lafont

There was the plan for the whole CMA library to be moved to that building. The last i heard is the plan for a new building, whenever that takes shape, will involve art (and art history?) classes - likely a joint program between CWRU and CIA. Of course, they already had a substantial facility that could have been accommodated for that. I kind of liked the idea of another highrise apartment tower going up there; it doesn't have to take up a lot of the property. Anyway, for right now I'm very glad to see the Johnson sculptures back in such a public place.

"May" have been told??? How crazy it would be if the owner of Albert's weren't told.... I always refrain from mentioning to an employee anything about a business closing - even though I'm often hungry for more news - unless it's been well publicized. I've been seeing about that building here but have no idea where else it might be written about. Are you saying all the demolition is supposed to take place soon - every building that's supposed to go? The Mr. Albert's building may be last and not for a while. I too peeked in there on Friday. It's the ultimate of what used to be in that vicinity and the last of its type. "Colorful" is quite an understatement in describing its overall ambience. They've had big sale signs as long as I can remember, and I go back many years. In fact, weren't they on the north side of Prospect? As for hat stores, was there a men's hat store right on East Fourth? I don't recall it. Prospect had Mike the Hatter and The Made Hatter, which at one time had two shops simultaneously. The widow of the founder was forced out by the building owner, unfortunately, but Mike the Hatter is in Broadview Heights, near the Parma border on Broadview Road. I've been there many times. It's by far the best men's hat store left in Greater Cleveland (though there are currently still a few others) - a lot like Meyer the Hatter in New Orleans, which claims to be "the largest hat store in the South."

I wouldn't get terribly excited about this announcement, in relation to the NuCLEus proposal.... It's probably a much better building to work in, in general, and it's certainly closer to the NuCLEar site - just separated by the Fifth Street Markets.

Is said many months ago Stark can't be trusted but someone brought out his big successful projects. Nonetheless, his Warehouse District extravanga got whittled down, down to nothing. And I believe he had a big project planned for downtown Solon, though I've very happy that one got eliminated. There are some big offices that had made commitments to go into NuCleus, so may it's still going - one way or another.... No sign went up on Prospect, though. Maybe that's a bad omen. But then projects with signs don't always materialize anyway.

I would particularly like these in-town hotels to get the business rather than the farther out ones - like in the distance suburbs; and that includes whenever some entity wants to build a hotel or motel far out they consider these closer-in ones and perhaps decide it might drop their plans.

I don't think the windows in tge most eastern bldg. will be that large. Drawings show five windows across.

What became of the plans for creation of artistic space (sculpture, etc.) that was supposed to go under that bridge that connects the Warehouse District with Flats East. I recall artists discussing it and it was supposed to be installed at least by 2018.

I really wanted the ultra-bold original design but, sure, I can live with the scaled-down version. Now let's get a sign up, so the world can see something new and dramatic has been planned and will soon come about, and start seriously planning for the groundbreaking!

Thanks!

On other words, it won't add that much to Downtown Cleveland. True. Not what it could have been. On the other hand, if the market isn't ready for more, that's okay I guess.

A few diverse comments.... Little Italy has far more than "three galleries" - however one interprets the term. However - no, it's not like it was. I suppose Waterloo got a few, though I can certainly see all the advantages over a Little Italy location. There are so many now in the former factories. I'd love to see the theater in good use too but, as we all know, with the current extremely popularity of Little Italy as a restaurant row alone any new influx of large crowds for a theater venue (including lectures or concerts there, etc.) would be still further strain on the parking situation. Sure, it would be nice if the wires were buried, and then some attractive street lights can go up - as any distinctive neighborhood deserves. Finally, as to the remark about Little Italy being a "tough retail market," what does that mean? The phrase means to me a market difficult to find renters to occupy commercial space. I think of Little Italy as a very lively retail market. "Tough retail markets" in Cleveland, just to name a few in Cleveland when we have so many dozens, would be St. Clair Avenue east of East 55th, Fleet Avenue, Clark Avenue, Dennison Avenue, East 105th Street, Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland, and East 185th Street.

Truthfully, there are some wretched-looking side streets off the Corridor south of Cedar Avenue that could use a little "sprucing up"....

Wow - Looks like a glamorous, all-glass luxury complex - a prestigious, highly sought-after location.....

Regarding the dormitory planned to the west of Ansel Road announced here recently, I wonder if the expectation is that students associated with the Maltz Center will be those expected to live there. Will they expect some residents to have cars? Will there be a shuttle to the main parts of the university? I take it this is to be on the west side of Ansel. I hope there isn't a particular fear associated with this dorm that it's a high crine area and one cab't centure iusude at night, etc. There were dormintories abd apartment buildings geared toward students at the university I attended that acquired a reputation of being in a risky location, though I don't know how appropriate. the fears were.

?? You mean you too are disappointed the house on Hazel didn't get saved? As for 310 Prospect, of course I'm glad it still stands!

Since when does "the city" put up a fight to save a building like 310? Once again, I'm very disappointed in the Landmarks Commission in not trying to save the last remaining Wade Park Allotment house on Hazel Drive - in this case from the CIM.

Isn't the building with the infamous Mr. Albert's and the jewelers supposed to be sacrificed?

No, it's pre-Art Deco - the same kind of terra cotta department store vocabulary that was used for Higbee's when it was at Euclid and East 13th (totally remodeled in the '60s), the original Sterling and Welch exterior next door (now a parking lot), the former Taylor's Department Store (now the apts., etc.,) and the May Company Building near Public Square. They were all built ca. 1908-15 and have some Classical ornament. Our very best Art Deco downtown are the Ohio Bell bldg. on Prospect, the Landmark Office Bldgs. on Prospect, and the former Post Office on Prospect.

By the garage "behind Crown Plaza" could you be referring to the garage on Huron Road that had originally part of Halle's department store? The terra-cotta building? If so, it sure wasn't built as a parking garage, nor is it Art Deco....

Thanks for the oldies. I have Plat Map pages from 1933 showing everything but I don't have a decent way to post them here. Some Magnolia and Belflower houses were gone by 1970 and, in fact, a great deal was demolished in University Circle in the '60s. Cleveland Heights too. Carlton Road, like Overlook road, was in both Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. Attached here is the text of an article that was in our Cleveland Heights Historical Society newsletter, View from the Overlook, a few years ago. The actual newsletter has photos of every single house that had been on Carlton Road, including the two still standing. It is on the Historical Society's website, chhistory.org, but at the moment the newsletter articles don't open, as far as I know. The website is being re-worked. Only one Carlton might have been considered a "mansion" but they were attractive, well-built houses and the winding street had great ambiance. It was also a means for one to reside in a fine neighborhood so close to University Circle and downtown, though in prestige it was never quite up to the neighborhood across Cedar Glen - Ambler Heights. Such a shame, though, its loss. i don't know of any college that has had more demolished for its size than Case. Of course, the adjoining institutions were well part of it too. FROM OVERLOOK DOWN MURRAY HILL 5/22/2015 Overlook Road, winding between Cleveland Heights and Cleveland, is really the apex of the “Heights” that looks onto Little Italy’s Murray Hill Road. Much has changed since the early 20th century, when many a fine house graced the slope of Overlook Road down to Murray Hill Road – replaced by dormitories, the accompanying student dining halls, and University-connected Greek houses –all up and down the hill. Trails, if not whole streets, once went up this part of the escarpment, but there are only hints of one or two. As has often been written, Overlook Road was planned by a Southerner, Patrick Calhoun, as the showplace boulevard of his Euclid Heights development. The tract was first envisioned in 1891 and was to extend up to Coventry Road. Slightly less known is the separate and slightly newer tract, Carlton Park – the short, curving street off Overlook. It, too, was in both Cleveland and Cleveland Heights and lined with fine houses – about half overlooking Cedar Glen – and it ended with a terrific view over the city of Cleveland. Finally, and almost unknown today, were several residences down the hill but above Murray Hill Road, of which no traces exist today. One of these homes was in Cleveland and two were actually in Cleveland Heights. They were both highly distinctive and worthy of recognition. Overlook Road, in its heyday as a two-block “Millionaires’ Row,” boasted some sixteen mansions. All five of the residences on the slope side were in Cleveland. The Hinds House, Richardsonian Romanesque in style, was the first Overlook house to be demolished, likely in 1929; in its place was constructed the dramatic First Church of Christ Scientist. In that era, in a growing city, it was standard for a mansion to be sacrificed for an institution. First Church of Christ, a mighty church with tower seen for miles, covers more of the property than did the mansion. The Hinds House’s Tiffany stained glass window, incidentally, has long been on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Kelley, Cuddy, Sherwin, and Dodge mansions once also stood on that side of Overlook Road, with the first three and their respective carriage houses, for a while, serving Ursuline College and the fourth, the Dodge residence, housing general offices. These former residences dated from 1898 to 1905 and were demolished in the 1960s with no plans for construction of useful buildings on the properties. Carlton Park, the tract along Carlton Road which dates from about 1910, was developed by the Fred A. Lee Realty Company. Case Institute of Technology was solely responsible for the eventual demise as a street of beautiful single homes. Carlton Road was originally lined with sixteen or seventeen homes, with seven all or partially in Cleveland Heights. The street was actually an early cul-de-sac, with its more prominent houses on the circle overlooking Cleveland - on large lots extending down the promontory. These - numbers 11893 and 11894 - were not constructed until about 1923, meaning residents in the earlier houses had originally enjoyed a clearer view toward downtown. The homes of 1923, along with 11896 and 11898, were entirely in Cleveland Heights, and the properties at 11901, 11916, and 11920 were partially in the suburb. The street itself remained intact until the early 2000s, when CWRU shortened it, eliminating the circle for traffic. A very pleasant residential street for just over 50 years, close to downtown Cleveland for a street with homes of this quality, Carlton had echoed Ambler Heights, across Cedar Glen and also in both Cleveland Heights and Cleveland. Ambler Heights, which featured still larger homes than Carlton Park, was older and is still intact. Early Carlton Park residents included George N. Sherwin, a Vice President of the Union Trust Company, Ermine Barrows Jones, the widow of James M. Jones, a Common Pleas Judge; the Jones’ daughter, Myrta L. Jones, noted social reformer and women’s activist; and Mrs. Henry L. Sanford, a founder of the Women’s City Club. At least six of Carlton Park’s large houses were designed by the Cleveland firm of Walker & Weeks, which had also designed many houses in the Wade Park Allotment about the same time. Four of these Carlton Road houses, and the years designed, were: the Frank E. Abbot Residence, 1913 (actually constructed? Address unknown); the Sanford Residence, 1913-14, at 11930; the Arthur D. Brooks residence, 1916, at 11936. In general, the homes of Carlton Park were comfortably sized and with steep gables. Many facades featured asymmetrically placed windows; they were of shingles, clapboard, or stucco; and many had side bay windows or sun porches. Almost all houses were center entranced and many had attached garages facing the street – a most unusual feature for this construction period. Number 11894, probably the street’s largest residence, was three-story and Jacobean style – resembling baronial homes in Shaker Heights and the Fairmount Boulevard National Historical District. It was built by Bascom Little, Sr. – prominent Cleveland building contractor, for his family – and its property extended down the hill. Later the house was owned by Albert and Maxine Levin – the latter known by the late 1860s as one of the movers and shakers of the architectural preservation movement in Cleveland. By the early 1960s, a period nationwide of huge numbers of colleges and universities building new student residents, Case Institute of technology administration proposed several residential complexes along Carlton Road. At the time, the residential street was still considered prestigious by many, with the houses well maintained into the decade. Western Reserve University was planning a new complex of dormitories in the vicinity of Magnolia and Mistletoe Drives, cutting off Magnolia Drive. Over a six-year period Case purchased 18 parcels along Carlton, leaving five houses still privately owned in early 1966. The owners of these five, all prominent citizens, still had hopes that rezoning from one-family use to multiple dwelling use would not be approved, though several houses had already been demolished – all or mainly on the Cleveland Heights side. A Plain Dealer Article of 1/8/1966 quoted Mrs. Marjorie Jamison, former Cleveland Public Library Board member, as stating at a Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals meeting that the zoning change was “urban renewal in reverse,” in that the Institute should instead be moving in the direction of Carnegie Avenue, where derelict properties were abundant. She referred to Carlton Road as a “beautiful street of architectural gems” and stated the rapid tracks and hills were a “natural barrier” between the University Circle institutions and a residential district. She spoke of donating color slides to the Western Reserve Historical Society such that there would be a record of what the street was once like. Murray Hill residents also attended the meeting to oppose the zoning change. Paul Minnillo, restaurant owner, stated that the new dormitories built above Murray Hill Road caused the sewers to back up and had created a major parking problem in the district. A Plain Dealer article of 1/22/66 described a Cleveland Planning Commission meeting whereby Ernest J. Bohn, chair of the Commission, submitted that Case really need only one of the still privately residences for its building needs. Planned in the proposed $6.6 million project were four six-story dormitories to house 6,000, four Greek houses, and a dining hall commons. In opposition to Bohn’s idea of not rezoning four properties, Councilman George L. Blaha, D-33 and a member of the Commission, and Councilman Anthony J. Garafoli, D-19, whose ward included the University Circle area, called this “spot zoning” and declared it would not win City Council favor and would be a greater disservice to remaining residents than rezoning the entire area. Bohn’s proposal was defeated 4-2. A Plain Dealer article of 2/25/1966 announced a “partial victory” for the five remaining private property owners in that the Planning Commission agreed to delay any final vote and study the situation further – possibly visiting the site. Parking had also become a major issue. Forty-five-year resident Lockwood Thompson stated: “We don’t want to be pushed into the suburbs” and he referred to Carlton Park as a “Shangri-la.” Meanwhile, T. Keith Glenner, President of Case Institute of Technology stated that if Cleveland does not approve rezoning the college will plan to first build on the Cleveland Heights portion of the street, where a zoning change had already passed. The Plain Dealer reported on 4/9/1966 that Neil. J. Crothers, President of the University Circle Development Foundation, offered off-street parking off Murray Hill Road and also the use of Clark Field According to another Plain Dealer article, dated 3/19/1967, one more house had by then been purchased by Case, and the full project went ahead – leaving four houses on Carlton Road. The Austin Company provided the architects and engineers for the new construction. Number 11901, the brick Lockwood Thompson house at the north end of the current street, was retained by Lockwood Thompson and currently is Phi Sigma Rho sorority and Scholars House. Number 11920, the Barry House, is the charming stucco house overlooking Cedar Glen, currently a CWRU guest house. Interestingly, the stucco house that was 11930 closely resembled 11920 but was larger. A garage for one of the houses on the north side of Carlton remained until recent years. Houses at 11945 and 11957 also remained – just off Overlook Road. Mrs. Jamison continued to reside at 11957, a dignified New England Colonial Revival house demolished within the past fifteen years. Few are aware of today that there were once three houses partway up the slope from Murray Hill Road - all closer to Murray Hill than Carlton or Overlook Roads. The two houses in Cleveland Heights did not at all resemble the other houses along Murray Hill Road – some of which are gone today. The Cleveland Heights house closer to the foot of Cedar Glen Parkway was constructed in 1938 or 1939 by the Wagoner-Hucek Development Co., according to the design of architect George W. Engelhardt, as a home for Anna Rassmussen – a teacher at the Cleveland Central neighborhood’s Marion School. Miss Rassmussen had purchased the property from Bascom Little, Sr., who lived up the hill. Total cost of Miss Rassmussen’s house was stated in a newspaper article of 1939 as $7,500. It was constructed of yellow tile cavity brick, with strictly modern lines and rooms built on four levels. On the first level were the garage and utility room, on the second the kitchen and dinette, on the third the living room, and on the fourth two bedrooms and a bath. As an International Style house, there was translucent glass along one side of the dinette and bath, and a General Electric air condition unit was installed. The home could be seen by the thousands driving up and down Cedar Parkway daily. It always attracted considerable attention but was demolished by the 1960s. There is now a dormitory tower exactly or near where the house had stood. Further up Murray Hill Road, also part-way up the hill on the east side and on a property of 3 ½ acres, was a beautiful American Colonial residence, also – but more loftily - situated on multiple levels. What had been a rundown barn and hayloft combined with a small house, all probably dating from the late 1890s, was eventually turned into a rambling, multi-level home by Mr. and Mrs. Bascom Little, Jr. Actual construction work was carried out by C.A. Lohmiller of the Hunlin-Conley Construction Company. Mr. Little (1910-1965) was an architect associated with Maier & Walsh, Architects, as well as a musical composer. In 1940-1 the Littles took this old structure and kept its basic outline – creating a Colonial Cape Cod - and added a two-car garage, connected by a screened porch. Above the garage was Mr. Little’s studio. What had been a small house was transformed into a three-story tower. Some windows had been enlarged, dormers were made more graceful, shutters were added, and factory-type frames were ordered for one living room wall. The first floor housed the living room (installed from stall space), small barroom, a lavatory, and a utility room – as the barn had had no cellar. The two-level living room overlooked the house’s three terraces. The second floor contained the dining room and kitchen, as well as a combination sitting room and master bedroom two steps up; the bedroom took over the hayloft space. On the tower’s third floor was a guest bedroom and bath. A Cleveland Press article of 2/5/1941 on the home stated “every small nook and corner … is utilized….” A Cleveland Press article dated 7/9/1949 revealed that the Little house had become even more dramatic. It was stated it had some eleven different levels, and the house had been dressed up with dark red paint and white trim. Among the photo captions the author also wrote that only one terrace at a time was in the sun, and that the width and placement of a terrace overhang were mathematically figured to give maximum sunlight in winter, minimum during hot weather. Clearly, expansion of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University was responsible for the disappearance of these Carlton and Murray Hill homes. Were this not to take place, the Cleveland Heights/Cleveland border might yet be filled with beautiful homes relatively convenient to all that University Circle and downtown Cleveland offer. The 1960s was a decade when it was rare for a building from the earlier part of the 20th century to be considered worth saving if another option for the site were to materialize. Too bad!

200 Public Square was supposed to have the dramatic Oldenburg "Rubber Stamp" gracing its plaza. Too bad.

Such a shame those fine houses on Belflower were demolished. Also, this was when Magnolia was already cut into two but at least it was all called that. Then that piece was changed to "Juniper." I dream of the two stretches being reconnected and the original name coming back. Magnolia Drive was a beautiful winding boulevard, and even if some of its best houses are gone it xan have some of that presence again.

I'm skeptical and waiting for the first "turn of the shovel."