The demolition of the Cleveland Cadillac Company building

The recently demolished Corlett Building on the campus of Cleveland State University (1935 Euclid Avenue) was originally home to a vehicle showroom constructed by The Cleveland Cadillac Company in 1914, a local distributor for the Detroit automaker. There were several other tenants in the building at the time that the location was used as a car dealership, including R.G. Miller Coal Co. and City Ice and Fuel Co.

It later became known as the Corlett Building due to the land originally having been the site of the home and office space of Dr. William T. Corlett. Dr. Corlett was a dermatologist and physician in the early 1900’s, in the time of Millionaire’s Row.



The building for the Cleveland Cadillac Company was designed by well known Cleveland architects, Knox and Elliott. It had an art deco feel to it, complete with gargoyles and sleek geometric lines and shapes. According to the former Cadillac Museum manager, Greg Wallace, the Cadillac branch offices were fairly similar in their basic design. It is unknown if Knox & Elliott served as the architect for all of the branch locations.




As noted here, Downtown Chevrolet (or Luby Chevrolet) occupied the site after the Cleveland Cadillac Company from 1925 to 1965. In the 1970's, the Cleveland Recording Company moved into the building and even received an award from the Plain Dealer for their renovation of the space. In 1977 Cleveland State University purchased the property.

Unfortunately now, the building remains no longer.



In past issues of The Cleveland Stater, there were several different ideas of how to utilize the building, but at the same time it was noted that the building could eventually meet its demise. In 2000, CSU's newspaper reported that the Corlett building could be demolished at some point. This seems confusing because in the same article it was also noted that the structure was part of CSU's master plan of development.

In 2001 the structure was being looked at as a potential site for the partnership between CSU and WVIZ for the Advanced Digital Technology Center as well as the site for the bookstore.

In 2003 the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately, this does not protect against demolition.

One year later in 2004, the future of Corlett was addressed in the Cleveland Stater again. The Cleveland Municipal School district had a lease on the building through the end of 2005, and cost estimates for renovations for use by CSU were estimated at around $10 million.

Nothing else appears to be noted by the campus newspaper about the building until the July 8, 2009 issue when the demolition announcement is made. The article indicates some of the architectural features were salvaged for use on the property in the future. For now, parking and a green space are slated for the site, followed by a farmer’s market, with eventual plans for a visual arts center.

In the first three pieces I’ve contributed to this blog, coincidentally two of them are about buildings designed by Knox & Elliott. One of them has been demolished and the other is on the brink of disintegration. Taking into account the Northeast Ohio buildings credited to Knox & Elliott on the Landmarks Commission website, right now only 43% of the structures are still standing. This leads me to pose the following question; how many buildings do we demolish before we allow an architect’s imprint on our region to disappear?

Hidden Gem by Knox and Elliott

If you’ve ever driven down Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland, you may have noticed a diamond in the rough hiding on the south side of the road in between Peter Pan Donuts to the east and an abandoned apartment complex to the west (between Wymore and Rosemont.) This was the home of a man by the name of Theodore Arter. It was designed by Knox and Elliott who designed many homes and commercial buildings both in and around Cleveland at the beginning of the 20th century. Arguably at the top of their credits, Knox and Elliott designed the Rockefeller Building downtown, as well as the Hippodrome Theatre.

According to A History of Cleveland and its Environs: The Heart of new Connecticut, Volume 2, Theodore Arter was born in Hanover, OH in 1833. In 1870 he became an oil refiner and within a few years he began work as a timberman and stave contractor with the Standard Oil Company. It’s approximated that he worked for Standard Oil for a total of 38 years.




This residence was built in 1899 according to the Cleveland Landmarks Commission, which means that he would have only lived there for ten years. At that point he then moved back to Yonkers, NY and just five months later, at the age of 77, passed away. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery here in Cleveland.

The last recorded resident of this structure by the Cleveland Public Library’s necrology file, was Anne E. Hager who died in 1957. Looking at the auditor’s website, the property has gone through many hands since 1975, and mostly through the hands of various banks and mortgage companies. The current owner, Stanley Appleton, bought the property in December 2003 for $21,500. Six years later there is no evidence of a desire for improvement on this property.



How could this property potentially be reused and restored to its former glory? When I think about this, what comes to mind is a current project on East 105th St. at the foot of the Veterans’ Hospital called Heritage Lane. There is a long line of lovely old homes there being restored in an effort to revitalize the area as well as encourage a more sustainable lifestyle (i.e. live, work, and play locally) for the employees of University Circle.

There is also a long line of lovely old homes and structures that need to be restored and cared for, starting with the Theodore Arter residence leading all the way up to the new Circle 118 properties, including #13204 Euclid Avenue, which (according to the realtor) is said to have been the home of Rockefeller’s sister, now for sale at $159,000.

I can only speculate about the future of Mr. Arter’s residence as well as the others along that strip, but we can’t deny the attention to detail that Knox and Elliott put forth when designing Mr. Arter’s residence.