Rotunda Vault

The main entrance to the vaults beneath the banking floor of the former Cleveland Trust Rotunda, located at East 9th Street and Euclid Avenue. Construction was completed in 1908. Ahead is one of four vaults on this level. The carpeting was removed from the  vault area, revealing once-beautiful marble floors. Likewise, the main vault was found to have marble walls on the sides and rear, as you will see when you scroll down through the photographs.

Entrance to the Vaults Beneath the Rotunda
Entrance to the Vaults Beneath the Rotunda
Entrance to the Main Vault
Entrance to the Main Vault
Safety Deposit Boxes in the Main Vault
Safety Deposit Boxes in the Main Vault
Doors in the Rear of the Vault
Doors in the Rear of the Vault
Original Marble Revealed after Outer Wall was Demolished
Original Marble Revealed after Outer Wall was Demolished
Another View of the Original Marble Wall
Another View of the Original Marble Wall
Detailed View of Closing Mechanism
Detailed View of Closing Mechanism
Detailed view of the Main Vault Door
Detailed view of the Main Vault Door
Detailed View of the Vault Door
Detailed View of the Vault Door

Detailed  View of the Locking Mechanism

Detailed View of Timing Mechanism
Detailed View of Timing Mechanism
Vault after Removal of the Safety Deposit Boxes
Vault after Removal of the Safety Deposit Boxes

This is one post in a series entitled Renaissance on East 9th Street, documenting the renovation, restoration and transformation of the historic Cleveland Trust complex. If you have not already done so, please take a moment to enter your email address in the space provided in the upper right corner of this page, to receive notification of future Blog posts.

Cuyahoga County Administration Building

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, 2013
Topping-Off Ceremony – November 18, 2013
Ready to be Topped Off - November 18, 2013
Ready to be Topped Off – November 18, 2013
November 11, 2013
Ironwork Nearing Completion – November 11, 2013
Progress Inside - November 11, 2013
Progress Inside – November 11, 2013
November 1, 2013
November 1, 2013
October 28, 2013
Delivering Iron to the Sixth Floor – October 28, 2013
October 17, 2013
Fourth Floor – October 17, 2013
Progress Continues,
Ironwork Continues – October 3, 2013
Iron Rising from the Excavated Site - September 9, 2013
Iron Rising from the Excavated Site – September 9, 2013
Iron Rising from the Excavated Site - September 9, 2013
Iron Rising from the Excavated Site – September 9, 2013
Site Preparation - June 12, 2013
Site Preparation – June 12, 2013
Demolition Continues - April 22, 2013
Demolition Continues – April 22, 2013
Demolition Begins - April 9, 2013
Demolition Begins – April 9, 2013
A Blast of an Air Horn by County Executive Ed FitzGerald Signals Beginning of Demolition - April 9, 2013
A Blast of an Air Horn by County Executive Ed FitzGerald Signals Beginning of Demolition – April 9, 2013
Inside the P&H Building, Bond and Stock Administration, Corporate Trust Division - February 12, 2013
Inside the P&H Buildings, Bond and Stock Administration, Corporate Trust Division – February 12, 2013
Inside the P&H Building, Data-Processing Department - February 12, 2013
Inside the P&H Buildings, Data-Processing Center – February 12, 2013
Inside the P&H Building, Data-Processing Department - February 12, 2013
Inside the P&H Buildings, Data-Processing Center – February 12, 2013
Inside P&H Building - Coins were delivered by armored trucks and counted before being stored in vault - February 12, 2013
Inside 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.

 

More Views from 391 Feet

Cleveland's Industrial Flats
Cleveland’s Industrial Flats

The Cleveland Flats, the broad, low-lying land on either side of the Cuyahoga River, once inhospitable to the city’s settlers, became a sea of steel mills and chemical plants. Day and night, flames and smoke filled the air. Homes on the bluffs above the Flats were stained with the effluence of industry. At one time the Flats was home to John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. Later, to Republic Steel, Jones and Laughlin Steel, and American Steel and Wire. Today the remaining mills are part of ArcelorMittal USA.

Cleveland's Iconic Terminal Tower
Cleveland’s Iconic Terminal Tower

The centerpiece of Cleveland’s skyline is the 52 story, 708 foot tall Union Terminal Tower. When the complex opened in 1930, the Terminal Tower was the tallest building in North America outside of New York City, and held that status until the completion of Boston’s Prudential Tower in 1967. Terminal Tower remained the tallest building in Cleveland until the 947 foot, 57 story Key Tower was opened in 1991.

Union Terminal was built by Otis and Orin Van Sweringen at the peak of railroad travel. The New York Central, Nickel Plate, Big Four, Erie, and Baltimore and Ohio used the Terminal. The tower contained offices and the complex included the Hotel Cleveland (built in 1918), now the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, and Higbee Company department store, now the home of Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino. The complex also includes the Guildhall, Republic, and Midland buildings, now Landmark Office Towers. At the time of it’s construction, the excavation was second only to the Panama Canal.

Downtown Cleveland – The 391 Foot View

Downtown Cleveland - The 391 Foot View
Downtown Cleveland – The 391 Foot View

This view of downtown Cleveland was made from on top of the Breuer Tower.  Adjoining the Cleveland Trust Rotunda, the tower was designed by Marcel Breuer and built in 1971. The 29 story tower is now a part of the major renovation project bringing new life to Euclid Avenue and East 9th Street.

Left – The Terminal Tower, built by the Van Sweringen brothers in 1930, at 52 stories (708 feet), was the tallest building in the world, outside of New York City, until 1953, and in the U.S. until 1967 when the Prudential Center was built in Boston. The excavation project for the creation of the Union Terminal complex was second only to that of the Panama Canal.

Center – The Huntington Bank Building (45 stories, 658 feet) was built as the SOHIO Building (Later renamed BP Building) in 1985.  It was the object of much controversy when the original design was for a building taller than the iconic Terminal Tower.

Right – Key Tower, built in 1991 (63 stories, 888 feet to the top of the crown) is the tallest in Cleveland and the State of Ohio, and the 18th tallest building in the U.S. Built as the corporate headquarters of Society National Bank, it is the headquarters of Key Corp, after Society’s merger with Key Bank.

If you look closely just to the left of the Huntington Bank Building you will notice a parking lot on the west side of Public Square. That is the footprint of what was to have been the nearly 1,200 foot (more than 60 stories) AmeriTrust corporate headquarters, but the project was scrapped when the bank was acquired by Society National in 1991.

Below is the same image in black and white. Which do you prefer?

Downtown Cleveland - The 391 Foot View
Downtown Cleveland – The 391 Foot View

I look forward to your thoughts and comments.

Murals of Francis Davis Millet

Just below the Tiffany-style dome of Cleveland’s historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda, between the graceful columns, is a series of beautiful murals painted by Francis Davis Millet, who died at age 65 in the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.

The following descriptive narrative, accompanying my photographs, was written by Leila Mechlin, and published in World’s Work, December, 1909. World’s Work was a monthly magazine which celebrated the American way of life and its expanded role on the world stage, founded in 1900 and edited by Walter Hines Page, until 1913, when his son, Arthur W. Page, became the editor.

IMG_7973_HDRC

The decorations by Mr. F. D. Millet in the new Cleveland Trust Company Building consists of a series of thirteen panels, each approximately sixteen by five feet, illustrating the settlement of the State of Ohio, but typifying the pioneer movement which resulted in the opening up of the great West. In composition they are very simple, and in effect, frank.

In the great rotunda used as a banking room, and therefore accessible to the public, these panels form a frieze, terminating the wall forty feet above the floor level, and behind a colonnade supporting the dome. Because of this elevated and recessed position, it was essential that the paintings should be strong in color and positive in treatment. Deep blues and greens predominate, enlivened by touches of brilliant red – and the pigment is seen to have been held in broad, ample masses. The same scheme of color has been used for the entire series, and when viewed in position all are found in harmony, the eye passing from one to another without conscious jar or interruption. The horizon line has been made continuous, and though each panel is a complete composition, the frieze, as a whole, is a unit.

It took more than a year to execute this series of thirteen panels, Mr. Millet and two or three assistants working from morning till night. First, the general scheme was sketched; then full-sized cartoons were made and tried, experimentally, in place.

When these were found satisfactory, the work began in earnest; accurate drawings on huge sheets of manila paper were made in charcoal, corrected, and restudied; finally, when absolutely correct, these were transferred to canvas.

The Norse Discoverers

THE NORSE DISCOVERERS – Over four hundred years before Columbus discovered America the Norsemen are supposed to have crossed the North Atlantic and landed in what we now designate as New England. According to this tradition they were, therefore, the first white men to set foot in the territory now occupied by the United States. It was in such craft as is pictured in this painting that they made their daring explorations. They are here represented as approaching the coast of America.

The Puritans

THE PURITANS – The first settlers in New England were the Puritans who sought religious freedom in a new land. They were a God-fearing people and the Gospel they preached, severe as it may now seem, engendered hardihood and a stoical courage, without which no pioneer could find success. The fact that this Gospel was preached beneath the dome of heaven where the majesty of nature was nobly manifest, made an impress upon the race which has influenced succeeding generations.

Exploration by Land

EXPLORATION BY LAND – It was under the guidance of the Indians that the first settlers in America ventured from the coast country inland. Trained hunters and fighters, skilled woodsmen and sagacious pathfinders, they led the white man into that territory which for countless generations had been indisputably their own. An interesting contrast is suggested in this picture between the white man and the savage: the one bred of traditions, the other the child of nature.

LaSalle on Lake Erie

LASALLE ON LAKE ERIE – One of the bravest and most sagacious explorers of the American continent was Sieur LaSalle, a Frenchman, who in 1675 built a small vessel and sailed from the Niagara River up the Great Lakes to Green Bay in an effort to find entrance to the Mississippi River by which he purposed to descend to Mexico. In this picture he is represented on Lake Erie at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, looking toward that portion of the shore where the City of Cleveland now stands.

Father Hennepin at Niagra Falls

FATHER HENNEPIN AT NIAGARA FALLS – In 1675, Louis Hennepin, a French priest of the Francescan order, was sent to Fort Frontenac as a missionary to the Mohawk Indians. In 1678, being attached to LaSalle’s expedition, he went to Niagara, near where the vessel in which they sailed was built. It was the moment when he first saw the Falls that is here depicted. The brave missionary and dauntless explorer is seen to be moved with reverent awe by the majesty of this great work of nature, then unspoiled by man.

Exploration by Water

EXPLORATION BY WATER – Not only by land, but by water, was exploration made as is seen in this picture. The Indian again is guide. The canoe in which the journey is being made is of his building and its shapeliness bears witness to his esthetic instinct. Both the young pioneer and his guide have their attention fixed on something ahead, typifying, as it were, the fascination of that which is beyond – the undiscovered. The coloring in this painting is especially attractive and the scenery very picturesque.

Migration

MIGRATION – Following close upon the heels of exploration came migration. It has been truly said that since the dawn of recorded history the West has been the goal of human hope. The prarie schooner seems today an odd craft, but it was a large factor in the settlement of the states beyond the seaboard. In it, as will be seen from this picture, were conveyed the household goods as well as the women and children and aged members of the family.

Buying Land from the Indians

BUYING LAND FROM THE INDIANS – Cleveland was first settled in 1796 by the Connecticut Land Company and tradition has it that these New Englanders purchased from the Indians the ground upon which they staked out their claims. Here in this picture is seen the Indian affixing his mark, or signature, to the deed of sale, his camp and wigwams nearby, the goods for which he has bartered his birthright at hand ready for delivery. From this time on the Indian does not appear in this picture history of the settlement of Cleveland.

Surveying the Site of Cleveland

SURVEYING THE SITE OF CLEVELAND – In this picture Moses Cleaveland is seen surveying the site of the city which now bears his name. He has set up his transit, by means of which fixed lines are established, on an elevated bit of land from whence long vistas are obtainable. His young assistant is using a stump as a table and making notations on the map as the surveyor directs. This is invariably the initial step in laying out a town or city. It was as a surveyor, it will be remembered, that Washington began his career.

Felling the Timber

FELLING THE TIMBER – After the land was purchased and surveyed it had to be cleared to some extent before the home could be built or the soil tilled. The axe carried on the shoulder of the pioneer across the mountains came again into use. It is Autumn in this picture and the foliage has taken on a ruddy hue. There is effulgent beauty in the landscape which apparently, momentarily, impresses with wonder and awe the young hardy pioneer as he pauses in his work, weary but undaunted.

Building the Log Cabin

BUILDING THE LOG CABIN – When the clearing was made and the timber felled, then came the work of building the home. It was in the log cabin of pioneer construction that some of our greatest statesmen were born and reared. These cabins were simple, unpretentious and rude, but serviceable, substantial and in harmony with their environment. In this picture are seen two pioneers sawing a log to be used in the construction of such an humble dwelling. It is hard work but permits rhymithical [sic] motion.

Plowing the Clearing

PLOWING THE CLEARING – The log cabin built, the well dug, the timber cleared, then came the work of plowing, and the oxen that in all probability drew the prarie schooner into the new land again come into service. These patient brutes supply the motive power which through the guidance of man’s hand gains utility. This picture represents the battle with the soil and impresses upon the observer the dignity of the labor. A certain touch of picturesqueness is given by the red yoke of the handsome oxen.

Gathering the Harvest

GATHERING THE HARVEST – Lastly in this interesting series comes the reward, the gathering of the crops. The seed has been sown in the plowed ground, the blade matured, the corn ripened. A season has passed and the soil has been conquered. Part of the crop is still standing but a large portion has been cut. To the left are fine large shocks and in the basket carried by the pioneer farmers is the golden ripe grain on the cob. On the faces of the men is suggested not merely joy but solemn gratitude.

Under the Dome of the Cleveland Trust Rotunda

 

The Rotunda Dome
The Rotunda Dome

Construction of the three-story rotunda, 61 feet in diameter, began in 1905 and was completed in 1908. It was lit through a double glass dome, 85 feet above the banking floor. The outer dome is constructed of prism lights held in metal frames, which give the dome a graceful architectural form, while providing ample diffused light to the interior space.

Inner Dome in the Tiffany Style
Inner Dome in the Tiffany Style

The magnificent leaded glass inner dome, designed in beautifully subdued colors, is constructed in the Tiffany style and adds warmth to the entire  space.

Edge Detail - Inner Dome
Edge Detail – Inner Dome

The outer dome is now coated over, and the banking floor is lit by electric lights installed above the inner dome..

Inside the Rotunda Dome
Inside the Rotunda Dome
Detail Inside the Rotunda Dome
Detail Inside the Rotunda Dome
Detailed View of the Outer Dome
Detailed View of the Outer Dome
A Closer View
A Closer View from the Banking Floor

 

Historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda

Historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda
Historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda

Cleveland Trust Company was founded in 1894, with John G. W. Cowles as its first president. In 1903, Cleveland Trust merged with the Western Reserve Trust Co., and Calvary Morris succeeded Cowles as president. Quickly outgrowing their offices, construction on a new headquarters building, designed by architect George B. Post (1834-1913) began in 1905.

Stained Glass in the Rotunda Dome
Stained Glass in the Rotunda Dome

The magnificent stained glass is often attributed to the Tiffany Studios, although there is no documentation to support that belief.

Rotunda Mezzanine
Rotunda Mezzanine
Rotunda Mezzanine
Rotunda Mezzanine

The Rotunda features the sculpture work of Karl Theodore Francis Bitter (1867-1915), and murals painted by Francis Millet (1848-1912), depicting scenes of the development of civilization and wealth in the Midwest.

Banking Floor
Banking Floor

In the coming months, the Rotunda and the adjoining 1010 Euclid Building will undergo historic renovation. The 29-story office tower designed by Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) and opened in 1971 will be renovated, and two additional buildings adjacent to the tower on its south, that were once a part of Cleveland Trust complex, will be demolished to make way for the new Cuyahoga County Administration Building.  Each step of the way will be documented on this blog. Be sure to subscribe to receive email notification of new posts.

Renaissance on Cleveland’s East 9th Street

Cleveland is definitely experiencing a come-back. The most recent, and perhaps the most significant step in this come back is the renovation of the former AmeriTrust property on the east side of East 9th Street between Euclid Avenue and Huron Road.

Historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda
Historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda

Founded in 1894, by 1905 the Cleveland Trust Co. had outgrown its series of rented offices, and embarked on the construction of a new headquarters building at Euclid Avenue and East 9th Street (above), which opened in 1908. By 1924 Cleveland Trust became the 6th largest bank in the country, reaching $1 billion in assets by 1945.

In order to establish affiliates throughout the state, the bank formed CleveTrust as a holding company in the early 1970s. CleveTrust then changed its name to the AmeriTrust Corp. in 1979 to reflect these new horizons, and exchanged its state charter for a national one in 1983, permitting AmeriTrust to expand outside the state of Ohio.

The collapse of the real estate market in the late 1980s substantially weakened AmeriTrust, which was burdened by too many high-risk real estate loans. On September 13, 1991, AmeriTrust was merged into Society National Bank (now Key Corp), consolidating two of the major banking establishments in the area.

Join me over the coming months as I photograph the renovation of the Rotunda, the former Swetland Building (just east of the Rotunda on Euclid Avenue), and the 28-story tower (just south of the Rotunda on East 9th Street), and the demolition of two other office buildings to make way for the new Cuyahoga County Administration Building.