In order to deconstruct the arch above the doors, carpenters from WR Restoration constructed wooden support that will also serve as a template for the reconstruction of the façade in the future.
Supporting the arch during deconstructionRemoving the keystone
Documentation will continue as the deconstruction progresses. Check back for updates, or register your email address to receive email notification of new posts.
I love to photograph Cleveland’s Cultural Gardens in every season, but winter is a special time for me in the Gardens. Located in the 245 acre Rockefeller Park, Cleveland’s Cultural Gardens are a tribute to some of the many nationalities that settled in Cleveland, and contributed with their sweat and their skills to make Cleveland one of this country’s leading industrial cities. The land was deeded to the City of Cleveland in 1897, by John D. and Laura Spelman Rockefeller, and joins Gordon Park, to the north, and Wade Park, to the south. The gardens are situated along Doan Brook and Martin Luther Kink Jr. Boulevard, formerly, Liberty Boulevard (1919 – 1981) and before that, Lower East Boulevard.
Gate to the Shakespeare Garden (Now the British Garden)
The Shakespeare Garden was dedicated in 1916, as a part of a world-wide celebration marking the 300th anniversary of the poet’s death. The garden extended east from Lower East Boulevard, across East Boulevard, and included the bust of William Shakespeare and trees planted for the occasion.
Entrance to British Garden on East BoulevardBust of William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) in British Garden
Leo Weidenthal, editor of the Cleveland Jewish News, founded Civic Progress League in 1925. The following year the name was changed to the Cultural Garden League. That year the Hebrew Garden was founded, followed by the German Garden in 1929 and the Italian Garden in 1930. Between 1930 and 1940, fifteen nationalities honored their poets, philosophers, physicians, scientists, composers and musicians with gardens.
The Entrance to the Hebrew GardenThe Entrance to the German GardenJohann Goethe & Frederich Schiller in the German GardenThe Entrance to the Italian GardenFountain in the Italian Garden
The gardens celebrate the cultural icons of the nations that the they represent, but not what the people from those nations brought with them to their new home — with the exception of the two newest gardens. Dedicated in 2012, the Croatian Garden celebrates the immigrants themselves. The statue celebrates the immigrant mother, with an infant in one arm, and sheltering a young child with the other. Dedicated the same year, the statue in the Albanian Garden celebrates the life of Mother Teresa, who For her unwavering commitment to aiding those most in need, Mother Teresa stands out as one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century.
The Immigrant Mother in the Croatian GardenMother Teresa in the Albanian Garden
Opened in 1911, the Stockbridge Hotel was the brain-child of oilman George Canfield, near the end of the hey-days of Cleveland’s Millionaire’s Row. The immense wealth accumulated by the city’s wealthiest residents was now subject to substantial income tax, and their palatial estates with their 40-100,000 square-foot mansions, and staffs of as many as 100, were becoming expensive to maintain – even for Cleveland’s extraordinarily wealthy industrialists, financiers and philanthropists.
Located in the heart of Millionaire’s Row, the Stockbridge’s ten 4,000 square-foot, 16-room apartments offered an affordable alternative during the cold winter months. Henry Sherwin (co-founder to the Sherwin-Williams paint company), banker Harry Wick, and James Garfield (son of the President), were among the first residents of the Stockbridge Hotel, as they closed their mansions for the winter. The amenities included a restaurant on the lower floor (the suites did not include kitchens), and a ballroom on the top floor. Although the suites were spacious enough for several servants, maid and housekeeping services were available.
The Stockbridge Hotel and Annex
As the city’s wealthiest residents left their Euclid Avenue mansions for more modest homes in University Circle and the eastern suburbs, the Stockbridge’s clientele became entertainers such as Bob Hope and Jack Benny, and performers with the Metropolitan Opera stayed at the hotel when they were performing at the Hippodrome Theater and the Public Auditorium, while their entourage had accommodations in the Annex that was built in 1923. Later, the spacious suites were divided to accommodate more guests, and those headliners gave way to circus performers and others who appeared at the Cleveland Arena.
When the Stockbridge underwent renovation in the ’70s there were 40 units. Today the Stockbridge Apartments offers studio, 1- and 2-bedroom units.
Main Entrance to the Stockbridge HotelSteps Leading from Main Entrance up to the LobbyHallway from Lobby to AnnexMain StaircaseLiving Room in the StockbridgeView from Open Porch
The image was made inside the clock tower of Saint Luke’s Hospital, renovated after more than a decade of abandonment and vandalism. The long-silent clock once again chimes on the quarter-hour.
Looking up from the base of the Clock Tower.Clock Tower from Roof Top
Vandals and scrappers found ingenious ways to get to copper and brass. Note the fire hose looped around the sanitary stack. Note also the brass hands missing from the clock and the brackets that once held the copper urns. Throughout the entire building, anything of scrap value was taken.
Restored Clock Tower
The iconic Clock Tower, fully restored to its original beauty, with the city skyline in the distance.
The Shaker Boulevard campus of Saint Luke’s Hospital, opened in 1929, was the gift of Elisabeth Severance Allen Prentice, in memory of her first husband, Dr. Dudley Peter Allen. Mrs. Prentiss’ second husband, Francis Fleury Prentiss, and three friends, including Dr. Allen, saved the failing Cleveland General Hospital in 1906, renaming it for Saint Luke, the patron saint of the physician and surgeon. Mr. Prentiss served as President of the Hospital until his death in 1937, and was succeeded as President for two years by his widow.
After closing, in 1999, renovation of the historic property began in 2011. The main pavilion and west wing were transformed into affordable senior living. The east wing is home to the Intergeneration School, and a Boys and Girls Club. Soon, another school and offices for two non-profit organizations will join them.
Deconstruction of the 33 foot wide Narthex by WR Restoration has begun. When the project is complete, every piece will have been painstakingly removed, numbered, and put into storage until an appropriate new location can be identified. Then each piece will be put into place once again.
Church of the Transfiguration – “King’s Crown”
The first step was the removal of the “King’s Crowns.” Remarkably, despite 100 years of rain and snow, sun and pollution, the intricately carved detail remains in good shape, and did not suffer during removal.
With the “King’s Crowns” removed, the next step was the cap stones.
Every project has its surprises, and once the cap stones were removed it became evident that the stonework was a veneer – not solid stone as originally thought.
Documentation will continue as the deconstruction progresses. Check back for updates, or register your email address to receive email notification of new posts.
Historical information is limited, but what we do know comes from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. EMMANUEL CHURCH (EPISCOPAL) dates from 1871, when ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH at Euclid and Case (E. 40th) St. opened Emmanuel Chapel at Prospect and Hayward (E. 36th) streets. Still under the supervision of St. Paul’s, a new Emmanuel Chapel was built in 1874 on EUCLID AVE.. east of Glen Park Place (E. 86th St.); in 1876 it was admitted to the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio as Emmanuel Church. In 1880 the frame Gothic building was moved slightly west and enlarged. In 1889 conflict resulted in the rector and a large number of parishioners leaving the Episcopal church altogether. They formed the Church of the Epiphany, Reformed Episcopal, and built a church on the other side of Euclid Ave. A period of growth for Emmanuel followed: a Sunday school was started in 1890 and a chapel in 1892, which later became St. Alban’s Parish.
In 1900 the firm of Cram, Goodhue, & Ferguson designed a new building for the Euclid Ave. site (8604 Euclid). A late Gothic Revival structure of stone, it was built as funds became available. The first section, 6 bays of the nave and a temporary chancel, was built in 1902. The remaining 2 bays and the interior were completed in 1904. A new brick and stone parish house replaced the older wooden one in 1924, but the tower of the original plan remained uncompleted. With the sale of adjoining property, the building debt was liquidated and the church consecrated in 1926.
In Oct. of 1991, Emmanuel Church merged with Incarnation Church, an Episcopal congregation originally established in 1891 at E. 105th and St. Clair, which later moved to a building at Ramona Blvd. The combined congregation remained in Emmanuel’s Euclid Ave. building, which was renamed the Church of the Transfiguration. Incarnation’s building was sold to Damascus Baptist Church after the merger.
The Cleveland Landmarks Commission listing shows the Church to have been constructed in 1901-02. Whether it was 1901-02, or 1902-04, it is clear that the Church was built near the end of the hey-days of Millionaire’s Row, and as horse and buggy were beginning to give way to the automobile. What is not yet clear to me is the circumstances that left the Church abandoned, as if the congregation simply walked away after the final Sunday service.
Vestments hanging in a closet in a dressing room adjacent to the Chancel
The parish was in the center of great social and economic change in the neighborhood during the 1950s-1970s. To remain viable, a variety of programs were started, including tutoring, legal aid, and a hunger center serving as many as 1,900 families per month.
The kitchen in the basement of the Parish HouseThe serving room in the basement of the Parish HouseThe dining room in the basement of the Parish HouseThe beautifully detailed pulpitThe electric organ – most certainly a more recent additionThe Communion TableView of the Chancel with Kneeling Bench in the center. Piano and Lectern to the left; Pulpit to the right. Communion Table is out of view on the left.
Deconstruction of the Narthex has begun in preparation for the demolition of the Nave and the Chancel. Photographic documentation of the deconstruction is under-way and will be posted soon. Please return to see the tedious work being undertaken to preserve the 33-foot wide Narthex for future reconstruction. If you missed Part 1, click here.
Church of Transfiguration (Episcopal), 8614 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
The latest historic structure to make way for growth on the Cleveland Clinic campus, this late Gothic Revival stone structure was built between 1902 and 1904, as Emmanuel Church (Episcopal). It was renamed Church of the Transfiguration after the congregation merged with that of Incarnation Church in 1991.
Demolition of the historic structure will begin once the Narthex has been deconstructedView from the Narthex to the ChancelNote damage caused by leaking roof. Hymnals and Bibles remain in the pew racks.Detailed view of the ChancelView of the PulpitOrgan pipes, Lectern and Communion TableView from the Chancel to the NarthexChurch of the Transfiguration, future site of a Cleveland Clinic Hotel
Emmanuel Church (established in 1876) was one of a number of congregations started from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (established in 1846 and now located in Cleveland Heights). The once robust congregation had dwindled to as few as 40 members before the Church was closed.
Deconstruction of the Narthex begins today. Check back to see the progress! Click here to Part 2.
Lit during the 2013 National Senior Games, the inaugural event showcasing Cleveland’s newly renovated Convention Center in July 2013, the flaming cauldron stands as a symbol of Cleveland’s industrial past and technological future. The Senior Games attracted more than 25,000 visitors to Cleveland. 10,888 of them participated in the largest Senior Games ever.
Flaming Cauldron – Steel with LED lights – July 30, 2013The Lighting Scheme Continuously Changes through Pallet of Colorful CombinationsCleveland’s City Hall as Seen from the Northeast Corner of the Mall – Looking East on Lakeside AvenueThe View of the South End of the Mall including Cleveland Public Library (left) and Old Federal Building (right)Cleveland’s Global Center for Health Innovation
Known as the Group Plan, Cleveland’s public malls and the surrounding buildings were designed by Chicago architects Daniel Burnham, Arnold Brunner, and John Carrere in 1903. Buildings include the Federal Building completed in 1910, followed by the Cuyahoga County Courthouse (1911), the Cleveland City Hall (1916), the Public Auditorium (1922), the main Public Library (1925), the Board of Education administration building (1930), and the Cuyahoga County Administration Bldg. (1957). At the south end, the War Memorial Fountain with a tall symbolic bronze statue by Marshall Fredericks (1964). In the early 1960s, the entire north mall was excavated to create a vast underground convention center connected to the Public Auditorium, and the Hanna fountains were installed on the surface, flanked with trees and plantings.
The latest addition is the Global Center for Health Innovation (2013), combined with a complete renovation of the city’s Convention Center. Demolition of the Cuyahoga County Administration Building will begin soon to make way for a major hotel.
All photographs Copyright (c) 2013, Lauren R. Pacini
Cleveland’s only suspension bridge was built by the Van Sweringen brothers in 1931. It is a 680 feet long pedestrian footbridge, spanning a ravine known as Kingsbury Run, and connecting two ends of Sidaway Avenue – one in the Polish-American neighborhood of Slavic Village, and the other in Garden Valley, an African-American neighborhood.
Sidaway Suspension Bridge Showing Missing Decking
The bridge was vandalized in July 1966, during racial tensions between the two neighborhoods. The deck was set on fire, and the bridge has never been repaired.
The ironwork is now complete and soon the skin will begin to go up. The trades are hard at work on the lower floors, building block walls, and duct work is beginning to appear in the basement.
The site is located at the former site of AmeriTrust’s P&H Building, south of the historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda and the former 29-story AmeriTrust Office Tower, at the intersection of Prospect/Huron and East 9th Street. The building once housed the massive data-processing center and Bond and Stock Administration for the bank’s Corporate Trust Division. The 8-story County Administration Building, replacing the 5-story P&H Buildings, is planned to be completed in July, 2014, to be joined in the fall of 2014 by Heinen’s, the first full-service grocery store in downtown Cleveland, to locate on the first and second floors of the Rotunda, and the first floor of the 1010 Euclid Building.
Topping-Off Ceremony – November 18, 2013Ready to be Topped Off – November 18, 2013Ironwork Nearing Completion – November 11, 2013Progress Inside – November 11, 2013November 1, 2013Delivering Iron to the Sixth Floor – October 28, 2013Fourth Floor – October 17, 2013Ironwork Continues – October 3, 2013Iron Rising from the Excavated Site – September 9, 2013Iron Rising from the Excavated Site – September 9, 2013Site Preparation – June 12, 2013Demolition Continues – April 22, 2013Demolition Begins – April 9, 2013A Blast of an Air Horn by County Executive Ed FitzGerald Signals Beginning of Demolition – April 9, 2013Inside the P&H Buildings, Bond and Stock Administration, Corporate Trust Division – February 12, 2013Inside the P&H Buildings, Data-Processing Center – February 12, 2013Inside the P&H Buildings, Data-Processing Center – February 12, 2013Inside P&H Buildings – Coins were delivered by armored trucks and counted before being moved to the vault – February 12, 2013
Return often as the building continues to take shape, and this post is updated. Subscribe to this Weblog and receive email notifications when new posts are published.
