Hidden History of Cleveland

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

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.

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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.

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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

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.

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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

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.

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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?

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.

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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.