Code,913006
Subject,Murray Davidson
Date,8/12/11
Interviewer,Nina Gibans and Mark Souther
Abstract,Murray Davidson came to Cleveland in 1967 to work for the University Circle Development Foundation. His main professional purpose was to revitalize the University Circle area. He developed intimate professional relationships with many people of the community from all walks of life. He highlights the importance of the University Circle Development Foundation to the community and the new focus of the rebranded University Circle Incorporated. Davidson provides a multitude of interesting stories that showcase how University Circle came to be the vibrant place it is today. He remarks on his run-ins with the opposition and also connects University Circle with city and national events. 
Tags,"urban renewal, Commodore Hotel, University Circle Development Foundation, University Circle Inc., Jackie Presser, Glenville Shootout, Ashtabula Bridge Disaster, Flora Stone Mather, William Mather, Kent Smith, University Hospitals, Case College, Western Reserve College, Case Western Reserve University, MIT, Wade Oval, Natural History Museum of Cleveland, Wade Park Lagoon, 1957 University Circle Master Plan, John D. Rockefeller, Clara Hayes, women, East 115th Street, Hessler Street, Cleveland Browns"
Special Notes,"The sound quality is excellent. Mark Souther is present as the facilitator and asks a few questions. At minute 23 there is some distracting background noise and the interview pauses to remedy the situation. The original interview file was mistakenly split into three parts (A, B, and C). The final two parts pick up mid-conversation. All parts are combined into one file here."
minutes:,
0,"Nina Gibans explains the trajectory of the interview. Murray Davidson came to Cleveland in the late 1960s when Case and Western Reserve merged. He came to Cleveland to work at the University Circle Development Foundation, now referred to as University Circle Incorporated. "
1,His duties were to straighten up the parking and police situation at University Circle. He was notified that the University Circle area was bankrupt and something had to be done. A study was performed. 
2,"Davidson was appointed as acting president for sometime. A man came in, that owned a local bar, to collect his money honoring a contract he had made with UCDF. "
3,"After some investigation Davidson discovered the man was owed $90,000 for the land he was selling to UCDF. UCDF did not have the money, so Davidson called Kent Smith and he gave the foundation the money. "
4,"The owner of the bar got the $90,000 and then the bar burned down and the previous owner collected the insurance money. The bar is now a parking lot. "
5,"In the late 1960s University Circle was tacky and unsanitary. The Browns practiced in the area at the time and after practice the players frequented a bar at the Commodore Hotel. Pimping, prostitution and gambling occurred at this bar. "
6,The UCDF Broad President directed Davidson's attention to the Commodore bar scene. Davidson was charged with trying to purchase the Commodore Hotel. The goal of the organization was to clean up University Circle. 
7,"As a non-profit UCDF sometimes bought property for more than it was worth. He finally was sold the building and cleaned up the place, but had a terrible time when he tried to close the bar. He explains how he finally got the bartender out of the bar. "
8,"Davidson ran into Jackie Presser and his bodyguard, a boxer from Little Italy, met with Davidson. "
9,"Jackie Presser's guard took Davidson to the basement of Davidson's office and said that he was going to take over the bar. In a week the bartender was gone. The bartender left, Davidson suspects, after his gambling business could be transferred to another location. "
10,"Jackie Presser, Toni Hughes (the bodyguard/boxer) and Davidson came to be great friends. He describes Toni Hughes. Presser had a siren on the car. "
11,UCDF then sold the Commodore property in 1970 with the condition that it would be rehabbed and become a respectable apartment place. After Davidson was hired he got together with others and made a master plan to revive the area. 
12,"A firm from Boston, in 1957, designed the plan. Mrs. [Elizabeth Ring] Mather paid for the mater plan for $75,000. Master plans are made to be amended because there was a lot of opposition to the plan. "
13,Wade Oval was in very bad shape. The property where the lagoon is used to be owned by Samuel Cozad and the lagoon then was called Uncle Sammy's Frog Pond. 
14,"A garden club had 10,000 roses in the Wade Oval, but they were not taken care of and all of it had to go. The Natural History Museum, Art Museum and the garden club all got involved and came to Davidson to get the land from the city. "
15,"Dave Swetland put up $175,000 to clean up the Wade Oval as tribute to his wife. Davidson describes what they did to transform the Oval. Swetland stipulated that the Oval would be a more contemplative spot. "
16,The space remained contemplative until just a few years ago. UCDF was basically a land bank and he describes UCDF's role in the community. 
17,More recently UCI needed a new focus because UCDF had already completed its original goals. One of the new focuses of UCI was to turn the Oval into a more active place. 
18,Davidson describes the new face of Wade Oval. The city pays for the water at the Oval and UCI have a 99 year lease with the city. The Oval became a place of activity. 
19,Case Western Reserve is planning to build a student center like Cleveland State's. Davidson went to the University of Minnesota and he remembers the importance of the student center there. University Circle draws families. 
20,Davidson thinks that the University Circle area has been doing very well recently. He lists all of the new projects that recently happened or are happening at the circle.
21,"UCI has been buying dozens of houses and demolishing them. He mentions that no matter what they proposed the organization always had opposition, especially from the more conservative residents. He expresses how much he enjoyed working at UCDF. "
22,"Cleveland State University brought economic action to downtown, like Case Western Reserve is doing for University Circle. Gibans suggests that Davidson not talk about the demographic changes in the neighborhood. "
23,The interview pauses briefly due to background noise. Davidson states that whenever houses are to be torn down there is opposition that claims the buildings are historic. 
24,The informal resistance to UCI was twofold. One group was on 115th Street between Cornell and Mayfield and the other was on Hessler Road. The opposition was very effective and they preserved 115th Street. 
25,Davidson believes that the two historic sections add character to the area. Hessler is a historic district and these residental pockets add another layer to the community. The preservationists knew how to fight. In the 1950s University Hospitals built a garage. 
26,Eventually the hospital needed to tear the garage down. The residents of 115th Street used to walk through the garage to go to and from work. The residents started to come to Davidson and asked for lighting and a walkway. 
27,After a few years of demands the garage lot was very park-like. When the hospital decided to tear it down the residents petitioned. He describes the battle with the residents of the area when they tried to demolish their park. 
28,All of the residents of the historic districts banded to together and showed up at the park. They did the same thing on Hessler Street. Davidson cheerfully remarks that regardless of their antics UCI got their permit. 
29,Davidson discusses the riotious incidents that affected the University Circle area. Some students decided to break into the Case Western Reserve's President's office. 
30,A football player with the last name of Green stood in front the President's door without much avail. Davidson saw a couple young men scaling the building to the dean's office and quickly went to the building and detered them. He describes the young men as disgruntled youth. 
31,"Herman Stein brought the disgruntled students under control. The President of Case at the time, Morris, did not know how to handle the riotous group. "
32,"During the Glenville Shootout, Davidson brought his family down to University Circle from their home in Shaker Heights so they could see what was happening. "
33,He drove his family down Liberty Boulevard [now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive] and a machine gun nest was on top of the Natural History Museum. He could not believe that this was happening in America. Gibans remarks on the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s. 
34,Behind Severance Hall students dug symbolic graves for the students that lost their lives at Kent State. Souther asks Davidson about the 1970 University Circle study. 
35,"Davidson does not recall much about the 1970 study, but highlights some important aspects of the 1957 study. He specifically mentions the parking and busing systems. "
36,"The Circle was not doing well by 1957. Mrs. Mather got the presidents of Case, Western Reserve and University Hospitals together. "
37,"Mrs. Mather had the energy and the money to get the master plan for University Circle together. Mather left the Gwinn Estate to UCDF, named after her mother-in-law. "
38,"One of the men on the committee was Lawrence Anderson, dean of the school of Architecture and Design at MIT. Davidson divulges that the plan was not great, but some of it was implemented. "
39,On the south side of the hospital some of the plan was implemented. Many Washington Oak trees were in this area. The students prevented the trees from being torn down.
40,The Washington Oaks are still there. Davidson called Mrs. Kent Smith and told her that the college was planning on tearing down the trees. Mrs. Smith got involved and Davidson believes that the trees are still there. 
41,Gibans notes the importance of women in Cleveland. Davidson discusses how the wealthy spend their money philanthropically. 
42,Rockefeller wanted to make Western Reserve the Yale of the West. Mather took over Western Reserve and Rockefeller went to Chicago and started an university there. Davidson notes where he got his information from. 
43,Davidson lists many of the cultural and art institutions in Cleveland that were started by women. He mentions Flora Stone Mather and Clara Hayes. 
44,"He remarks that Mr. Stone had tons of money, but no friends. "
45,Davidson repeats a story he had been told of Mr. Stone and Mr. Howl. Mr. Howl was an inventor that worked as an engineer for Mr. Stone. 
46,90 people died on the bridge built over the Ashtabula River. Shortly after Mr. Stone committed suicide. Gibans compliments Davidson. 
47,END OF PART A
48,"The interview starts mid-conversation. Murray Davidson bought property, on behalf of UCDF, around the Greenhouse Restaurant for parking. "
49,There also was an auto mechanic in the area by the name of Howard Westlake. All of the construction in this area today is being built on land that he had once owned through UCDF. 
50,Davidson does believe that UCDF was the first land bank. He touches on the workings of a land bank. 
51,He mentions that the UCI and UCDF were studied and used as an example by 6 or 7 cities from around the country. END OF PART B 
52,Murray Davidson begins by discussing University Circle Inc. and the federal government's urban renewal program. He describes how banks and the city bought properities. 
53,Nina Gibans mentions Richard Green and Norman Krumholz. END OF PART C 
54,END OF INTERVIEW
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