The Cool History of Cleveland

Now that the refreshing (though most of my friends would say harsh) Cleveland winter has taken root, I wanted to see if there was any cool winter activity this grand old City used to enjoy. Before, I start “waxing poetic” on this post’s topic (and I will) - I would like to say that every time I write a story on the Cool History of Cleveland blog, I keep suggesting that I can never trump the previous story only to find the next coolest thing about Cleveland. This City was very, very cool! (Still is in my mind…)

Which brings us to the Elysium! Just try to drink this in Cleveland.

This beautifully curved building was located in the “arts mecca” of Cleveland - University Circle. The Elysium was situated on E. 107th and Euclid Avenue. Can you imagine this facility on Euclid today? I can.

And by the way, the Elysium just happened to be the largest ice skating rink in the world. Imagine that.

The building was contructed in 1907 for $150,000 by Dudley Humphrey of Euclid Beach Park fame. During that October to May down-time period for Euclid Beach Park, Dudley made sure that he had an additional attraction opened. The ice skating rink offered classes in ice skating and offered ice shows and music bands while everyone made their way around the rink. It was a stunning building.

In the photo above I cannot get over the “Elysium” sign on the top right corner of the building. I try to imagine me walking up to that lit sign during a crisp walk in Cleveland’s winter solstice. Truly majestic.
 
It should be noted that the Elysium was also home to a couple of professional ice hockey teams - first the Cleveland Falcons and then their more famous cousins the Cleveland Barons. The rink was officially closed during World War II and later reopened as a used car showroom. While the Case Institute originally owned the land on which the Elysium was built the school gave the building and the land over to the City of Cleveland. The City, of course, razed the Elysium to widen Chester Avenue. The pictures used in this post really do not show the true scale of this facility as its front was on Euclid Avenue and it extended then to a much smaller Chester Avenue. But what a stunning building. One that should still be alive on Euclid today.