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Southside of Euclid Avenue and E. 9th showing First Methodist  Euclid Avenue Photograph, 1907 Courtesy of Cleveland Public Library Photograph Collection |
In 1900, Cleveland was four times its 1870 size. This remarkable thirty-year growth meant a 1900 population of 381,768, and the city’s downtown now reflected this size with the erection of a number of buildings still familiar today. In 1901, Cleveland Trust acquired the property of the First Methodist Church on the southeast corner of Euclid Avenue and Erie Street (now East 9th). While some people thought that the bank was making a mistake in putting up a building on a section of Euclid not yet focused on business, the still remaining building has now graced this corner longer than the large church that it replaced. Daniel H. Burnham’s Group Plan for Cleveland’s public buildings was created in 1902, when authorizing legislation was signed by Ohio’s governor. |
| The cornerstone for the Plan’s first structure, the Federal Building, was laid in 1905. The Union Club opened its new quarters in 1905 on the northeast corner of Euclid Avenue and Muirson Street (now East 12th). The West Side Market, while not downtown, joined the constellation of buildings well-known to Clevelanders, and plans for it were approved in 1907. Between 1906-1907 Cleveland’s prosperity was something to envy, and building increased by thirty-two percent while all other aspects of industry and commerce boomed. However, the Collinwood School fire disaster of 1908 served as a vivid warning to Clevelanders that industrial and commercial growth and the search for profits had a dark side if they ignored social needs. The deaths of 174 people, including many children and two teachers, shocked the Cleveland community and the nation as a whole. Inwardly opening exit doors were blamed for the deaths, and the whole country responded to this tragedy with a concern about public building and fire safety standards. |
Southside of Euclid Avenue and E. 9th showing Cleveland Trust Building  Euclid Avenue Photograph, 1909 Courtesy of Cleveland Public Library Photograph Collection |
| The mayoralty of Tom Johnson (1901-1909) provided Cleveland political luster throughout the first decade of the twentieth century, and his progressive leadership allowed Cleveland to be characterized by one prominent social commentator as the country’s "best governed city." Cleveland sacred landmarks surviving from this decade are : Lane Metropolitan C.M.E. Church, St. Luke United Church of Christ, Wade Chapel, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, St. Helena Romanian Catholic Church, Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church (originally a Romanian Orthodox structure), Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, First United Methodist church, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, East Mt. Zion Baptist Church (originally Euclid Avenue Christian church), Church of the Covenant, Florence Harkness Chapel, Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church, St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, Fellowship Baptist Church (originally a Lutheran building), Triedstone Baptist Church (originally a Hungarian Orthodox synagogue), St. John A.M.E. Church, Shiloh Baptist Church (originally a synagogue), Holy Trinity and St. Edward Roman Catholic Church, and St. Procop Roman Catholic Church. | |
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Euclid Avenue from E. 6th looking east to public Square showing Cleveland Trust Building  Euclid Avenue Photograph, 1901 Courtesy of Cleveland Public Library Photograph Collection |
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