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  A Brief History of Cleveland State University

  William G. Becker

  Digital collections documenting the history of Fenn College & Cleveland State University.

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  Akron: The Cleveland Perspective

  Kevin A. Caslow

  Akron, Ohio, currently the 5th largest city in Ohio, is located 39 miles south of Ohio's 2nd largest city to date, Cleveland. Its thriving rubber and tire industry has earned Akron the nickname of "The Rubber Capital of the World." Akron is also the host for the All-American Soap Box Derby held annually every July at Derby Downs. Starting in the early 1920s, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron was a major manufacturer of zeppelins and later, blimps. Today, Suffield Township near Akron, is home to one of the Goodyear blimps, the Spirit of Goodyear.

  The earliest connection between the Akron and Cleveland was the Ohio and Erie Canal, which officially opened on July 4, 1827. Akron's various industries and Cleveland's shipping industry along Lake Erie benefited mutally from this early commercial connection.

  In 1895, the 39 mile distance between Cleveland and Akron was further bridged when the Akron, Bedford, and Cleveland Railroad began service between the two cities. Among the first electric commuter railroads in the nation and, at the time, the longest railroad of its kind in the world, the "AB&C" could take commuters from Akron to Cleveland's Public Square in just 2 1/2 hours for only 50¢.

  Today, the highway system, urban sprawl and business opportunites have brought the two cities even closer together. Now, along with other northeast Ohio cities, they are often considered collectively as "Greater Cleveland" or more recently "Cleveland Plus." Clevelanders and Akronites regularly travel the 39 miles between them to share each other's offerings in the arts and culture, business and manufacturing, professional and recreational sports, health care, education, technology and the outdoors.

  The photos featured here illustrate the intertwining history of Akron and Cleveland from a Cleveland perspective via images gathered from the Cleveland Press and the Bruce Young Collections at Cleveland State University's Michael Schwartz Library.

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  Annals of Cleveland: A Depression-Era Project of the WPA

  Jeanne Figueira Grossetti, Jonetha K. Jackson, and Tanya Tahsler

  During the New Deal Era, Annals of Cleveland staff summarized and indexed material from early Cleveland newspapers, beginning with the inaugural issue of the city's first paper, the July 31, 1818 Cleaveland Gazette and Commercial Register. The project provided jobs for unemployed white-collar workers during the Depression of the 1930s and created an important record of early life and thought in the city of Cleveland.

  This website offers a window into the social context in which the Annals were created and provides a short glimpse of the project as a whole.

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  ASM International

  Pursue Posterity and ASM International

  ASM International is the preeminent materials society in the world. Founded in 1913 by William Woodside, a blacksmith who worked for Studebaker, it was originally dubbed The Steel Treaters Club. The society was formed as a means for blacksmiths and other in the steel industry to exchange ideas. Initially the focus of the society was exclusively devoted to steel treating but through the years they expanded their boundaries beyond metals and brought all engineered materials into the society's scope, including composites, plastics and ceramics.

  Throughout this century-long evolution, Cleveland has remained the home of ASM's International headquarters, where visitors are dazzled by the awe-inspiring geodesic dome that hovers majestically over the Society's office building. Today the Society boasts more than 80 chapters in a dozen countries with a membership totalling 30,000 materials scientists and engineers. This web exhibit was created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of ASM International. Materials for this web exhibit were selected from the ASM International archives and span much of its illustrious history.

  ASM International History

  ASM International is known around the world for the depth and breadth of the materials knowledge it disseminates through books, databases, videos, and a myriad of online products. However, very few know about the Origins of this global organization that began a hundred years ago as a group of heat treaters in Detroit who decided to pool their knowledge in an effort to make better automobiles.

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  Black Trailblazers, Leaders, Activists, and Intellectuals in Cleveland

  Henry York

  Black Trailblazers, Leaders, Activists, and Intellectuals in Cleveland contains approximately 2000 images of 500 individuals selected from the photographs in the Cleveland Press Collection. This collection was donated to the Cleveland State University Library when that newspaper ceased publication in 1982. The photographs in the collection generally date from the 1920's on, with most of them from 1960 to 1982. The collection is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the individuals. Links have been provided to biographies that are available in the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.

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  Burton Memory Project

  Thomas Kubat, Calvin Rydbom, Holly Manning-Lynn, Jim Wohlken, Gayle Wohlken, Jeanette Grosvenor, and Jacqueline Samuel

  Burton, Ohio is home to the Century Village Museum of the Geauga County Historical Society, a collection of buildings, artifacts, and documents which preserve county history. The Great Geauga County Fair has exhibited the products of farm, home and industry each year since 1823. The Park and streets that surround it form the Burton Village Historic District which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974.

  In 2010 the Burton Public Library and the Burton Historic District Association joined in the Burton Memory Project to continue to save and collect photographs, documents, oral reminiscences, scrapbooks, minutes, and letters that chronicle the people and events that comprise Burton's history. The project is an ongoing venture to which everyone can contribute.

  You can search for not only those images we think of as historical, such as photos taken of the Burton Hotel, the Burton Electric Light Plant, the Maple Camp Log Cabin right after it was built in 1931, or photos from the County Fair in the first part of the twentieth century, but also glimpses into actual lives of the townspeople such as class photos from the 1920s and images of the Congregational Church through the years.

  This site can also be utilized to research historical moments of village history such as the first telephone call in Ohio, transmitted from Burton Station to Burton Village, and other events listed in the Timeline of Burton History.

  This web site, a collaborative effort of the Burton Historic District Association and the Burton Public Library, was funded in part by the Dalton Pfouts Memorial Fund.

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  Clark Cable Corporation

  Zachary Hay

  Located in Cleveland, Ohio and formed in 1946, Clark Cable Corporation was a manufacturer of various automotive electrical accessories that were sold to a wide range of suppliers within the automobile industry. The company acquired Proof Machine & Brass Foundry at its inception, and this began a long series of future acquisitions and diversifications that complemented and extended the reach of the work being done at Clark Cable.

  In its early years, the company moved several times. It began life on East 72nd street, then moving to Berea Road for just two years, and finally moving to West 32nd street, its home for the remainder of its duration as a company. During the early-mid 1950s, Clark Cable formed relations with the US military, and supplied various parts to them.

  Clark Cable Corporation, in its later years known as Clark Consolidated Industries, was purchased by Wilcox & Gibbs, and its doors were closed in 1989.

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  Clay Herrick Slide Collection

  Lisa Khoenle

  Clay Herrick (1911-1993) was an historian, a civic leader who worked to preserve Cleveland's historic buildings and an author whose book Cleveland Landmarks received the Western Reserve Architectural Historians Award.

  The Clay Herrick Slide Collection consists of approximately 6,000 slides that he donated to Cleveland State University Library's Special Collections in 1991 along with about 100 pamphlets, brochures, books, and photographs. The slides, all unique shots of various buildings in Cleveland, are showcased here.

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  Cleveland Breweries Remembered

  Matt Gambrill

  This web exhibit showcases images of buildings, people and brands documenting the history of the Cleveland brewing industry through the 19th and 20th centuries. Images from this exhibit can be found in the Cleveland Press Collection located in the Special Collections located in the Michael Schwartz Library at Cleveland State University.

  Fermented grains have been a staple of humanity since it was first documented in Sumerian civilization and have followed civilized culture wherever it roams. Some have even speculated that human cultures shifted from hunter-gatherers to agriculture to have enough grains available for fermentation. It is important to recognize the roles fermented grains have played throughout the millennia for human cultures and the diversity found in beer producing regions around the globe.

  The story of Cleveland breweries is as old as the city itself. Small brewery operations followed settlers to the area and established themselves near the Cuyahoga River. Before refrigeration, a period of local taverns flourished, where beer was produced locally and drank locally, creating a diverse entrepreneurial marketplace for immigrants arriving to the area from Ireland, Germany, Czechoslovakia and other beer producing regions of Europe. Competition was fierce and thirsts were mighty in Cleveland.

  By 1910, there were 26 breweries operating in Cleveland competing for market share. Competition drove breweries towards consolidation and the pursuit of larger and larger markets, most notably the Cleveland & Sandusky Brewing Company. This all came to an end with the passage of the Volstead Act in 1919. Prohibition forced breweries out of operation or into production of near beer and soft drinks.

  After the Temperance movement ended in 1933, several Cleveland area breweries started producing beer including the Standard Brewing Company, Pilsener Brewing Company, Leisy Brewing Company, and the Brewing Corporation of America later renamed the Carling Brewing Company. Brands like Black Label and Red Cap, Erin Brew, Black Forest, Leisy’s and P.O.C. were standards at picnics and ballgames in Cleveland for decades.

  Over time though, it is sad to say that all the original Cleveland breweries slowly buckled under the pressure from national competition through the 1960s and 70s, with the last of the breweries ending operations in 1984 at the old Carling plant.

  …but the story didn’t end there. In 1988, the Conway brothers launched the Great Lakes Brewing Company located in the old Market Tavern near the West Side Market in Ohio City. So after a long wait, quality local beer has finally returned to the City of Cleveland.

  Drink responsibly!

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  Cleveland Cultural Gardens Collection

  Margaret Baughman

  The Cleveland Cultural Gardens, extending along East Blvd. and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Cleveland's University Circle area, is a unique collection of landscaped, themed gardens each representing a different ethnic group/organization in Cleveland. The gardens, 23 in number, represent many of the cultural backgrounds of Cleveland's diverse population.

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  Cleveland Heights & University Heights, Ohio: A Collection of Historic Images

  Kara Hamley O'Donnell

  Cleveland Heights & University Heights are first ring suburbs located on the “heights” east of Cleveland, Ohio. While each is incorporated as a separate city, they share a school district and library system. Cleveland Heights was first incorporated as a hamlet in 1901, a village in 1903 and in 1921, a city. University Heights was incorporated as Idlewood Village in 1908 and adopted its present name in 1925 when John Carroll University made its home there. It later became a city in 1940.

  The majority of photos included in this collection come from the collection of The Cleveland Heights Historical Center at Superior Schoolhouse, owned and operated by the City of Cleveland Heights. Most photos depict Cleveland Heights’ many commercial districts, public parks and educational institutions. Other photos are from the collection of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District.

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  Cleveland Illustrated

  Donna Stewart

  This lavish viewbook and brief history of Cleveland, published in 1889 by H.R. Page & Co., was donated to the University Library's Special Collections by long-time friend and benefactor John Horton.

  Cleveland Illustrated represented a double milestone for Cleveland Memory and the Cleveland State University Library back in 2003. The book, itself, was the 2-millionth resource added to the Cleveland State University Library and the 135 images from this book pushed the Cleveland Memory Project over the 10,000-image mark.

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  Cleveland, Ohio Along the Nickel Plate Road® During the 1920s

  William G. Becker

  In 1922 the New York, Chicago, & St. Louis Railway (Nickel Plate Railway or NKP) took a series of photographs along its right-of-way and adjacent neighborhoods from Euclid through the west side of Cleveland.

  In 1926 the Nickel Plate took a second series of photographs. These documented the original conditions of the right-of-way and the adjacent neighborhood for a grade elimination project that was undertaken as part of the Cleveland Union Terminal construction project.

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  Cleveland: Pioneer in Cardiac Care

  Kathryn Houk

  A History of Success & Innovation

  Cleveland has had a history of success and innovation when it comes to heart health. Though most people associate heart care with the Cleveland Clinic, other area hospitals, doctors, and researchers were instrumental in the 1950s for making the city a “Mecca” for heart care. St. Vincent Charity Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic were among the first hospitals in the world to open wards dedicated solely to the care of cardiac patients. Surgical procedures that could be reliably reproduced in hospitals throughout the nation and world were pioneered in Cleveland.

  Many surgeons and researchers from the city were nationally recognized and many more unsung experts in the city contributed to the tremendous advancements in cardiac care and research. The city contributed to the advancement of cardiac care in three major areas: research into heart conditions, developing technology for heart care, and pioneering surgical and exploratory procedures.

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  Cleveland Press Collection

  Comprised of hundreds of thousands of clippings and photographs, The Cleveland Press Collection is the former editorial library, or "morgue," of The Cleveland Press and is now part of Cleveland State University Library's Special Collections. The last of Cleveland's daily afternoon newspapers, The Cleveland Press was published from 1878 until 1982.

  The collection was donated to the CSU Library in 1984 by the newspaper's owner, Joseph E. Cole, who was then a CSU Trustee. Though little survives from the first half-century, the collection's coverage of local and national history gets progressively stronger after 1920.

  Presently only a very small percentage of the approximately half million 8x10 black and white photographs and one million news clippings have been digitized and are available for you to search or browse. We are continuing to increase this number as time and volunteer help permits.

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  Cleveland Public Schools Horticulture Program

  Carolyn L. Hufford

  Over 100 years ago, Cleveland Public Schools Horticulture Program educators began to develop and refine an innovative K-12 horticulture education program in the Cleveland, Ohio public schools. Alumni of this program testify to the profound positive impact it had upon their lives.

  The Cleveland Public Schools Horticulture Program Collection, which thanks to generous donations now includes images, audio and digital media, curriculum materials, program administration materials, programs, brochures, awards, blueprints and more, stands as a testament to the earnest work of the young student gardeners and the devoted educators who guided them.

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  Cleveland's First Infrastructure: The Ohio & Erie Canal

  Jeanne Figueira Grossetti, Jonathan Hodges, Jonetha K. Jackson, and Tanya Tahsler

  Historic photographs and other images, maps, and period advertisements offer a glimpse into canal era life in Ohio.

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  Cleveland's Forgotten Freeways

  Linda Doll

  The freeway revolts were a phenomenon that took place across the nation during the 1960s and 1970s. The revolts were in response to the many freeway routes that were proposed without due consideration for the neighborhoods that would be demolished, or the people who would be displaced.

  In Cleveland, the battle centered around the proposed Clark, Lee, and Heights Freeways. The proposed routes would have partitioned Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, costing houses and businesses and affecting a nature preserve, the Shaker Lakes. The residents of these suburbs banned together, and fought the proposed freeways and the county engineer Albert S. Porter, and Governor James Rhodes to a standstill.

  Today, instead of an interchange of two freeways, the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes is used by the residents of both Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, to teach environmental education.

  We present 17 route location studies, including the proposed routes for the Clark, Lee and Heights freeways that were never built, as well as the original study that started it all in 1955.

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  Cleveland's Golden Age of Downtown Shopping

  Revisit a cherished Cleveland tradition: a trip downtown during the golden age of department stores. Browse through Cleveland Press images capturing the elegance of Higbee's, Halle's, May Company, and Sterling Lindner-Davis. Remember the excitement of lunch at the Silver Grille or a visit to Mr. Jingeling? The awe of standing in front of a 60-foot Sterling Lindner-Davis Christmas tree? Relive the magic at Cleveland Memory!

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  Cleveland State University: Neighborhood Survey

  William G. Becker

  The images in this collection are from two record series in the CSU Campus Planning Office Collection. In 1965 Trustees of the newly created Cleveland State University contracted with Cleveland architectural firm, Walker and Weeks, to conduct a structural survey and building inspection of surrounding downtown neighborhood properties. The surveyed area comprised 43 city blocks between St. Clair Avenue on the north; East 30th Street on the east; Carnegie Avenue on the south; and East 13th Street on the west.

  This site includes 729 photographs taken by the survey teams of most of the parcels containing structures on them. Also included in this collection are photographs from property appraisals prepared for the University by independent real estate appraisers on various parcels of lands purchased by CSU.

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  Cleveland Union Terminal Online

  William G. Becker

  The Cleveland Union Terminal Collection is the archives of the company that built the Terminal Tower, the union passenger station, the complex of office buildings, post office, department store and the infrastructure of tracks, bridges, signals, electrical catenary structures and yard facility buildings necessary to switch passenger coaches over from steam to electric and bring them in to the downtown area. This was a massive urban redevelopment project that foreshadowed the Rockefeller Center, in New York; gave Cleveland the third-tallest building in the world in 1930; and forever changed the face of Public Square and wide swaths of adjoining neighborhoods.

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  Clytean Club

  Aquene Kimmel

  The Clytean Club began in 1897 as The Twelve, a ladies' literary society in Cleveland, Ohio, but it evolved to cover broader topics across history, current events, fiction, and nonfiction. Its name was later changed to The Clytean Club, after a brief time as the Kletian in 1898. “Clytean” was derived from a Greek myth in which Clytie, a water nymph, spent her days staring into the sun (Apollo) in unrequited love, until she was transformed into a flower so that she might continue to face the sun. The club interpreted Clytie's sunny vigil as representative of the constant quest for — and attentiveness to — knowledge, and their symbol is a sunflower, whose face similarly tracks the sun.

  Notable members include Fanny Kendel, Alice Hartman Chester, and Eda Gerstacker. Kendel was active in many levels of PTA, including her serving as their National Field Secretary. Chester, a music teacher, was an inductee into the Kiwanis Hall of Fame and acknowledged as a Woman of Distinction by the Medina County YWCA. Gerstacker was the founder of the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation and mother of Carl Gerstacker, former chairman of the Dow Chemical Company.

  The Clytean meets once per month, usually at a member's house, at which time the group discusses materials it has read, listens to guest speakers, votes on the admittance of new members, and plans its donations to and involvement in various charities.

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  Crime Scene, Cleveland

  O. Lauren Felder

  See images from some of our city's more sensationalized murder cases.

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  Cuyahoga County Engineer's Photography Collection

  Nearly 2,000 images from the the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, documenting Engineer's Office projects to install and maintain the civil infrastructure.

  For some 70 years, the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office maintained a small photographic department, which it used to document aspects of the Engineer's Office projects. When that department was closed in 1999, the prints and negatives were transferred to the Cuyahoga County Archives. In 2002 the Cleveland State University Library contracted with the County Commissioners to examine this material and selected approximately 1,200 of these images to make available online via Cleveland Memory. Since then, more photos have been digitized to bring the total up to nearly 2,000 images.

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  d.a. levy Collection

  Joanne K. Cornelius, Bruce Edwards, and Carla Conroy

  As poet, artist and publisher, d.a. levy was an important literary and underground figure in Cleveland's emerging poetry and small/alternative press scene in the early 1960s and continued to be until his untimely death in 1968.

  levy documented his love-hate relationship with the city and the politics of the day through his poetry and art which today provides a unique political and social perspective of 1960s Cleveland. Considered a visionary by many of his contemporaries, levy transcended the geographical boundaries of the city as well, with his work acknowledged by such nationally renowned poets as Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder. Read more...

  This on-line collection showcases materials from the Michael Schwartz Library's d.a. levy Collection at Cleveland State University and includes levy's poetry and artwork from the 1960s. Examples of work by his contemporaries, many of whom he published and/or collaborated with in his various publications are also available in the Library’s Special Collections Department.