The Cool History of Cleveland

We consider ourselves to be very lucky today with the reemergence of Playhouse Square (and the theaters - Hanna, State, Ohio, Allen and Palace) as the second largest theater district in the United States. Truth is these theaters were under threat of being torn down in the early 1980’s - and that would have been a great tragedy. However, what is rarely thought about is how many other theaters Cleveland once had in its history. Few people ever talk about the Alhambra Theater (Euclid Avenue and E. 105th), Alpha Theater (Central and E. 33rd), The Colonial Theater, Garden Theatre, Embassy Theater (was located on the site where the National City Tower is today), The Grand Vaudeville, The Castle Theater (Wade Avenue), The Stillman (next to the Statler Hotel and now a parking garage) and, of course the grand-daddy of them all the Hippodrome Theater.

The Hippodrome (or the “Hipp” as everyone called it) was built in 1907 and was located at 720 Euclid Avenue next to the Taylor & Sons department store (we know this building now as 668 Euclid - one of the most embarrassing buildings in Downtown, although there are some discussions about its renewal).  The theater was part of an 11-story office building and had entrances on both Euclid Avenue and Prospect Avenue. Today the area is a parking lot.

But in the day, the opening of the Hipp achieved national prominence by none other than The New York Times - article seen below.

CLEVELAND, Ohio, Dec. 30. — The Hippodrome, said to be the most beautiful and largest theatre in America, west of New York, was opened to-night in this city. The fifty-one boxes were occupied by municipal, county, State and Government officials, while the remaining 4,500 seats were taken by society, representative of Northern Ohio.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B06E4DD153EE733A25752C3A9649D946697D6CF

It was the largest theater west of New York and was able to accomodate 3,458 theater-goers. Some of the most famous performers of the day - including Sarah Bernhardt, Al Jolson, W.C. Fields, and Will Rogers - held court on the Hippodrome stage. The auditorium had private boxes, two balconies (with elevators) and the second largest stage in the U.S. able to hold large-scale productions and operas. The theater also offered an 80-ft water tank for “water spectacles!” Insane. Before you got to the theater you could dine in the appropriately named - Hippodrome Inn.

After a tasty meal - you could enter the theater through an impressive lobby.

Can you imagine walking through this today? I can!

If you had mezzanine seats, then you would walk up these steps.

Of course as they say in the theater, “the stage is the thing.” (Do they really say that in the theater?)

This place was massive! And so beautiful. It is a shame that it does not exist anymore. The theater was purchased by Alvin Krenzler in 1972 and by that time was the last movie house in Downtown Cleveland. Unfortunately, the building was torn down in 1981 and replaced by a damn parking lot. It just isn’t fair for such a beautiful theater not to exist anymore.

“The Hipp” Slideshow
http://www.slide.com/r/oGU56aRVkz9kwYF-Dnm2×6n7ywZXkwkd?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

I know what you are thinking….two of your four posts on The Cool History of Cleveland (“TCHC”) blog are on hotels (and a third mentions the old Winton Hotel). Trend? Probably in the short term at least only because I find it fascinating that Cleveland had so many world-famous hotels. I mean this town rocked back in the day (still does, but fifty years ago the City was twice the size in terms of population). The Statler Hotel holds a special place in my heart only because I get to see it nearly everyday. But it also holds a very neat history.

Take a peek at this crazy street shot. Who would not want to have a good time here?

The Statler Hotel opened in Cleveland in October of 1912. Originally, the Hotel had 700 rooms which were later expanded to 1,000 rooms. The Statler Hotel was actually part of one of America’s first hotel chains owned by E.M. Statler. The original Statler Hotel was built in Buffalo, NY in 1907. The Buffalo version of the Statler had a number of innovations that the Cleveland Hotel later improved upon including - a bathroom in every room, a light in the closet, and offering free stationary and pens (with the Statler logo of course) to every visitor. Tame innovations by today’s standards, but revolutionary at the time. The real innovation was the cost per room - $1.50 a night - E.M. Statler was expert in bringing refinement and prestige to the middle-class of America. The Cleveland Hotel was followed by others built under the Statler name in Washington D.C., Detroit, St. Louis, New York, Hartford, Dallas and Los Angeles. Truly the first national hotel chain.

During the 1930’s the Hotel was in its Golden Age and went through a number of expansions that included a new ballroom (as seen below):

Look at that ceiling! The expansion also provided a new Gentlemen’s Lounge and Library and a pretty interesting dining facility. There was a famous dining room in the building called the Terrace Room, unfortunately I have not found a photo of it yet. I did however find this photo of the Pompeian Room, another wild dining area. I love the open area under a glass dome and tall fountain right in the middle of the dining area. Classic. (I still cannot believe this room once existed in Cleveland. Marvelous.)

The lobby of the hotel was a real gem.

Here is another angle to view.

Where did our elegance go, Cleveland?

In 1954, the Hilton Chain acquired the Statler Hotels - and many considered the Cleveland hotel to be the crown jewel. Who woundn’t - it was a gorgeous hotel. In early 1971 new owners decided to make part of the facility office space and the building was renamed the Cleveland Plaza. Cleveland developer Carl Milstein purchased the building in 1980 and completed the conversion of the hotel property to all office. A famous Swingos restaurant was built on the first floor (parts of it are still there). In 2001, the storied property again went through a conversion this time from office to apartments and it remains so to this day.

The Statler Hotel Slideshow
http://www.slide.com/r/n9v-uSGJ4j_wnK_uwbtXOHsB-LyV-Egt?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

I thought today we would spice things up with one of more interesting (I think) Cleveland stories of all time. It is the true story of Chef Hector (Ettore) Boiardi. You know the chap whose face still peers at you from the Chef Boyardee can as you dig into a hot bowl of ravioli. His good looking image is below.

The good chef was born in Italy, I believe in 1897, and at the age of 16 found his way to New York City. He quickly became a chef at the Ritz Carlton in New York and worked at The Greenbrier in West Virginia as well. His culinary talents were legendary. Chef Boiardi accepted the job as head chef at the Hotel Winton in 1917 which happened to be a popular hotel in Cleveland. This magnificent hotel was located at 1012 Prospect Avenue. The Hotel Winton was a well-know hotel on a national level and held one of the first radio programs that was broadcast out of the Hotel’s famous Rainbow Room featuring the Rainbow Room Orchestra. (There were even “ice shows” at the Winton - where a large ice rink would be built in a restaurant and as patrons ate there would be a number of ice skaters to entertain.) Today, we know it as the Carter Manor which serves as housing for the elderly.

As the Head Chef at the Winton, Boiardi began serving a lot of Italian fare. And his spaghetti dinners were becoming all the rage. Many of his patrons would ask for his recipes (which were not forthcoming from the Chef) and for samples to take home (which he sold in abundance). He would often provide his spaghetti sauce in milk bottles. In 1924, the good chef started his own restaurant the famous Giardino d’Italia. By 1928, take-out orders were so robust that Boiardi started factory production of his products. What was once a local, then regional, delicacy was now a national phenomenon and this prompted the change to the now signature Chef Boy-ar-dee. In 1938, Boiardi moved the factory to Milton, PA (I have actually heard a number of rumors that suggest a rift between the budding entrepreneur and local leaders which prompted him to move the factory).

However, Boiardi kept interests in Cleveland too with the opening of Boiardi’s, a new Italian restaurant, in 1931. He sold the factory operations after WWII and invested in the Milton Steel Company which he sold for a hefty profit. Amazingly, Boiardi died in Parma, OH in 1985! Few people believe me when I say that Chef Boyardee got its start in Cleveland. But it’s true.

Chef Boyardee Slideshow
http://www.slide.com/r/CyYSoIxo4z-pL8XwvPU_Xk06I-HVWOdY?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

A few years ago, when I was still the “Tech Czar” for the City of Cleveland, I was invited by the U.S. Secret Service to an open house of their new Electronic Crimes Facility in Independence, OH. Captivating place, especially considering that most electonic crimes pursued by the Secret Service are managed and tracked in this facility. I will not go into detail about what was presented during my tour….I really do not want the Feds knokcing on my door any time soon. However, I did notice that the offices in this facility were decorated with historical pictures Cleveland and one in particular caught my attention.

I stood there for a few minutes trying to figure out what I was looking at in this gorgeous picture (the border detail in this photo - i.e. “showing Hollenden Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio” was not detailed in the Secret Service version). The only identifier of the photo was the label “Grand Canyon of Cleveland.” I finally figured out that the building at the very end of the photograph was, indeed, the building I was working in at the time - City Hall. And the building that stood out the most was the Hollenden Hotel. (Please note - the picture’s orientation is south looking north as if you were standing on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East Sixth.) The Hollenden was the crown jewel of the Grand Canyon of Cleveland.

The Hollenden Hotel was opened on June 7th, 1885 and quickly became one of Cleveland’s most glamorous if not most colorful hotels (I will share a bit more of the color in a few moments) in the bustling City. For its time many considered the Hotel a technological marvel seeing how every room had electric lights, 100 private baths (though it had 1,000 rooms and by the by can you imagine a Hotel in Cleveland with 1,000 rooms) and fireproof construction.

The main building went through a massive $5 million expanison in 1926. While the above picture is not the best of quality it does offer a sense of how massive this hotel really was and its great presence on Superior Avenue. What many people remember of the hotel was its rather lavish interior. It’s lobby was world famous.

One can only imagine the color that the above photograph fails to provide. The hotel hosted five U.S. Presidents, volumes of dignitaries, many industrial giants of the day, all the local politicians made deals at the mahogany bar and several celebrities - many of whom played in the various bars and stages that the Hollenden offered to its clientele. The one stage that just blew my mind when researching the Hollenden was called the Show Boat Room.

The Big Band came out from behind the stage which was designed as the front of a large steam boat. Just fascinating!

The absolute glamour of this small concert stage stuns me. And this was but one of a few clubs and bars inside the Hollenden. It should be noted that the most popular component of the Hollenden Hotel was its world famous barbershop. Many of the world’s rich and famous, not to mention all the local politicians, all found their way to the Hollenden barbershop.

Now if it were me I would hit the Hollenden around 7pm, get a hot shave and then head to two of the more famous clubs inside the Hollenden - the Parisian and the The Vogue Room. I found a beautiful picture of the Vogue Room as seen below.

Certainly, had a Art Deco feel. Looks as if the stage was in the back of the photo. I love the entire look of the Room and can only wish that the photo would have been in color. I also found a very unique token that was given to patrons of the Vogue Room - with the phrase “Never a dull moment.” Never, indeed. What I find most intriguing about the token (outside of “air conditioned” notation), is that you could use the token in other luxury hotels in Ohio - notably the Neil House in Columbus, the Biltmore in Dayton (I am originally from Dayton and know this building well) and the Mayflower in Akron (a stunning facility now owned by University of Akron, I believe).

Earlier in this post I mentioned that the Hotel did in fact have some colorful history. While during research on the Hollenden, I found two stories that just blew me away. The first was a story in the New York Times in the March 29th, 1905 edition that mentioned two unrelated suicides on the same day in the Hotel. Part of the text (and a link) can be seen below.

CLEVELAND, Ohio, March 28. — Henry L. Woodward, a lawyer of New York, and Charles A. Brouse, a traveling salesman of Toledo, committed suicide at the Hollenden Hotel some time during last night by shooting themselves. Woodward’s body was found at noon to-day in Room 561. 

(http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A03E3DA113BE631A2575AC2A9659C946497D6CF)

The second story had a bit more of an emotional tug on the heart about a young boy who was kidnapped in Pennsylvania but his father paid the ransome and received the boy back at the Hollenden Hotel. This happened on March 23rd, 1909 and was again reported by the New York Times.

CLEVELAND, Ohio, March 22. — After an absence of four days, Willie Whitla, the eight-year-old son of J.P. Whitla, a lawyer of Sharon, Penn., who was kidnapped on Thursday last, was returned to his father at the Hollenden Hotel here shortly after 8 o’clock to-night.

(http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9907E3D8173EE033A25750C2A9659C946897D6CF)

This, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg for the Hollenden Hotel. It had a rich and long history but unfortunately was closed in 1962 and soon thereafter torn-down. Another hotel was erected on the site - the Hollenden House (which we may do a post on as well), but the Hollenden House never could capture the essence of its lineage and found itself a victim of the wrecking ball in 1989. The site is now home to the Fifth/Third Tower located on Superior and E. Sixth. 

The Grand Canyon of Cleveland Slideshow
http://www.slide.com/r/hMnZisyd3D9lJXyII4rHIawU9dI_V-Zo?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

The beautiful picture seen above is the first May Company in Cleveland. It was actually the E. R. Hull & Dutton Company until May Company bought Hull & Dutton in 1899. Interesting note…the building you see is actually on Ontario Street. It was not until 1901 that the May Company expanded onto Euclid Avenue at the site that you would see today. The building on Euclid Avenue went through many expansions until 1931, when the Cleveland May Company store was the largest department store in the state of Ohio. Mind-boggling considering the condition of the building today.

I can only imagine the majestic view of Euclid when May held court as the King of Department Stores along Euclid. A great view of the southeast corner of Public Square can be seen here.

One can clearly see the May Company as the center piece of this photo with the Park Building to its right. Also, note the Williamson Building (with a Marshall’s Drug Store at the steet level) to the left of May Company - where now you would see the  BP Building. For my money - this view is much, much better than the one we have today. This is a gorgeous view.

The store was a leader in customer perks and amenities offering Eagle Trading Stamps, one of the first parking garages in the U.S., and a children’s indoor playground. I love the picture below that shows the women’s hat shop.

Look how large this department was!  Beautiful design.  There was also a very famous restaurant inside the May Company as well.

Anyway, the department store - like Cleveland - began to have some difficulties in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.  In 1980, May Company subleased a number of floors to a local bank. What is still fascinating is that this store was still producing revenues in the $200 million range in 1983. Yet, with the redevelopment of Tower City and the Galleria in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s - the store’s revenues began to falter. This beautiful store closed in 1993. More stories on the May Company to follow.

The May Company Slideshow
http://www.slide.com/r/rKBDCDxK2D_Xlu9B7mRLgReR-dhNi3sU?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original