Design + Build

Peter B. Lewis bldg - photo Bob PerkoskiPeter B. Lewis bldg - photo Bob Perkoski

Here's something you won't find in Phoenix: A grand public mall flanked by Beaux Arts-style architectural gems built some 100 years ago. Stretching back to Daniel Burnham's grand Group Plan of 1903, the Cleveland skyline has been graced with epic structures boasting dignity, symmetry and grace. Complementing the historic architecture and design, today’s design and building community are looking at new ways to re-envision the city, from the redesign and update of Public Square to making connections from the city to the lakefront through green space and the proposed pedestrian bridge. 

University Settlement’s new home a would-be catalyst for Slavic Village
University Settlement, which has been serving the community for almost a century in Slavic Village, in August began a new era of support and uplifting the community with the opening of 5115, a mixed use development with space for programming, a food pantry, and a host of services, as well as 5115 At The Rising apartments and townhomes.
Building the future: Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry turns to 3D to house the homeless
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry is piloting a 3D-printed affordable housing project to create two homes for those at risk of experiencing homelessness. Cleveland City Council provided $500,000 for the project championed by Council member Stephanie D. Howse-Jones.
Empire Builders: Local author documents the architectural impact of the Van Sweringen brothers
Architectural photographer and Shaker Heights resident Lauren Pacini this week published “Empire Builders: An Illustrated History of the Rise and Fall of Cleveland's Van Sweringen Brothers,” the story of the eccentric Van Sweringen brothers' successes and failures in developing Shaker Heights as an exclusive residential garden community and their eventual demise during the Great Depression.
No place like home: Cleveland Restoration Society Celebration of Preservation honors 13 projects
The 2024 Celebration of Preservation, hosted by the Cleveland Restoration Society and the American Institute of Architects Cleveland, will highlight some of the best restoration and historical architecture projects in the past year at the Ariel LaSalle Theater on May 22. The event will honor projects like the West Side Market clock tower, the conversion of the former Henry W. Longfellow Elementary School in Collinwood into affordable senior apartments, and the Ford Hessler Apartments.
Vision in focus: Aura at Innovation Square opens in Fairfax
After years of planning and collaborating, the next step in Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation's Innovation Square Neighborhood Plan—Aura at Innovation Square—became a reality this week with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Cleveland Greyhound Bus station: The ideal of streamline moderne style
Cleveland Masterworks: Louisville-based architect William Arrasmith established himself in the 1930s and 1940s by designing Greyhound Bus Stations across the country in a Art Deco Streamline Moderne design—using long, horizontal lines and curving forms with a somewhat nautical look to create a sleek, almost futuristic architectural style that was the hot trend for the time. The Cleveland Greyhound station is one of his most celebrated of the 60 Greyhound stations Arrasmith designed and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Weizer Building: A 1928 testament to Cleveland’s Hungarian population in Buckeye
Cleveland Masterworks: Hungarian-born architect Henry Hradilek came to Cleveland in the early 1900s and wasted no time designing industrial buildings, apartments, and homes, including the building that is today's Don’s Lighthouse. His remarkable Beaux Arts design of the Weizer Building in Buckeye will soon be Providence House's new east side location.
New Larchmere Homes project is just one step in CHN's mission to ensure affordable housing for all
CHN Housing Partners has the goal of making home ownership available to everyone in Cleveland. With the recent ribbon cutting of Larchmere Homes in Buckeye Shaker, the organization is one step closer to that objective. But CHN officials say there's more to be done.
Pilgrim Church: An example of innovation by 19th Century architect Sidney Badgley
Cleveland Masterworks: The 1894 Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in Tremont is just one of many churches, buildings, and homes designed by Cleveland architect Sidney Rose Badgley. Tremont History Project will give free tours of Pilgrim this weekend.
Ohio Bell Telephone Building: Once Cleveland’s tallest building and a hub for technology
Cleveland Masterworks: The 1927 Ohio Bell Telephone Building on Huron Road was briefly the tallest building in the city—until the Terminal Tower overshadowed it in 1928. Designed by Hubbell and Bennes, the building was the site for technological leaps in long-distance phone calls in the 1940s and 1970s.
Spiritual beauty: Tremont History Project to host Historic Church Tour series
The Tremont History Project, a group of amateur historians and volunteers from the south side neighborhood who have been collecting and documenting Tremont history, is hosting tours of four historic Tremont churches over the next four weeks.
City links: Cleveland Heights gets ambitious with Taylor Tudor reconstruction proposal
Cleveland Heights' Taylor Tudor project will renovate three 1928 three-story brick Tudor buildings into residential units and retail space, while also launching an effort to create a vibrant, connected neighborhood around Cain Park.
Cleveland Heights Cinder Path, Oakwood Drive earn historic recognition
Cleveland Masterworks: The 1938 Bradford Cinder Path, deemed a Cleveland Heights historic landmark, and the Oakwood Drive Historic District—named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021—both received markers last week.
Loganberry Books celebrates 20 years in historic building
This week, Loganberry Books celebrated 20 years in its current location—the former Nash Motors dealership, among other former iterations. Read about how she turned a huge warehouse into the warm, inviting bookstore it is today.
Amasa Stone Chapel: a tribute to a 19th Century Cleveland legend
In 1907 the daughters of railroad magnate and philanthropist Amasa Stone commissioned New England architect Henry Vaughan to design a chapel as a tribute to their late father. CWRU's Amasa Stone Chapel—an example of Gothic revival architecture.
Euclid Avenue Opera House: One of the most beautiful theaters in the country in the 1800s
The Euclid Avenue Opera House was known for its elegance and was considered one of the finest in the country. Led by John Ellsler and his stock theater group before Marcus Hanna bought the property, the Hanna Theatre is considered its successor.
The Severance estates: Three farms encompassing 200 acres in the early 20th Century
Cleveland Masterworks: In the early 1900s, three members of the Severance Family developed three majestic estates in Cleveland Heights. While some signs of the manors still exist today, most people know the Severance Town Center on most of the land.
Preservation celebration: Historic preservation projects honored by Restoration Society, AIA
The Cleveland Restoration Society and the American Institute of Architects will host the annual Celebration of Preservation to honor local restoration projects in Northeast Ohio. Read about some of the honorees here.
Tudor Arms Hotel: A swanky gothic revival cornerstone in University Circle
Cleveland Masterworks: The 1930s Tudor Arms building. designed by Frank Meade, has seen a rich history, from its origins as the exclusive Cleveland Club, to a hotel and nightlife hotspot, to the current modern-day hotel.
Tour the past: County opens Veteran’s Memorial Bridge lower deck, hosts talk about future plans
The subway level of the Veterans Memorial Bridge will be open this weekend for tours and a discussion about creating a public "Low-Line Park" on the level that was closed in 1954.