Ohio

Lost Cleveland is an engrossing excursion into the city's rarefied architectural air during its heyday as the sixth-largest city in the country. Author Michael DeAloia recounts the histories of seven culturally significant and iconic architectural gems that defined Cleveland's position of wealth and importance during the industrial age. Inspired by noble visions of Cleveland's most elite residents, these structures reflect the vigor and imagination that suffused city leaders. From Severance Hall, still home to the Cleveland Orchestra and the only structure in this collection that remains standing, to "Andrew's Folly," the grandest house built on legendary Millionaire's Row, Lost Cleveland provides a revealing historical retrospective on the growth, development and ultimate decline of the North Coast's greatest city.

Downtown Cleveland is home to many architectural landmarks that define this proud city on Lake Erie.

Most famous is Terminal Tower, the "grand dame'? of Cleveland skyscrapers, which was also the tallest office building outside of New York City from 1930 until 1967. Other notable high-rises such as the BP building, Key Tower, and the new Federal Courthouse with its distinctive lighted cornice also dominate the city's beautiful skyline. Almost more than the buildings themselves, Cleveland's architectural prowess lies in the details--the terracotta "starburst'? motif on the exterior of the Standard Building, the extensive metal decorative work inside the gargoyle-encircled atrium of the Arcade, and the immense stained-glass dome of the Cleveland Trust Rotunda.

The last place most 19th-century settlers wanted to move was the swampy, fever-ridden Toledo area. However, with the assistance of Irish and German immigrants, among others, Toledo was transformed from a village into a thriving city within 50 years. Captured here is the growth and expansion of the area through the indelible contributions of Toledo's architects. In 1850, Toledo had only 3,800 residents, but the introduction of canals and railroads quadrupled the population. Designated as the new county seat, major public buildings and hotels were built. Isaiah Rogers, one of the most famous architects in the nation, designed the Oliver House Hotel; Toledo's first architect, Frank Scott, planned many notable landscapes in the city as well as some of the most interesting houses; and designing almost every major commercial building in the city was Charles Crosby Miller. All of these, as well as David Stine and Edward Fallis, infused Toledo's pride into local landmarks of the past and present, including the Boody House, the Wheeler Opera House, the mansions of Collingwood Avenue, and the churches and breweries that complete Toledo's neighborhoods and downtown.

In half a century Toledo was transformed from a fever-ridden swamp into a prosperous town with all the amenities of a major Midwestern city. The 1890s signaled the beginning of Toledo's greatest architectural era, with new-fangled skyscrapers being constructed up and down Madison Avenue (without any power tools), grand theaters, a new luxury hotel, and the most lavish mansions in the Old West End. New inventions gave Toledoans more time to visit Walbridge Park, shop at Tiedtke's, or attend a Mud Hen's game at Swayne Field. Toledo: A History in Architecture 1890-1914 looks at the cities most notable buildings and at the personalities and institutions of a long vanished era. Innovations like steel framed and reinforced concrete construction were revolutionizing architecture, and Toledo's architects were working overtime on what would be their most important commissions, including the Nasby Building, Valentine Theater, and Lucas County Courthouse. Elegant churches rose on Collingwood Avenue, and in 1912 the white marble Toledo Museum of Art, the city's glittering jewel, was built.

The 1903 Group Plan for Cleveland's downtown laid out a vision of Neoclassical splendor, an open civic area filled with grand fountains, graceful sculptures and formal gardens. Like most projects of its kind, it was supposed to take only one generation to complete. But the path to prosperity and beauty did not run smoothly. The plan suffered delays and setbacks from all sides, thanks to two world wars, the Great Depression, human folly and politics. Today, the Group Plan Commission continues to develop the focal point of the original 1903 project, and as people move back into downtown, the city is poised to finally bring this vision to fruition. Presenting previously unpublished historic photographs, authors Brad Schwartz and Dave Ford detail a story more than a century in the making.

As in other cities, Cleveland has developed through the evolution of its European ethnic neighborhoods and their various religions. Many of these neighborhoods built their own churches, which became the focus of community development and unity. For decades, these churches thrived, but the new millennium has brought with it huge changes in the economy. Large "membership" institutions, like the Catholic Church, have had to make the toughest of decisions--closing churches that were thought to be a permanent part of the local landscape. The authors of this book feel it is important to preserve the memory of these significant religious, cultural, and social institutions so that the current and future generations do not forget them. The pictures of these incredible places take on a whole new meaning when coupled with the fact that they will soon be gone. These pages celebrate the architecture, art, and artifacts of these sacred structures in high-quality photographs and explanations.

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.

The impressive estate was 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.

Congress created Perrysburg in 1816 to secure control of its strategic trading location on the largest river flowing into Lake Erie, the Maumee River, an integral waterway for shipping and also an important passageway for western migration. As a busy port and shipbuilding center, Perrysburg attracted entrepreneurial pioneers from the East, who, as they prospered, built remarkable homes, buildings, and other structures. During the World War I era, wealthy Toledo industrialists also arrived, building riverside mansions. Over 100 of this small 19th-century community's architectural treasures still stand, and they include examples of nearly every major domestic architectural style popular from the 1820s to the 1930s. Most of the structures that make up the historical character of Perrysburg are best represented in the Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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.

This fascinating new book chronicles the design and construction of the McKinley National Memorial in Canton, Ohio. This magnificent structure is the final resting place for William McKinley, 25th President of the United States, his wife Ida and their two young daughters. Constructed from 1905 to 1907, the McKinley National Memorial marks the 100th anniversary of its dedication in 2007.

The McKinley Monument not only presents the construction of the memorial, it also provides a look at President McKinley's life and tragic death, a biographical sketch of architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle and the poignant dedication ceremony with keynote speaker President Theodore Roosevelt. It includes many never-before-seen photographs, including the designs that were not chosen and rare shots of some of the workers.

As the community celebrates the century mark of a spectacular national landmark, author Christopher Kenney has brought the story into the modern age, recording the extensive renovation work and conservation measures that will preserve the McKinley National Memorial for at least another 100 years.