January 2014 – Artography Studios and Press

Hall-Sullivan House

Built in 1887 for Richard Allen, now commonly known as the Hall-Sullivan House was home to Cleveland banker Corliss E. Sullivan, the youngest of three children of Jeremiah J. and Selina Sullivan. The younger Sullivan went on to become chairman of the board of the Central National Bank, the bank founded by his father.

The advent of property tax, the pollution of the steel mills in Cleveland’s industrial flats and, the rising cost to heat and to maintain the mansions that lined Millionaire’s Row resulted in their owners moving further east into smaller homes on smaller pieces of land. Corliss and Selina Sullivan moved to Hunting Valley. In 1935, the mansion was dedicated as the Sons of Italy Lodge, and for many years it served as the Coliseum Entertainment Center. The structure in the rear includes an auditorium to seat 200.

The following poems were inspired by the photograph, and are included in Shattered Dreams Revisited, the story of the Death and Rebirth of the Midwest Industrial City, published by Artography Press.

Mansion
Big and quiet,
Vacant and alone,
Many others like it,
Wooden structures dry as a bone.

They’re all the same,
To most they are lame,
Yet, to a few they plea,
Come inside and see!

Joe McGlenn
Montessori High School
9th Grade (in 2012)

Left Behind
Once the spawn
Of a golden age
Of the past
What once was
Gradually fading away
Memories
A reminder
Of what was achievable
Through perspiration
And determination
The paint may peel
But it reveals
A new era
The next chapter
The rebirth
Sturdy and strong
Through a well fought battle
Hope goes on
Seeping through the cracks
Into the soil
Into the air
And hopefully
Into the people
So that someday
We shall overcome

Gabby Valdivieso
Ruffing Montessori School
7th Grade (in 2012)

Church of the Transfiguration – Time Capsule

More than 110 years after the cornerstone was set in place, the copper box containing artifacts of the day was removed and opened.

The cornerstone from Emmanuel Episcopal Church (The Church of the Transfiguration)

Removal of Four Wood Wedges that Held the Time Capsule in Place

Jim Wamelink (WR Restorayion), left, Mallory Haas (Center for Community Studies) and Ryan (WR Restoration) Removing the Time Capsule — Jim Wamelink (WR Restoration), left, Mallory Haas (Center for Community Studies) and Ryan Protich (WR Restoration) Removing the Time Capsule

Just like the birth of a baby, the first task was to weigh and measure the box.

The copper box was securely soldered closed, protecting the contents from deterioration.

Mallory Haas (Center for Community Studies) and Jim Wamelink (WR Restoration)

Karen Ritenour (left), Mike Ritenour (Lou Ritenour Industrial), and Alison Ritenour

Among the items in the box were two Bibles (one with the inscription shown above); a pocket hymnal; several Sunday Orders of Service, including the one from Easter Sunday, March 30, 1902; a copy of the 1902 Journal of Convention of the Dioceses of Ohio; a newsletter, “Church Life”; and lists of those who donated to the building of the new Church; and copies of the September 3, 1903 editions of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Cleveland Leader (perhaps the date that the cornerstone was laid). The contents of the time capsule will now be catalogued and conserved by Archaeologist Mallory Haas.

Church of the Transfiguration – Demolition 2

With the Narthex deconstructed and the Religious Education and Church Offices wing demolished, work began on the demolition of the Nave.

Demolition of the Church of the Transfiguration

Four massive columns and flying buttresses provided incredible structure to the Nave’s Chancel.

Once the structural members were removed, the roof came down quickly.

After the removal of the cornerstone, demolition was quickly completed. All that remains is removal of the foundation and site clean-up.

Church of the Transfiguration – The Cornerstone

The demolition of the Church of the Transfiguration (Formerly known as Emmanuel Episcopal Church) is nearly complete. Before the demolition crew could complete their task, the crew from WR Restoration, responsible for the deconstruction of the Narthex needed to remove the cornerstone. It was believed that the cornerstone concealed a time capsule, set in place in 1902.

Beginning the Tack of Removing the Cornerstone

Experience gained in the deconstruction of the Narthex suggested that the Cornerstone might be six to eight inches thick, with the time capsule set behind it, but as work progressed, it became apparent that this was a massive stone.

Work Slowly Continues to Remove the Cornerstone

An Excavator Helped to Remove the Debris — An Excavator Helps to Remove the Debris

Finally, the stone was free and rigged for removal from the wall.

Once the stone was removed from the wall, inspection of the stone’s bottom revealed the location of the time capsule.

Even the frigid wind could not temper the excitement of the crew that had labored for three hours to in single digit temperatures to preserve this piece of history.

Rick Foran, Jim Wamalick, Mallory Haas and stone masons from Local 107 Take a Moment to Celebrate — Rick Foran (Foran Development Group), Jim Wamelink (WR Restoration), Mallory Haas (Center for Community Studies) and Stone Masons Take a Moment to Celebrate

The time capsule will be opened, and its contents catalogued in the coming days.

HUBBELLBENESBREUERVINOLY

How do you pronounce HUBBELLBENESBREUERVINOLY? I pronounce it AMAZING!

If you are within range of Cleveland broadcast media, you have no doubt heard the spots from the Cleveland Museum of Art, with its AMAZING tag lines. So what, then, is HUBBELLBENESBREUERVINOLY? It is the confluence of the inspired architecture of Hubbell & Benes’ 1916 building, Marcel Lajos Breuer’s 1971 addition, and Rafael Viñoly’s new additions that began in 2005, and have just been fully opened to the public. Gone are all vestiges of the 1958 J. Byers Hays (Hays & Ruth) addition.

The Cleveland Museum of Art Across the Lagoon

The 1916 Building - A Closer View — The 1916 Building – A Closer View

The Cleveland Museum of Art as Seen from East Boulevard

Looking Past Viñoly's Addition to the Breuer Addition — Looking Past Viñoly’s Addition to the Breuer Addition

Viñoly Meets Breuer on Wade Oval (as seen at night)

The Less Often Noticed View on the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Side

The Atrium at the Cleveland Museum of Art

The sweeping roof of the Atrium seems to reach back nearly a century to pull in the neo-classical design of the stately 1916 building. The Atrium itself is a wonderful space to relax, refresh, and admire the amazing work of Hubbell & Benes, Marcel Breuer and Rafael Viñoly.

As a post-script, amazing does not end with the architectural accomplishment. Of course the collections are amazing. The way- and fact-finding of Gallery One redefine amazing.

"The Wall" in GalleryOne — “The Wall” in GalleryOne

Church of the Transfiguration – Demolition

Following a brief ceremony honoring the life of the Church, demolition of what remained of the deconstructed Narthex was begun.

With a blanket of fresh snow on the ground, the demolition of the church offices and Religions Education wing were accomplished with the same care and respect as had been shown during the deconstruction of the Narthex and the removal of the Church’s artifacts.

Mansfield Reformatory

Mansfield Reformatory was built between 1886 and 1910, and remained in full operation until 1990. The original design was by Cleveland architect Levi Schofield, whose projects included the Soldier’s and Sailor’s monument on Public Square, and the office building that bears his name on the south west corner of Euclid Avenue at East 9th Street. Initially a facility for juvenile offenders, Mansfield Reformatory became home to some of the State’s most dangerous criminals. The six-tier East Cell Block remains the largest free-standing steel cell block in the world.

The facility has been used for the filming of a number of movies, including Shawshank Redemption, Air Force One, Harry and Walter go to New York, and Tango and Cash.

Today, the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society is slowly renovating the prison. The Warden’s Quarters and the Guards’ Room have been restored, and a new roof has been installed. The Society hosts tours and haunted prison experiences.

Lighting Cleveland

Electric street-lighting had its roots in Cleveland. On April 29, 1879, Charles F. Brush demonstrated the potential of outdoor electric lighting when 12 arc-lamps were lighted on Cleveland’s Public Square. In 1880, the Brush Electric Company was formed and a factory was built at what is now 45th Street and Commerce Avenue. In 1889, the company was bought by Thompson-Houston Electric Co., which merged with the Edison General Electric Co. in 1891, forming General Electric. The factory was expanded by General Electric. Today it is vacant, pending environmental clean-up.

Brush Electric Company 45th Street and Commerce Avenue — Brush Electric Company, 45th Street and Commerce Avenue

The first commercially manufactured automobile was built in a corner of the building in 1898, in space rented by Alexander Winton, for his Winton Motor Carriage Company

The Brush arc-lamp on the Society for Savings Building, Cleveland’s first skyscraper, is held in wrought iron work designed for Charles Brush by the building’s architect, John Root. The building is now dwarfed by Cleveland’s tallest building, Key Tower. (See: below)

Society for Savings Building with Bruch lamp on corner of Rockwell and Ontario — Society for Savings Building with Brush lamp on corner of Rockwell and Ontario

The Adams-Bagnall Company was formed in the mid 1890′s by employees of the Brush Electric Company, who left after Brush was purchased by Thompson-Houston. Adams-Bagnall used the same ring design as that of the first Brush arc-lamps, combining it with an enclosed arc design for superior performance. This Adams-Bagnall arc-lamp hangs outside the former John Q Steakhouse in front of 55 Public Square, and is often mistakenly, and understandably, thought to be a Brush lamp.

Adams-Bagnall Arc-Lamp, cs 1900 — Adams-Bagnall Arc-Lamp, ca 1900

As always, your comments are most welcome!

Tremont Place Lofts

The first to occupy the land bounded by what are now Professor and Jefferson Avenues and West 7th Street, was Cleveland University. Cleveland’s first institution of higher learning was founded in 1851. The founding President, Asa Mahan, had been terminated from his position as president of Oberlin College, and brought loyal faculty members and students with him. Cleveland University’s conferred degrees to 8 members of its first (and only) graduating class in June, 1852. Cleveland University closed in 1853.

The Humiston Institute, a co-educational proprietary boarding and day school occupied this location from 1859 until it closed in 1868. The Western Homeopathic College and Hospital occupied the property from 1868 until 1907 when the Gospel Worker’s Society made the complex its headquarters, and published under the name of Herald Publishing House.

In 1922 the name was changed to the Union Gospel Press, which relocated to a larger property on Brookpark Road in 1950. The Cleveland Board of Education operated a printing plant in the building for a number of years. The buildings then became home to vagrants and artists until the 1980s when the complex was purchased for a welding studio and gallery. In 2003 the current owners purchased the property and converted it to up-scale apartments.