Cleveland in HDR – The 6th City Collection

From the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: “The Cleveland Union Terminal and the Terminal Tower, Cleveland’s most familiar landmark, was the largest construction project of the 1920s in the city. Originally intended for the north end of the Mall, the railroad terminal was located on Public Square Oris and Mantis Van Sweringan following a public referendum in 1919. Excavation of the site began in 1924. The entire depot and office complex was designed by Chicago architects Graham, Anderson, Probst & White. The unprecedented engineering for the project included foundations 250′ deep for the tower, the demolition of more than 1,000 buildings, and the construction of many bridges and viaducts for the railroad approaches. Construction on the steelwork began in 1926, and the 708′ Terminal Tower was completed in 1927, the tallest building in the world outside New York City until 1967.

For more info: http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CUT

Today’s Quote: “All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem”. – Martin Luther King Jr.

Today’s photo was taken in the formal dining room of the famous Greenbrier Suite. Located inside the Terminal Tower, the Greenbrier Suite was the Van Sweringen brother’s private mansion. What impressed me about this room was the beautiful hand painted wall paper.

For more info: http://blog.cleveland.com/pdmultimedia/2011/08/take_a_tour_of_secret_terminal.html

Today’s Quote: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody”. – Bill Cosby

Carl B. Stokes Federal Court House Building is located on the right side of this photo that was taken in the Flats. This 24 story tower was completed in 2002 and was named for Carl B. Stokes who was the first African-American mayor of a major U. S. city. Some of the other buildings that can be seen in this photo are the Terminal Tower, Key Bank Building and Sammy’s in the Flats.

For more info:

http://rickzimmerman.hubpages.com/hub/The-Carl-B-Stokes-Federal-Court-House-Biuilding

http://www.sammys.com/

Today’s Quote: “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” – Albert Einstein

The Avenue at Tower City Center from about.com : “The Terminal Tower at Public Square, built in 1930, is the architectural symbol of Cleveland. Originally set atop the Union rail terminal, the beautiful ground level space has been transformed into a spacious and beautiful shopping and entertainment complex called the Tower City Center.

The floors are marble, the railings are polished brass, and the ceilings are hand-painted. Retail stores are tucked into vintage spaces as well as new wide-open, light and airy lofts”. http://cleveland.about.com/od/shoppingincleveland/a/avenue.htm

For more info: http://www.towercitycenter.com/

Today’s Quote: If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour? – Thomas Jefferson

Today’s photo was taken from the top of the Terminal Tower and shows two more of Cleveland’s tall skyscrapers.  Key Tower can be seen on the left side of the photo. It is the tallest building in Cleveland and the tallest in Ohio. The tower is visible from as far as twenty miles outside of downtown Cleveland. The tower on the right is called by its address 200 Public Square. This tower was built as the headquarters for Standard Oil of Ohio and it was called the Sohio Building. It was renamed the BP Tower when Sohio merged with British Petroleum. When by left the name of the building just became its address. 200 Public Square is the third tallest building in Cleveland and it is the fourth tallest in Ohio.

Today’s Quote – “It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world”. – Thomas Jefferson

The Terminal Tower is located on Public Square and is Cleveland’s signature landmark. It was the second-tallest building in the world when it was completed. The Terminal Tower stood as the tallest building in North America outside of New York City from its completion in 1930 until 1964.

Today’s Quote: There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white  imagery. – Stefan Kanfer

Today’s Photo: Merry Christmas Cleveland

Given that this is my last blog post of the week I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday season. This is one of my favorite photos of downtown at night so I thought I would share it with you.

Today’s Quote:

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home! – Charles Dickens

Today’s Photo: Enter the tower

Today’s photo is of the entrance doors of the Terminal Tower. You can see the reflection of the key tower in the glass.

Today’s quote: “It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste” – Henry Ford

Today’s Photo: Tower City Center

“This is a photo of the fountain in the center of the Tower City shopping mall. Tower City Center (formerly known as Cleveland Union Terminal) is a large mixed-use facility located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including the landmark Terminal Tower, a shopping mall, two hotels, and the main hub of Cleveland’s three rapid transit lines. On March 17, 1976, the tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places
as the Union Terminal Group.”

Read more about Tower City at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_City_Center

Today’s Quote: “Nothing was more up-to-date when it was built, or is more obsolete today, than the railroad station” – Ada Louise Huxtable

Today’s Photo: The Greenbrier Suite

This is a photo of the 2 story Great Hall of the Greenbrier Suite. The Greenbrier Suite was secret residence of the Van Sweringen Brothers and it is located inside the Terminal Tower. That’s right, it is located on the 12th, 13th, and 14th floors of the Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland.
This stunning home was built to rival the mansions located on Euclid Ave. It was built in English Gothic style with oak paneling and marble fireplaces.

Who are the Van Sweringen Brothers you ask?  Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen were two Clevelanders who created a $3 billion, 30,000-mi.
railroad and real estate empire. They also were the builders of the Terminal Tower and the real-estate developers of Shaker Hts.

For more information:

http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=VSOP

Today’s Quote:

“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they’re called memories. Some take us forward, they’re called dreams.”  – Jeremy Irons