Cleveland S Millionaires Row

The incredible affluence and extravagance of Euclid Avenue's Millionaires' Row have fascinated Clevelanders for more than a century. Within these stately mansions, US presidents enjoyed dinners and discussions with powerful politicians and influential industrial and banking leaders. Through photographs and meticulously researched captions, Cleveland's Millionaires' Row provides authoritative visual and written answers to the most often-asked questions regarding the famous avenue: where were these mansions located, how did their occupants acquire such enormous wealth, what caused the street's demise, and what replaced the famous old homes? The book also reveals the progress in remaking Euclid Avenue's four-mile stretch from Public Square to University Circle. Cleveland's Millionaires' Row vividly illustrates the birth, glamor, decline, and renaissance of the grand old avenue.

Cleveland storyteller Dan Ruminski discovered that the 6 acres under his home were originally part of a 1,400-acre grand estate known as the Circle W Farm created by Walter White, founding brother of the White Motor Company. Drawn in by the fascinating history, Ruminski's investigation soon embraced the full legacy of Cleveland's industrial history and the indomitable characters who created the city's Gilded Age. John D. Rockefeller, Samuel Mather and more giants of industry built Cleveland's Millionaires' Row. Come peek inside the once-grand mansions these millionaires called home and hear the delightful stories that bring the past to life. Join Ruminski and Alan Dutka on a return to this section of Euclid Avenue, which wasn't merely the most stunning show of wealth in Cleveland but also in the entire country.

In cooperation with Western Reserve Historical Society Euclid Avenue, which runs through the heart of downtown Cleveland, was for 60 years one of the finest residential streets of any city in 19th century America. Showplace of America is the fascinating account of the rise and fall of this elegant promenade, including portrayals of the eminent architects who created its opulent residences and colorful details about the lives of the wealthy people who occupied them. The families who resided within this linear, four-mile neighborhood epitomized Midwestern grandeur in the second half of the 19th century. The 1893 Baedeker's travel guide to the United States labeled it "one of the most beautiful residence-streets in America," as others hailed it "Millionaires' Row," the finest avenue in the west, and the most beautiful street in the world." Modeled after the grand boulevards of Europe, this magnificent neighborhood was distinguished for the prominence of its architects as well as the families who lived there. Local architects Jonathan Goldsmith, Charles W. Heard, Levi T. Scofield, Charles F. Schweinfurth, and Coburn & Barnum and national firms Peabody & Stearns and McKim, Mead & White created houses that were stunning monuments to Cleveland and America's growing prosperity. Ironically, the tremendous success of Cleveland's industry and commerce, which had nurtured the rise of this grand avenue, fostered its fall. Downtown commerce expanded along the avenue at the sacrifice of its leading entrepreneurs' residential have. The houses were demolished as the avenue became what is today--a neglected urban thoroughfare. Photographs and illustrations from the archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society and other repositories are published here for the first time, documenting both the glory and decline of the "showplace of America."

John D. Rockefeller's Cleveland roots stretched across the oil-drenched banks and murky flats of Kingsbury Run in Cleveland and ended in the wooded sanctuary at Forest Hill. Six miles east of Public Square, Forest Hill was the Rockefeller family's country estate and summer home for four decades. It had formal gardens, greenhouses, a lake and lily pond, a golf course, a horse track, and acres of farmland. In the early 1900s, tourists and local residents rode the streetcar out Millionaires' Row to East Cleveland, where they peered through the imposing iron gates scrolled with an R to peek at the gatekeeper's lodge, the manicured lawns, and the road that led to the mansion atop the hill. Unfortunately, in 1917, Forest Hill burned to the ground. Because so many records, mementos, and photographs perished, the estate remains as shrouded in secrecy today as it did during its lifetime. Forest Hill: The Rockefeller Estate unveils the story of the estate, how it evolved and changed over the years, and how its legacy continues.

Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery reveals the profound effects the cemetery and the City of Cleveland had on one another. Founded in 1869, this garden cemetery served as an escape and a model for Cleveland parks and suburbs, such as University Circle, Little Italy, East Cleveland, and Cleveland Heights. Lake View is home to cultural, economic, and political leaders and thousands of others from all classes, races, and religions. This rich diversity is manifested in the natural and man-made landscape, which features the President James Garfield Monument, the Wade Chapel, and the John D. Rockefeller obelisk.

Originating as simple one- or two-room storefront operations, Cleveland's department stores grew as population and industry in the region boomed throughout the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th. They moved into ever larger and elaborate structures in an attempt to woo the shopping dollars of blue-collar and genteel Clevelanders alike. Stores such as Halle's, Higbee's, May Company, Bailey Company, Sterling-Lindner-Davis, and others both competed with and complemented one another, all the while leaving an indelible mark on the culture of northeast Ohio and beyond. From the humble origins of Halle's horse-drawn delivery wagons and the elaborate design of Higbee's on Public Square to Christmas favorites like Mr. Jingeling and the massive Christmas tree at Sterling-Lindner-Davis--it is all here in crisp, black-and-white images, many of which have not been seen in print for decades.

Cleveland storyteller Dan Ruminski discovered that the 6 acres under his home were originally part of a 1,400-acre grand estate known as the Circle W Farm created by Walter White, founding brother of the White Motor Company. Drawn in by the fascinating history, Ruminski's investigation soon embraced the full legacy of Cleveland's industrial history and the indomitable characters who created the city's Gilded Age. John D. Rockefeller, Samuel Mather and more giants of industry built Cleveland's Millionaires' Row. Come peek inside the once-grand mansions these millionaires called home and hear the delightful stories that bring the past to life. Join Ruminski and Alan Dutka on a return to this section of Euclid Avenue, which wasn't merely the most stunning show of wealth in Cleveland but also in the entire country.