Built in 1887 for Richard Allen at 7218 Euclid Avenue, commonly known as the Hall-Sullivan House became 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 many of their owners moving further east into smaller homes on smaller pieces of land. Corliss and Selina Sullivan moved to Hunting Valley. From 1931 to 1934 the house served as the home to the Josephine Shop, an upscale furniture store, and then the property was acquired by the Grand Lodge of Ohio, Sons of Italy (SOI) in America.
In 1935, an addition was made to the rear of the mansion, including an auditorium to seat 200, and was dedicated as the Sons of Italy Grand Lodge until 1946. The complex was purchased by the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers (now known as ASHRAE – the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers). ASHRAE opened a national research laboratory on the site, where it operated until it was closed in 1961.
From 1964 until the later 90s, the property served as the Coliseum Entertainment Center. The property is for sale, and I recently had the opportunity to photograph the interior.
