Euclid Avenue at East 9th Street. George B. Post & Sons, architects.

Although the building was closed to the public, we had made special arrangements to see one of Cleveland's most stunning interiors: an 85 foot high Rotunda topped by a 61 foot diameter stained glass dome. Thirteen arched bays support the three stories of offices that surround the rotunda. Fluted columns, marble floors and walls, and bronze metalwork are reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance. On the upper levels are murals by Francis D. Millet, a well regarded American Realist painter whose work includes Trinity Church in Boston. The stained glass dome is often mistakenly attributed to Tiffany. Although beautiful and certainly similar in style, it is not a work of Tiffany Studios.

R. Guy Cowan was born in Ohio and educated in ceramics at the New York State School of Ceramics at Alfred. His first studio was founded in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood in 1912. He did most of the designing himself, producing a variety of art pottery and ceramic tiles. In 1917 he received an award for his pottery at the International Show at the Art Institute of Chicago. He closed the studio while he served in the First World War.

Small & Rowley, Architects.

The premier dining room in the Cleveland Union Terminal, this was among the fanciest restaurants in town for many years. The walls and columns are of English Oak--from the Sherwood Forest--with hand carved ornament and inlays of ebony, white maple, and rosewood. The polychrome, Art Deco ceiling is especially extravagant. We imagined how the room looked in its heyday: with high-backed leather chairs, Sheffield silver, and service carts rolling upon the black and white marble floor.

Superior Avenue at East 6th Street. Walker & Weeks, architects.

One of the finest structures in Cleveland is also the most beautiful of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks. The 12-story building was inspired by the Medici Palace in Florence — the Medici being the great bankers of the early Renaissance. Like the Medici Palace, the architects wanted the bank to appear impenetrable. The rusticated base is of pink granite, and upper stories are of a pink Georgia marble. Allegorical sculptures by Henry Hering representing "Security" and "Integrity" flank the East 6th Street entrance while "Energy" watches the Superior Avenue entry. The exterior ironwork was fabricated by Rose Iron Works of Cleveland.

at The Western Reserve Historical Society.

This colorful Art Deco mural consists of 192 panels of porcelain enamel on sheet iron. Each panel measures approximately 3.5 x 3 feet; the assembled mural is approximately 28 x 73 feet. This was commissioned for the 1939 New York World's Fair and manufactured by the Ferro Enamel Corporation of Cleveland. "Man's Conquest of The Elemental Forces of Nature" was designed by J. Scott Williams, a New York mural artist. It was executed by Daniel Boza, an instructor in mural painting at the Cleveland School (later Institute) of Art. It was featured on the main exterior wall of the World's Fair Home Furnishings Building.

at The Western Reserve Historical Society (founded 1867) 10825 East Boulevard.

Perhaps history has mostly forgotten The Great Lakes Exposition of 1936-37 because it was between the more famous 1933 Chicago World's Fair and the New York World's Fair of 1939. Nevertheless, it attracted over 4 million visitors from around the country in its first year. The exhibition area was 135 acres in size, along the lakefront and included The Mall. Vintage postcards show the modern (but temporary) Exposition structures among the Beaux Arts and neoclassical civic buildings built between 1910-1925.

1465 Chester Avenue. William S. Arrasmith, architect.

This is among the finest examples of Streamline Moderne design in the USA. The building was a flagship terminal for Greyhound Bus Lines — and the largest in the country when it was built in 1938. Mr. Arrasmith was a Louisville based architect who designed over 100 Greyhound stations around the country. Many have been demolished. Cleveland is fortunate to have preserved its station, now on the National Register. Greyhound spent over $5 million restoring the building, completed in 2000. It was the largest project of its kind in Greyhound history. It would have been less expensive for Greyhound to construct a new building, but they were committed to preserving the architecture. Even after 70 years, the terminal still serves its original purpose — proof that good design never goes out of style.

on the Hope Memorial Bridge (formerly the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge) — Frank Walker, architect. Henry Hering, sculptor.

The most monumental Art Deco images in Cleveland serve as gateways (and guardians!) to the east and west sides as the mile-long high level bridge spans the Cuyahoga River. The pylons are 43-feet tall and constructed of local Berea sandstone. There is a pair of pylons on each end of the bridge, with a "Guardian" on each side of the pylon, for a total of eight figures. Each is holding a different mode of transportation: stagecoach, passenger car, covered wagon, several kinds of trucks, etc. In 1983 the bridge was named in honor of entertainer Bob Hope's father. Although born in England, Hope's family moved to Cleveland when he was four years old. His father was a stone mason, and he helped construct this bridge.

100 Public Square. Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, architects.

Even those in our group that had never been to Cleveland had seen Higbee's—it was the department store featured in the beloved 1983 movie A Christmas Story. The opening scene shows Ralphie admiring the Red Ryder BB gun in the Higbee window. Higbee's was also the site of the "mean Santa scene" and featured in the movie's Christmas parade.

(now MK-Ferguson Building) 1500 West Third Street. Architects: Walker & Weeks, Philip Small & Associates.

The last building in the Terminal Tower Complex to be constructed, the exterior architecture is a very conservative example of Art Deco, sometimes referred to as "stripped Neoclassism." This style of Art Deco is typical of federal government buildings of the period. Like the rest of the Terminal Group, it was built on the air rights of the Cleveland Union Terminal. It took advantage of its position employing a state-of-the-art system of chutes and conveyors to transfer the mail from the building to railroad cars below. (Read more about the Terminal Tower Complex under the "Silver Grille" and "English Oak Room" headings.)

(now part of AT&T) 750 Huron Road. Hubbell & Benes, architects.

At 24 stories, this is the tallest Art Deco building in Cleveland, and mirrors the Manhattan "setback" towers that evolved under New York City's 1926 zoning laws. Ornament is kept to a minimum, and vertical emphasis is maintained by thin piers framing ribbons of windows and recessed spandrels. The concrete pad onto which this building was built was the most massive continuous pour of its day.

Euclid Avenue between East 14th and East 17th Streets.

The largest theater restoration project in the world has made Playhouse Square Center the second largest theater district in the country—only Lincoln Center in NYC is larger. Over 10,000 seats in five historic theaters attract over 1 million visitors a year, making it among the top destinations in the nation for live performances. All five theaters opened within 19 months of each other between 1921 and 1922 for legitimate theater, movies, and vaudeville. Ironically, four of the theaters closed within 14 months of each other in the late 1960s for lack of business. There were threats of demolition, of course—to be razed for parking!

now known as Rose Metal Industries, Inc.

Martin Rose opened Rose Iron Works in Cleveland in 1904. The Master Blacksmith had trained in the finest shops in Vienna and Budapest--and created works for royalty in his own shop in Budapest--before moving to the United States. Rose Iron Works has been a source for premiere quality decorative metalwork for over a century. Grates, railings, lighting fixtures, hardware, and murals may be found in prominent residences and institutions throughout Northern Ohio. The company's work has received international acclaim and has been displayed in museums around the country, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, among others. Now in its third generation, the company is thought to be the oldest ornamental business run by the original family. Although over the years the company has expanded into industrial metalworking, it has maintained the high level skills required to design and execute select commissions even today.

733 Starkweather Avenue. Frederick C. Baird, architect.

Following a hearty Polish meal at Sokolowski's we visited this beautiful cathedral. The Tremont neighborhood is crowded with wonderful ethnic churches, but St. Theodosius is a standout. It is the finest example of traditional orthodox architecture in the nation. The 13 domes represent Christ and the 12 apostles. The interior of the church is stunning, the walls entirely covered with colorful religious icons. Movie buffs may recognize the interior, featured in the wedding scenes of the 1978 film, The Deer Hunter. (More trivia: it won the Academy Award for Best Picture.)

11001 Euclid Avenue. Walker & Weeks, architects.

Home of the Cleveland Orchestra, Severance Hall is among the most beautiful concert halls in the country. John L. Severance was the principle benefactor and the President of the Orchestra’s Board of Trustees from 1921-1936. Shortly after groundbreaking, his wife Elisabeth died unexpectedly, and Mr. Severance turned the project into a memorial to her.

1370 Ontario Street. Knox & Elliot, architects.

A 21-story building clad in cream-colored terra-cotta, it features an ornate, "starburst" design. Although completed a year before the traditional beginning of the Art Deco, it comfortably fits within that realm with the stylized, geometric ornament. The application of the ornament is also reminiscent of Louis Sullivan. Originally built to house the cooperative banking venture of a locomotive engineers union, it has since housed numerous banks, law firms, city and county offices, the Marshall Law School, and the Prohibition era office of Elliot Ness. The original mezzanine, bank lobby, and grand staircase are preserved.

400 Euclid Avenue. George H. Smith, Architect. John Eisenmann, Engineer.

The Arcade is unique in the world, and among the most breathtaking interiors in Cleveland. It's a Victorian architectural confection, a 300 foot long shopping and office arcade with a glass roof — 100 feet overhead at the highest point. There are five levels of brass, marble, and ironwork — notice how the ornamentation becomes simpler as one ascends each level.

Private Viewing at the Cleveland Museum of Art

A regret of our Cleveland tour is that participants did not experience the Cleveland Museum of Art. It is one of the nation's finest collections. During our visit most of the museum galleries were closed because of an expansion project, designed by internationally renowned architect Rafael Vinoly. Almost all of the collection was in storage. However, Melvin Rose, of Rose Iron Works, arranged for several pieces to be removed from storage for our group to see. We were extremely grateful to Mr. Rose and the staff at the Cleveland Museum of Art for arranging this special viewing, exclusively for Art & Art Deco Cleveland 2006!

Hubbell & Benes, Architects. Interior by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Jeptha Wade was a Cleveland industrialist and early telegraph pioneer who organized the group of companies that created Western Union. This small, neoclassical temple was built by his grandson. The temple's spartan exterior belies the extravagant Art Nouveau interior done entirely by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Tiffany's studio did the marble and mosaics in New York and then shipped them to Cleveland. The Resurrection Window is among Tiffany's most famous works: it won a gold medal at the 1900 World Exposition in Paris. The Wade family had the window shipped from Paris to Cleveland and hired Tiffany to design the chapel around it.

1979 West 25th Street. Hubbell & Benes, architects.

Among the most popular attraction for Cleveland visitors, the West Side Market is also very popular with the locals—and has been for almost a century. It's the largest indoor / outdoor market in the country and on the National Register of Historic Places. The structure is an interpretation of a Roman basilica, with a 124 x 245 foot long central hall above the two side aisles. The 44-foot ceiling is vaulted with glazed brick and Guastavino tile. Monumental columns sport capitals depicting fruits, vegetables, and animals. Outside, fruit and vegetable stands are along two sides of the building. Cleveland's strong ethnic heritage is reflected in the 100 indoor and 85 outdoor food stalls, many still operated by the same families as when the market opened in 1912. On a busy day, over 20 different languages are spoken here!