beautiful and important is worth your efforts.

Cleveland's Oldest House

2011-11-07T10:09:00.002-05:00

Photo from the Cleveland Press Collection, used courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project.

When I come across a photo with the title "Cleveland's Oldest House", I can't resist. Such was the case with this photograph, found on the Cleveland Memory Project. (For the record, the amount of new stuff that continues to show up there is just ridiculous. How am I supposed to keep track of so much interesting new material?)

The description of this photo, from the Cleveland Press Collection, reads "Old Lorenzo Carter Homestead, Cleveland's Oldest House, Lorain Ave. and 93rd St., Cleveland apartments and residences, Built 1800, Razed 1932." It's dated September 15, 1932.

There are several problems with this caption. I've yet to see any evidence that Lorenzo Carter lived in this vicinity - he is known to have lived much much closer to downtown Cleveland. Further, I wasn't able to locate a pair of structures meeting the profile of the two shown here on the Sanborn fire insurance maps for the area in question.

Still, it seems strange that this would all be wrong - there must be some factual basis behind some of it, right?

The house definitely fits the period - it dates between 1800 and 1830. It would help if the photograph hadn't been retouched so heavily, but there's not much that can be done about that now.

Who was this house really built for? Where was it located? What else can we learn about it?

Answer any one of these or provide substantial information that helps in the process and you could win a copy of my forthcoming book, Hidden History of Cleveland. (I'll do a random drawing from all the answers that help lead to the identification of the structure.)

To help in this quest, Bill Barrow, Special Collections Librarian at Cleveland State University, has been kind enough to let me use a full resolution copy of the image (2750x2200!) - click on the image to get through to the bigger file. Perhaps there is some clue hidden away in it that will help answer the question.

How might one start the search? Perhaps one might find the corresponding article in the Cleveland Press. Or perhaps there's another spot that seems right. Or perhaps a historic map reveals something that I've missed. Wherever you find the clues, post them here or on our Facebook page and join in the conversation!

Inside the Oakwood Club

2011-11-03T09:30:00.005-04:00

A little while ago, I introduced the history of the Oakwood Club, a country club on Warrensville Center Road in Cleveland Heights and South Euclid. Here's the second part of the story - a look at the interior of the club, with photographs provided courtesy of Terry Coyne.

The Excelsior Club merged with Oakwood in 1930. The increase membership necessitated building a new clubhouse. The building, completed in 1931, was designed by George B. Mayer of Charles R. Greco & Associates. The firm was also responsible for the design of the Temple at University Circle (Temple Tifereth-Israel) and the Temple on the Heights, on Mayfield Road at Lee, in Cleveland Heights. Louis Rorimer, of Rorimer-Brooks Studios, was responsible for the interior decoration.

James C. Monnett, Jr. described it as follows (Plain Dealer, December 4, 1930, page 25)

Contract for construction of additions and improvements to the Oakwood Club has been awarded to the Sam W. Emerson Co., the club's president, J.M. Berne, announced last night. Work is to go forward immediately and will mean an expenditure in excess of $100,000.

Enlargement of the clubhouse is in connection with the plan to consolidate it with the Excelsior Club which recently sold its club property at 11111 Euclid Avenue to Western Reserve University, which will take possession as soon as Oakwood enlargements are completed. Arthur J. Halle is president of Excelsior.

Plans call for addition of two wings and remodelling of the present building. One of the new wings will contain a lockre room 60 x 120 feet with an outdoor dancing pavillion on the roof. The other wing will contain a large lounge, handball courts, bowling alleys, private rooms and other facilities. If weather permits it is expected to have a new locker room reading for use in early spring and the entire construction job finished early in June. Plans are by the Charles R. Greco organization, Edward G. Reed associated. The building committee is S.M. Gross, chairman; Alex Printz and Gamuel Regar.

Further, (Plain Dealer, June 28, 1931, page 41)

The new club, which in reality is the enlarged club on the former site near Warrensville Center and Mayfield Roads, is a beautiful structure with interiors in the French provincial style.

The main lounge is several steps below the entrance hallway. Back of it is a tea room which will open onto a terrace. The large dining room occupies the space of the original Oakwood club dining room.

There are seveal private rooms which may be opened into the main room for large gatherings. From the dining room to the roof garden is a "peacock alley." The roof garen is atop the section which houses the men's locker room. The women's lockers and dressing room are on the second floor.

Cornelia Curtiss, in an article describing the programs several clubs had planned for the 4th of July (Plain Dealer, July 4, 1931, page 10), notes:

One of the most interesting will be the dinner dance which formally opens the new and enlarged Oakwood Country Club at Mayfield and S.O.M. Center Roads. Not only will the dinner dance which is planned for the evening be the first social event to be held here, but it will mark the 25th anniversary of the original Oakwood club's founding.

The interior of the beautiful club is furnished in French provincial style. The "peacock alley" which leads from the main dining-room to the roof-garden, has been decorated with silver leaves and other silver novelties to mark the silver anniversary. The roof garden which tops the men's locker quarters is covered with a gay awning and is the only roof of its kinds among country clubs of this community.

A trio of photographs published in the Plain Dealer a couple weeks after the opening (July 19, 1931, page 6) might have illustrated the interior well, prior to being microfilmed. The same article notes that the total cost of the project, with furnishings, was $250,000.

On arriving by automobile at the main entrance to the clubhouse, a valet would likely park your vehicle.

Photograph used courtesy of Terry Coyne.

You'd be greeted by this entrance foyer, trimmed with dark wood, probably walnut. The furntiture present here could well have been part of the items selected and installed by Rorimer - I'd have to see it in person to make that determination. On the other hand, in settings outside private residences, furniture tends to have a shorter lifespan.

Photograph used courtesy of Terry Coyne.

To your left, there's a staircase leading up to the second floor. Note the detail of the carving in the trim - something Rorimer-Brooks was known for.

Photograph used courtesy of Terry Coyne.

To your right, from the entrance hall, is the living room, a large space that stretches all the way to the south wall of the structure. The listing photographs include another view, but this doesn't provide much illumination into the architecture of the structure.

Photograph used courtesy of Terry Coyne.

The "fireside alley" is connected to the living room - through the arch on the far left, we can see a little bit of the red of the walls in that room. Massive timbers appear to support the ceiling, providing a visual separation between lounge areas closer to the fireplaces and those that, as built, would have been near the outside wall.

Photograph used courtesy of Terry Coyne.

Another view, just to the right of the one above, provides a second look at the "fireside alley". On the far right, the wood paneling on the walls of the dining room is visible.

The listing photographs also provide views of some areas that were added later, and are of perhaps less architectural interest, but are still worth mentioning as part of a historical record. These include the bar, kitchen, blue room, private dining room, and ladies dressing room.

From Art work of Cleveland - 1911. Image used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

How much of the original clubhouse remained after the 1930/1931 renovations? Very little, outside the basic shell. Part of the roofline, and a couple chimneys are about it.

The main part of the Oakwood clubhouse provides an interesting look at a Cleveland country club, circa 1930. It'd be worth investigating whether the furntiure is original. If it is, it represents a rare collection, worth documenting as part of the whole.

Chester Commons: A Last Look

2011-11-02T10:28:00.008-04:00

Photograph by Traci Hlafka

A little over two weeks ago, I shared some photographs of Chester Commons, the park at the northwest corner of Chester Avenue and East 12th Street that has been demolished and is in the process of being reborn, now as Perk Park. I noted, in the color slides, from the early 1970s, "the presence of color in the figures on the concrete walls." I continued that "I can't recall whether they were still in color at the time of demolition - what I do recall is that they felt quite gray - the vibrance in these images was definitely gone from them."

Cleveland Area History reader Traci Hlafka was kind enough to share this group of photographs she took of the park, a couple months prior to the demolition.

Photograph by Traci Hlafka

Peeling paint was visible everywhere, including on the fountain, which appears to either be drained or be out of commission completely.

Photograph by Traci Hlafka

The abstract figures, painted on the concrete - figures that were once brilliant colors - are now dull and muted.

Photograph by Traci Hlafka

The toll caused by lack of maintenance is obvious.

Photograph by Traci Hlafka

Erosion has changed the physical landscape. And the growth of trees has made the space very different from how it appeared in the early 1970s.

These photos help to provide a record of how the park changed over time, as well as what has been lost.

If you have photographs or other images that might provide for an interesting follow-up to a story, please email them to ClevelandAreaHistory@gmail.com.

Release Party for Hidden History of Cleveland

2011-11-01T10:26:00.000-04:00

Your Chance to Buy Dozens of Copies of My Book and Get Them All Signed

On Friday, November 11, 2011, at 7pm, Loganberry Books will host a release party for my first book, Hidden History of Cleveland. The author will talk and sign copies of the book. Refreshments will be served. There will be a door prize, including Cleveland Area History swag and local history books.

To quote the jacket copy,

In Hidden History of Cleveland, Busta-Peck unearths aspects of Cleveland’s past that dangle too near extinction from city memory. Too often, we think of history as something that happens elsewhere. But it’s not. Travel down East 100th Street to the home where Jesse Owens lived when he shocked the world at the 1936 Olympics. Ascend the stairs to Langston Hughes’s attic apartment on East 86th, where the influential writer lived alone during his formative sophomore and junior years of high school. From the massive Brown Hoist Building and the Hulett ore unloaders to some of the oldest surviving structures in Cleveland, Busta-Peck has Clevelanders talking about history again.

Loganberry Books is located at 13015 Larchmere Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44120. It is in the heart of the historic Larchmere neighborhood. It is the largest independent bookstore in Cleveland. Loganberry has the largest selection of local history books in Cleveland, including many unique and hard to find items.

If you're unable to attend, there will also be a signing at Mac's Backs, on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights, on Tuesday, November 15, at 7pm.

Other signings and events will be announced as they are scheduled.

We're Two!

2011-10-31T12:31:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Us!

Two years ago, Cleveland Area History got its start. Since then, stories from this site have received national media attention. We've achieved my primary goal - Clevelanders are talking about issues relating to history and historic preservation again.

A book, Hidden History of Cleveland has been published, collecting some of the best material published here - there's a release party scheduled for November 11. You can even buy Cleveland Area History stickers for your ~~rusty old~~ historic cars.

What's you favorite story from the past two years?

Help Save an Important Historic Home!

2011-10-27T15:03:00.000-04:00

The Luther Moses House
Cleveland's Finest Pre-Civil War House, East of the Cuyahoga

Almost two years ago, I introduced the Luther Moses house, a designated Cleveland Landmark. Moses, a wealthy Cleveland shipbuilder, commissioned the structure, at 5611 Lexington Avenue, circa 1854.

At the time, I bemoaned the physical condition of the structure - it seemed likely that it would collapse into a pile of rubble without further action. A new roof had been installed, which suggested that the owner cared to some degree about the structure, but as the new shingles were falling off, I didn't have much hope.

A month ago, Robert Landon, the brother of the owner of the house, contacted me. He had read my post on the house. To my surprise and delight, he wasn't writing because of the tone I used in describing the condition of the house, but rather because he wanted to restore it, and he hoped I might be able to provide "advice, comments, or leads" in what he recognized as a "monumental task."

Now that I had his permission, I took a look inside.

I was filled with awe. Here was a 150 year old house that appeared to still have most of the original woodwork! Further, the quality of the woodwork was the best I've seen from this period in the city of Cleveland, east of the Cuyahoga.

These doorways were moved to the front hall. One is a closet, the other leads to the back hall. It will be possible to return them to their original location, by matching the nail holes on the back of the trim with the nail holes on the framing in the places where the trim was removed. This style of trim was used for all of the first floor doors.

This fireplace, one of two on the first floor, is mostly original. The only parts replaced are the two boards at the very top.

Here are two windows, in the room on the northwest corner of the house. Each has a simple panel underneath. While a small bit of trim is missing, it could be replaced easily enough. Imagine these in front of painted walls, rather than brick, and they appear much more pleasing. All of the windows on the first floor received this treatment.

Even the front doorway, which was converted to a window years ago, and the, later, bricked in, remains intact, save for the door itself. Underneath the additional trim, added for the window, the careful details created by carpenters in 1854 remain.

To the best of my ability to determine, almost all of the original woodwork on the first floor remains - the only exception is the staircase. This simply doesn't happen. Interiors change with tastes and the needs of the residents. Further, houses built by affluent persons are more likely to be changed, because they can afford to.

Look at the rendering I used at the start of the article, based on the evidence I have thus far as to how the house appeared, and imagine it like that again.

Yes, the house needs major work, but, as a community, it's worth our time and effort to fix it up. Here, preservation isn't an issue of someone else's action or inaction, but in how we each choose to spend a little time.

What will happen to the house when this is all done?

This remains to be seen. Robert Landon's interest in fixing it up is sentimental in nature. He grew up in this house. His mother put a ton of time and money into it, and it hurts him to see it in the current state. He wants it to be in the hands of someone who will care for it for what it is.

Landon will be in town in mid-November. Interested parties might discuss possibilities with him at that time.

How do we proceed?

There's a ton of research to be done - this has already begun. The next step is documenting the house and identifying how it might have appeared originally. While I have plenty of photographs, they're not by any means exhaustive. Measured architectural drawings would be most helpful - perhaps you might be able to help? Or perhaps you might be interested in helping to organize what is surely going to be a massive undertaking?

I'll be at the house on Sunday at 11 with some of the people who are interested in this. Let me know if you want to be involved.

This is going to be an ongoing feature, with regular updates - next week, I'll share the beginnings of the research into the house and its occupants!

Lost: The Biggest Apartment Building in Cleveland at the Time it was Built

2011-10-26T09:52:00.000-04:00

The Alhambra

The historic Alhambra Apartment Building, on the south side of Wade Park Avenue at East 86th Street, in the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland, is being demolished.

Here's a view of the structure as it was in May of 2010. Note the hole in the side wall, blocked in with concrete block, which some have suggested is the reason the structure was being demolished. This photograph illustrates the spot in question in detail.

This pair of photographs, taken of the rear of the structure, from East 86th Street, illustrate the progress of the demolition. A whole section of the building is gone. The fire escapes and balconies have been removed.

The construction of the Alhambra was announced in the Plain Dealer (February 23, 1902, page 5), under the heading "New Style of "Flat" Building":

The largest apartment house in Cleveland will be the Alhambra that is to be erected on the corner of Wade Park and Marcy avenues this spring. The builders, the L.W. MacKenzie Realty Co., will break ground at once, a new company having been formed that will soon be incorporated to take charge of the big structure. Stock to the extent of $30,000 will be issues and in addition the Mackenzie Realty Co. will be given stock for its land which is quite valuable.

This new apartment house of fifty-six suites that is to stand just opposite the Belgrave, also owned by the MacKenzie realty Co., will have frontage on Wade Park avenue of 286 feet and front 74 feet on Marcy. The architects, Searles & Hirsch, have sprung something entirely new for Cleveland in this Alhambra, which is to be of Spanish design, built of light pressed brick, four strories high, which, by reason of extreme length, gives it a handsome long, low effect so much admired in the architecture of Spain. The suites will be divided by fireproof walls and a steel porch will extend across the entire rear, giving an outside entrance to each kitchen. East room is to have outside light and every modern means of comfort will be provided.

A novel method of erection will be employed so that part of the building can be utilized by the tenants before all is completed. Fourt stories will be run up two suites wide at first and this will be continued until the whole length is completed. The contractors promise to have the building completed by September. The rentals will be from $25 to $35 a suite.

The building sports some beautiful details - the most notable being the towers seen above. Note also this mosaic above one of the entrances.

Photograph by the City of Cleveland, Ohio. 1967. Courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

This detail of a 1967 photograph shows the style of windows that were present across the entire fourth floor.

Eric Johannesn described the appeal of the structure in his classic, Cleveland Architecture: 1876-1976 (page 91).

Five square towers projected above the roof of the four-story building, supported on machicolations to give the effect of a fortress, and topped off with pyramidal roofs. This provided a suitably monumental yellow brick facade for the upper middle-class inhabitants of the middle East Side. The same design was repeated on the West Side at Franklin Avenue and West 57th Street and called the Franklin Apartments.

It's a shame that this has happened to what seems, to all outside appearances, to be a solid shell. One would expect it would have been possible to rehab it.

A Park as it Was: Chester Commons

2011-10-24T13:58:00.001-04:00

Photograph by Frank J. Aleksandrowicz, June, 1973, for the Environmental Protection Agency.

In recent years, the park at Chester Avenue and East 12th Street had fallen into such disrepair that it became somthing less than attractive to the downtown population. It is now in the process of being completely rebuilt.

Indeed, the concrete structures in the park had come to feel brutalist in nature. (Brutalism is the architectural style charaterized by imposing, massive concrete and stone - the wing of the Cleveland Museum of Art designed by Marcel Breuer is an excellent example of this.)

It's worth looking at what this park looked like originally, in the 1970s, when it was built.

Photograph by Clay Herrick. Courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project.

Eric Johannesen, in his classic work on the city's built environment, Cleveland Architecture: 1876-1976 described it as follows:

Visually the most successful part of the [Erieview] project area by 1976 was the square at East 12th Street and Chester Avenue. Built by the city in 1972 and called Chester Commons Park, the square is one of the best genuinely urban pedestrian spaces in Cleveland. Considerable spatial drama is created wtihin a small compass on a stage set of concrete and plantings. The space is divided and made to appear much larger than it is by the use of numerous levels built up of stepped platforms at irregular angles. Some of the concrete parapets take on the shape of imaginary fortified bastions. Trees, wooden benches, brightly colored graphic designs, and a small cascade at the center of the square add variety and freshness, and the ensemble has a distinctly playful quality. However, the urban character of the square is dependent on the backdrop of the older Chester Twelfth Building, the new Diamond Shamrock and Penton Plaza Buildings, the Chesterfield Apartments, and Park Centre.

Photograph by Frank J. Aleksandrowicz, June, 1973, for the Environmental Protection Agency.

There are a few major differences between the park as originally built and how it was up until a few years ago that are worth noting.

One is the presence of color in the figures on the concrete walls. I can't recall whether they were still in color at the time of demolition - what I do recall is that they felt quite gray - the vibrance in these images was definitely gone from them.

Photograph by Frank J. Aleksandrowicz, June, 1973, for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Further, as built, the space feels far more open. While my tendency is generally to be in favor of trees in parks, it seems that in this situation, they space, as originally concieved, worked better with them being much shorter. I'm not sure why.

Photograph by Frank J. Aleksandrowicz, June, 1973, for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Perhaps these slides will provide some insights into what has and hasn't worked in the way of parks in downtown Cleveland. In this sort of history, we ought to be able learn something about which paths will and won't work in the future development of this area.

Cleveland Nightlife in the 1930s?

2011-10-20T11:15:00.000-04:00

Image used courtesy of Rachel Davis Fine Arts.

When I came across this watercolor by Edward Dobrotka in Rachel Davis Fine Arts' current auction, I knew it was special. It looked, to my eyes, like an excellent illustration of the bustling nightlife on a commercial block in Cleveland in the late 1930s or early 1940s.

Dobrotka, a Clevelander, is best known as an illustrator in some of the early depictions of Superman, created by Clevelanders Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

As a student, in the late 1930s, he was employed in a National Youth Administration (the NYA was a division of the Works Progress Administration - the WPA) program, making paintings, primarily watercolors, of historic buildings in the greater Cleveland area. These paintings provide an excellent way to see these historic buildings in color - subjects that, for the most part, have been lost, and for which the only other documentation is in black and white. About 60 of these paintings, by Dobrotka, are in the collections of the Western Reserve Historical Society - one can obtain a full list by searching for his last name in the museum's catalog.

This painting provides a vibrant view of city nightlife in the late 1930s, in the way a photograph never could. People stand around, perhaps waiting for a streetcar, in front of a store whose name I can't read. To the right, there's a fruit and vegetable market, still open at this late hour. To the right of that, with a tiny doorway, Sing Long Low Chop Suey. On the far right, a store sign lists butter, eggs, and cheese.

The question that's been bugging me is as to the location being depicted. While it's an attractive painting, and valuable as a historical record of the work of an artist, its value as a record of a place is minimal until we can determine just what that place is.

The obvious clue would be to look for Sing Long Low Chop Suey. I don't see any advertisements for an establishement with this name in the pages of the Plain Dealer. I've come across a reference to a "Sing Long Low Chinese Restuarant" in New York City", but the name doesn't seem sufficiently uncommon to rule out Cleveland as a possible location for this painting.

There's enough information in this painting that we should be able to place it on a map, if it is in Cleveland. Streetcar tracks are visible in the road, which narrows down the location. The combination of a 3 story plus brick building, a tiny one story one, and a two story one to the right has to be rare when combined with the streetcar tracks. With enough combing of the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Ohio, one should be able to locate the site.

To further narrow this down, I looked at the areas that Edward Dobrotka covered in his paintings for the NYA. They're primarily in the Ohio City neighborhood, the Flats, and on the near east side (west of, say, East 40th Street). If this is, in fact, Cleveland, it would seem likely he painted this in one of the aforementioned areas.

What do you think? Do you have any ideas as to where this might be? New York readers, do you have any clues?

The Last Stand of Eliot Ness

2011-10-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

Photograph by Frank J. Aleksandrowicz for the Environmental Protection Agency. July, 1973.

I've long heard rumors that a sign, for Eliot Ness's campaign for mayor, was still standing, somewhere on the near east side of Cleveland. Ness served as the city safety director in the 1930s, working to eliminate corruption from the police department. When I came across this historic photograph, taken in the summer of 1973, I had to look further.

The caption indicates that the sign, for Ness's 1938 campaign, is on an apartment building at East 36th Street and Cedar Avenue. This building appears to be gone.

Unless the references I've heard are to another sign, this little bit of Cleveland's history is gone.

Caboose and Russian Church

2011-10-17T12:09:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of Rachel Davis Fine Arts.

I came across Caboose and Russian Church, in Rachel Davis Fine Arts' current auction.

The painting, a watercolor, was made in 1912 by Frank Nelson Wilcox, a well-known Cleveland artist. The subject is the Cleveland rail yards and a building that will be familar to many - St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Church. The familar onion domes of the church have towered over Tremont for one hundred years. The church had just been built at the time Wilcox painted it.

I looked at a current map of the address of this historic church - 733 Starkweather Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio - with the hope of placing the artist's view on the map.

I couldn't determine the location. The construction of Interstate 490 changed the landscape enough that many of the houses shown in front of the church are now gone. With that in mind, I looked at an earlier map - the 1912 Plat-book of the City of Cleveland, Ohio.

Courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

A detail of the map, shown here, helps illuminate the artist's perspective. The red lines show the approximate area covered in his perspective. The church is the structure in red near the top of the image, just to the left of center. We can see several streets that are now gone: Clyde; Severn; Lynn; Cathedral; and Clarence, as well as two that are almost completely gone: St. Tichon and St. Olga.

Wilcox's painting illustrates a time in Cleveland that is now gone. Residential areas were closer to industry than they are now, and there appears to have been more pollution in the skies.

Hidden History of Cleveland

2011-10-14T09:50:00.004-04:00

The Answer to All Your Holiday Gift Giving Problems

Wonder about the lack of posts from me here during the summer and early fall? My time was eaten up by the editing of Hidden History of Cleveland. My publisher, History Press, describes it thus:

Join local history preservationist Christopher Busta-Peck and unearth aspects of Cleveland’s past that dangle too near extinction from city memory. Too often, we think of history as something that happens elsewhere. But it’s not. Travel down East 100th Street to the home where Jesse Owens lived when he shocked the world at the 1936 Olympics. Ascend the stairs to Langston Hughes’s attic apartment on East 86th, where the influential writer lived alone during his formative sophomore and junior years of high school. From the massive Brown Hoist Building and the Hulett ore unloaders to some of the oldest surviving structures in Cleveland, Busta-Peck (the wildly popular Cleveland Area History blog) has Clevelanders talking about history again. Here’s why.

In short, it's a selection of the very best material from Cleveland Area History, with a third to half of the extra words cut out. It's scheduled for publication in early November - just in time for the holidays. Just think: you could give a copy to each and every one of the impossible-to-shop-for but nonetheless obligatory gift recipients on your list.

Preorder it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble [at a ~~marginally~~ significantly better price], or your favorite independent bookstore.

The Earliest Remnants of European Settlement

2011-10-13T10:26:00.000-04:00

First Presbyterian Churchyard, East Cleveland:
The 1810s

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

I've been following Ashley D. Smith (A Grave Concern)'s photos on Flickr for quite some time. She's photographed many of the oldest cemeteries in northeast Ohio in considerable detail - she's got more than 20,000 photos in her account. Further, she offer the photos under a Creative Commons license.

A huge selection of historic material, photographed well, and mine for the asking? How could I resist?

You might ask why, then, I'm only now posting something. It's simple, really: I couldn't figure out what to say about them. Yes, I'm talking about physical artifacts of European settlers that are older than the oldest surviving buildings, in public locations, and yet I couldn't figure out anything to say.

Why? There's been very little work done on historic grave markers in this area. Unlike the region's architecture, which quickly developed distinctive elements, the gravestones in these cemeteries followed much of the stame stylistic traditions found on the east coast. While there are some that stray from these traditions, I really don't have the art history background to adequately analyze said differences.

On Tuesday, I came across a new set of photos from Ashley D. Smith - the cemetery at First Presbyterian Church, at 16200 Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland. They're in just about the best condition for anything I've seen this old in the area - perhaps this is due to slight differences in the sandstone available in this vicinity, or perhaps it is due to the greater distance from downtown Cleveland (and therefore, pollution) than some of the other sites.

While the individual names may not be that well known, the families - Dille, Eddy, and McIlrath - are well known among the early settlers of this area.

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

"A prudent wife is from the LORD"
Prov. 19.14.
Such a gift was
Mrs. Susannah Barr,
who departed this life
October the 9th, 1812;
in the 38th, year of her age.
While living
"The heart of her Husband did safely
Trust in her". Prov. 31.11.
Now, she is dead.
"Her children arise up and
Call her blessed." Prov. 31.28.
Her remains lie here.

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

In
Memory of
Anna, Wife of John
Carlton; & Daughr. of
Saml. Cozad, died Aug.
23d, 1813: in the 22d
year of her age.
My glass is run
My grave you see
Prepare for death
And follow me

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

In
Memory of
Henry Cozad
who died Feb. 27th
1813; in the 17th year
of his age.

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

In
Memory of
Elizabeth, wife of
Thomas McIlrath,
who died
Feb. 11, 1813;
aged 53 years.

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

In
Memory of
James Slawson
who died
Feb. 18, 1813.

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

In
Memory of
Samuel Smith,
who departed this
life May 4, 1813;
aged 47 years.

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

ISAAC NEWTON,
Son of A. & E. DILLE
who died
Dec. 16, 1814,
?? E 6 y. & 8 m.

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

In
Memory of
Polly, Wife of
Enoch Murray;
who died Sept. 26th, 1815;
aged 35 years.

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

SACRED
to the
memory of
JOSEPHENA MURPHY
consort of
JOHN MURPHY;
who departed this
life, Feb. 24th, 1816 in
the 60th year of her life.

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

SACRED
to the
MEMORY
of
Mr. CALEB EDDY,
who departed this
life.
April. 21st 1818.
in the 64th year
of his age.
[remainder illegible]

Courtesy of Ashley D. Smith - A Grave Concern.

SACRED
to
the
MEMORY
of
Enoc Murray, Esq.
who died, March. 8th,
1818, in the 35th year of
his age.

I've driven by this cemetery while visiting another major historic site, the Luster Tannery, many times, yet it never really caught my attention. It's amazing that these physical remnants of our early history have not only survived, but are in a location where anyone might stop by and visit them. Further, they're in relatively unaltered condition - compare that with, say, the few extant houses built a decade or two later, which have changed considerably with the needs of the residents over time.

Next week, I'll share the markers from this cemetery from the decade following this one.

Historic Fragment on Superior

2011-10-12T13:02:00.000-04:00

I was driving down Superior Avenue near my library the other day, when I saw something unexpected out of the corner of my eye. Look in the lower right corner of this photo, on the south side of Superior, between East 90th and East 91st Streets.

On closer inspection, I saw that it was the cast iron base of a street light, from the 1910s or 1920s. Can anyone identify the flower design?

Photo by The Heiser Co., Commercial Photographers, Cleveland.

Remember this service station, at 8201 Carnegie Avenue? I wrote about it back in April, comparing it to the site as it is today. On the edge of the street, in the center of the photo, you can see another streetlight.

Photo by The Heiser Co., Commercial Photographers, Cleveland.

Here's a detail of the streetlight on Carnegie and a close-up of the base. Compare it with the one I stubled across on Superior. Note that while they're similar, they're not identical.

How this lightpost survived so long is anyone's guess. It was replaced by a light on a wood pole long ago. It's an interesting little fragment of our area's history, and I'm glad that it's still here.

In coming weeks, look for other historic fragments on these pages.

Decades in the Making

2011-10-11T09:40:00.000-04:00

Repairing the Stairs on the Wade Park Bridge

In 1899, Charles Schweinfurth designed this bridge, carrying Wade Park Avenue over what is now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. It's one of four bridges he designed for the park between 1896 and 1899. This is often cited as the most impressive of the lot. For decades the stairs, allowing pedestrians access to the park, have been closed, too damaged to safely use.

This was the sign greeting pedestrians back in September, when I demanded Repair the Stairs on the Wade Park Bridge!

Guess what? Here's a hint:

Note: if Cleveland Area History was a glossy, high-production magazine, the photograph would be from the boulevard, and feature several people, skipping down the stairs, gauze flowing in the breeze behind them. But it's not, so you'll have to deal with my feet.

Was that not clear enough? This perspective should be more illuminating - the stairs have been fixed!

I confess, when I first drove by and saw the green hue of the stairs, I grumbled to my self. At 35 miles per hour, the green looked an awful lot like the hue of freshly poured cement. "Great," I thought, "someone took the cheap way out, rather than replacing the sandstone with sandstone, as they should have."

I was wrong.

They did, in fact, do the work with proper materials. It's just that the new sandstone has a very different hue from the old sandstone. Perhaps it will fade to match the existing stone.

The project was sponsored by the Holden Parks Trust. The architects were Chambers, Murphy, & Burge. The contractor was M-A Building & Maintenance Co.

Photographs taken in July, while the project was in progress, should illuminate the original construction methods used on this stairway. (I'm always interested in seeing how historic structures were built - it's an underdocumented subject area, and it can be useful in dating structures where the year of construction is unknown.) That said, I'm not sure quite what these images tell us.

This is but one example of the progress that we're making with historic preservation in Cleveland. More will follow in coming weeks.

What Lurks Behind The Trees?

2011-10-06T13:02:00.001-04:00

The Oakwood Golf Club

If you've driven down Warrensville Center Road in Cleveland Heights and South Euclid, between Cedar and Mayfield, you've probably noticed this long, dense row of trees on the west side of the road, affording only the occasional glimpse of the golf course that they obscure. Hidden behind the trees is the Oakwood Club, which closed last year. It's the center of a controversy between proponents of redevelopment and those who favor the preservation of green space - but this isn't the venue for that fight.

Today, I'll share a brief history of the club - the first major Jewish country club in the Cleveland area. In coming days, image rights permitting, I hope to delve into the ornate interior of the historic clubhouse. The primary source on the history of the Oakwood Club is Oakwood Club, 1905-1980, by Barnett Bookatz. Many of the facts quoted here are derived from that publication.

From Art work of Cleveland - 1911, used courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

Oakwood was founded in 1905, by L.J. Wolf, Morris A. Black, Edward M. Baker, Hascal C. Lang, and M.J. Mandelbaum. The first golf course - 9 holes, designed by Arthur Boggs - opened the following year.

In 1906, Frank B. Meade, a notable Cleveland architect, designed this clubhouse, expected to cost $15,000. The structure, built by Gick & Fry, was completed in 1907. It was either a complete remodel of the existing structure (Bookatz) or a new one (Plain Dealer, February 4, 1906, page 27).

According to Bookatz:

The new features included the grillroom, a men's locer room with 69 double-deck lockers, a "bath-room" with three showers, a double washstand and three lavatories. the first floor held the large living room and dining room, a "Ladies Parlor" witih 20 double-deck lockers, a shower and a bath. Along the entire length of the building ran a 72-foot long porch.

Detail, Plate 4, Plat book of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 1914, courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

It's worth noting that, at the time, the club had much less land than it does today. Their holdings, 19 acres, can be seen near the center of this 1914 map. As it is today, the club includes almost 150 acres - most of area shown on this map as undeveloped. Note the presence of a house and related structures on the parcel owned by the Citizens Saving and Trust Co. The house was located at the end of a long driveway - the double dashed line in pink - the site of the current clubhouse. Some of the outbuildings may remain, repurposed as service structures.

Detail, Plate 10, Atlas of the Suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio - Flynn, 1898, courtesy of Cleveland Public Library.

This 1898 map shows a different configuration of the structures on the property, owned at the time by Catherine Hendershot. A house is present - the yellow box closest to the right side of the image on Hendershot's property.

Why does this matter? Because it tends to suggest that this building, now used as a garage for machinery, may, in fact, be the house that was on the property before the country club was built. All interior detail that might suggest the age has been lost, as shown in these photos.

A second nine hole golf course, designed by Chicagoan Tom Bendelow, was completed in 1915. In 1929, the course was redesigned, as the widening of Warrensville Center Road consumed some of the eastern edge of the course. It remained in this configuration until a redesign in 1972-1973.

The Excelsior Club merged with Oakwood in 1930. The increase membership necessitated building a new clubhouse. The building, completed in 1931, was designed by George B. Mayer of Charles R. Greco & Associates. Louis Rorimer, of Rorimer-Brooks Studios, was responsible for the interior decoration.

The architectural detail of the clubhouse, which appears to have been expanded several times over the years, is of high quality. This wrought iron and copper awning protected visitors from the elements as they entered the club.

Details of similar quality continue around the entire structure, as seen here on the south wall.

Even the little details, like this doorway on the east side of the clubhouse, are well-proportioned and pleasing.

The east side of the clubhouse, seen here, faces Warrensville Center Road.

I'll close with this view from the clubhouse, looking southeast toward Warrensville Center Road, the early morning sun hitting the now unmanicured greens.

In future posts, I hope to address the history of the grounds in more detail, and give you a peek into the clubhouse, providing that I am able to obtain permission to use the images I need. If you have photographs or stories relating to the Oakwood Club, please contact me to share them.

Let's Explore Ohio!

2011-10-05T15:58:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Jordan Smith / What Makes Pie Shops Tick?

John Vacha's latest book, Meet Me on Lake Erie, Dearie! had me thinking about the 1936-37 Great Lakes Exposition, a grand fair held in Cleveland.

In a local collection, I came across this coloring book, created by Sohio, presumably as a giveaway for the exposition. I was going to scan it myself, but then I thought "Hey, I really should see if someone else has done that first."

To my surprise, Jordan Smith / What Makes Pie Shops Tick? had already scanned the book in its entirety. This post includes select pages that deal with the Cleveland area. If you like it, you might want to check out the whole book. Heck, you might even want to print out some of the pages for coloring, for your kids or yourself.

Note: The language and tone are, um, what you might expect for the period, so you might want to read them before giving them to your children.

Image courtesy of Jordan Smith / What Makes Pie Shops Tick?

I wonder how many of the nurseries mentioned here are still present.

Image courtesy of Jordan Smith / What Makes Pie Shops Tick?

The observatory at Western Reserve Academy, in Hudson - the second oldest in the country - is a historic site that seems to mostly be forgotten. The reminder of its existence is most welcome.

Image courtesy of Jordan Smith / What Makes Pie Shops Tick?

The Kirtland Temple, on the other hand, remains prominent. It's unclear what became of the "Pals" at the Cleveland Zoo.

Image courtesy of Jordan Smith / What Makes Pie Shops Tick?

The Dunham Tavern receives mention as well.

Image courtesy of Jordan Smith / What Makes Pie Shops Tick?

Finally, we're greeted by two pages, sharing the wonders of the Exposition. How many remain wonderous to you, today?

Image courtesy of Jordan Smith / What Makes Pie Shops Tick?

The Astor House: Fact and Fiction

2011-09-16T11:20:00.002-04:00

Courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project

On Monday, I introduced the Astor House, said to be the oldest house in Cleveland at the time. This was followed by two articles from the Annals of the Early Settlers Association, the primary source for just about all of the articles on the structure that followed. Today, I'll illustrate what we can say with certainty about this lost piece of Cleveland history.

The Annals article suggests that the house, built as an office for the Northwestern Fur Company, might be as much as 200 years old. The article was written in 1883, so this would mean that it was built 1683 - highly improbable at best - and certainly not the case if it was built for the North West Company, which was founded in about 1770. If we're to presume that it was built by the Company, it must have been built after that date.

The article notes how the house was moved several times over the following years. The resouces for me to document this simply aren't present. We can be sure that it was on the corner of Hanover (West 27th) and Vermont Streets in 1883, but there's no good way to trace where it might have been before that date.

The article provides few details about the physical structure.

There were eleven courses of shingles on the roof, one on top of the other; the under shingles were the long ones, which looked more like barrel staves, while those on top were more modern and smaller... then I took the old siding off and put on new, as it was quite an eyesore to the community in its original shape... every stick in the house, even to the siding and long shingles, was hewn out with a broad ax. The house was made entirely of chestnut, as that wood is easily hewn... The shingles and siding are about all that there is of the house as it now stands that was not in the original warehouse. When I took it down to move it, I found it full of hairs from the bottom to top and between the floor of the upper story and the ceiling of the lower was entirely filled up with hair.
Annals of the Early Settlers Association, Number 4 (1883), pages 49-52.

The Plain Dealer article on the demolition of the structure (October 15, 1922, pages 1 and 12), which I reproduced on Monday provides additional details:

The upright supports were of very heavy timber, perhaps six inches wide by four inches thick and morticed together at the edges, but there were no logs.

The style and construction methods of this structure are consistent with something built no later than the 1830s. After that date, the timbers used for the frame would not have been so robust. Also, it has a central chimney, which became much less common after that date, in favor of smaller ones on the ends of the structure. Further, since it was already considered an old house in the 1840s, we can reasonably assume that it was built earlier.

The presence of fur in the interior crevices might suggest that the structure was, in fact, used for the storage of furs. The two front doors are consistent with a structure used for commerce - they would enable better traffic flow.

Cleveland Plain Dealer October 23, 1898, page 18.

The articles note that the exterior remained relatively unchanged. The style is consistent with something that could have been built in the 1780s, or even earlier.

Could this house have been built in the 1780s, before Moses Cleaveland visited the site that would become Cleveland? Yes. Will we ever know for sure? Probably not. There simply isn't enough data remaining.

What we can say is that, at the time of the demolition, this was almost certainly the oldest house in the city, most likely built no later than 1810. It could have provided real insights into the early settlement of this area.

The History of the "Oldest House in Cleveland"

2011-09-14T08:00:00.009-04:00

Cleveland Plain Dealer October 23, 1898, page 18.

On Monday, I introduced the Astor House, which was said to have been built in the 1780s. Today, I'll introduce the available evidence regarding the house.

The significance of the Astor House first appears in the public record in 1883, in the Annals of the Early Settlers Association. Virtually all of the later articles on the structure derive their facts from these articles, so I've reproduced them below rather than participate in another attempt to rephrase what is already second or third-hand information.

HOUSE 200 YEARS OLD

At the corner of Hanover and Vermont streets in Cleveland stands a low roofed house of a reddish color, looking much like other houses as to wear, but its style seems a little antiquated. This house is said to be nearly two hundred years old. A SENTINEL scribe hearing that Mr. Robert Sanderson could give an account of the old house, called upon him at his residence, No. 54 Clinton street, and found him quite willing to deliver up all he new concerning the old relic. Mr. Sanderson is a hale and hearty old gentleman, and seems to have an excellent memory. He has lived on the West Side for nearly fifty years, arriving here October 4, 1833. There were scarcely a hundred people on this side of the river then, and the etiquette was at such a high standard that there was but one man in the whole place that owned a broadcloth coat, and he was a tailor and ashamed to wear it because he was afraid of being laughed at. When Mr. Sanderson came he brought such a coat with him, and did not wear it for two years for the same reason. When asked concerning the old house on Hanover street, he gave a brief history of it, as far as he knew, as follows:

"I bought the house from old Joel Scranton forty-four years ago, and from him I learned its history, and all I shall tell you about it before I owned it, will be on his authority. The Northwestern Fur Company built it possibly two hundred years ago for a fur warehouse. The company consisted of Scotch, British and French, but the first-mentioned had control of it. The house was built up at the head of the old river-bed, or rather where the head now is. After it had been there in use a number of years, the beavers built a dam across the river right about opposite where the rolling mill stands, and the river made another mouth of its own accord from there in to the lake. The company then moved the house from where it was built to a point above the dam, thinking it was better to do that than to disturb the beavers, as it was their skins they were after. It remained there till sixty-three years ago. That was the time the Ohio canal was built. The government decided that year to dredge out a new mouth to the river, and the house was moved over on the government land near where the stone pier now is, on the other side of the river. It was moved before the new channel was dug, so they did not have to take it across the river. Here it stood for quite a number of years, used for the same purpose. After a while it was moved from there up to the corner of Superior street hill to where the Oviatt building now stands. Ward & Blair owned the property there and an adjoining warehouse, and I don't know whether they bought or rented it. This was right opposite the Cathan corners, which were where Myers, Osborne & Co.'s works now stand. These corners were well known all over the Western Reserve, and between these corners and Superior street hill was the only place of crossing the river, and that was by ferry. I bought the house from old Joel Scranton forty-four years ago. When I found it was such an old house and had a history, I decided to preserve it, so I took it apart, and moving it in sections, set it up where it now stands. There were eleven courses of shingles on the roof, one on top of the other; the under shingles were the long ones, which looked more like barrel staves, while those on top were more modern and smaller. I used it as it was for six years as a joiner shop, then I took the old siding off and put on new, as it was quite an eyesore to the community in its original shape. There was no saw mill farther west than Albany when it was built (so Scranton said), and every stick in the house, even to the siding and long shingles, was hewn out with a broad ax. The house was made entirely of chestnut, as that wood is easily hewn, and when I found that out, I replaced every piece that I had found unsound, with chestnut. The shingles and siding are about all that there is of the house as it now stands that was not in the original warehouse. When I took it down to move it, I found it full of hairs from the bottom to top and between the floor of the upper story and the ceiling of the lower was entirely filled up with hair. The houses seemed full of it, and there is hair in it at the present time. According to Scranton its age can be traced back one hundred and forty years. I think Scranton's ancestors were connected in some way with the old fur company. Scranton was a queer old man; never talked much - about once a week on average. When I was taking down the old building, he would come and stand there with his arms behind his back under his coat-tails, and look at the old building in a longing way. One day he came there as usual, and after a while he said, "Well, well, many is the pound of tea I have sold in that old building to the Indians for $10 per pound, and taken my pain in skins." It seemed a sorry time to him that such a day was passed. You see, he got the skins for about two shillings a piece, or thereabouts, so he made a pretty good thing of it. He told me that there was one older house in Ohio than this one, and that was in Marietta. I don't know whether that is standing or not, but think likely that it is. I suppose we ought to give in to Marietta, and we take the next to the oldest. It has been used as a dwelling house for thirty-eight years. After I had used it for six years as a joiner shop, I used it myself as a dwelling for ten years, and it has been used as such ever since. From another source it is learned that John Jacob Astor bought and sold merchandise in this old warehouse when it stood on the flats."

Here is a house that is certainly older than one hundred and forty years, probably nearly two hundred; it has been moved four different times, a distance of over two miles, once across the river and once up a hill; it has been taken apart and put together again, it has been used for a warehouse, store, shop and dwelling house, and with all this age and moving about, a person passing it would never take it to be over thirty years old, and there are houses even younger which look much worse for wear. This old relic bids fair to stand many years of use yet, and who knows but what it may stand its third century out yet? It certainly ought to be allowed to stand as long as possible. - West Side Sentinel
Annals of the Early Settlers Association, Number 4 (1883), pages 49-52.

OLDEST HOUSE ON THE RESERVE

In the "Annals of the Early Settlers Association of County," published in 1883, is an account of an old house at the corner of Hanover and Vermont streets in Cleveland, (West Side,) said to be about two hundred years old. That a house that age exists within the borders of the Western Reserve will news to most of its citizens.

Mr Robert Sanderson is its present owner. Many may have doubts of its antiquity. We have some evidence - not exactly corroborative - regarding an old house which once stood near the site of this: Colonel James Hillman, Youngstown's earliest settler, in a letter written in 1843 (found on page 353 of Colonel Whittlesey's Early history of Cleveland), relates a journey as pack-horse man, in 1796, from Pittsburgh to the mouth of Cuyahoga river with goods, to be taken thence to Detroit by water. He says that near the mouth of Tinker's Creek "we crossed the Cuyahoga and went down the west side to the mouth. In going down we passed a small log trading house, where one Meginnis traded with the Indians. He left the house in the Spring before we were there." He adds, that on a subsequent trip that Summer he, and those with him drew, small logs and built a hut at a spring near where Main street comes to the river, "which I believe was the first house built on the Cleveland side."

He speaks of the Meginnis house as a "small log house." The "old house" described by Mr. Sanderson was a two-story house with chestnut siding - a very different house. If it had been at or near the mouth of the river Mr. Hillman would probably have seen it and mentioned it in his letter. And yet it may have been built where stated by Mr. Sanderson and have been one of the age named If it was about two hundred years old, it was erected, say in 1683. If one hundred and forty years old, in 1743.

More than two hundred years ago the French possessed Canada, which they called "New France." They were pushing their settlements and trading posts westward along the great lakes and rivers. In 1683 they founded Detroit, and had probably at that time visited the mouth of the Cuyahoga. About 1753 they had erected Fort Duquesne, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela, near Pittsburgh. It is not improbable that they may have had trading posts on the south shore of Lake Erie, and perhaps the "old house" was one of them.
John M. Edwards, Youngstown, O.
Annals of the Early Settlers Association, Number 5 (1884), pages 84-85.

How much of this can we be sure of? Was the house really as old as has been suggested? What can we say that we actually know about this house? I'll answer these questions and more on Friday.

The Oldest House in Cleveland?

2011-09-12T08:00:00.001-04:00

Courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project

In his History of Cleveland, Ohio, Samuel Orth describes this building,

Said to be the oldest house in Cleveland and to have been used by Astor's Fur Company before Cleveland was surveyed. There is great doubt as to this. Alfred Kelley locates a Trading House on the west side, on his map of 1814, giving date of house as 1786. This may be the house here shown. The house was built of hewn timbers, later covered with sidings. Joel Scranton owned it for a number of years and sold it to Robert Sanderson in 1844. It was moved to Frankfort street from its original location on the flats near the river.

Courtesy of the Photograph Collection, Cleveland Public Library

By 1920, in an effort to preserve it, the house was moved to Edgewater Park. However, on October 14, 1922, on the orders of mayor Fred Kohler, it was demolished.

This front page headline announced the loss of the Astor House. The story read:

A large gang of city ash wagon drivers yesterday laid irreverent hands upon the old Astor house, the city's most venerable landmark, reduced it to small pieces, loaded the pieces into city trucks and carted them off to the municipal dump.

The work started at 10 a.m., and at 3 p.m. only a barren spot on park land just off Bulkey boulevard N.W., near the American Shipbuilding Co. plant, remained to mark the spot where the house had stood.

The ash wagon drivers acted under direction of J.W. Morris, deputy street commissioner, who, in turn, said he got his orders from Mayor Fred Kohler.

"I don't know much about it," said Mr. Morris, "except that the mayor came into my office this morning and said, 'Go out and tear down that old fake.' I'm doing it."

Morris said he considered the house, supposed to have been built in 1787, decidedly unsafe. School children have made pilgrimages to the house and he feared the building would collapse on them. The mayor shared that view, he said.

The ash shovelers worked manfully, yanking off the tar paper roof in great chunks and tearing out the walls with the aid of a motor truck and a log chain.

Wreckers are Unmolested

Nobody appeared on the scene to voice even the slightest protest. Every indication was that the mayor had stolen a march on his enemies, striking quickly and without advertising his intentions. Members of the patriotic societies and others who have tried repeatedly to induce the city to maintain the old house for its historic interest and assocations knew nothing of the mayor's action, and today they'll have to look for their treasured heirloom on the lake front dump.

While the last remnants of the house were being carted away, the mayor was enjoying himself at the Maple Heights races.

Stanley L. McMichael, when secretary of the Cleveland Real Estate Board, induced John T. Feighan, vice president of the Cleveland Trust Co. and the last owner of the house, to turn it over to the city.

Mr. McMichael said he had been assured by city officials at that time that the building would be put into repair and maintained, possibly as a historical museum. No action was taken by the city, however, and a week ago, in a sarcastic leter to Park Director G. A. Ruetenik, Mr. McMichael suggested that the house be burned in official ceremonies while the police band played the dead march from Saul to signalize the death of the city's civic pride.

No Logs Found.

The mayor countered with the suggestion that McMichael cart the house up on Prospect avenue and live in it or use it as a real estate office.

"The old shack is a fake, anyway," the mayor said. "The Astor house was a log cabin, history says, while there isn't a log in the whole of this shack. Besides, who gives a hoot for the Astor family, anyway? They don't live here."

No logs were found in the house when it was torn down yesterday. The upright supports were of very heavy timber, perhaps six inches wide by four inches thick and morticed together at the edges, but there were no logs.

Mr. Morris also was sure yesterday that as a historic relic the house was a fake.

"I've lived here forty years, with the exception of a few spent in Chicago," he said, "and I never heard of this ruin until just recently. If it were genuine it seems to me that something would have been said about it before this."

The men and women who tore down the house were born in Italy, Austria, Poland, and various other places, with a sprinkling of native born, and none of them knew who John Jacob Astor was and what's more, most of them said they didn't give a darn who he was.

They did know they had signed as ash shovelers and that house wrecking wasn't in the contract. Some grumbled at the job, but not for sentimental reasons.

Generations Occupied House.

The house is supposed to have been built fully seven years before Moses Cleaveland came to the Western Reserve and founded the city that bears his name. It was located near the old mouth of the Cuyahoga river at the foot of what is now W. 58th Street.

It was said to have been a fur trading post for John Jacob Astor, who built up what at one time was considered the greatest fortune in America.

Later the house was moved to Whiskey Island. When the government opened the present outlet of the river the officers in charge moved the house to the new pier. Then it was toted to the foot of Superior avenue.

It has been moved many times since then, each time receiving patches and additions. Whether the structure torn down yesterday bore any resemblance to the original Astor house is a debatable question, but it is certain that it was one of the oldest houses in the city, if not the oldest. Generations of Clevelanders have lived and loved and died in it.

But it had become a natural target for vandals. The plaster had fallen away, even laths were missing in spots and the windows had long been boarded up.

(Plain Dealer, October 15, 1922, pages 1 and 12)

Was this house really built in the 1780s, or perhaps even earlier? On Wednesday, I'll offer an in-depth look at the history of the Astor House.

Beautiful Homes of Cleveland - Part 1

2011-07-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

In 1917 a fantastic publication was released by The Cleveland Topics Company called Beautiful Homes of Cleveland. Once you finish reading this post, you can find it in the Case Western Reserve online library. You can download it here.

The author of the document was Andrew Squire, a lawyer who founded the firm that would eventually become Squire, Sanders, and Dempsey. Andrew himself had a home on Euclid Avenue, which we will take a closer look at a bit later.

In my examination of each part of the publication we're going to determine which of these historic treasures are still standing and what has become of the site if they are not. Some of the homes listed in the document do not have addresses, and just the street names are given. If you recognize a structure that I do not have an address for, please feel free to contact me.

Let's start with Part 1 - The Euclid Avenue Group.

The first residence we see in the document is that of Mr. Sylvester Everett at 4111 Euclid Avenue. Mr. Everett was in the banking industry and founded the National Bank of Commerce. He chose brothers Charles and Julius Schweinfurth to design his residence. The home would have been located at the northwest corner of the intersection at East 40th Street and was razed in 1938. The majority of the property at that intersection now appears to be surface parking.

Next up we have the town home of Charles W. Bingham at 2157 Euclid Avenue. Charles served as a businessman in Cleveland. It's believed that he worked with his father in the iron industry and he did serve as the president of the Standard Tool company. His home was razed in 1959. This site is on the north side of the avenue and stands most likely in the spot where the Cleveland State University bookstore is now located. The next photo in the document is of Bingham's country home, which I will save for discussion in the Bratenahl series.

3233 Euclid Avenue was the home of the Carlin family. Anthony Carlin was actually the last to build a residence on the avenue having finished construction in 1911. The home was designed by architect Adolph Sprackling. This home was still standing at the time of publication of Showplace of America: Cleveland's Euclid Avenue, 1850-1910 written by Jan Cigliano and published in 1991. But it's not there now. The corporate headquarters for Applied Industrial Technologies, built in 1997, now sits on the property.

After the photo of the Carlin's home, you will see a photo of the original circle in University Circle, which you can learn more about in this article by Christopher Busta-Peck.

This next structure at East 107th and Euclid Avenue was the home of the Western Reserve Historical Society from 1898 to 1941. The structure is no longer there, but it sat on the southwest side of the circle at University Circle. It appears that it may have been situated where there is currently parking for PNC Bank, next to the Children's Museum.

Mr. David Norton owned the next residence that sat at 7301 Euclid Avenue. Charles Schweinfurth designed this structure as well. Mr. Norton was a banker and a partner of the iron-ore company Oglebay Norton Company. Currently at this site, we have a large parking lot, along with a Famous Gyro George.

The Union Club, which still stands at the northeast corner of East 12th and Euclid, was designed by Schweinfurth. The Union Club still offers much of what it did in 1872 including private membership, dining, and special events. It's one of the few structures that has a happy ending in this article.

Meade and Granger designed 8806 Euclid Avenue for Mr. George Welch. Mr. Welch was the first vice president of Sterling, Welch & Company, eventually becoming the Sterling-Lindner Company, one of Cleveland's largest downtown department stores. If you couldn't guess by the address, the remains of this structure are buried somewhere deep beneath the main entrance to the Cleveland Clinic.

Another Meade and Granger designed home was built for Luther Allen who was cited as a banker, manufacturer, railroad executive, and an original trustee of the Cleveland Trust Company. The address is 7609, and believe it or not, it appears that this structure may still be standing behind this facade and scaffolding (that was erected several years ago).

Here Mr. Squire features a photo of his own home at 3443 Euclid Avenue, which was another Schweinfurth masterpiece built in 1895. This home was on the north side of the street, on what is now the Applied Industrial Technologies campus.

Mr. William A. Price built 7801 Euclid Avenue in 1903. The architect for this home is unknown. This home was on the north side of the road and therefore would have stood in the area now occupied by the Midtown Plaza shopping center.

8411 Euclid Avenue was built by John J. Stanley. It was designed by Meade & Granger and built in 1893. This home would have stood on the north side of Euclid where a set of row houses currently fills the block between East 84th and 85th Streets.

It's hard to choose a favorite, but Charles Brush's home at 3725 Euclid Avenue definitely ranks in my top five. It was designed by George H. Smith (also responsible for Andrew's Folly and had a hand in the design of the Arcade). We know Charles Brush best as the inventor of the arc light and a forefather of General Electric. His home stood on the north side of the avenue approximately where the Red Cross building now stands. Charles recruited "celebrity" interior designer Louis Tiffany to design the lighting fixtures, stained glass windows, transoms, and skylights for his home.

This is where we will break for the first segment of the Euclid Avenue Group. In the next section, we will move a bit off of Euclid Avenue and even past East 105th, which is traditionally where many experts break off the imaginary line of Millionaire's Row.

Keri Zipay moved to Cleveland from Pennsylvania in 1999 and has since discovered a love for local historic architecture. She has volunteered with the Cleveland Restoration Society since 2004, and historic structures are her favorite photographic subject, particularly the remaining Millionaire's Row mansions. Contact Keri by email

Mystery Photos: A Follow Up

2011-06-20T15:38:00.000-04:00

Last week, I asked about the location of four buildings photographed by I.T. Frary.

Photograph by I.T. Frary. 1926. Courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.

One, I noted, was located east of Shalersville. On Father's Day, I went with my wife, son, and daughter on a drive, exploring some of the areas that Frary photographed. I succeeded in locating this house.

Here's the house as it stands today, at 6423 State Route 303, Drakesburg, Ohio. The basic form remains the same, but many of the details have been lost.

The wood siding has been covered with cement shingles. The wood shingles of the roof have been replaced with asphalt ones. The chimney, on the left, is gone, and the porch, to the right, has been enclosed. The fretwork - the wood covering the three small attic windows, the detail for which Frary chose to photograph the house - has been removed.

The front door remains unchanged, along with most of its trim - note that the columns flanking the door are mirrored at the edge of the porch. It was this detail that allowed me to be certain I had found the house in question.

The big surprise of the drive was at how few of the houses that Frary documented remained. Of those that remain, on many of them, the detail he chose to document has been lost. This is often the case even on houses that appear to have been restored and well cared for.

The exhibition Designing History: I.T. Frary; Interior Design and the Beginnings of Historic Preservation in Ohio runs through July 16. I encourage you to take a look. The Cleveland Artists Foundation is located at 17801 Detroit Avenue, in Lakewood, Ohio.

Mystery Photos - Now With More Detail!

2011-06-16T15:34:00.000-04:00

Photos of fretwork at Shalersville, Circleville, Bellevue, and Wooster. By I.T. Frary, from Early Homes of Ohio.

As part of the Cleveland Artists Foundation's exhibit, Designing History: I.T. Frary; Interior Design and the Beginnings of Historic Preservation in Ohio I'm taking an in-depth look at Frary's published works. Chief among these is Early Homes of Ohio, which is now 75 years old. This landmark title was the first to deal with the architectural heritage of this state, and remains an unequaled standard in the field.

I've been trying to locate all of the structures pictured in Early Homes of Ohio, so that I might document their present condition, and so that others might view them in person. I've located most of them, but some still present difficulties - mostly because, in Early Homes they were only shown in detail. I've scanned photocopies of the images from the collections of the Ohio Historical Society, some of which are presented here.

Courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.

This house, located "East of Shalersville, Ohio", was photographed by I.T. Frary in 1926. Given the angle of the shadows, and that Frary tended to stay on the main roads, it's probable that the house is on the north side of the road.

Courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.

Frary photographed House, Circleville, Ohio, in 1924. It appears to be the sort of structure that would be in the center of the city.

Courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.

This brick structure, in Wooster, Ohio, appears to have been built as a commercial structure - thus the two front doors, for better traffic flow. At the time Frary photographed it, in 1924, it housed a gas station, and Church of Christ, Scientist. I've been unable to determine location for said church that corresponds with the evidence suggested here - the building should be close to the street.

Courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.

This House, West of Bellvue, Ohio was photographed by I.T. Frary in either 1923 or 1924. This is a scan of an actual photograph, so there's plenty of resolution there, if you need to look at it in more detail. While the house appears square, I suspect, based on the roof line, that it might be L-shaped.

This is just the first group - I'll be sharing more in the coming days. If you know where these houses are, or were, either by address or approximate location, please either comment here or send an email to clevelandareahistory@gmail.com. Thanks!

Interior Design and the Illuminating Company: A Group of Paintings by I.T. Frary

2011-06-07T15:17:00.001-04:00

Living Room in the Style of the Modern English School, a painting by I.T. Frary, reproduced in The Illuminator, June, 1909. Collection of Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.

I'm curating an exhibit for the Cleveland Artists Foundation, Designing History: I.T. Frary; Interior Design and the Beginnings of Historic Preservation in Ohio. Frary is best known as the author of Early Homes of Ohio, the first book to address this state's architectural heritage. His first career was as a designer of furniture and interiors for the Brooks Household Art Co. Brooks became one half of the famed Rorimer-Brooks.

As I mentioned before, one of the challenges is finding strong imagery other than his photographs - especially color imagery. (I'm still looking, by the way, if the signature seems familar.)

[Living Room] a painting by I.T. Frary, reproduced in The Illuminator, June, 1909. Collection of Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.

I was pleasantly surprised to find, in the I.T. Frary Papers at the Western Reserve Historical Society, a copy of The Illuminator, dated June, 1909. The magazine was published for the employees of the illuminating company, and used several of Frary's paintings for the Brooks Household Art Co. to illustrate a piece on various interior design ideas.

[Colonial Style Hallway] and [Hallway], paintings by I.T. Frary, reproduced in The Illuminator, June, 1909. Collection of Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.

This pair illustrate two very different ways that one might treat an entrance hall. The Colonial Style one, on the left, is far more formal, while the one on the right is more casual.

Living Room in the Style of the Greek Revival, a painting by I.T. Frary, reproduced in The Illuminator, June, 1909. Collection of Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.

This view, Living Room in the Style of the Greek Revival, like the lead image, Living Room in the Style of the Modern English School, illustrates the level of detail that Frary, as a designer, might put into a room. Some of the furniture would have been his designs, while other elements would be carefully selected antiques.

It's not clear where the houses in these renderings were located, or even if they were built. Given the number, I would guess that at least one had been executed. However, the firm's commissions in Cleveland were almost entirely on Euclid Avenue, and so are likely lost. I'll delve further into the Brooks Household Art Co.'s commissions in a future post.

The Edwin Tillotson residence is a Tudor Revival structure at 1867 East 82nd Street, in Cleveland, Ohio. It was built in 1902-3. Meade and Garfield were the architects.

The Tillotson residence is one of the few remaining local structures for which the Brooks Household Art Co. did work. Perhaps Living Room in the Style of the Modern English School was for this house - or perhaps it was for one in Chicago or St. Louis. I haven't had a chance to look inside yet - but I suspect that it has been significantly modified over the years. Still, it's worth further investigation.

Do any of these look familar to you?

Another look at the Columbia Building

2011-05-24T11:55:00.004-04:00

From Ohio Architect and Builder, January, 1909, page 80.

In light of the threatened demolition of the Columbia Building, I've done a bit more research, and can now provide some details of its construction. The following is from Ohio Architect and Builder, January, 1909, page 39.

The First Eight Story Concrete Building

The first eight-story reinforced concrete skeleton frame was finished Saturday, Dec. 12, 1908, for Mr. M. A. Bradley's building.

The concreting of basement columns was started October 8, 1908, and concreting of roof slab completed on Dec. 12, 1908. Over 200 ton of steel reinforcement and 3,000 barrels of Portland cement were used. All concrete is slag concrete, the slag is manufactured by The Cleveland Macadam Company. The column rods are upset and threaded and connected by sleeve nut splices making same continuous from basement footing to seventh floor. The column rods for the two upper stories are connected by pipe splices. All columns are hooped with band steel wrapped spirally. The column reinforcement is round rods and beam and floor reinforcement twisted rods.

This building is being erected for Mr. M. A. Bradley for office purposes.

The Building Code was revised to allow the construction of this building to go eight stories.

The Reaugh Construction Company are contractors for the reinforced concrete and masonry. Mr. Marion E. Wells, architect.

In order to continue the concreting during the cold weather, the owner, Mr. M. A. Bradley furnished steam from one of his adjoining buildings through a large pipe line extended over the entire floor area of the eight floors and the roof.

The brick work of this building has just been started and rapid progress on the same is promised.

The photograph of the above building in its present state can be seen on the last page in this book in connection with The Reaugh Construction Company's advertisement.

An advertisment the following month (Ohio Architect and Builder, February, 1909, page 80) shows the progress in the construction.

A 1911 article in Ohio Architect and Builder goes into detail about the Reaugh Construction Company. The article is illustrated in detail - it's worth taking a look at the structures that they built. One of note is shown here:

From Ohio Architect and Builder, October, 1911, page 35.

~~This is one of the structures that was just demolished to make way for the new innerbelt bridge.~~ Correction, as pointed out by Steven McQuillin: It was, in fact, the Higgins Buidling, which he notes was located "At the northwest corner of Huron Road and Ontario Street, demolished for the rail approaches to the Terminal Tower in the 1920s."

It's worth noting again that the Columbia Building is a Cleveland Landmark, one in good, usable condition, and that that should be considered in any decision.

Threatened: The Columbia Building

2011-05-13T14:34:00.000-04:00

Note: This was originally posted on Wednesday, May 11, 2011. Due to an outage, the original file was lost. The text and images remain the same, but some of the formatting may have changed.

Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission.

The Columbia building on Prospect-av. at E. 2d-st. stands alone as the only eight-story reinforced concrete building in Cleveland. It was the first to be built under the provisions of the revised building code. It was erected by M.A. Bradley, who has erected a number of other buildings during the past year. Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 26, 1909, page 25.

This new fireproof office building, now a Cleveland Landmark, was designed by architect M.E. Wells. It has been the home to many different businesses over the years. The most recent tenant was David N. Myers University, who occupied the space from 1985 until the recent move to Chester Avenue and East 40th Streets.

The Columbia Building (112 Prospect Avenue, in downtown Cleveland) is threatened with demolition for a parking garage for the new casino. A report on the matter will be presented at the Cleveland Landmarks Commission meeting tomorrow, Thursday, May 12.

This 1909 photograph shows the newly-finished Columbia Building. The first floor featured plate glass windows and retail space yet unfilled. The photo was used in an advertisement, published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on August 26, 1909, page 8.

Another ad, a detail of which is used here, extolls the virtues of the location - on the streetcar line and close to Public Square. It was published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on October 3, 1909, page 8.

The full history of this building is not known. It has been an office building since it was built, but the full tenant history remains to be investigated. It would be interesting to learn everything that might have happened within in these walls.

Photograph by Warner Thomas, City of Cleveland Bureau of Photographic Services.

This 1981 photograph shows the entrance to the building, now marred by a less than pleasing awning. This could be remedied with relative ease.

Courtesy of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission.

Some parts of the ornamentation surrounding the entrance can be seen in more detail here.

The building, while not as grand as some, is an attractive, solid structure, that contributes to the history of the city and the character of the neighborhood. It remains in good physical condition and could readily be used for any number of things.

You might ask, why, then, is it being demolished?

The demolition of this Cleveland Landmark will make way for this, the "welcome center" (parking garage) for the new downtown casino. This rendering shows the side facing Ontario. The older building in the center of the image is the Stanley Block, one of the oldest commercial structures in downtown Cleveland, which, thanks to your efforts, was saved.

I really try to avoid architectural criticism. It's better left to people who are more knowledgable, like Steven Litt. Further, I attempt to keep my opinions here limited to those surrounding history and historic preservation.

With that said, the proposed parking garage seems like almost as much an assault on the historic Stanley Block as condemning it was. I see no attempt to make the new structure harmonize with the existing one. This could have been done through use of similar lines, or through similar materials, or through any number of other means.

It seems almost as if they're trying to make the Stanley Block stick out so much from the surroundings that the public will want it gone. Further, no attempt has been made to make it fit with the neighborhood. A design that would appeal to casinogoers could surely also make this concession.

How does this relate to the Columbia Building? Because the land the Columbia Building is standing on will be part of the parking garage.

I understand that parking is necessary. But it seems stupid to replace a perfectly good building with a parking garage of questionable merit when there's a vacant lot but a block away that's being used for surface parking.

The lot in question is bounded by Prospect, East 4th, and Huron. It could be used for a combined parking lot for the Q and the casino. This would free up the lot utilized by the Q Arena on Ontario for use by the casino.

The plans may be found in the agenda for the Cleveland Landmarks Commission meeting tomorrow, May 12, 2011. An archive of the plans can be found here.

You may register your opinion either by appearing at the Landmarks Commission meeting tomorrow morning at Cleveland City Hall, at 9:00 am, or contact either Commission chair Jennifer Coleman, Commission secretary Robert Keiser (216-664-2531) or Councilman Joe Cimperman (216-664-2691).

From Blackberriwyne Row to John Adams, Cleveland Sports Fans have Always Influenced Our Pastimes

2011-04-30T10:18:00.008-04:00

If there is one thing that can be said about Cleveland, it’s that the residents of the city love their sports teams. It can also be said that the fans of Cleveland sports have been innovators, loyal, and the backbone of every sporting venture in Cleveland, professional or amateur, throughout the history of our town.

One of the first enclosed venues to watch a team sporting match was Case Commons, which, in 1868 had a wooden fence around the entire park. This innovation allowed field owners to charge 50 cents to attending fans, who came to support the amateur Forest City Base Ball Club despite the price. As a result, the sport of base ball flourished in the area. In fact, Cleveland hosted one of the first professional base ball teams in the country, in large part due to the fans willingness to pay to watch the sport.

By the 1880’s, Cleveland had a contending base ball club, and the first
unofficial “booster” club formed, “Blackberriwyne Row”. The fans of this notorious club were christened as such due to their penchant for consuming vast amounts of blackberry wine during Cleveland Blues games, and cheering for their home club, while heckling the opposition. This is amusingly noted in a Cleveland Leader article, August 23rd, 1883:

“The necks were knocked off of several bottles of wine and many bumpers were swallowed to the success of the Gilt-edged [Cleveland Blues] on their trip West and East.”

Members of the Blackberriwyne Row gang were influential Clevelanders. Al & Tom Johnson (future mayor of Cleveland), were prominent streetcar owners, while Charles LeMarche (Owner of Wedell House Hotel), George Wilson (Cigar Company Owner), and Mat Wolford (Tavern Owner), made up the leadership of the wine drinking hecklers, and were all major businessmen in the community. The club spearheaded an attendance that was 4th in the National League that year, 63,000 faithful souls in total.

As the population of Cleveland boomed, and the city attracted more professional sports clubs, attendance also rose, and Cleveland Sports Fan would become the backbone of sporting success in our town. On October 15th, 1915, 115,000 fans packed Brookside Park to watch the Cleveland White Autos v. Omaha Luxus for the National Amateur Baseball Championship. Cleveland also holds the title for largest attendance for a professional baseball game, when 84,587 loyal Cleveland fans packed Municipal Stadium to watch Bob Feller’s Indians.

Loyal Cleveland sports fans also packed stadiums and ballparks to witness the birth of the NFL. The fans outrage over Art Modell moving the Browns out of Cleveland in the 1990’s, resulted in an unprecedented move by the NFL to grant the city a franchise before an owner or stadium was in place.

Also during the 1990’s, Cleveland Indians fans set a Major League record of 455 consecutive sell outs of Jacobs Field from June 12, 1995-April 4, 2001. This amazing record was fueled by; a great team, enthusiastic fans, and the constant pounding of a drum at the games.

John Adams is the epitome of Cleveland Sports fan. On April 27th, he attended, and rallied the Cleveland Indians with his rally drumming, for the 3,000th game. This feat is unprecedented in sports, and an accomplishment that all citizens of Cleveland can be proud of. Adams exemplifies the historical spirit of Cleveland Sports Fan, and continues the proud tradition of the fans of Cleveland sports being the backbone of her professional and amateur franchises.

Sources:
Cleveland Leader
Base Ball on the Western Reserve, James Egan Jr.
Baseball Chronology
The Cleveland Blues Base Ball Club
Wikipedia

Photos:
1st Photo - Mayor Tom L. Johnson - Wikipedia
2nd Photo - Brookside Park, 1914 - www.cbbbc.webs.com
3rd Photo - John Adams - www.letsgotribe.com

Historic Cleveland: Where Would You Take a Visitor?

2011-04-21T14:36:00.000-04:00

It's finally getting to be that time of year when we want to go outside and see things. Some of us may even have guests from out of town. To that end, I ask the following question: Which historic sites would you take a visitor to see?

This is a little bit different from asking which sites we think are most important. It's about which places we think have something that an outsider would care to see. Perhaps it's the Garfield Monument and the view from Lake View Cemetery. Or maybe you'd take them to see the USS Cod and the William G. Mather. Or maybe you'd take them to see the site where the Cuyahoga River last burned. If I'm to judge from the quantity of photographs on Flickr, the most popular historic site with visitors is the West Side Market.

This isn't about what's most important - it's about the history you love in your community. What parts of our history would you share with a visitor? The less well-known ones will be especially interesting, I think.

I'll be compiling a map of the most popular/interesting sites. It'll be fun to see what it includes.

Exactly How Old is That House?

2011-04-19T11:52:00.000-04:00

A Look at the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer's Residential Property Age Data

The Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer records and provides various details about each individual residential structure in the county, for the purposes of valuation. Among these is the year that the house was built.

I've often found situations where I was sure that the data was incorrect - there are a lot of houses built in the middle third of the 19th century that list the construction date as "1900" - but I didn't think too heavily about it until I saw the construction date for the James H. Foster residence described as being built in 1920 in this Plain Dealer article.

The house, at 2200 Devonshire Drive, in the historic Ambler Heights neighborhood of Cleveland Heights, was built in 1911. It is the oldest surviving house designed by Walker and Weeks, the Cleveland architectural firm responsible for Public Auditorium, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Severance Hall, the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge, and the main building of Cleveland Public Library.

The date used in the Plain Dealer article is the date given by the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer. While it is a reasonable approximate for valuing the property - just as much of the rest of the data in their records is a reasonable approximate - it should be taken as this, rather than as a statement of fact.

I wanted to look at just how accurate (or inaccurate) this data, as a whole, might be. I spoke with Kara Hamley O'Donnell, Historic Preservation Planner for Cleveland Heights, who informed me that she has the building permit data for a good chunk of the city. Further, she had an electronic copy of the age data for the Euclid Heights historic district. Here is that data, with my additions in columns I and J - the age given by the County Fiscal Officer and the difference between the two. Note that the structures for which building permit data is present give the month and the day, while data obtained from other sources give only the year, in this data set.

I looked at the County Fiscal Officer's data and present here the first 100 addresses where both building permit data is present and the fiscal officer gives a date. I chose 100 as a nice even number - a bigger sample would probably lend to greater accuracy, as would a random sample. Further, there isn't as much age variablity here as there would be in an area that was built earlier. Still, it's a decent sample, one worth considering.

Of the 100 houses, the fiscal officer has the correct date - the same year as the building permit, or one year later (as construction might continue over the winter) - for only 40% of them. 23% have dates that precede the actual date of construction, while 37% have dates after the actual dates of construction. Most of these have dates within 5 years of what they should be - 23% are off by more than that amount, while 9% are off by more than 10 years.

There are several reasons why the data might be inaccurate. It could be reported incorrectly initially, or have changed when an addition was made. The relatively small difference suggests that there might be some other explanation, one that I'm not yet aware of.

Why does this matter? For the purpose of valuing property, it doesn't. But we need to remember that this is the case. We don't have a great source for age data for the area as a whole. We can come up with good approximates, and based on the age data we have for our houses, we could say that a house was built in "about 1920", but to say that it was built "in 1920" requires more research. And, in this case, it would have revealed the actual date of the construction as 1911.

Identifying Your Photographs: The Wilshire and Garlock Buildings

2011-04-13T14:30:00.000-04:00

Last week, I started the series, Identifying Your Photographs. I hadn't meant to do two in a row, but I can't seem to finish the other stories that I'm working on.

A reader asked me about these two buildings, which were both pictured in the 1889 edition of Cleveland Illustrated. His inquiry involved not merely their address, but their exact location on the block.

I checked the usual sources, which, these days tend toward architectural magazines in the public domain available through Google Books. I checked the Cleveland Memory Project.

The Cleveland Architects Database was a bit helpful. It revealed that the Wilshire Building was built in 1881, on Superior Avenue, and was designed by architect John Edelmann. I also learned that the Garlock Building was built in 1894, and was located at 1602 Euclid Avenue. The architects were French and Chapman.

It's worth noting that the search, as set up for the Cleveland Architects Database tends to be limited to just the names of the architects. If you're searching for a building, one can get better results using Google search and limiting it to the web site in question, for instance, in this case, "wilshire site:http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/landmark/arch/", was the search that led me to the information about the Wilshire Building.

I still didn't have firm locations for these structures. This led me to the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Ohio. This database is available to anyone with a library card in Ohio. The database often includes the names of buildings, and in this case, I found both of them.

This is a detail from an 1896 Sanborn map. It shows the area bounded by Bank Street (now West 6th) on the west, Frankfort Avenue on the north, Seneca on the east (now West 3rd Street), and Superior Avenue on the south. Just off-center, at the bottom, is the Wilshire Block.

How do we know that this is the building that we are looking for, and not another structure with the same name? (This is not uncommon.) This detail helps illustrate the building a bit better. The Wilshire Block is outlined in red. In the lower right corner, you can see the notation "6B" - this indicates that the building is six stories high and constructed from brick. In the building to the right, a notation in the corresponding corner indicates it is three stories and also brick. One can almost make out a "4" in the building to the left, on this map. These correspond exactly to the buildings shown in the photograph.

We might also note that while the first floor occupies the entire footprint of the structure, the map shows that remaining floors opened onto an atrium.

While working on this, I stumbled across another illustration of the Wilshire Block, in Cleveland Illustrated, page 32. (Consolidated Illustrating Co., Cleveland, 1893) Provided courtesy of Cleveland Public Library. It illustrates an ornate and imposing commercial structure. The name "Wilshire" can be seen clearly at the top, centered. None of the buildings pictured here remain - instead, there is just parking.

Now, for the Garlock building. This detail, also from an 1896 Sanborn map, shows the area bounded by Euclid Avenue on the north, East 18th Street on the east, Prospect Avenue on the south, and East 14th Street on the west. "The Garlock" can be seen just to the left of center, at the top, on Euclid Avenue.

This detail, with the Garlock building outlined in red, helps us acertain that the structure is, in fact, the one we are looking for. Note, based on the same information we have above, that this is a six story building, with three story structures flanking it on either side. It shows a building set forward from the rest of the block, just as it is in the photo.

Do you have a photograph that you would like to have researched and included in this series?

Get the best quality scan that you can still email - note that the crucial information here was pulled from tiny details - and send it to ClevelandAreaHistory@gmail.com. If you don't have access to a scanner, you can mail me your original photograph, well-protected and at your own risk, with a self-addressed stamped envelope for its return, and I'll scan it.

I look forward to identifying your Cleveland area photographic mysteries.

Identifying Your Photographs: A New Series

2011-04-06T12:40:00.002-04:00

Photo by The Heiser Co., Commercial Photographers, Cleveland.

This is the first post in a new series, Identifying Your Photographs. In it, I'll take your unidentified historic photographs of the greater Cleveland area and try to determine where they were taken. The posts will include illustrative details on the subjects, and, when possible, photographs of the scenes as they are today. In addition, I will explain how I was able to identify the locations, so that you might be better able to look at the historic photos in your own collection.

This photograph, posted on Flickr by a friend, was a challenge. It is of a gleaming new Cities Service (now CITGO) gas station. The images was likely made in the early 1920s, based on the cars in the garage and the years Cities Service Oil operated.

The service station has eight gasoline pumps and four air compressors for vehicle tires. It features six service bays, at least two of which were use at the time of this photograph. A neon sign, advertising Cities Service Oils' brand, Koolmotor gasoline, stands in front of the structure.

The bricks that made up the structure were glazed, most likely white in color, with a band of darker bricks at ground level. The roof appears to be made of stamped enameled steel - similar in composition to what might be used on the exterior of a stove or washing machine. Flanking the main door are two towers with display windows. The towers appear flimsy, in comparison with the rest of the station. Close examination reveals that the upper part of the windows was just painted on.

The station was likely a corporate design, one of many similar structures. It bears much similarity to one featured in this entry, in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Note that the towers in that photo appear to be more substantial, with glass in the upper parts of their windows.

The pitch of the roof, the proportions, and some other style elements, namely the cast-iron gutter heads, bear some resemblence to the Tudor-style houses built at the time. It bears some similarity to a group of structures with stronger Tudor elements built in the Cleveland area by Standard Oil. This one, on Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland is among them.

This is the gas station as it stands today, at 8201 Carnegie Avenue, in Cleveland, Ohio. I was unable to obtain the same perspective as the original photographer, who either used a ladder or a perch on a building on the other side of the street - this is as close as I was able to get.

Much of the basic form of the building remains. An addition to the front provides a bit more office space, at the loss of the towers, which, as noted above, seemed a bit flimsy. It retains the basic configuration of service bays, and of most of the window and door openings. Even the small awning over the side door remains. The enamel steel roof is still present, an indicator of the durability of the material. This gas station is a testament to the adaptability of commercial structures, especially when keeping up with the latest style isn't a concern.

This is not to say that much hasn't been lost, too. The cast iron lights that illuminated the gas station at light are long gone, as are the sconces in a complementary style on the outside of the building. The orginal gutters and cast iron gutter heads are gone from the front of the structure, but appear to remain, at least in part, on the side of the building.

The houses, both on the side street and to the right of the station are no longer present. Nor is the three story brick building, probably apartments, seen to the right and rear.

How Did I Identify It?

First, I looked at the Historic Plain Dealer, 1945-1991, a great database that I detailed back in December. Note: a Cleveland Public Library card is required for access. I looked for Cities Service ads, with the hope that they would list the locations of their gas stations. While I found plenty of their ads, they did not include any addresses. The old city directories in the History and Geography Department at Cleveland Public Library would likely include the addresses for the service stations. If it wasn't the 30th time you've contacted them this month, a brief call (216-623-2864) would probably get you a list of their addresses. However, I'm stubborn and have to look things up for myself.

Next, I looked to see what other information might possibly be contained in the photograph. The most obvious is the angle of the sun, which tells us that the building isn't on the south side of the street.

Photo by The Heiser Co., Commercial Photographers, Cleveland. Annotations by the author.

The photograph was, thankfully, scanned at a very high resolution. This revealed much detail, and made identification of the building possible. In the center of the image, on a street light, there is a sign, "Carnegie", outlined here in red. This meant that I was looking for a structure on the north side of Carnegie. After using Bing Maps "birdseye" imagery to browse the area from downtown to about East 70th Street, I was reasonably convinced that the building was gone.

I took a new look at the image, this time not looking for identifying characteristics of the gas station, but for other landmarks that might help me figure out where it had been sited. The houses, while of good quality, didn't possess any special characteristics that would make them stand out. The building in the background, to the left, outlined in blue, however - it had a unique shape - one I initially assumed to be a theater.

After a bit more browsing, the shape became familiar. It was the rear portion of the Euclid Avenue Temple (now Liberty Hill Baptist Church), at 8206 Euclid Avenue. With this information, locating the spot on Carnegie was easy. Much to my surprise, the station was still standing. It's an interesting structure, one I would have thought I would have paid more notice.

Do you have a photograph that you would like to have researched and included in this series?

Get the best quality scan that you can still email - note that the crucial information here was pulled from tiny details - and send it to ClevelandAreaHistory@gmail.com. If you don't have access to a scanner, you can mail me your original photograph, well-protected and at your own risk, with a self-addressed stamped envelope for its return, and I'll scan it.

I look forward to identifying your Cleveland area photographic mysteries.

Details from the "My Cleveland" Profile

2011-04-04T15:45:00.002-04:00

First, I wanted to thank everyone who voted for Cleveland Area History in Scene magazine's Best of Cleveland contest. Thanks to your support, Cleveland Area History was named Best Blog.

At the risk of sounding self-indulgent, I'll bring up the following item. On Sunday, I was profiled by Grant Segal for his series, My Cleveland, in the Plain Dealer. The following are links to the subjects that I've written about previously, in the approximate order that they were mentioned in the profile.

This picture is of the Jesse Owens House, at 2178 East 100th Street, where Owens lived at the peak of his career, from 1934-1936.

The Langston Hughes House, at 2266 East 86th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, is now a Cleveland Landmark.

The stone building at 16360 Euclid Avenue is known as the Luster Tannery.

I wrote a review on the book, The Day-Glo Brothers and also looked into the location of the house where they invented Day-Glo paints.

Again, thank you for your support over the past year and a half.

The stories mentioned above are but a small sample of what has been covered here. If you're new here, be sure to browse some of the older entries.

The Construction of Severance Hall

2011-04-01T10:50:00.001-04:00

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

Sometimes, you come across a group of photographs that give you a new perspective on something you think you know reasonably well. Such is this group of photographs, which I stumbled across on Flickr a day or two ago. Their subject: Severance Hall.

This group of 54 black and white photographs comprise a bound volume, Severance Music Hall, held in Special Collections at Cleveland Public Library. Walker and Weeks, the architects for the building, are listed as the authors. The volume illustrates the construction of the structure, from excavation of the foundation, in November of 1929, to the completion of the basic structure, in August of the following year. It does not extend, alas, to the finish work or interior details - but there are plenty of photos elsewhere of the glorious interior.

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

Here, looking south, we see the vacant lot where Severance Hall will be built. It appears that the excavation of the foundation has already begun, yet some debris remains to be cleared. In the distance, slightly to the left of center, is Amasa Stone Chapel, completed in 1911.

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

Looking across the site to the north, we find a site very different from what is present today. Behind the trees to the left, in the distance, is the Cleveland Museum of Art. On the right are two structures - what I believe to be present-day Thwing Center. The top of the tower of the Church of the Covenant is visible in the distance.

The set continues with the excavation of the foundation and the first pieces of structural steel, shown from two perspectives.

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

The construction progresses to this image, dated February 20, 1930. For the first time, we see the basic shape that we know as Severance Hall. It surprised me how early the shape of the structure was recognizable.

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

The photos also document the building of the interior. The form of the main hall can be easily visualized within this steel framework.

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

At first glance, the photos appear almost like snapshots. Then, you realize that, if so, they are very lucky snapshots. Closer examination reveals real care in composition - and the clear use of a view camera, revealed in the carefully aligned verticals in many of the images.

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

Take this exterior view. The photographer clearly considered the composition quite carefully. Further, while some parts of the print are washed out due to the bright sunlight, the general tonal quality suggests that effort was put into making a high quality print. There's a surprising amount of beauty to be found here.

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

A view of work on the roof, dated June 17, 1930, seems a change in style from the vertical emphasis of so many of the rest of the photos. In the distance, to the right, the Church of the Covenant is visible, as is the apartment building at the corner of Ford Drive and Euclid Avenue.

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

The exterior work soon progresses to a form that appears, at least from the outside, to be almost complete.

Courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland Public Library

I'll close with one final photo, taken out of sequence. The sun, low in the sky, provides a beautiful source of illumination for this photo. If you just look at the steel framework, you might think that it was a recent construction project. The workers' trucks and the nature of the construction machinery are the only things that give away the date. It seems, in a way, not dissimilar from the scenes that I've witnessed in the construction around the VA Hospital.

This set of photos is both a beautiful set of images and a valuable historical record - something that's worth looking at in its entirety. I give my thanks to the librarian who scanned the photographs and to the Special Collections Department at Cleveland Public Library, where the volume is preserved. It hints at the wealth of material available contained within the collection, available to whoever might venture downtown and ask.

Cleveland Artists in Zoar, Ohio

2011-03-30T13:30:00.005-04:00

By Ora Coltman. Printed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on January 31, 1897, on page 20.

As I mentioned before, I'm curating an exhibit on I.T. Frary for the Cleveland Artists Foundation. Recently, a colleague brought to my attention a watercolor painted by Frary, in 1897. It depicts a backyard scene in Zoar, Ohio.

Note: I have since learned that the painting is dated 1898. While this does invalidate some of the guesses made below regarding what Frary might have done that summer, it does not diminish the value of this information with regard to his career as a whole or to his associations with the individuals. It also doesn't affect the description of the events of that summer. One might guess that the work produced as a result of the summer of 1897 caused him to visit Zoar the following year.

Zoar is a small community, located on the Tuscarawas River, about 75 miles south of Cleveland. It was founded early in the 19th century by German separatists and long retained a communal lifestyle. It still has an "Old World" feel that made it a popular destination for artists.

I wanted to learn more about this painting. Who might Frary have visited Zoar with? Might I be able to locate their paintings, to provide some context for this one?

This article, alas, does not include an image of Frary's painting. That will have to wait for the exhibition at the Cleveland Artists Foundation, which opens June 3.

Artists have long left the city during the summer months, holding "schools" in various rural destinations. F.C. Gottwald visited the town with students as early as 1888. (Plain Dealer, July 15, 1888, page 5)

An article the following year provides some suggestions as to the appeal. "Prof. F.C. Gottwald and his students, Misses Amy Smith, Nina Waldeck, L.B. Black, Agnes Krause, Jessie Jones, and Mrs. H.M. Claflin left for Zoar Saturday afternoon. The uninitiated doesn't known what attracts them so much at Zoar. It's unattractiveness is its chief attraction. Zoar is original. It is like no other town in this state, in this country, in the world. It is slow, sleepy, listless, and communistic. It is everyone for all and no one for himself. It is a world in itself. The town is German in style and character. The inhabitants are Germans of contented and sluggish dispositions." (Plain Dealer, June 24, 1889, page 3)

Evening in Zoar by F.C. Gottwald. Printed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on January 31, 1897, on page 20.

It was common for teachers to take groups of students to this or that desirable rural location during the summer. While they were sometimes called "schools", they were usually informal gatherings.

For 1897, F.C. Gottwald and Ora Coltman planned a more organized environment, with classes running for ten weeks. It was noted that "The project will have the support and encouragement of the Zoar community. The students in attendance will form an artistic colony under one roof, which is believed will be of material advantage in the way of concertive effort, and there will be an attempt made to realize ideals of work not possible amid the distractions of larger places. Membership in the classes will be limited in number, and it will be necessary for pupils to register before the opening day, but there will be no entrance qualifications, and students can begin work at any time. To all these plans the Zoar society will actively lend itself, and it is felt by the projectors that the community has special advantages which could not be found anywhere else in the country." (Plain Dealer, January 31, 1897, page 20.)

A Typical Zoar Cottage by F.C. Gottwald. Printed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on January 31, 1897, on page 21.

The story, of significant length, ran with the banner I led this story with. Illustrations of Ora Coltman and F.C. Gottwald's work depicting the rural nature of Zoar was scattered across the pages.

The ten week term was to being Monday, June 28, with classes in oil and watercolor painting, as well as the use of pastels. On rainy days, there would be studio work, either in the form of a model or a still life. (Plain Dealer, April 13, 1897, page 10)

A large number of Clevelanders made their way to Zoar that summer. At least a hundred were present in Zoar, per the hotel register published in the Plain Dealer on August 8. (page 5) Not all of these were artists, of course - some were simply there vacationing.

This image contains the work of the following artists, as seen clockwise, from upper left: T.J. Ritter; May F. Sanford; [unknown]; Lottie Hoff; Charles Shackelton; and Mary E. Willson. Published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on October 24, 1897, page 13.

An exhibit of the best work from the school was held at Natt's gallery, on Euclid Avenue, in October of that year. The exhibit, which consisted of about 60 paintings, almost entirely oils, contained the work of Ada C. Belt, F.C. Gottwald, Lottie Hoff, Mrs. A.J. Nesbitt, A.B. Ring, T.J. Ritter, Blanch Sanders, May Sanford, Charles Shackelton, Harold A. Streator, and Mary E. Willson. The reviewer notes "The uniform excellence of the work, considering it was really the first outdoor study the pupils had had, speaks well for their instructors and individual talent. All the attractive bits of scenery in and about the picturesque village seem to be been found, and one gets glimpses of houses, barns, fields, fence corners, roads, and gardens. Light, bright studies they are, full of summer's rich color and atmosphere, and in very few instances are there daubs and false motions of color in the application of pigments. Mr. Harold Streator's work is undoubtedly the best, his talent having been quite marked while a pupil at the Art school in this city. Mr. Streator has a view of the red brick church and two or thtree other very charming landscapes, which are very praiseworthy. Miss Belt, who was a very moving spirit in the school and a great favorite on account of her enthusiasm and untiring zeal, has some clever work; while Miss Ring, Miss Sanford, and Miss Sanders have also some attractive bits. Mr. Shackelton's "Main Roadway to Zoar" is especially pleasing in coloring and composition. Mr. Gottwald's chief picture, painted at Zoar during the summer, is a large canvas entitled "The Neighbors." It was exhibited at the exposition recently, and is one of the best "old men" studies this talented artist has ever done." (Plain Dealer, October 24, 1897, page 13)

The Neighbors by F.C. Gottwald. Printed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on September 12, 1897, on page 22.

A review of Gottwald's painting notes "One feels that his ability to paint this particular type of character so forcibly and directly comes from his love of and sympathy with old men." It continues "The two men are in great contrast. The noe who stands outside shows evidence of a life of poverty and toil. His patient face, lined with care, the droop of his shoulders, his attitude have a pathos that awakens in the obserber a feeling of pity akin to tears. With the other it is not so. His ruddy countenance shows that his life has been of comparative ease. He has had the advantages of education." After speculating on the reasons for this, the author notes "In harmony with the contrast between the men, the reader is placed in the light, with patches of sunlight falling upon him, while the listener stands in the shadow of a picturesque old apple tree, which spreads its branches over him. Behind the two is the quaint village garden. The morning sun flits through the trees in bits of sparking light on the bushes and plants. In the background are the outlines of several village houses." He concludes "The picture was evidently painted while the artist was under the influence of deep feeling for the subject, and Mr. Gottwald is to be congratulated upon the success of his work." (Plain Dealer September 12, 1897, page 22)

What does this all tell us about I.T. Frary and his participation in the school? Why, if he painted this while the class was at Zoar, was he not in the exhibit?

It's quite possible that he simply wasn't able to devote the same amount of time to the class as the other students. Or perhaps he visited briefly with some of these artists.

Main Street, Chagrin Falls, by F.C. Gottwald. 1899. Oil on canvas, 18 x 13 in. From the collection of William McCoy. Plate 28 in F.C. Gottwald and the Old Bohemians (Cleveland Artists Foundation, 1993)

Frary was likely an associate, to some extent, of Gottwald. He took at least one class with Gottwald, in the summer of 1899, in Chagrin Falls. Frary exhibited his work from the class, along with participants Ada C. Belt, Arthur Bohnard, Zella Broughton, Lyda M. Cox, Halliwell King, Florence H. Reid, Charles Shackleton, and Carrie B. Vorce, at Guenther’s Art Rooms, on Euclid Avenue, from November 6-12, 1899. (Plain Dealer, November 12, 1899, page 20)

Ada Belt and Charles Shackelton were also listed in the Zoar exhibit. Lyda Cox was among those in later Cleveland Water Color Society exhibits with Frary. (Plain Dealer December 5, 1899, page 7, November 24, 1901, page 16, and December 3, 1901, page 11)

These individuals were, at the very least, associates of Frary. It's reasonable to make some connection between their work. Further, by 1900, F.C. Gottwald's studio was in the building of the Brooks Household Art Co., were Frary was a designer. (Plain Dealer, April 15, 1900, page 29) If his studio was, in fact, in that building in 1897, Gottwald might have encouraged Frary to visit Zoar that summer.

There's a certain amount of conjecture here, I will admit. This is not an attempt to carve any facts in stone, but to generally illustrate a group of associates at a certain point in time.

Baseball's First Opening Day

2011-03-29T12:15:00.005-04:00

On St. Patrick’s Day, 1871, nine base ball clubs gathered at Collier’s Pub in New York City to form baseball’s first major league, The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. The league was comprised of all professional clubs, for the first time in baseball’s history. Prior to this historic event, clubs were mainly amateur until 1869. From 1869-1871, the National Association of Base Ball Players allowed a professional and amateur category for clubs. By St. Patrick’s Day, 1871, the professionals made a clean break from the NABBP, forming the first professional major league. Of the nine club’s Cleveland’s Forest City club was a member.

The Forest City Club, which was originally a cricket club that played at old Case Commons, was the areas prominent base ball club since the mid-1860’s. They had been members of the NABBP since they were an amateur club, and, in 1871, were entering their first season as an all professional nine. Pitcher “Uncle” Al Pratt, catcher Deacon White and Right Fielder Art Allison were their club leaders.

The Forest City Club was slated to start their season on May 4, 1871, against the Ft. Wayne Kekiongas in Ft. Wayne. However, the match was not scheduled to be the first played in the new league. That honor was slated for the Boston Red Stockings and the Washington Olympics, but the game was rained out. As a result, and though neither team knew it, the Forest City’s of Cleveland and the Kekiongas of Ft. Wayne were to be the first baseball teams to play in a major league game.

The game was played at Hamilton Field ballpark, land that once served a a Civil War camp, and was donated by Allen Hamilton. It was a rainy day, and attendance was low, with estimates of 200-500 people at the game. The match started at 3:00, and was umpired by John L. Bloake, of Cincinnati. Deacon White recorded the first hit and first double in Major League history in the league’s first at bat. He also led all players by hitting 3 for 4 from his lead-off spot. This combined with a solid pitching performance from Al Pratt were not enough for the Cleveland’s to prevail in the match. They fell 2-0 to the Ft. Wayne’s, and history was made.

The New York Herald reported on the match:

“The finest game of base ball ever witnessed in this country was played on the grounds of the Kekiongas of this city this afternoon, the playing throughout being without precedent in the annals of base ball, and the members of both clubs establishing beyond doubt their reputation as among the most perfect ball players in the United States."

The game was considered an anomaly, due to the low scoring of the match. During early baseball, it was very common for scores to be in the double digits for both sides in a match. The Fort Wayne Gazette thought the game was more significant because of the final score, than the fact it was the first major league game ever played:
“This is undoubtedly the best game on record. We know of nothing like it that has ever happened before. Just think of it, only two runs made in nine full innings!”

Cleveland’s newspapers headlines had a more familiar reaction:
“The First Dose of 1871 – A Whole Nest of Goose Eggs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0”
- Cleveland Leader

Overall, the game is a major first in baseball history, and Cleveland was a big part of it. Hopefully, the Cleveland’s will do better on Opening Day in 2011!

sources:
Base Ball on the Western Reserve, James Egan Jr.
The Baseball Almanac
National Association of Base Ball Players, Marshall D. Wright
Blackguards and Red Stockings, William J. Ryczek
Ft. Wayne Gazette
Cleveland Leader
New York Herald
Cleveland Herald

Pictures:
1st - 1869 Cleveland Forest City's - Western Reserve Historical Society
2nd - Deacon White - A.G. Spaulding Base Ball Collection
3rd - 1871 Ft. Wayne Kekiongas - BaseballChronology.com

Don Hisaka: The Cleveland Years

2011-03-24T15:05:00.001-04:00

A while back, I wrote about a more recent piece of this region’s built history – this house, built by Don Hisaka as his personal residence. The structure, an AIA honor recipient in 1970, is located at 14300 Drexmore Road, in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

The Cleveland Artists Foundation is presenting an exhibit of the structures designed during Hisaka’s time in Cleveland – 1960 – 1985. The show opens tomorrow and runs through May 21. After that date, the exhibit will travel to the Cleveland Clinic, and then, in January, 2012, to the Mansfield Art Center - a structure designed by Hisaka.

Full disclosure: I’m curating the CAF’s next exhibit, set to open June 3 and running through the middle of July.

Seven of the structures in the exhibition are in the greater Cleveland area. What follows is a look at four of them.

I wrote about the first structure, Hisaka's personal residence in Shaker Heights, back in 2009. The label from the Cleveland Artists Foundation exhibit provides more detail:

Don Hisaka's home received a national Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects. The 1970 AIA jury stated: "An interesting and difficult site, the desire to relate to adjacent homes, the need for outdoor privacy, the need for a reasonable amount of living space, and an obviously austere budget have all been brought quietly and with great delicacy into handsome balance."

The two-story home is located on a triangular corner lot in Shaker Heights. Although it is a contemporary design in a traditional neighborhood, its roof-line geometry blends with homes on both sides. In conforming to strict setback requirements, Mr. Hisaka had to place his family's home in the furthermost corner of the site.

Four connected blocks-three living units and the garage- almost completely surround a private courtyard. Inside the house is a world of space, light, and serenity. Every first-floor room has floor-to-ceiling glass walls and overlooks the courtyard.

Architectural Forum, July-August 1969, devoted four pages to the Hisaka residence. A comment: "Even though the neighbors cannot look into the Hisakas' court, they can tell it is there, and perhaps they realize that the scheme of additive units around a court solves some of the basic problems of housing in the suburban setting. It shows one way to enjoy private outdoor living space and large glass areas - without living either in a goldfish bowl or behind a stockade."

Exterior walls are rough-sawn cedar, stained to blend inconspicuously with the trees.

The Hisaka residence was one of the homes featured in the Fortune article, "When an Architect Builds for Himself" (November 1971)

The Gund Residence, also designed in 1965, was featured on the cover of the catalog for Cleveland Goes Modern. The house is located on the south side of Major Road, between Riverview Road and Oak Hill Road, in Peninsula, Ohio. The site is not visible from the road.

The Cleveland Artists Foundation, in the exhibition label, describes the challenges the site and the client presented to Hisaka and the manner in which he addressed them.

The clients chose a heavily wooded site, south of Cleveland, amid slopes and ravines. Then, in discussing a holiday & summertime retreat with Hisaka and Associates, they talked about a home with large decks and an international style “treehouse” floating over a densely wooded site. They wanted a view of four small, man-made lakes and asked not to destroy a single tree.

Hisaka’s solution places two stark white cubes on an expansive wood desk. The entire structure is perched on concrete stilts, and a glass-enclosed bridge connects the two-story wings. After the house was completed, the client allowed one tree to be chopped down. As a result, three of the four manmade lakes on the property and broad expanses of forest are visible from the interior of a light-splashed home that gives its residents a sense of living outdoors.

Giddings Elementary School, completed in 1970, is located at 2250 East 71st Street, Cleveland, Ohio. The exhibition label describes the reasoning behind this Brutalist design.

The award winning Giddings Elementary School in Cleveland has three stories of classrooms surrounding a skylit courtyard. Here exterior windows are minimized to discourage vandalism in a modern structure that replaces a burned-down 19th century schoolhouse. The new school turns inward toward the courtyard, which is enlivened with greenery, a prominent staircase and a two-story glassed-in core housing offices and a library. The mustard brick exterior steps down in one- and two-story levels to harmonize with the scale of traditional wood-frame houses in the neighborhood.

When built, square lintels topped the entrances - one is seen off-center here - not unlike a brick piece of stonehenge. They have since been removed, to the aesthetic detriment of the space. The band of paint, eight or nine feet high, around the bottom of the building has not helped the appearance. The architect can accept some responsiblity for this - graffiti in this situation is almost an inevibility, and it must be painted over, as chemical and mechanical means of removal either pollute or damage the brick - it should be considered as part of the design process.

Eric Johannesen, in the authoritative Cleveland Architecture, 1876-1976 selects this school as one of the best examples of its type. The text (page 233) illustrates the atrium described above and an entrance, before it was altered.

I can't speak to how well the building does or does not function as an educational institution. It's worth keeping in mind that the design was a product of the times, and that the lack of windows on the exterior was meant to reduce distractions. Natural light was to come from the atrium.

The presence of this building in the neighborhood could be improved by the replacement of the missing brick lintels. Compared with many other building restoration projects, the cost of this is low. Perhaps those involved in mounting the exhibition would consider donating the work and materials to accomplish it.

Interior, University Center Atrium, looking south. Photograph taken in 1980 by Clay Herrick. Used courtesy of The Cleveland Memory Project.

Don Hisaka's University Center for Cleveland State University was completed in 1974. The structure, which was located on the north side of Euclid Avenue at about East 22nd Street, is described, in an object label in the exhibit as

[A]n L-shaped building which joins the plaza on two sides. Lecture rooms and public functions, located on the lower three floors, are accessible to students and outsiders. Offices are on the upper three floors. Lounge and dining facilities are on the second floor, handy to the enclosed bridges which, connecting with library tower and classroom buildings, create an all-weather campus.

The oblique wall at the entrance on Euclid Avenue is an invitation to pedestrians from Cleveland’s main business area, only a few blocks west.

Unfortunately, while the structure was visually stunning, it was also quite unusable. It was demolished in 2008.

Don Hisaka's buildings shaped, in their way, the built landscape of the greater Cleveland area. While they're not as old as the structures we usually call "historic", they've clearly had an influence. Take his house, a better answer to a skinny triangular lot in Shaker Heights than the usual boring duplex. Look at Thwing Center, at Case Western Reserve University, which brings together two historic structures. Take a look at Giddings Elementary, which might be seen as a fortress to protest those who wish to learn, while still bringing in plenty of natural light.

The exhibit, Don Hisaka: The Cleveland Years, opens tomorrow - Friday, March 25, and continues through May 21. An opening reception will be held from 6 to 8 pm.

The Cleveland Artists Foundation is located in the Beck Center, at 17801 Detroit Road, in Lakewood, Ohio. A catalog has been published to accompany the show. More information on Hisaka's work can be found in the CAF catalog Cleveland Goes Modern.

Visions of a City in 1872

2011-03-23T10:49:00.004-04:00

Cleveland as seen in Picturesque America

Picturesque America was a massive two volume set, first published in 1872. It is best known for the high quality illustrations of various natural features across the United States. In a way, it was the first popular coffee table book.

In addition to the aforementioned natural wonders, the title also provides glimpses of life in cities across the country. Cleveland was included among these. A Cleveland Area History reader was kind enough to let me borrow a copy, so that I might make a high-resolution scan of the images - be sure to click through for more detail, if so desired. All are from the edition published by D. Appleton And Co., New York, 1872.

The chapter opens with, Mouth of Cuyahoga River, Cleveland (page 521) - shown above. Compare it to Otto Bacher's prints and drawings, which cover the same area, at about the same time. In the drawings, there is a certain quality of composition that is shared with this image. In Bacher's prints, it becomes darker, perhaps partially due to the nature of the etching process.

This is followed (page 523) with Cleveland, from Scranton's Hill. The location today is close to West 17th Street, just north of Lorain Avenue - immediately before it crosses over the Cuyahoga River and becomes Carnegie. From this promentory, we can see a good part of the residential area of the city, as well as the industry that would transform it in the following years. If we look in the distance, in this historic view, we can see the steeples of several churches.

One of these provides a view of downtown Cleveland, looking west, in Superior Street, Cleveland, from Presbyterian Church (page 525). Second Presbyterian Church was located on the south side of Superior, just west of where the Arcade is located today. In the midground, there is a group of trees - Public Square. Adjacent to that is the one structure that remains from this historic view - the Old Stone Church. Immediately between the the viewer and the church is the old post office and custom house.

A flagpole is visible near the center of Public Square. Behind this, on the right side of the street, is a building with a dome. This is the Weddell House, one of the city's best known early hotels.

On the following page, we are provided with this view of Euclid Avenue, presumably looking east. ~~I must confess that I cannot, with the resources I have in hand at the moment, identify the specific churches.~~ Update: thanks to Kevin's comment below, I can now identify the scene. The view is indeed looking east, from about East 13th Street. The church in the foreground is the Euclid Avenue Presbyterian Church. It was located at what is now East 14th Street. In the distance, we can see the tower of the Euclid Avenue Baptist Church, at the corner of what is now East 18th Street.

The Ohio City neighborhood is illustrated through this engraving, City of Cleveland, From Reservoir Walk, bound between pages 528 and 529. The reservoir was located on the block bounded by the streets now known as Franklin Boulevard on the north, West 32nd Street on the east, Woodbine Avenue on the south, and West 38th Street on the east - the block that now includes Fairview Park.

The reservoir provided an excellent view of the city. About a third of the way from the right, the Methodist Church is visible. Just behind that is the steeple of the Baptist Church. Off center, in the distance, the First Congregational Church can be seen. In the distance, we can see Lake Erie, with several boats sailing on it.

The two remaining views of the Cleveland area are both of the Rocky River. One, here, provides a view from close to the river itself. The other shows the lake from a bluff overlooking it.

From here, the authors continue west, with two views of the Black River in Elyria. The commercial importance of Sandusky is illustrated through lumber boats there, not unlike the scene at the mouth of the Cuyahoga here in Cleveland. In addition, we are provided a view of the city iteself.

The journey west continues to Kelly's Island, and then to Put-In-Bay, shown here. At Put-In-Bay, we are given a look into Perry's Cave and two features on Gibraltar Island, in the harbor at Put-In-Bay, - Perry's Lookout and the Sphinx Head.

The journey along the south shore of Lake Erie concludes with this view of Toledo. In many ways, it seems to resemble Cleveland.

These views provide an idealized view of Cleveland and the adjacent areas in the 1870s. Looking at them and then at Cleveland as seen by Otto Bacher would be an interesting exercise - Bacher's drawings and prints provide a somewhat different perspective.

I'm always looking for unpublished or underutilized historic imagery of northeast Ohio. If you have books or photographs that you are willing to share, please contact me, that I might scan them and share them with a wider audience.

The Work of J. Milton Dyer

2011-03-17T16:35:00.002-04:00

A week and a half ago, reader Doug Wheeler brought an article to my attention. At least that's what he meant to do. Somehow, it didn't register in my head. As a result, I didn't have this great period photo of the Brown Hoist building in my post on Tuesday. The article in question, The Work of Mr. J. Milton Dyer, appeared in Architectural Record, November, 1906, pages 384-403.

The historic photo, at top, may help us to better see the building, which is located on Hamilton Avenue at East 45th Street. As built, it feels grand - not merely imposing. The massive arch shapes the space, in a way that feels almost like a major passenger train station. I can imagine that the quality of the light, from the many banks of windows, must have been something to behold.

Another image that immediately caught my attention was the Tavern Club, at 3522 Prospect Avenue, in Cleveland. The Tudor-style structure feels, to my eyes, like the very essence of a private club at the time it was built (1904-1905). It is a Cleveland Landmark.

I've tried to photograph it, without much success. Even if the light in my photo had been right, the streetlights and utility lines would have still been quite a distraction. Further, the building could not have been successfully photographed from this angle today, due to the presence of the building on the southeast corner of Prospect and East 36th Street, which would have obscured the left part of the building.

It's one thing to theorize about how the architect might have meant for a building to be seen, but quite another to have it illustrated so clearly.

The article includes several illustrations of the Cleveland City Hall, built 1911-1916. The exterior views don't offer any surprises. This cross section, however, opens up the space and helps me to visualize how the building fits together as a whole, centered around the grand atrium. Floor plans for the building are also provided.

I would include the tall and very skinny Guardian Savings and Trust, but I can't see a good way to format the text around it. The bank, built in 1904, was located at 322-326 Euclid Avenue.

For related reasons, I will omit the competitive drawing for the Post Office, Custom House, and Court House (now known as the Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse). Dyer's design is very similar to the design that was used, the work of architect Arnold W. Brunner.

The carriage entrance to the Loftus Cuddy residence catches my attention more than the structure as a whole. For some reason, it reminds me of the Paris Metropolitain entrances designed by architect Hector Guimard. Dyer, as a student at École des Beaux-Arts in Paris would have seen these, so the suggestion of a connection isn't a complete stretch. The ornamentation is different, but both seem to convey similar senses of light and space.

The residence, which appears (per the Cleveland Blue Book, 1907, 1911, and 1915) to have been on Overlook Road, in the Euclid Heights neighborhood of Cleveland Heights. It is no longer standing.

The article contains several more designs worth mentioning. Among them are a Competitive Design for Carnegie Technical Schools (shown here), interiors of the opulent Central National Bank, the Mill Street School, a few private residences, and the Windermere Presbyterian Church.

How does one close a description of a group of work like this? I'm unsure. The photos and drawings speak for themselves quite well. The article records, as a group, the early work of J. Milton Dyer. It's worth a look to see his vision for our city in the first decade of the 20th century.

The Brown Hoist Building

2011-03-15T15:20:00.001-04:00

An Industrial Landmark

One of Cleveland's most interesting industrial structures is just off a major road (St. Clair Avenue), at the northwest corner of East 45th Street and Hamilton Avenue. It's hard to convey the size of this massive structure - 312 x 500 feet - and its design is sufficiently impressive that I was shocked I hadn't written about it previously.

The structure, built in 1901-1902, was designed for the Brown Hoisting Machinery Company by J. Milton Dyer. It represents one of his earliest commissions. Among Dyer's significant commissions were the Cleveland City Hall, the Peerless Motor Car factory and the Coast Guard Station.

Locomotive Fueling Station and Five Ton Yard Cantilever, both products of the Brown Hoisting Company. (Cleveland Plain Dealer May 22, 1902, page 13)

The Brown Hoist (or Brown Hoisting) Company was founded in Cleveland in 1885. They became the largest company in the world dealing exclusively in cranes and materials handling machinery, filling orders for all types of industry. In 1900, a fire destroyed the factory.

Soon after the fire, work began on a new, fireproof plant. As of January 25, 1901, the remains of the original structure had been condemned. It was expected to take 30 days to create the plans and another two to three months for the construction. (Plain Dealer, January 25, 1901, page 2) They took the opportunity to expand their manufacturing operations, with the purchase of land on Hamilton Avenue on March 5, 1901. (Plain Dealer, March 6, 1901, pages 6 and 10)

Alexander Brown, vice president of the company, wanted to create a building material that was fireproof, lightweight and cheap. The process, called Ferroinclave, was first used in this building. Eric Johannesen, in Cleveland Architecture, 1876-1976 (page 43) describes the material, which "Consisted of corrugated steel sheets formed by alternating Z-angles into dovetails, covered on both sides with cement." He notes that "This idea was also the origin of the steel-formed stairs with cement treads which are a part of standard building practice seventy-five years later."

The nature of the base material is illustrated here, in Brown's patent application.

In May, 1901, a permit was pulled for the new factory building, with the cost estimated at $200,000. (Plain Dealer May 19, 1901, page 18) When completed, the building was to be the largest in the county. (November 11, 1901, page 8)

In July, a permit was pulled for a new office building for the company, to be made of brick, stone and iron. The estimated cost was $50,000. The article added that "The present office building is located on the corner of Belden and Hamilton streets and has been for some time entirely too small for the demand. The building will be 113 feet front by 140 feet in depth, with a highly ornamental front." (July 14, 1901, page 17) By August, however, the company decided to build a less extensive office building, revising downward the estimate to $20,000, and pulling a new permit. (August 4, 1901, page 17)

J. Milton Dyer was responsible for this part of the complex as well. (May 22, 1902, page 14 and October 7, 1903, page 12) The contractor was one H. Scheeler. (December 7, 1902, page 16) A grand opening and dance for the office building were held on Friday, June 20, 1902. (June 21, 1902, page 3) The building, at 4403 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, still stands.

This rendering of the Brown Hoist complex was published in the Plain Dealer on May 22, 1902. (Page 13) The artist was looking north northwest. At the far left, the office building is visible, including the unbuilt rear wing. Behind it, the drafting shop is visible, and behind that, the factory. This angle illustrates the form of the factory building in a way that my photographs cannot.

An article in the Plain Dealer on May 22, 1902 (page 14) describes the factory building. "The main shop covers about 156,000 square feet of ground, constituting one large room without a single partition. The roofs are supported by heavy steel columns placed at intervals of about forty to seventy feet. The shop is composed of seven compartments or bays, each of which is equipped with huge traveling cranes of twenty to thirty tons capacity. The entire structure has a floorspace fully double that of the old shop and it is estimated that with the largely increased facilities the annual output of the company will be three times as large as formerly." After describing the fireproof constriction, it continues "The plant is lighted by electricity, which power is also utilized in propelling the great cranes, and an improved system of heating and ventilating by underground conduits has been installed. Among the other buildings forming a part of this enormous plant may be mentioned the power house, equipped with the latest improved electric machinery; the pattern shop, pattern stores and store room. The rear yard from which shipping is done is provided with two large traveling cantilevers. The offices of the company front on St. Clair street and occupy one of the most elegant office buildings in the city."

Eric Johannesen called the Brown-Hoist building a "landmark in both structure and architecture." (Cleveland Architecture 1876-1976, page 43) Mary-Peale Schofield, in Landmark Architecture of Cleveland, said that it was "As striking today as it was in 1906". (page 140)

This historic structure remains in use today, as an industrial warehouse. It's an important piece of our industrial heritage. If you find yourself in the area, stop and take a look. It's impressive.

Progress! The Beckenbach Residence and St. George's Lithuanian Church

2011-03-09T14:05:00.000-05:00

Photograph by Tim Barrett

Almost a year ago, I noticed that the Diocese of Cleveland was selling off a great 5,000 square foot 1870s house and a 1920s church, both sited on a parcel that amounted to almost three acres. In April, I wrote about the church and the house, with a more detailed look into the house in June.

I'd forgotten the matter. Recently, I saw that the property had been sold, in December, for a mere $35,000. This didn't give me much hope - it seemed awfully close to the value of the land less the cost of demolishing the historic house and church. Then I looked deeper, and saw what the new owners, Community Greenhouse Partners, had planned for the site.

Courtesy of Community Greenhouse Partners

Community Greenhouse Partners will be converting the church into offices and greenhouse space. Detailed plans may be found here.

I spoke with Community Greenhouse Partners executive director Timothy Smith, expressing my concerns about the significance of the house. He said,

"We absolutely plan on keeping the house. Our current plans are to keep it mothballed, as it needs significant work, but we're currently considering two plans, both of which involve having groups move into the space and having them rehab it in exchange for rent -- one is an intentional community of college grads doing community outreach, the other is a permaculture education organization."

Thes plans inspire hope in me, and suggest that there are plenty of unconventional uses for a property like this.

Stanley Block Landmark Hearing TOMORROW!

2011-03-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

Photograph by Tim Barrett

Back in June, it came to the public attention that the historic Stanley Block had been condemned.

The Stanley Block is located at 2121 Ontario Street, on the east side of the street, between Prospect and High. It was built circa 1874. It is one of a few stone-faced commercial buildings of this vintage still standing in Cleveland.

The Stanley Block has had an interesting history, due partially to the ballroom on its top floor, where many meetings and events were held. More detail on these can be found in my initial story on the subject.

Previous efforts to designate the structure a landmark failed due to the opposition of the owner, who appears to want to demolish it. Now the city councilman associated with this ward is willing to override this opposition, in the public interest.

A public hearing will be held on the matter tomorrow (Thursday), March 3, 2011 at 1:00 pm in Room 6 of City Hall, 601 Lakeside Avenue. If you are unable to attend, please consider emailing Commission Secretary Robert D. Keiser (rkeiser@city.cleveland.oh.us) or City Planner Donald J. Petit (dpetit@city.cleveland.oh.us) and let them know that you believe this historic structure is worth preserving.