The Cool History of Cleveland

Driving east on I-90 out of downtown always offers a spectacular view of Lake Erie on the northern perspective. More often than not as I take the turn near the E. 72nd/Gordon Park exit I tend to notice a lone brick building sitting on the south hill that looks, well, looks abandoned and vacant. But the building always held my imagination of what it could be and it turns out that the lone building sitting on that lonely hill is the old Cleveland Aquarium. I found a postcard of the Aquarium when it was still operating.

The Cleveland Aquarium was opened by the City of Cleveland in 1954 but operated by the Cleveland Musuem of Natural History. The original building with 8,000 gallons of aquatic joy is the building in the middle of the picture with a pitched roof. The octagonal wing to the left was built in 1967 with the support of a $300,000 grant and increased tank capacity to 82,000 gallons. Various aquatic displays included sharks, swordfish, sawfish, octopus, alligators and various other species of fish.

It was often said that the Aquarium drew more crowds than it could handle. Unfortunately, as it was run by the City of Cleveland it was seen by many to be a costly extravagance. And in 1985 with the facility in need of significant repairs it was decided to close the Aquarium.

There are a few extraordinary websites out there working to educate and raise money for a new Cleveland Aquarium - and for Cleveland not to have one is folly. Here is the Cleveland Aquarium, Inc. website - www.clevelandaquarium.org/.

It was at this website, I found a great document with additional photos that will just blow your mind - http://www.clevelandaquarium.org/downloads/AquariumHistory_10-2006.pdf.

There is also the Cleveland Aquarium Society which can be connected at here - www.clevelandaquariumsociety.org.

This really was a gem of a building and if a new one were to be built the obvious area would be near the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame and the Great Lakes Science Center, but I would suggest building it where it belongs on the hill near Gordon Park with a stunning view of Lake Erie.

While I am not following the playoff series in baseball that much this year, the fall classic did get me thinking about one of Cleveland’s forgotten historical monuments - League Park. There is a great sense of nostalgia that stirs when an old ballpark closes - such as Yankee Stadium this year. But I have a suspicion that League Park - which holds significant history for baseball and Cleveland - never got its due. League Park was one of the great “neighborhood parks” that were built in all the grand cities at the time - Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Shibe Park in Philidelphia and Wrigley Field in Chicago. Fact is part of League Park still exists on E. 66th and Lexington to this day! This is a great shot of the ticket area on Lexington Avenue back in the day.

And this is practically the same photo but shows the condition of the Park today. 

But in its heyday - League Park was a beauty!

The Park was built in 1891 for the Cleveland Spiders by the owner of the team Frank Robison. (Built on E. 66th because Robison owned a trolley car line and E. 66th happened to by a major part of that line.) The first game in the Park was May 1, 1891 and the Spiders starting pitcher that day was Cy Young. The original capacity of the Park was 9,000 with a picnic area for those in the neighborhood to watch batting practice. Seating capacity was improved to 27,000 in 1909. The 1920 World Series offered a number of fascinating historical events as the Brooklyn Dodgers played against the now Cleveland Indians, managed by Tris Speaker. For example, the first and only unassisted triple play in a World Series occured in the 1920 series, as did the first grand slam in World Series play. The photo below shows Lexington Avenue near the Park during the 1920 World Series. I have to say it is so striking to see a photo of a crowd like this on a Cleveland street. It just would not happen anymore in the City. (Not to mention that Lexington and E. 66th are located in a very distressed area today.)

Another fun historical fact about League Park is that Babe Ruth hit his 500th home run on August 11th, 1929. It is said that his “towering shot” cleared a fence taller than the famed “Green Monster” in Fenway Park and landed on Lexington Avenue. Please note obligatory photo of the Babe (this photo was actually taken at League Park).

Not a lot of people remember that League Park was also home to a historic and very successful Negro League team the Cleveland Buckeyes who claimed the 1945 Negro League World Series and two Negro League championships. The Park was also home to other sports teams including the Cleveland Rams who made League Park their home in the 1940’s. During the summer, the Park also hosted some unusual but fun events - including boxing!

Here is a great shot of League Park’s scoreboard.

And a neat photo of the locker room.

Unusual photo - a big teepee in center field.

Even the ushers displayed great haberdashery (note “cleveland” on thier hats).

After the completion of Municipal Stadium in 1931 the Indians began to play more and more of their games at the new stadium, but would still play a few series each year at League Park (mostly to improve the team’s batting average as Municipal Stadium was not a hitters’ friendly park). The last game at League Park pitted the hometown Indians against the Detroit Tigers on September 21st, 1946. The Park then became the Cleveland Browns practice field until 1951 and the grandstands were torn-down soon thereafter.

There is a slim hope that part of the facility could be rejuvenated. I did find League Park Society whose mission is to preserve and restore the Park. You find their website here:  www.leaguepark.org. If you get a chance please drive down E. 66th and stop at League Park it really is fascinating to see what remains of this historic venue.

League Park Slideshow
http://www.slide.com/r/APaU-gQajz_mDSFhoWvtVSZmJaAwxjso?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

As many of you know I am simply enamoured by the history of the various hotels that once graced Cleveland - The Hollenden, The Statler, The Winton. Another hotel that gets very little attention is the Allerton Hotel (or I should say the Allerton Apartments, now) located on the corner of E. 13th and Chester. The Allerton Hotel is a stunning building built in 1926 by the Allerton Company of New York. The architects were the Morgantroyd and Ogden Company. The Allerton Company owned at one time eight hotels including hotels in Detroit and Chicago (the Chicago Allerton still operates as hotel along the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue). No doubt the building today is a bit rough - it offers low-income housing, though recently it was announced that the building would be going through a modest redevelopment. But back in the day it was a stunning structure. Check this photo out!

This photo makes the Allerton look like one hell of a time. The hotel offered 550 rooms, an air-conditioned dining room, a coffee shop, a famous cocktail lounge and a swimming pool.

Cool stuff. And dig this postcard!

Wow! What a beautiful place. I can only dream of spending a night in this very cool and hip hotel. Those days are past, my friends. It is a shame the condition the building is today, but once upon a time it really was a place for royalty.