AUTOMOBILE HISTORY TOUR

Back in 2013 and 2014, when I was president of the Northern Chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America,  I organized tours of automobile sites on the East Side of Cleveland.  In previous years we had organized a similar tour on the West Side, which we called the West Side Story.  Therefore the 2013 tour on the East Side of Cleveland was called The East Side Story.  In 2014 we organized a slightly different tour including much of the same area as the 2013 tour; but adding areas farther East such as Chagrin Falls.

For me this was a labor of love.  It combined my enduring interest in the automobile industry in Cleveland with my love of East Cleveland, Collinwood, and University Circle.  Those sections of the Cleveland area represented the town in which my Dad was born and raised, Collinwood, and in which I was born and raised, East Cleveland.  University Circle was the section in which I spent much time attending the cultural institutions there as well as working on my college degree at Western Reserve University.  

Many readers of this blog share my interest in East Cleveland and its sister community, Collinwood.  I doubt that many of you realize the role these communities played in the automobile industry.  To understand that history, you can take the tour yourself.  There are two ways to take the tour.  The best way is to get in your car and follow the directions.  Another way is to take a virtual tour using Google Maps.  You can follow the tour directions using the satellite view on Google Maps.  The tour starts at Lakeview Cemetery.  From there you can use a combination of overhead and street view to follow the tour directions through East Cleveland and Collinwood.  I hope you enjoy the tour.

The East Side Story

Join the Antique Automobile Club of America Northern Chapter on a tour of automobile and industrial history sites on the East Side of Cleveland.

Sunday July 21, 2013 starting at 9:00 AM at the James A. Garfield Monument at Lakeview Cemetery, 12316 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Cleveland was a center of manufacturing and automobile history during the first decades of the 20^th century.  Much of that activity occurred in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland.  Learn what that section of Cleveland contributed to automobile history and the role it played in making the City of Cleveland a manufacturing power house with a population of nearly 1,000,000 people.  We will view the sites where automobiles and automobile parts were manufactured as well as other industries important to the prosperity of Cleveland and its citizens during most of the 20^th Century.

The tour will also include stops in the cultural center of Cleveland, University Circle.  We will start the tour at Lakeview Cemetery, where many important captains of industry are buried.  After a docent led tour of those grave sites and a visit to the James A. Garfield monument, we will have a box lunch and hear a lecture about the importance of the Collinwood area to the history of the automobile.

The self –drive tour will pass through the Forest Hill Section of East Cleveland, which formerly was the summer home of John D. Rockefeller.  We will also drive past Nela Park, which was founded 100 years ago at the beginning of industrial development on the East Side of Cleveland.  After the tour of the industrial east side, we will end up in the Village of Bratenahl where we will drive west along Lake Shore Boulevard and continue south on Martin Luther King Boulevard, (formerly Liberty Boulevard) to University Circle.  We will end the tour at the Western Reserve Historical Society, where you can see some examples of the automobiles made at the sites, which we visited on the tour.

THE EAST SIDE STORY

A tour of historic automobile sites in the City of East Cleveland and the Collinwood area of the City of Cleveland.

Sponsored by:

Northern Chapter Ohio Region - Antique Automobile Club of America

July 21, 2013

Robert Dreifort – Tour Master

Copyright Robert C. Dreifort all rights reserved

THE EAST SIDE STORY

Introduction

This is a story about automobile history.  It is also a story about the rise and fall of the manufacturing base, which made Cleveland an industrial powerhouse of nearly 1,000,000 people by the middle of the last century. 

We will be touring a large industrial area on the East Side consisting of the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland and parts of the inner ring suburbs of East Cleveland and Euclid.  That area was important in the early automobile industry of Cleveland.  It included buildings in which many large and small automobile factories and automobile support industries were located.  Some of those factories flourished during the first three decades of the 20^th Century.  During the 1930s the great depression led to the failure of most automobile manufacturing in Cleveland.  However Cleveland and this East Side area continued to be a major supplier of parts to the automobile industries throughout the 20^th Century.  During the 1940s this was a major factor in the war effort as many of these factories helped the US become the arsenal of democracy.

As we tour this area, keep in mind that this was not only a great center of industry.  It was also the home for those people, many of them immigrants, who worked in those industries.  We will be looking at some neighborhoods of homes from which men and women could walk to work in the factories around them.  Much of the housing was quite modest and has aged poorly.  Back in the day these neighborhoods were the pride of the many that worked in those factories and helped make Cleveland great.

To understand why this area developed the way it did, we need to first look at the two major railroads which pass through it.  Those railroads were the New York Central on the North and the Nickel Plate Road on the South.  Collinwood was first developed as a railroad support area.  The railroad yards at East 152^nd Street were among the largest in the country.  They included a large roundhouse for engine maintenance and repair and other support facilities.  The railroad at one time was the largest employer in Collinwood.  This is why the sports teams of Collinwood High School are known as the railroaders to this day.  The railroads came first.  The other industries developed in the area around and between the two railroads.  The map above shows the extent of those industries and their location in relation to the railroads.  A second map shows the relationship of our tour area to the metropolitan area of Cleveland.

Lakeview Cemetery

It has been popular in some circles to refer to wealthy captains of industry as “robber barons”.  Those of us living in Cleveland should have a different view of those men.  It was their hard work, dedication and risk taking, which made the City of Cleveland and the U.S. great.  Many of them were pioneers in the automobile industry.  Prior to the 20^th Century, those men made their mark in other important industries including railroads, shipping, mining, oil and steel to name only a few.  Lakeview Cemetery was started due to the generosity of those men and many of them are buried there.  Parts of our tour will pass through important community assets, which were donated to the city of Cleveland by those men.  That includes the great universities, museums and cultural institutions as well as the Rockefeller Park with its cultural gardens, through which we will pass at the end of our tour.  Although it may be difficult for some, I would recommend a trip to the top of the Garfield Monument.  From there you can look north to the University Circle area and beyond.  On a good day you may also be able to see some of the industrial area, through which we will be touring.

The Driving Tour

We will be leaving Lakeview Cemetery by the Mayfield Road Gate.  At the Mayfield Road Gate of the cemetery make a hard right turn onto Mayfield Road.  The wall of the cemetery will be on your right.

Proceed down Mayfield Road hill to Euclid Avenue.

This section of Mayfield Road is known as Little Italy.  It was originally settled by Italian immigrants, many of whom were Sicilian stone cutters employed at the Cemetery.  The area still has a large Italian population and features many great Italian restaurants and businesses.  It has also become a source of housing for university students and a major artist’s colony.

Turn Right at Euclid Avenue.

The building on the Southeast corner of Euclid and Mayfield is the recently built Museum of Modern Art.  The left side of Euclid is being developed for business and housing. 

Ford Motor Company

Continue along Euclid Avenue. The Ford Plant is on right at E 116 Street.

At East 116 and Euclid we come to our first Automobile Site.  On the right side of Euclid you will see the Cleveland Institute of Art.  This is an extensively renovated and expanded building, which started life as an assembly plant for Ford Models T, A and early V8 from 1914 to 1933.

Proceed northeast on Euclid passing under the bridge at E 120 Street.

You are now entering the City of East Cleveland.

Caution East Cleveland has many traffic cameras.  Observe all speed limits, school zones, and traffic controls.

Globe Four site on left at 12217 Euclid Avenue

Our second Automobile site is now a parking lot next to the railroad on the left hand side at 12217 Euclid Avenue.  The Globe Four automobile was made from 1920 to 1922.  On the right side of Euclid Avenue is Lakeview Cemetery with its North entrance.

Stearns and Stearns Knight site on left at corner of Lakeview and Euclid Avenue.

 Across from the North gate of the Cemetery is a large vacant lot, which until last fall was the site of the Stearns and Stearns Knight Automobile Company.  This six acre site was occupied by the Stearns factory from 1900 until 1929.  The site is being redeveloped as housing for the University Circle area. 

Proceed two blocks past Lakeview to Penrose Street.

Turn Right on Penrose.

Fedelia Cyclecar

This residential street includes our next Automobile site.  The Fedelia Cyclecar was manufactured at the home of John H. Sizelan halfway up the street on the left side at 1869 Penrose.  He manufactured the cyclecar in the vacant lot next to his house from 1913 to 1914.

Proceed along Penrose until it ends at Forest Hills Avenue.

Turn left on Forest Hills Avenue.

The first major intersection you come to with a traffic light will be Superior Avenue. 

Proceed across Superior Avenue.  At this point the Street name becomes Terrace Road. 

Terrace Road is at the base of a hill, which separates the heights area from the rest of the city.  The next street we come to is Forest Hills Blvd.  That is the site of the gate house to the former county estate of John D. Rockefeller known as Forest Hill.  We will see more of that estate later in the tour.

Proceed along Terrace Road crossing Forest Hills Blvd.  

On your left will be a vacant lot which was previously the home of Huron Road Hospital.  A bit farther along on the right will be the new Heritage Middle School, which was built on the site of the W.H. Kirk Junior High School.  The school sits on the Northern edge of the Rockefeller estate.

Four way stop at Lee Road.

Proceed across Lee Road continuing along Terrace Road.

Four blocks past Lee Road is a stop sign with a flashing light at Stanwood Road.

Turn right on Stanwood.

Pass the entrance to Grandview Terrace on the right.

Proceed along Stanwood until you come to a fork in the Road.

Turn left onto Oakhill Road at the fork.

Grandview Terrace, which we just passed, contained the home of Ned Jordan, whose Jordan automobile plant site we will see later in the tour.  We could not see the home because Grandview Terrace is a narrow dead end street, on which it is hard to turn around. 

Proceed along Oakhill until it ends at Northvale Blvd.

As we proceed along Oakhill Road we are entering the former Rockefeller property.  Rockefeller’s estate occupied most of the land between Superior Avenue on the West, Taylor Road on the East, Mayfield Road on the South and Euclid Avenue on the North.  Included in that area were Rockefeller’s summer home, a golf course, a pond and much woodland.  Most of the western section of the estate was donated to the City of East Cleveland and the City of Cleveland Heights as Forest Hill Park.  The section East of Lee Road was developed as housing. 

Oakhill road ends at Northvale Blvd.  Turn right onto Northvale and then immediately turn right again onto Glynn Road.

Proceed west on Glynn. 

This is one of the first streets developed in the Rockefeller estate.  Many of the homes were in the brick Normandy style; but some of those added later were in the colonial style.  Development was stopped during the depression and World War II. 

Turn left at the next intersection of Glynn Road and Mt. Vernon Blvd. 

Take Mt. Vernon Blvd. one block to Brewster Road. 

Turn left onto Brewster and proceed east. 

Brewster has many fine examples of the French Normandy homes developed before 1929 on the left side.  On the right are examples of the colonial style homes built after the war.

Proceed down Brewster until you come to a stop sign at Northvale Blvd. 

Turn left onto Northvale Blvd.

Proceed to the traffic light at Northvale Blvd. and Taylor Road.

Cross Taylor Road making a slight jog to the left and then turning right onto Nela View Road. 

Proceed down Nela View to Noble Road where you will find a traffic light. 

As the name suggests, Nela View and adjacent streets were developed as housing resources for workers at General Electric Company’s Nela Park.  This area and part of the Forest Hill area we just visited are actually in Cleveland Heights.  However, they are in the East Cleveland School District.

 At Nela View and Noble Road turn left onto Noble Road. 

Nela Park

Almost immediately on your right will be the grounds of Nela Park surrounded by a metal fence.  This research facility of General Electric was opened in 1913.  Its park like grounds were the site of most innovations in electric lighting, which occurred over the past 100 years.  Nela Park is also known for fantastic Christmas lighting displays every December.

Proceed North on Noble Road and continue down the hill to Terrace Road.

(Caution school zone)

Cross Terrace Road and continue north observing the school zone and its traffic camera.  One block North of Terrace Road you will come to Euclid Avenue.

Turn right on Euclid Avenue and proceed northeast.  The second traffic light you come to is Ivanhoe Road.

Stay on Euclid Avenue and continue traveling northeast. 

You are now in the Collinwood section of the City of Cleveland.

Proceed along Euclid Avenue until you reach London Road, which is the third traffic light after Ivanhoe.  Just before London Road look left for our next site.

Cleveland Automobile Company

On the left hand side of Euclid just before you reach London Road you will see our next automobile site.  The large white and brick building on the Northwest corner of London Road and Euclid Avenue was built in 1919 by the Cleveland automobile company, a lower priced model of the Chandler Company.  Cleveland automobiles were manufactured here until the company was taken over by Hupmobile in 1928.  The building housed Parker Appliance Company, later known as Parker Hanafin during and after World War II.  It is now occupied by The Cleveland Clinic.

 Turn left onto London Road.

Continue North on London road and cross the main line of the Nickel Plate Road. 

The industrial buildings on both sides of London Road were used by a variety of auto parts suppliers such as Anchor Rubber Products.  The area to the left of London Road at the railroad crossing used to be a major switching yard for the industries between London Road and Ivanhoe to the east. 

Continue North on London Road after crossing the railroad tracks. 

The fourth street you come to at a traffic light will be Kipling Avenue.  It is the first street which crosses London Road after the tracks. 

Turn left on Kipling. 

Proceed two blocks noting the corner of Rudyard and Kipling. 

The street names in this area were influenced by literary themes.  The housing was developed after World War I for those, who worked in the many industries in the area.  This was mix of blue collar and ethnic families including a large Italian population.  The Holy Redeemer Church on the left at Kipling and Ruple used to hold an annual Feast of the Assumption rivaling the one held in Little Italy.

Continue west along Kipling until it ends at Ivanhoe Road.  

Turn Left on Ivanhoe.

The section of Ivanhoe we are passing through was the location of many important industries, which no longer exist including:

1050 Ivanhoe on the right hand side at Halliday Avenue - Bailey Meter

1088 Ivanhoe on the right hand side at Mandalay Avenue - Reliance Electric

1135 Ivanhoe the left hand side just before the railroad bridge, -  Hupp corporation

This major industrial area was served by the railroad switching yard, which ran from London Road to Ivanhoe on the left hand side of Ivanhoe.  On the right hand side of Ivanhoe those factories backed up on the industrial area along E 152^nd Street, which we will visit next.

Proceed south on Ivanhoe passing under the bridge of the Nickel Plate Railroad until you reach Euclid Avenue.

Turn right onto Euclid Avenue.

You are now entering East Cleveland.  Observe all lights and speed limits.

Proceed along Euclid to the second traffic light at Noble Road.

Turn right onto Noble Road.

Proceed along Noble Road passing under the Nickel Plate Railroad until you come to a traffic light at East 152^nd Street.

You are now in the Collinwood section of Cleveland.

Turn Right at East 152^nd Street and proceed north.

East 152^nd Street was the location of many great industries including several related to the automobile. 

Towmotor Company

The first building on the left at 1226 East 152^nd Street was occupied by Towmotor Company.

Abbot Motors Company

On the right at 1175 East 152^nd Street, a building now covered in ivy, was the Abbot Motors Company, which sold the building to General Electric in 1918.  GE has abandoned their entire complex at this site.

Jordon Motors

On the left at 1070 East 152^nd Street was the factory of Jordon Motors.  Today it is the football stadium of Collinwood High School.

Murray Ohio Company

On the right across from the football stadium is a low building originally home of Murray Ohio Company.  They started out making automobile parts and became prominent in the bicycle and metal toy car market.  Victor Schreckengost was one of their industrial designers.

Five Points

Just past Murray Ohio on the right you will see a large brick building, Collinwood High School.  The school is located at Five Points an intersection created where East 152^nd Street, St. Clair Avenue and Ivanhoe meet.

New York Central Railroad Yards

Continue north along East 152^nd Street until you reach the bridge over the old New York Central Railroad Yards.

That bridge crosses over what was one of the largest railroad facilities between New York City and Chicago.  Although somewhat reduced in size, that complex is still large today.  Back in the day it included a large round house located under that bridge and housing for train crews in a dormitory type building.  This facility was a large employer and was the reason that many other important industries located in the Collinwood area.  To this day the sports teams at Collinwood High School are known as the Railroaders.

 Cross over the bridge and continue north along East 152^nd Street.  Continue north on East 152^nd Street.

Stay in the middle lane as you pass under the I 90 bridge.  Do not get on I 90.

Immediately past I 90 you will turn left onto Westropp Avenue.

Proceed west on Westropp until it ends at East 140^th Street.

This is a typical residential neighborhood in the Collinwood area.  A couple of blocks north are Lake Erie and the site of Euclid Beach Park.  The carousel from Euclid Beach is being restored and will be on display at the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Turn left onto East 140^th Street.

Proceed south on East 140^th Street passing under I 90. 

Two blocks past I 90 you come to Darley Avenue. 

The Gabriel Company

On the left hand side you will see a vacant lot on the southeast corner of Darley and East 140^th Street, which was the site of The Gabriel Company a major manufacturer of automobile parts including horns. 

Eaton Axle Company

Three blocks past Darley you come to Eaglesmere Avenue.  On the left hand side you will see an ivy covered building at 739 East 140^th Street formerly occupied by Eaton Axle Company.

Continue south on East 140^th Street passing under the railroad bridge until you reach Topeka Avenue.

Fisher Body

At Topeka Avenue you will see a large water tower ahead and to the right with Cleveland written on it.  The water tower and the large parcel of land around it are the site of the large Fisher Body factory.  Fisher Body made automobile bodies for many makes of automobile including Chandler.  It became a division of General Motors and made bodies and parts for Chevrolet and Pontiac cars.  During World World War II Fisher Body made parts for the B29 Bomber.  This land is now occupied by the Cleveland Job Corps.

Continue south on East 140^th Street until you reach St. Clair Avenue.

Turn right on St. Clair.

Proceed west along St. Clair to East 131 Street.  East 131 Street is the first street after passing under a railroad bridge.

Make a hard right Turn onto East 131 Street at the traffic light.

Proceed north on East 131^st Street until you reach Taft Avenue.  Continue along East 131^st Street past The Taft intersection.

Chandler Motors Company

Willard Battery Company

On the left just past the building on the corner of East 131^st Street and Taft is a vacant lot which was once occupied by the Chandler Motors factory at 300 East 131^st Street and the Willard Battery factory at 274 East 131^st Street.

Proceed north along East 131^st Street to Coit Road and stop before making a left turn.

Before turning left, look to your right along Coit Road.  Just past the railroad bridge on the left side of Coit is a vacant lot, which once was the home of Sterling-Knight at 13300 Coit Road.  That same building was later the home of Ottokar.

Turn left onto Coit Road.

On the left is the vacant factory of the National Acme Company, a manufacturer of machine tools and important to war production during World War II.

Grant Motors Company

Turn left onto Kirby Avenue.

The factory on the right at the corner of Kirby and Coit is the site of the Grant Motor Company.

Continue along Kirby Avenue staying on the right side and drive up the ramp to Eddy Road.

Turn right onto Eddy Road and continue north over the I 90 bridge until you reach Lake Shore Blvd.

Turn left onto Lake Shore Blvd. and proceed west.

You are now in the Village of Bratenahl.

This is the end of the industrial portion of our tour.  We will stay on Lake Shore Blvd. until we reach the turn off for Martin Luther King Drive formerly known as Liberty Blvd.  Lake Erie is one block to the right.  Just before you reach MLK Drive, you will be next to I 90 on your left.  

On the right you will see the site of the Nike missile defense installation.  That area is still restricted although no longer a guided missile site.

Proceed along Lake Shore Blvd as it loops around to the left and you arrive at a stop sign.  You are now on Martin Luther King and heading south.

Proceed south on Martin Luther King to East 105^th Street.

You will pass under the I 90 bridge and be driving through Rockefeller Park, which houses the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.  You will also pass under four bridges designed by Chas F. Schweinfurth as a part of the Rockefeller Park.

Just before you reach East 105^th Street you will see Rockefeller Lagoon and fountain on the right.

At East 105^th and Martin Luther King you will come to a traffic light.

Cross East 105^th Street and proceed around the traffic circle counter clockwise.  Turn right at East Blvd when you come to the Veterans Administration Hospital on the left.

Proceed along East Blvd. past the VA Hospital until you come to a traffic light at East 108^th Street.  On the left you will see the Western Reserve Historical Society

Turn left on East 108^th Street and proceed one block to Magnolia Drive.

Turn right onto Magnolia Drive and turn right into the second driveway, which is the entrance to the Western Reserve Historical Society. 

Thank you for participating on this tour.  

 Here are some pictures of places you saw on the Tour: