Page added 3-4-15. Page updated 7-25-15.
Figure 5 Historical illustrations, this one of Cleveland’s League Park.
Photo taken 7/28/13.
Design:
Like the Cleveland and Colonial Arcades, the Euclid Arcade is an exceptional example of the national arcade movement that moved throughout the nation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Officially, the arcade is 435 feet long, twenty feet wide, and eighteen feet high.[4] Twenty-four storefronts welcome shoppers of all ages. Past patrons may remember businesses like Clarence Jun’s “Better Hearing Service, Inc.” Offices included the Eagle and Barren Fork Coal Companies, Ellsworth School of Beauty Culture, and the Ohio School of Cosmetic Therapy.[5] Stylistically, the Euclid Arcade is Neo-Classic.[6]
The Euclid Arcade has a gabled skylight roof and a barrel vaulted ceiling and ceiling panels. Bright materials, including white marble and white terra cotta, line the walls and ceiling; the materials, combined with the large skylights, give off a positive and exquisite atmosphere that traps and funnels natural light throughout the arcade.[7] The barrel vaulted ceiling houses the gabled skylight roof, and terminates “at each end in a semi-circular ribbed radiating design” that divide the storefronts.[8] Unlike the other two arcades, the Euclid Arcade is only one story in height.
Figure 4 Panel detail. Photo taken 7/28/13.
The arcades were once lively centers of businesses and transactions, where stores, restaurants, offices, and entertainment sections were frequently seen (and were also frequented by patrons). Degeneration followed as the city began its economic decline, however. Due to a $30 million investment into the complex in 2000, it was connected to the parallel Colonial Arcade, with a food court built in the center to unite the two old arcades.[3]
Figure 3 Ceiling.
Photo taken 7/28/13.
Figure 2 Portal view.
Photo taken 7/28/13.
[1] "East 4th & Arcades." Gateway District. Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation & Gateway District. Web. 28 June 2014.
[2] Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Ohio Historic Places Dictionary, Volume 2. Vol. 2. Somerset. Print. p. 207.
[3] McFee, Michelle J. "Developer Dick Pace to Take over Retail Space at Colonial, Euclid Arcades in Downtown Cleveland." Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland.com, 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 23 June 2014.
[4] National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. March 1987. Colonial and Euclid Arcades. Obtained through request by the National Park Service. PDF. p. 2.
[5] Ibid., p. 4.
[6] Ibid., p. 4.
[7] Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Ohio Historic Places Dictionary, Volume 2. Vol. 2. Somerset. Print. p. 207.
[8] NRHP form, p. 2.
Location:
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Between Euclid and Prospect Avenues.
History:
In 1910, architect Franz Warner was hired by financer John F. Rust to create an arcade that would connect the Colonial Hotel to the William and Rodgers Building.[1] The William and Rodgers Building had been built in 1898 and contained the William and Rodgers Department Store. The Euclid Arcade was built in 1911 to help connect Euclid and Prospect Avenues, both busy commercial and retail streets at the time. Because there is a complicated relationship with its surrounding buildings, the arcade has an associated history with the nearby Colonial Arcade(1898), Colonial Hotel (1898), Kendall Building (1887), and the William and Rodgers Building (1898).[2]
Figure 1 Inside the Euclid Arcade. Photo taken 7/28/13.
Euclid Arcade, Cleveland, Ohio
Figure 6 Colonial Hotel (Euclid Arcade entrance on the left, marked by the “5”).
Photo taken 7/28/13.
Figure 6 William and Rodgers Building (center). Photo taken 7/28/13.
Preservation:
The property, as well as the Colonial Arcade, was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1987. It is highly historic considering it is one of only three classically built arcades in the city, of which four were built. The millions of dollars of investment at the turn of the twenty-first century helped to update the infrastructure of both arcades, although attracting shops (and traffic) is still an ongoing problem. While the buildings look to be in a state of preservation for the time being, if enough money isn’t made from the shops, restaurants, and the Residence Inn, ownership of the arcade might make decisions that could threaten the historical integrity of the building(s).