The Cool History of Cleveland

As many of you know, I had the privilege of working at Cleveland’s City Hall for the past two Mayors of this grand city. City Hall is a gorgeous building.  Of course, the Mayor’s Office and Council Chambers are stunning as well. But to work in this facility, well, was an honor for such a history buff like myself. In these chambers some of Cleveland’s great Mayors worked diligently on behalf of the citizens of this cool city. Men like William Hopkins (actually a City Manager during a short period when Cleveland changed its government structure), Thomas Burke, Anthony J. Celebrezze, Carl B. Stokes, George Voinovich and Michael White. Cleveland’s City Hall was developed as part of the 1903 Group Plan of governmental buildings built along the various Malls tucked in between East Sixth and Ontario Avenue. City Hall was placed in perfect symmetry with the county courthouse at the north end of the Mall. Designed by J. Milton Dyer, the city hall has an arcaded ground story, a 2-story Tuscan colonnade, and a central entrance bay characteristic of the Beaux-Arts style.

The Great Hall gave that imposing entrance to a public building that is so lacking anymore. (But certainly gave me a great thrill to walk through every morning.)

What I find amazing is that the “progressive mayors” of Cleveland and perhaps one of the most famous Mayor’s in the U.S. - Tom Johnson never worked in the current City Hall. Prior to the this facility, the City of Cleveland in 1875 started leasing the Case Block Building, then located on the north corner of East Third and Superior until the new City Hall was dedicated on July 4th, 1916. However, the Case Block was an impressive building in its own right.

But the most amazing City Hall was the one never built. In 1895 the voters of Cleveland approved a Beaux Arts designed building to be built on the northern quadrants of Public Square. The most eloquent component of its design was the enormous arch spanning over Ontario Avenue for street cars to pass through safely. It was a most amazing and jaw-dropping design.

Unfortunately, after one week of the official ground-breaking the protests from numerous Clevelanders (after voting approval on the project), it was decided not to continue and Cleveland had to wait another twenty years before it received a new City Hall.