Question: 

 

Does anyone know of a good place to research past land use? 

 

That is, say I am looking at 515 Euclid Ave.  There is a new, glass parking garage there.  Before that it was a building that had Ohio Savings Bank--at one point it was their HQ.  This much I can find from random articles.  But where can I find out who built the OSB building, and when.  Or what was on the spot before it? 

 

Thanks

Sanborn maps are good sources for seeing what types of uses existed for a parcel in the past. Also, the Cleveland Memory Project is a good resource for old pictures of Cleveland.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Here's a photo, pre-demolition of the 515 Euclid site:

 

 

I believe at one point the tall brick building with the metal facade was the Central National Bank building.

Good stuff.  Thanks to both of you.  I'm going to go ahead and use that pic in my report.  Contrasted with the tower renderings, it makes a good illustration of development.

For the photo, please use "Image courtesy of clevelandskyscrapers.com". Good luck with your report! :-)

 

ps - did you need any photos of the 515 garage, either completed or under construction? Just let me know.

It's just an informal collection of property histories that I'm working on.  I'm trying to get about one page per property which is easy for, say, 900 Euclid or somthing, but less so for many other properties.  Anyhow, I'm trying to stick with 2 images per page.  That said, I'm sure there are some other properties that I'll need photos for, so I'll bring it up if the need arises. 

Thanks.

Does anyone know anything about a possible "Cleveland Panorama Co?"  According to Sanborn it was on the site of the Huntington Building, or at least it was under construction when the Sanborn map was drawn up in 1886.

You should be able to pull permit records from the City Building Dept., which should tell you the architect/owner/contractor.  It's been awhile, so I don't remember if you can just go to the desk on the 5th floor of City Hall and give them an address or ppn, or if there are any other hoops to jump through.  Also, I think that only goes back to about 1900 or so.

I love it when nerds come together to help each other out....

Another thread that might be helpful:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,14320.0.html