Cleveland landmark Terminal Tower was supposed to be a modest train station in the heart of the city, but it turned into so much more. Mary follows the history of the station and its important role in the city.
Class Discussion Questions:
1) What does the building of the Terminal Tower tell you about the importance of railroads to Cleveland?
Read the script:
New York's got the Empire State building, Seattle's got the Space Needle, and here in Cleveland, we've got our own architectural icon. Terminal Tower is a building so symbolic of this city that you might think it's been here forever. Well, not quite, but it has been towering over The Forest City for 87 years. It's called Terminal Tower because it's centered above a large railroad station, and when it was completed in 1930, it was the second tallest building in the world.
But the project was initially a bit more low key. The Van Sweringen brothers thought of the idea for Cleveland Union Terminal, a modest 14-story train station near Public Square for those commuting from Shaker Heights, a community near Cleveland that they had just finished developing. But in 1919 when voters agreed to let them build the station in a prime spot across from Public Square, they decided to go big or go home. This monumental building took a monumental 10 years to complete. The spot Terminal Tower sits on today was once part of the Haymarket District, a poor slum centered around a market. So, to build the famous skyscraper, they had to first demolish and then excavate. Excavate means they dug up the Earth to create underground train tunnels, and this excavation was the largest in history at that time. They moved more dirt here in Cleveland than they did to build the Panama Canal.
By the time it was completed, the tower stretched 52 stories and 708 feet into the sky, and beneath it was a beautiful palace-like complex of offices, retail stores, restaurants, a hotel, and of course, a central location for all trains coming and going from Cleveland. The so-called city within a city made Public Square the center of Cleveland again, just as our founder, Moses Cleaveland intended.
Terminal Tower had a grand opening in 1930, but two people that were absent from the party were the Van Sweringen brothers. The brothers were notoriously shy and kept out of the spotlight. Billionaires, when Terminal Tower was built, their fortune changed when the Great Depression hit. They were heavily invested in the railroad at a time when cars were becoming the most popular mode of transportation. Within just six years of the completion of the tower, both brothers would die with less than $3,000 to their name.
But the tower left behind stands strong. Although it was surpassed by Key Tower as Cleveland's tallest building in 1991, Terminal Tower is still the most recognizable figure in our skyline. Today, the tower is known for its observation deck on the 42nd floor which provides one of the most unique views of our city, and for the brilliant colored lights projected on the tower at night. Just like the rest of us here in Cleveland, the tower wore wine and gold when the Cavs were in the finals, and scarlet and gray when Ohio State became national football champions. And of course, it's still a big train station for downtown commuters, like yours truly, and when I walk through the grandeur of Tower City, I can't help but feel connected to Cleveland's past, and present.
Instructional Links
Online Reference Book: Cleveland Historical, The Terminal Tower | Includes history, images, audio files, & video
Online Reference Book, The Encyclopedia of Cleveland, Cleveland Union Terminal
Primary Sources: The Cleveland Memory Project, the Cleveland Union Terminal Collection | Info and links to archives