Cleveland Greyhound Station
Touted by Cleveland News with the headline, “Greatest Bus Terminal in World to Open in City Tomorrow”, the Greyhound Bus Terminal opened its doors for customers in the spring of 1948 on Chester Avenue in Cleveland amidst sizeable fanfare and press. Among the guests in attendance for the grand opening which also included the unveiling of the new Highway Traveler model of Greyhound Bus were the then Governor Thomas Herbert and Cleveland Mayor Thomas Burke. Constructed in the Streamline Moderne Style of Art Deco design at a cost of $1,250,000, the Greyhound Terminal continues to service three million passengers a year to the lower forty-eight states with the ability to accommodate up to 300 passengers at one time.
The Cleveland bus terminal was designed and constructed by architect W.S. Arrasmith, who prior to the Cleveland project, had designed numerous Greyhound stations for cities all across the eastern and midwestern portions of the United States beginning in 1936. Arrasmith was an active member of the Army Reserve and commanding officer for the unit in which he served in with his military involvement stretching back to his college years when he was enrolled in the R.O.T.C program. When fighting broke out during World War II, Arrasmith commanded forces in Europe and served as an area engineer for the Army Corp of Engineers. After the fighting ceased, Greyhound executives petitioned the government for Arrasmith’s discharge so he could continue work on designing bus terminals, citing the company’s contributions during the war effort in moving troops across the country as reasoning. After an agreement was made where Arrasmith agreed to remain in the Army Reserves, Arrasmith and his family moved to Cleveland where he began preliminary work on the “Greatest Bus Terminal in the World.” [Source]
Ohio Savings Plaza
(View from a small restaurant "Becky's" downtown Cleveland)
The Ohio Savings Plaza is a commercial high-rise building in Cleveland, Ohio. The building...was completed in 1969...The architect who designed the building was George S. Ryder. [Source]
The Terminal Tower
The Terminal Tower is a 52-story, 235 m (771 ft), landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was built during the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 1930s, and was the fourth-tallest building in the world when it was officially dedicated on June 28, 1930. Only three buildings in New York City were taller than its 708 feet (216 m), 52-floor frame...
Built for $179 million by the Van Sweringen brothers, the tower was to serve as an office building atop the city's new rail station, the Cleveland Union Terminal. Originally planned to be 14 stories, the structure was expanded to 52 floors with a height of 708 feet (216 m) and rests on 280-foot (85 m) caissons. Designed by the firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, the tower was modeled after the Beaux-Arts New York Municipal Building by McKim, Mead, and White. [Source]
The Superior Building
The Superior Building, originally known as the Cleveland Discount Building, is a high-rise building in Cleveland, Ohio. The building rises 265 feet...and was completed in 1922. The Superior Building currently stands as the 26th-tallest building in the city. The architectural firm who designed the building was Walker & Weeks....
The Superior Building was one of the earliest skyscrapers to be completed in Cleveland. However, it never stood as the tallest structure in the city; the Keith Building, also completed in 1922, rose only 7 feet (2 m) taller, and thus captured the title of tallest building in Cleveland. The Superior Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. [Source]
"Security" at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is the Cleveland-based headquarters of the U.S. Federal Reserve System's Fourth District...
The bank building, located at Superior Avenue and East 6th Street in downtown Cleveland was designed by the Cleveland firm of Walker and Weeks and completed in 1923. Its exterior architecture emulates an Italian Renaissance palazzo, is clad in pink Sienna marble...The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building's entrances feature allegorical sculptures by Henry Hering representing Security and Integrity flanking the East Sixth Street entrance, while his Energy watches the Superior Avenue entry. [Source]
Lincoln Statue
A 1932 statue of Abraham Lincoln by Cleveland sculptor Max Kalish(1891-1945) stands on the west side of the plaza...behind the Cleveland Board of Education Building and faces the Peace Memorial Fountain on the Mall. The statue was a gift of The School Children of Greater Cleveland in 1932.
This naturalistic figure shows President Lincoln delivering his Gettysburg Address, which is engraved on a plaque below. [Source]
(Note: The building is now being converted into a hotel!)
Detail from the Board of Education Building
Cleveland Public Library, Ceiling Detail
Allegory of Industry
The other two visible are:
Right: Allegory of Music
Left: Allegory of Drama.
At the top (not visible) is Allegory of Graphic Arts
The vaulted ceilings [in the entrance lobby] are decorated with paintings completed in 1926 by artists working for the Joseph F. Sturdy Company of Chicago. The paintings recall those found in 15th century vaulted ceilings from the Italian Renaissance. [Source: Cleveland Public Library: The Art, Architecture, and Collections of the Main Library. A Self-Guided Tour]
Cleveland Public Library, entrance hall ceiling
A large terrestrial globe of pear-gray art glass hangs from the entrance hall ceiling. The globe was made by the the Sterling Bronze Company in 1925 and is based on a map by Leonardo da Vinci, now housed in Windsor Castle. The map is one of the earliest to depict the Americas - with North America indicated simply by small islands! The globe is surrounded by a bronze band depicting the signs of the zodiac. [Source: Cleveland Public Library: The Art, Architecture, and Collections of the Main Library. A Self-Guided Tour]
[Photos By: KPA]
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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