here are a bunch of pictures i rounded up re the 1944 east ohio gas tank farm explosion, which devastated one of cleveland's jewish neighborhoods:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_East_Ohio_Gas_explosion

 

Thanks for the amazing pictures. The newspapers at the time covered it heavily and, for the first time in five years, World War II news was pushed to below the fold or to inside pages.

 

When you visit that neighborhood today, you see quite a bit of post-war ranch housing styles amid the surviving wood-frame, two-story duck-bill doubles. Then when you realize the most of the housing was leveled by the explosions and subsequent fires, the post-war housing styles suddenly make sense.

 

The East Ohio Gas explosions was one of the city's worst tragedies in terms of loss of life, along with fires at Collinwood's Lake View School 1908 and at the Cleveland Clinic in 1929.

The area north of St. Clair on East 61 and 62 Streets is sometimes locally referred to as Little Parma because of the 1950's style brick bungalows on these streets that otherwise seem so out of place amid the 1900's colonials elsewhere in the neighborhood.  Stop into Sheliga's drug on 62nd and St. Clair and ask the old ladies at the register about the explosion and you'll get some great stories about that day.

Interesting tidbit, that last picture is of the collapsed wall of of the forge shop I work at today. The stories from the old timers here are that when the gas lines underground caught fire, our plant saved subsequent housing farther east along St Clair because we were able to turn all of our furnaces all the way up to burn off the gas.

Interesting tidbit, that last picture is of the collapsed wall of of the forge shop I work at today. The stories from the old timers here are that when the gas lines underground caught fire, our plant saved subsequent housing farther east along St Clair because we were able to turn all of our furnaces all the way up to burn off the gas.

 

Sifco, right?  I interviewed there a few years ago.

 

My grandparents said a lot of people initially thought it was war related sabotage.  I asked them about it when I was little because of "The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread".

 

Had this been a Jewish neighborhood, that would have probably increased said suspicions.  I was under the impression it was Slovenian, though.

Interesting tidbit, that last picture is of the collapsed wall of of the forge shop I work at today. The stories from the old timers here are that when the gas lines underground caught fire, our plant saved subsequent housing farther east along St Clair because we were able to turn all of our furnaces all the way up to burn off the gas.

 

Sifco, right?  I interviewed there a few years ago.

 

My grandparents said a lot of people initially thought it was war related sabotage.  I asked them about it when I was little because of "The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread".

 

Had this been a Jewish neighborhood, that would have probably increased said suspicions.  I was under the impression it was Slovenian, though.

 

It was definitely Slovenian then and to this day still has (older) Slovenian residents, plus the area's largest Slovenian National Home (there's like 6 total in Cleveland) and St. Vitus is still the communities main Parish.  It's also true that at the time people thought it might have been war related, and at the time there was confusion as to what was going on, as one would expect.  One resident at St. Vitus Village told me that she was a student at St. Vitus school (now St. Martin dePorres) and they were rushed into the bomb shelter and stayed until the all clear was given.  They also had to wait until their parents could get to them, which was difficult because of rubble in the streets, rescue workers and firefighters in the area...general confusion as one would expect.  It's just a really fascinating but tragic history all around.  Grdina Park, in the last picture, stands were homes once stood on 61st and 62nd street.  That brick building behind the park is Dominion East Ohio's local headquarters as they still occupy the site. 

^ the wiki and somewhere else i read strongly implies jewish area, but no doubt it was more than that. of course solvenian as well makes sense. and yes i had always heard people say wartime sabotage was suspected, but i dk if that was ever proven or even if there was any evidence at all outside of natural suspicions.

 

 

now here is one absolutely frightening bit of trivia about it:

 

The East Ohio Gas Explosion is calculated to equal to a 2.43 kt TNT explosion or 1/6 of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb.

^ the wiki and somewhere else i read strongly implies jewish area, but no doubt it was more than that. of course solvenian as well makes sense. and yes i had always heard people say wartime sabotage was suspected, but i dk if that was ever proven or even if there was any evidence at all outside of natural suspicions.

 

 

now here is one absolutely frightening bit of trivia about it:

 

The East Ohio Gas Explosion is calculated to equal to a 2.43 kt TNT explosion or 1/6 of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb.

 

Scene did a story a few years back where the author implied this was the analogy the contemporary people were using.  Ummm.....not exactly.

 

They determined the cause almost immediately, IIRC.  Sabotage was ruled out quickly.

 

The U shaped building at the end of the E. 62nd label on the aerial view is still there.

 

no, the enola gay hiroshima little boy nuke was equal to 15 kilotons of TNT, so a 1/6th analogy is pretty much on point. just using a horrible bit of imagination, six east ohio blasts like that all over town at once would seem to about equal a hiroshima, minus the radiation business.

 

also, assuming it went off straight up and out equally, it probably didnt, but...remember a big part of the east ohio blast went north to much less effect than south. (not so) better placed, as you would an airplane bomb, it could have been much worse.

no, the enola gay hiroshima little boy nuke was equal to 15 kilotons of TNT, so a 1/6th analogy is pretty much on point. just using a horrible bit of imagination, six east ohio blasts like that all over town at once would seem to about equal a hiroshima, minus the radiation business.

 

also, assuming it went off straight up and out equally, it probably didnt, but...remember a big part of the east ohio blast went north to much less effect than south. (not so) better placed, as you would an airplane bomb, it could have been much worse.

 

All true, but no one in Cleveland in late 1944 or early 1945 used that particular analogy, at least not out loud......

^ well err yeah, i wouldn't think so, given only a very few people even knew there was such a thing as an atom bomb until the end of the next summer.

18 Things You Used to Be Able to Do in Cleveland But Can't Anymore

http://t.co/6XtgtwGlJd http://t.co/K73poXoGeO

 

^they forgot Hough Bakeries :-(

^they forgot Hough Bakeries :-(

 

Stouffers Inn.

Top of the Town Restaurant

Record Revolution

 

There are quite a few things the whippersnappers will never be able to do!

 

^ speaking of stouffer's inn, there is still an old sign for the nyc stouffers restaurant on the side of the pennsylvania hotel in manhattan across the street from penn station/madison square garden.

 

more on stouffers:

https://eatingtheroad.wordpress.com/restaurant-list/history-of-stouffers-resturants-hotels/

That may be fog but I think it might be pollution...

 

Cleveland steel workers building the Main Avenue bridge in 1939.

http://t.co/53DcfowlSs

Enthralling image of Euclid Ave. ca. 1920s #cle #cleveland #thisisicle #theland #thiswascle #cwru #ohio http://t.co/CIhDoEWdHf

 

Enthralling image of Euclid Ave. ca. 1920s #cle #cleveland #thisisicle #theland #thiswascle #cwru #ohio http://t.co/CIhDoEWdHf

 

That is amazing. Sad that most of the buildings on the north side of Euclid are gone.

Cleveland State ‏@CLE_State  19m19 minutes ago

#TBT Check out this view of Rhodes Tower under construction in 1969, courtesy of #CLEstate's Cleveland Memory Project

 

Covering old subway opening at W. 29th and Detroit Avenue in Ohio City, Cleveland, Ohio in 1955

 

Covering old subway opening at W. 29th and Detroit Avenue in Ohio City, Cleveland, Ohio in 1955

 

 

Albert Porter's dream realized.

will ya look at all these wahoos?

this ad ran in the lorain journal in the 1950s & probably elsewhere.

the location was chester/e9th.

 

My grandpa went to the Cleveland National Air Races in 1934 and held on to the program (maybe because Mary Pickford was in the crowd and signed the cover). There are a few ads inside I thought were interesting.[/img]

The Westlake is high end condos now.

Fantastic view of Superior Ave. ca. 1880s. #thisiscle #thiswascle #cleveland #theland #cle #ohio #cwru http://t.co/hESA8UJEQH

 

^ I'm trying to figure out where that photo was taken from

Since east of Public Square wasn't as developed as it was west of the square in 1880, I'm guessing that view is from Public Square looking west.

Looks like West 6th looking north FROM Superior.  Is that the Hoyt Block on the left?

^Agree...looks like Burgess on the left as well.

Looks like West 6th looking north FROM Superior.  Is that the Hoyt Block on the left?

 

I'm in the presence of greatness! Nice job!!

 

Man, that then & now comparison depresses me.

What ticket office operated on the NE corner of Superior and West 6th? That building looks pretty amazing.

 

I couldn't make out anything more than that. All of the railroads had stations in or near downtown, although two railroads had yet to expand into downtown in 1880. But I'm willing to bet it's for a lake steamship line. It would save customers from having to make a trip down to the lakefront piers.

What ticket office operated on the NE corner of Superior and West 6th? That building looks pretty amazing.

 

 

"The building on the extreme right was built by Mr. H.P. Weddell. He leased it to Mr. E.S. Burgess. A wholesale grocery business was carried on there."

 

http://cplorg.cdmhost.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/p4014coll18/id/2321/rec/36

Weddell? As in Weddell House across the street??

 

http://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/247#.VbK7aNJVhuA

 

Weddell House/Rockefeller Building

By Heidi Fearing

On February 15, 1861, the streets surrounding the Weddell House, as well as the windows, porches and even rooftops that looked upon the hotel, were dense with faces eager to see the newly elected president, Abraham Lincoln. Once inside his overnight lodgings on the corner of Superior Avenue and Bank (now W. 6th) Street, Lincoln walked onto the second floor balcony to greet the crowd of Clevelanders: "To all of you, then, who have done me the honor to participate in this cordial welcome, I return most sincerely, my thanks, not for myself, but for Liberty, the Constitution and Union." In 1931, the room in which Lincoln stayed during his visit was turned into a shrine to the late president. The public was welcome to visit, and fifteen presidents were among the many who visited the room. Other notable people who stepped through the Weddell House doors include the General Philip H. Sheridan, General George A. Custer, Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, and many others.

 

The famous Weddell House opened in 1847. Its 200 rooms were used for offices, stores, parlors, dining, a tavern, and overnight lodgings. Important and historical events took place in the five-story, brick and sandstone structure. In August of 1851, the Weddell House exhibited the first sewing machine, an invention that would soon help expedite Cleveland's industrialization. Another example of the hotel's historic significance occurred on November 13, 1869. An organization for teachers that promoted educational and professional improvements - the North Eastern Ohio Teachers Association (NEOTA) --was formed and still operates today. By 1853 the popularity of the Weddell House was so great that a four-story addition was built on Bank Street to accommodate for the high demand for rooms.

 

In 1903, John D. Rockefeller became owner of the Superior Avenue portion of the Weddell House. After two years of construction, the original section of the historic hotel had been replaced by the Rockefeller Building, and in 1910, four more sections were added in the same "Sullivanesque" architectural style. Offices in the new seventeen-story building were dedicated to iron, coal, and lake shipping. John D. Rockefeller Jr. bought the million-dollar Rockefeller Building from his father for one dollar. It was later passed into the hands of Josiah Kirby in 1920 who renamed the building after himself. The Kirby Building did not keep its new name for long. Rockefeller repurchased the property simply to change it back to its original name.

 

 

 

Prosepect at East 9th in the 1920s:

 

Flats East Bank at the bottom of St. Clair hill in 1920s (this view actually hasn't changed that much!):

 

Cuyahoga County Library's first BookMobile in 1930. That little kid in the middle is only a couple years older than my mother:

 

Old Stone Church on Public Square, 1870s:

 

Cleveland's first streetcars were pulled by horses until the invention of the electric steetcar in the late 1880s, about a decade before the car was invented. This is the Woodland Avenue line in the 1870s:

 

Lower Euclid Avenue, circa 1930....

 

Euclid Aveue-TerminalTower-c1930 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

Cross-posted these next two pictures in the Cleveland Union Terminal thread at:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,11674.msg771245.html#msg771245

 

Below that tall pointy building that was known in back then as Union Terminal Tower, passengers were heading to and from their railroad trains and Shaker Rapid trains. Here's an evening shot from about 1950 of railroad passengers queuing at the top of stairs in Union Terminal (or as my dad called it, simply "The Terminal") for one of two trains shown on the departure boards atop this stairwell (there were six stairwells leading to six platforms and 12 tracks). One train shown on the departure board for Track 20 is the 5:55 p.m. eastbound departure of New York Central RR's "Interstate Express" to Boston via Buffalo where it exchanged rail cars with the Fifth Avenue Special to New York City. This was one of 15 passenger trains a day in each direction through Cleveland and Buffalo at speeds of 85 mph (thanks to automatic train stop signals, long since removed). The other station track had posted the 6:10 p.m. eastbound departure of the Erie Railroad's "Steel King" to Pittsburgh via Aurora, Warren and Youngstown. In 1950, there were six daily round trips between Cleveland and Youngstown, and most trains continued beyond. Most went to Pittsburgh but one went to Jersey City, NJ via the New York's Southern Tier "Scenic Route." Despite an incredible amount of steel-related rail traffic within and through Youngstown, this train managed to travel to Pittsburgh in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

 

CUT-concourse-c1950-2 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

 

This 24-hour food counter in Cleveland Union Terminal was quick, cheap, convenient and friendly for passengers connecting between trains or riding trains without food, like Erie Railroad's commuter train departing at 5:20 p.m. Monday-Friday to Youngstown and all stations in between. That was the last railroad service to Union Terminal, ending on Jan. 14, 1977 as a Conrail train. Five years later, the middle of the Cleveland-Youngstown was removed and the rest has rusted away.

 

CUT-lunchcounter-c1950 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

Great finds!  Anything more about the mural? Stunning

A subject for another thread, but does anyone here wonder whatever happened to fashion and presenting yourself properly in public?  I love those old pictures of train stations, sporting events, etc.  Everyone (black, white, boys, girls) are dressed in suits, hats, ladies in dresses. 

The wardrobe options were different.  You had two or three suits, some shirts and a few undershirts.

A subject for another thread, but does anyone here wonder whatever happened to fashion and presenting yourself properly in public?  I love those old pictures of train stations, sporting events, etc.  Everyone (black, white, boys, girls) are dressed in suits, hats, ladies in dresses. 

 

They look better than they smell, I'm sure.  Nobody remembers that part, though.

Great finds!  Anything more about the mural? Stunning

 

You can still see it today. It's on display at the Western Reserve Historical Society

The Ferro Mural

 

The opening scenes of Welcome to the Wedding take place in the main concourse of Cleveland's Union Terminal. One of the most notable features of the terminal scenes is the Ferro Mural which was mounted on the south wall of the concourse.

 

The Ferro Mural was created by the Ferro Enamel Corporation of Cleveland for the 1939 World's Fair in New York. It was designed by J. Scott Williams and its porcelain panels were painted by Cleveland art instructor Daniel Boza.

 

After the fair, the mural was relocated to the Union Terminal concourse where it remained until 1982 when the concourse was renovated. Since then it has hung on the wall opposite the entrance to the Western Reserve Historical Society Museum.

 

http://www.ohio66.com/wedding/

 

Photo in all its glory

 

18 Vintage Photos of University Circle

http://t.co/97rVJcShkN http://t.co/7uZLvv7QAM

^Wow, slide #13 is a pre-war (and pre-Chester) aerial of UC, which shows the density at Euclid and 105th fully intact. Not sure I had ever seen that from above before.

Dad was environmental/safety director at Ferro at 1982, I actually remember the mural move being a semi big deal.  There were preservation concerns and concerns about the paint content as well.

Explosions from sewer gas ripped up W. 117th St. from Lake Ave to Berea Rd. in 1953 #ThisWasCLE http://t.co/7JqERnsN68

The Ferro Mural

 

The opening scenes of Welcome to the Wedding take place in the main concourse of Cleveland's Union Terminal. One of the most notable features of the terminal scenes is the Ferro Mural which was mounted on the south wall of the concourse.

 

The Ferro Mural was created by the Ferro Enamel Corporation of Cleveland for the 1939 World's Fair in New York. It was designed by J. Scott Williams and its porcelain panels were painted by Cleveland art instructor Daniel Boza.

 

After the fair, the mural was relocated to the Union Terminal concourse where it remained until 1982 when the concourse was renovated. Since then it has hung on the wall opposite the entrance to the Western Reserve Historical Society Museum.

 

http://www.ohio66.com/wedding/

 

Photo in all its glory

 

 

very cool and thx -  i dimly remember it when it was in the terminal tower and it was certainly eye catching, but dirty, so it great to see it all cleaned up and preserved. i wish it was back where it belongs, where so many more people could see it as it was meant to be seen, but still its certainly an important save.

My semi-distant family member was high up in the Ferro ranks in the 1950s - he was acquaintances with Richard Neutra (probably best known for his Kaufmann House in Palm Springs), and he was able to get the architect to design a new HQ for Ferro in the late 50s.

 

^ very cool -- its a bit of cali/googie/jet age era in the clev