The Birthplace of Rock and Roll: Cleveland in the Sixties by Niiki Gerdes

From CWRU

http://www.case.edu/artsci/sixties/nikki.html

The Birthplace of Rock and Roll: Cleveland in the Sixties
by Niiki Gerdes

The “Mistake on the Lake”; “The Armpit of America.” Phrases such as these were used to describe the city of Cleveland in the mid-20th century. These phrases hide the major accomplishments that were made when political and social turmoil encompassed the nation in the tumultuous era known as the “Sixties”.  A major social and cultural component of this era was the music, the famous genre known as “rock and roll.”  Cleveland in the sixties became the birthplace of that music.  While Cleveland is not typically considered a center for the music industry, or even a forerunner in the development of rock and roll, it actually did have a profound effect on advancing the music culture of the era.  With the Agora at the forefront, and with the aid of several smaller, lesser-known events and places, successful deejays, and other personalities, Cleveland helped transform rock and roll in the greater nationwide context.

One of music’s greatest pioneers across the nation and one of Cleveland’s most notable figures was Alan Freed, the most popular disc jockey in the 1950s.  Though he led a controversial life by drinking and frequent “run-ins” with the law, he was influential in promoting new music of the time, particularly “blues” and jazz music, and held a key role in promoting the newly-developed genre of “rock and roll” into mainstream culture.   He was the disc jockey for the local station WJW-AM, and beginning in 1951, he became one of the first white men to play what was previously known as “black” music, a new sound with a different beat, also referred to as “R & B”.  From there, Freed hosted “The Moondog Show” every Monday night to play such music.  This program was largely a success, leading to an increase in radio listeners and R&B record sales, thus making it apparent that this style of music needed its own distinguishing identity.1 To create this identity, Freed allegedly coined the term “rock and roll” to denote this distinct genre of music and began using it frequently on the air, although the term itself was not a new phrase.  However, many were unsure of using that term for the music because for those not listening to Freed in Cleveland in 1951, it was nearly impossible to identify the specific music, artists, or songs that he was referring to when he applied the term.2 Nevertheless, the term stuck, and in the next two decades was forever engrained in the minds of the people in America and abroad.  The fact that the term emerged from Cleveland shows the importance of the city as a forerunner in the development of the music that became a symbol for the era.  Although Freed’s career in Cleveland was brief, his legacy of introducing and naming rock and roll became legendary.  As noted by the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, “Freed left behind a city of rock n’ roll fans.  Their acceptance and enthusiasm for new bands, musical trends, and recordings made Cleveland a hot music market.”3

One of Freed’s most notable achievements was the first major event that spawned Cleveland’s rock and roll legacy, the first “rock” concert, the Moondog Coronation Ball.  The large amount of R&B fans it drew to the Cleveland Arena made it clear to the record industry that this new genre might indeed be a viable, profitable form of music.4 Thus, Freed’s concert paved the road for both his personal as well as rock and roll’s success.  It can be argued that “when his Moondog Show debuted on July 11, 1951, and was an immediate hit, Freed paved the way for contemporaries (although others who tried emulating him fell short).”5 The actual “ball” turned out to be a disaster.  The concert was oversold, with thousands of fans piling in to see acts such as the Dominoes, Paul Williams & the Hucklebuckers, Tiny Grimes & the Rocking Highlanders, Danny Cobb, and Varetta Dillard.6 The following day, a newspaper described the scene:

A crowd of about 6,000 persons, dissatisfied because they could not buy tickets to the Moondog Coronation Ball at the Arena, pushed down doors and entered, adding their own number to the 10,000 already inside last night, creating such a confined mass of humanity that police had to call off the event.7

Nevertheless, the short-lived concert marked both a turning point for the city of Cleveland and for rock and roll itself: it put the new genre at the forefront of the nation’s attention.  The mere fact that so many people desired to attend an event showed that the music industry gained momentum in mainstream culture.  Another interesting note is that many of the fans that desired to attend the Ball were African-American, showing how race was an important part of the music that became popular.  In other words, the music was at first predominantly considered “black”, but it later emerged to encompass society as a whole.  It makes it even more remarkable that this occurred in Cleveland.

Rock and Roll in America and especially in Cleveland could not have succeeded without the aid of radio stations, which frequently played and promoted the new music.  In fact, in the early fifties and beyond, Cleveland was considered one of the hottest radio markets in the country and an important testing ground for new records and recording artists.8 Radio stations were mediums where the public could first hear the emerging genre, even if they never attended a concert or event. WMMS-FM was the most popular radio station in the sixties and seventies, presenting concerts and music from the Agora and other music venues.  It was not the only station, however, as many others contributed to the success of rock in Cleveland, nor was Alan Freed the only popular disc jockey.  In fact, Freed left Cleveland for New York in 1954, leaving only his legacy behind.  Billy Bass was another memorable figure, having a nightly show on WIXY-AM and serving on WCNR-FM and WMMS-FM.9 With the focus on many radio personalities, and the reality that radio stations were the first to promote music on a broader scale, they were integral to Cleveland’s musical success.

However, while radio stations were important, particularly to Cleveland, what was instrumental even more so were many popular venues that pushed Cleveland and rock and roll into the national spotlight.  According to Billy Bass himself, “Back in 1971-2, Cleveland was considered the ‘Armpit of the World’.  There was nothing happening that made us look good…there was nothing we could be proud of except the radio.  But whatever it was, the audience felt they were important to the development of rock.”10 This shows the extent that people believed that Cleveland was a forerunner in mainstream music culture.  With such positivism about Cleveland, particularly the radio, it is no wonder the city became famous for its music.

While many associate Freed and the radio industry as the sole contributor to Cleveland’s rock and roll legacy, there were other influences, particularly music concert halls.  Perhaps the largest and most successful venue in Cleveland beginning in the late 1960s was the Agora Ballroom, a prominent and largely successful concert hall.  This was an important place where people would go to hear and enjoy live music and experience the rock and roll culture, as well as promote the city’s social scene.  A place where people can mingle and enjoy popular culture at the same time promotes success of the venue itself.  The Agora soon set up a place where rock could be discovered and promoted, making it possible for national recognition.

Several performers would go on to get their national “big break” from the Agora, the first step to fame, while others simply performed here as part of a national or international tour.  By the late 1970s, the Agora had obtained the status and reputation for breaking new acts out of Cleveland.  Ads as late as 1979 boasted that the “hottest rock acts in the world” had been booked by the Agora for WMMS performances.11 In addition to hosting popular concerts, the Agora was also a place for music recordings, radio and television shows, and even an underground music club in which unique bands played.  The press often proclaimed, “For the finest live rock ‘n’ roll entertainment, the Cleveland Agora is your place to party every night of the week…Whether it’s upstairs in the Agora or downstairs in the Mistake, we have it all.”12 Thus, the Agora accomplished much more than pure entertainment, by pushing the Cleveland music industry into the national spotlight, making it the most popular rock town between New York and Chicago, other nationally-recognized rock cities.13

The Agora was founded in 1966 by Henry LoConti as a college club near the Case Western Reserve University campus. After the first year, LoConti moved the club to its current location, 1730 E. 24th St. Downtown.  This is where it all began.  The club, though small, would soon become a great success, providing a vast array of entertainment and paving the path for national fame for both the city and the genre of rock and roll for decades to come.  It was not a “typical” concert arena, however, in terms of size or set-up.  Rock Scene Magazine provides a description of a welcoming and comfortable club: “Downstairs is a great juke-box called the Mistake, while upstairs resides a large hall, nearly the size of a supermarket, stage in the front center, dance floor in front of that, tables off to the side.”14 Throughout the late 60s and 70s, this quaint club was host to many top performers, including but not limited to Bad Company, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Eric Carmen, Hall & Oates, the James Gang, Meat Loaf, the Raspberries, Southside Johnny and the Ashbury Dukes, and Todd Rundgren.  It is no wonder, therefore, why the Agora was considered one of the top venues in the country in the 1970s.  The excitement didn’t remain solely in Cleveland, however, as LoConti later opened up additional venues across Ohio and America, in Toledo, Columbus, and even Atlanta.15

Due to the vast array of concerts held and an increasing reputation, many groups received their first major or national break at the Agora.  In a 1975 press release, LoConti boasted that “Cleveland is the #1 progressive market in the nation on a broadcasting level and in the area of developing and breaking national acts.”16 How right he was. The Hello People, a group known for their “mime” apparel, were one such group, and broke their album Those Handsome Devils nationally after a performance at the Agora, including songs such as “Finger Poppin’ Time”.  Hall & Oates performed a turnaround concert in 1975, where they went from a struggling band to a national success, gaining audience appreciation and discovery.  An original style of music, Atlantis Philharmonic became known as one of Cleveland’s best-known classical-style rock bands.  Other bands were Cleveland’s own: the James Gang, the Raspberries, and the Michael Stanley Band.  A newspaper headline, quoting a popular maxim rang “Local Boys Do Good”17 for the latter of the three.  Another example is that of the band Sweetleaf, which was one of the first to do “Mr. Skin” from their Spirit Album, performed so much that the radio station got numerous requests for the album, breaking it out right here in Cleveland.18 Other groups simply enjoyed success for recording or performing here in Cleveland, such as Pure Prairie League, who claimed that over 30% of national ticket sales were in Northern Ohio.19  With such outstanding results in Ohio, it simply goes to show the extent of the Cleveland music scene, especially in conjunction with the Agora.  It also shows the positive reputation the city held.  In fact, music was so popular in Cleveland that artists looked to the city to get themselves known.  Says Johnny Lyons of Southside Johnny: “Cleveland’s the happening town for bands like ours.  If we don’t go over big here, we probably won’t make it nationally.”20

The Agora also broke out local groups by holding special events for them.  This is how the Raspberries got their break, by performing as the house band on what were called “Golden Sundays” beginning in 1970.  These Sundays were so-called “golden” because they produced numbers of concert-goers double that of any other day of the week and thus contributed to successful Agora shows.  This goes to show the dramatic influence of local groups performing regularly at the Agora, especially since the national popularity of the Agora itself was gaining.  The Sunday night specials were just one example, and, according to LoConti, they succeeded in what they were created to do: showcase new albums and talents. He claimed,

I feel that these Sunday night showcases will be instrumental in developing new talent in this area.  Cleveland will have the opportunity to see 52 new groups a year…and out of these, how many become super stars? It is an exciting prospect for the listening community of Cleveland and a good tool for groups to get initial exposure in this market.21

With such a positive outlook for the future, it is no wonder such groups like the Raspberries achieved such great fame so quickly.

The Agora did not break out new groups by performances and concerts alone.  The staff, the audience, as well as all other behind-the-scenes work involved gave groups something to look forward to, and boosted their success by the mid-1970s.  For instance, Jimmy Mauk, Agora publicist, remarks about a new band, 15-60-75, and states in a 1975 press release,

The exceptional talent of 15-60-75, the national reputation of Cleveland as an act-breaking market, the integral role the Agora and Agora president Henry LoConti play in the Cleveland Music Market, the ever-growing reputation of Agency Recording Studios, engineer John Nebe (who will engineer the live 16-track recording session), and Chief Engineer Arnie Rosenberg, and the unprecedented grass-roots support of the people for the band, the club, and the studio, make this night in Cleveland a historic event.22

Thus, the Agora Complex was a group effort by many and proves that the rock and roll industry was the result of many different areas, encompassing many different people, a sure sign of success.  In this way, the most popular concert hall in Cleveland became the social center for the city.

One of the most memorable events in Agora history was Bruce Springsteen’s famous free concert held on August 9, 1978.  From this, it is apparent that the Agora was successful in the fact that performers prided themselves at performing in Cleveland.  This concert was unique, however, in that it became one of the first stepping stones to Agora recognition as a recording facility, something that was previously unknown.  The typical opinion about the Agora was that it was a national showcase for talent and not a recording facility like the Bottom Line in New York or The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles were.23 The Springsteen concert changed that mindset.  The sound quality was phenomenal:

Tapes made from the broadcast were so good that CBS immediately feared the very possibility of bootleg albums and tapes…the Agora sounded like a sound booth of a recording studio because-for all intents and purposes-it was.  And although the Agora runs professional concerts for radio broadcasts all the time, nobody had ever seen the unbelievable amount of care taken with anything like that before…24

This broadened the Agora’s horizons, making it possible for greater national recognition.  In addition, the concert was broadcast live on eight FM stations, reaching a potential three million listeners, making the concert a true national event.25 This was not the only successful performance of that year, as Todd Rundgren and Southside Johnny also performed record-breaking concerts and put the Agora on the national stage.   These concerts reflected more than just big-name success.  Buddy Mayer, Agora productions director, wrote that “the excitement created by Bruce and Todd here was unparalleled in the Agora’s twelve year history.”26

Performers also showed their respect for the city that had given them so much, thus making Cleveland the central focus of fame.  Springsteen once said, “I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for Cleveland.  This city supported me from the first.”27 Patti Smith, although she did not break out in Cleveland, still felt similar emotions after performing in 1976: “I felt like I was home…We were dying for Cleveland.  We could feel Cleveland even when we were away from it.”28 She told roaring crowds, “This is it. This is the best rock ‘n’ roll city in America.”29 With such positive responses to the Agora and to the city of Cleveland, the artists would carry with them throughout the nation a good word, helping the Agora to achieve national fame.  However, not all performers agreed.  According to Eric Carmen, lead singer for the Raspberries, “Cleveland audiences are the worst”30 in response to a 1974 concert.  Nevertheless, audience and performers’ reactions were largely upbeat.  Writes a recent visitor to the Agora club manager, “The Agora is a beautiful club.  I had a great time the three or four times I was privileged to attend.  Wish they had such places here in New York City!”31

From national breakouts and successful performances, the Agora was largely successful due to the management of LoConti and his staff.  The Agora did not become successful by a stellar management team or excellent nationally-known concerts alone, however.  The addition of radio and TV programs helped the Agora gain popularity in Cleveland and throughout the U.S. because it could showcase talent to a broader audience.  The biggest contribution was the integration of the Agora with the radio station WMMS-FM, which provided live broadcasts of concerts entitled “Nights Out at the Agora” beginning in 1970.  In addition, the Agora Radio Network reached out to over 7 million people in three states and included WMMS, WIOT, WMDI, WCOL, ACRN cable, and WEBN.32 Another radio show was the “New World of Jazz” beginning in 1975.  Says promotions director Joyce Halasa in 1976, the tenth anniversary of the Agora’s founding, “Many exciting things are happening here…Each Monday night WMMS and The Agora brings to Cleveland the best of the new country, rock, blues, and folk national recording acts.  Each Tuesday night, WMMS and the Agora presents ‘The New World of Jazz’, featuring a spectrum of traditional and new fusion music.”33 Thus, the Agora had expanded its horizons, making it possible for national recognition and continued popularity in Cleveland, bringing rock and roll to the forefront of mainstream culture.

While the Agora probably contributed to much of rock and roll’s success in integrating it from Cleveland to the national mainstream, it was not the only venue where groups made their mark or where important performances were held.  These venues not only helped to promote rock and roll, but music and culture in general.  Musicarnival was one such venue, under the management of John L. Price, and in a tent-style theater provided music concerts, operas, and plays from 1954-75.  Obviously, with such a vast array of programs, it opened up Cleveland to many new horizons beyond the scope of rock and roll, especially more music.  With new opportunities comes broader audiences, and thus it can be argued that Cleveland encompassed music on a broad scale.  A 1967 ad for Musicarnival claims “A wonderful show full of music and fun for you whole family.”34 Musicarnival boasted rock groups such as Wayne Newton, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Simon & Garfunkel, Tom Jones, Led Zeppelin, Procol Harum, the Who, Blood Sweat & Tears, and put on nationally-recognized plays such as Grease, This Was Burlesque, Porgy and Bess, West Side Story, Cinderella, and The Ballad of Baby Doe.  Even unique performances such as nightclub acts and other entertainment were done.35 Unfortunately, however, the success of Musicarnival was short-lived, and due to competition from other venues such as Front Row Theater and Blossom, Musicarnival closed in 1975, at a time when rock and roll was at its peak.

The Musicarnival and the Agora were certainly important, but the sixties era also brought out numerous other venues and performances in Cleveland, including the Arena, Front Row Theater, Blossom (1968), and even the Cleveland Municipal Stadium.  The mid-seventies brought out the “World Series of Rock” series, with performing groups such as Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, and ZZ Top.  This continued beyond the sixties into the late 1970s and 1980s in Cleveland, as an 1979 ad advertises for Rod Stewart, Uriah Heep, Aerosmith, and Blue Oyster Cult.36 Thus, rock and roll was popular long after the sixties were over, and in several areas in the mid-20th century in Cleveland.  Long-term success proves that the venues created in the sixties were vital to the music industry and the potency of Cleveland itself.  If all venues on the other hand were to have gone out of business or lost influence after the sixties, Cleveland’s impact would not have been as great.  Recognition for such a long period proves that rock and roll held an integral part of Cleveland’s culture.

On the local scene, yet smaller dance and music clubs were abound, and even teen dance clubs became popular throughout Northeast Ohio.  Hullabaloos, teenage dance clubs, became a popular form of entertainment for youths in the 50s and 60s.  The adult clubs, including the Cleveland Music Hall, boasted large success.  Each claimed that during the 1960s and 1970s all of the major rock shows were held 37 Of course, nearly all venues claim such success, but not without some truth to the matter.  In addition to promoting music, such clubs and even the aforementioned venues were instrumental in promoting the culture of the era as well.  Music is certainly part of any culture, but when combined with the culture itself, it is easy to infiltrate mainstream life and promote trends, which in turn make recognition beyond the regional possible.  Disco was one such trend.  A “Smiling Dog Saloon” ad from the mid-70s advertises:  “The scene is Disco and the dance is the Hustle and together they have transformed New York Nightlife over the past six months and have started working on the Cleveland scene this summer.  In the last three months, at least seven clubs have changed to disco format in Cleveland.”38 Thus, even smaller venues played a role in Cleveland’s musical success and brought it unto mainstream culture.

All of the venues, performances, and people helped to create a lasting legacy for the city Cleveland.  In fact, in 1995 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum was added to Cleveland, as if to honor the birthplace of the music it represents and was so instrumental in producing on the national stage.  The Rock Hall, therefore, is a perfect fit for the Ohio city on the shores of Lake Erie.  Dennis Bulone, a talent agency director, believed that “a lot of people say that this isn’t where it’s happening for music.  But here is where it can start.  If Cleveland had its own recording label here, this city could be another Nashville.”39 Not only did many groups make it big here, but many also believed in and supported Cleveland for reaching stardom.  Writes a newspaper columnist, “The Hello People are coming to the Agora…and they should agree that the best things in life are here.  Cleveland not only can take full credit for breaking them as a major act, but the city also leads the country in sales of their ABC LP…”40 Even LoConti remarked of Cleveland’s success in other groups too:  “Ralph’s performance at the Agora is proof that Cleveland people don’t have to be anywhere else but our own city before they can relate to what’s going on musically throughout the nation.  Fact of the matter is, Cleveland has a great deal of influence on the national music scene.”41

Groups getting their mark in Cleveland are also evident of the national scene in other ways, too: “…Circus might be a good place from which to view the entire Cleveland scene, as their history, trials and tribulations, is a good example of the evolutions an area band has to go through in the process of making their national fortune.”42 Thus, Cleveland was an example for aspiring new artists.  Cleveland was, in most respects, appreciated by performers.  Says Michael Stanley, “You have to realize that every rock band started out as a local band somewhere…Personally, I’m glad for us it’s here in Cleveland.  And if given a choice of only one place to be big, I’d want it to be in my hometown.”43 Others, like Eric Carmen, may disagree, but the obvious point is that Cleveland was a major influence for the music industry.  Many producers will argue for its success, however.  Dennis Bulone of Action Talent Inc. in 1975 provided a list of reasons why Cleveland was a good location for music: two agencies that book talent (Action Talent and Energy Talent); a place to buy musical equipment, Belkin productions, one of the largest in the country, receives the big talent early; good radio stations; printed media; groups that have broken out here (Outsiders, the James Gang, the Raspberries) that “encourage bands”; band members that are willing to help others; and good producers.44 Another major aspect should come as no surprise: “Cleveland gets on new material fast.”  Says Jimmy Testa, a producer/songwriter, “Rock music is bigger in Cleveland than anywhere in the country, or for that matter, the world…Clevelanders set the pace.  We are ahead of our times and so are our rock groups, if they are to be original…”45

Many institutions, people, and events helped to shape Cleveland into the rock and roll capital as it is known today.  With Alan Freed, the Agora, and several other venues, rock and roll was born and raised in a city and spread its influence throughout the nation.  A “Mistake on the Lake”? Not unless you consider rock and roll a mistake.  The fact of the matter is that Cleveland was instrumental to the creation and promotion of rock and roll across the nation, making it as popular as it is today.  In the words of the little-known band “The Presidents of the United States of America”, “Cleveland Rocks!”

Endnotes:

1. Adams, Deanna R.  Rock N Roll and the Cleveland Connection, Kent State University Press, Ohio, 2002; p.5
2. Belz, Carl I. “Popular Music and the Folk Tradition”, The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 80, No. 316 (Apr.-Jun., 1967); p.131
3. “Cleveland History: Rock ‘N’ Roll”, http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pi?id=RR. Retrieved 09/23/05
4.  Nolan, A. M.  Rock ‘N’ Roll Road Trip: The Ultimate Guide to the Sites, the Shrines, and the Legends Across America, Pharos Books, New York, NY, 1992; p. 156
5. Adams, Deanna R.  Rock N Roll and the Cleveland Connection, Kent State University Press, Ohio, 2002; p.6
6. Adams, Deanna R.  Rock N Roll and the Cleveland Connection, Kent State University Press, Ohio, 2002; p.6
7. “Moondog Ball is Halted as 6,000 Crash Arena Gate”, The Plain Dealer, Sat., Mar. 22, 1952; p.1
8. Adams, Deanna R.  Rock N Roll and the Cleveland Connection, Kent State University Press, Ohio, 2002; p.2
9. “Billy Bass and Joyce Sell-Out!!!: The Scene Interviews Former WMMS Personalities”, The Scene, Mar. 22-28, 1973; p.5
10. Adams, Deanna R.  Rock N Roll and the Cleveland Connection, Kent State University Press, Ohio, 2002; p.323
11. The Cleveland Press, Thurs., Feb. 15, 1979; p.D20
12. “Agora dance copy for WLYT: Spots to run December 3 through December 7”; Agora Records, Box 1: “Press Releases”, WRHS
13. “The Week That Was: Harley, Baker, Sayer”, The Plain Dealer, 03/28/1975
14. Kanze, Peter. “Circus In Cleveland”, Rock Scene Magazine, Sept.-Oct. 1974
15. Adams, Deanna R.  Rock N Roll and the Cleveland Connection, Kent State University Press, Ohio, 2002; p.156
16. “The Agora Sunday Nite Rock Preview”; Agora Records, Box 1: “1975 Press Releases”, WRHS
17. Misichko, Kathy. “Michael Stanley Band-‘Local Boys Do Good’”, Chronicle-Telegram Elyria; p.C-12
18. “Rock Reverberations”, The Plain Dealer, Fri., Jan. 10, 1975; p.24
19. “Pure Prairie League: On the Two-Lane Highway”, Exit, 03/24/1975; p.7
20. Bornino, Bruno. “Southside Johnny Is On the Spot At Agora Monday”, The Cleveland Press, Fri., Sept. 10, 1976; p.23
21. “For more info contact Jimmy Mauk”; Agora Records, Box 1: Folder “Press Releases, 1975”, WRHS
22. Mauk, Jimmy., Jan. 14, 1975; Agora Records, Box 1: Folder “Misc Press Releases”, WRHS
23. Girard, Jim. “Thank You ‘Boss’”, Scene, Aug. 17-23
24. Girard, Jim. “Thank You ‘Boss’”, Scene, Aug. 17-23
25. Girard, Jim. “Thank You ‘Boss’”, Scene, Aug. 17-23
26. Maver, Buddy. Letter, Oct. 9, 1978; Agora Records, Box 1: Folder “Misc Press Releases”, WRHS
27. Scott, Jane. “Springsteen Puts On a Knockout at the Agora”, Music Review: Scene, July 20-26
28. Scott, Jane. “Patti Smith: ‘I could feel Cleveland before I even got here’”, The Plain Dealer, Fri. Jan. 30, 1976; Agora Records, Box 4
29. Scott, Jane. “Patti Smith: ‘I could feel Cleveland before I even got here’”, The Plain Dealer, Fri. Jan. 30, 1976; Agora Records, Box 4
30. Pantsios, Anastasia.  “Raspberries Return Home”, Exit, Aug. 7, 1974; p.14
31. Kanze, Peter. Letter to club manager, 7 Aug. 1974; Agora Records, Box 4: Newspaper articles, WRHS
32.“For immediate release: Re: Agora Radio Network”; Agora Records, Box 1: Folder “Press Releases, 1975”, WRHS
33. Halasa, Joyce. Letter to editors, Sept. 21, 1976; Agora Records, Box 1: Folder “College Records”, WRHS
34. Musicarnival ad, The Plain Dealer, Jul. 7, 1967
35. Wilson, Earl.  “Action Tab”, The Plain Dealer, Aug. 30, 1974; Agora Records, Box 4: Newspaper articles, WRHS
36. “Belkin Productions and WMMS” ad, Exit, Aug. 13, 1975, Vol. II, Issue 18; p.8
37. Nolan, A. M.  Rock ‘N’ Roll Road Trip: The Ultimate Guide to the Sites, the Shrines, and the Legends Across America, Pharos Books, New York, NY, 1992; p. 157
38. Weitzer, Richard, and Drayton, Paul.  “Are You Ready For Disco Madness?”, Exit, Aug. 13, 1975, Vol. II, Issue 18; p.15
39. “Rock Reverberations”, The Plain Dealer, Fri., Jan. 10, 1975; p.24
40. “Rock Reverberations”, The Plain Dealer, Fri., Jan. 10, 1975; p.24
41. Bornino, Bruno.  “Ralph Is Top 10 At Agora”, The Cleveland Press, Fri., Feb. 8, 1974; Agora Records, Box 4: Newspaper articles, WRHS
42. Kanze, Peter. “Circus In Cleveland”, Rock Scene Magazine, Sept.-Oct. 1974
43. Adams, Deanna R.  Rock N Roll and the Cleveland Connection, Kent State University Press, Ohio, 2002; p.xiii
44. Bornino, Bruno.  “Ralph Is Top 10 At Agora”, The Cleveland Press, Fri., Feb. 8, 1974; Agora Records, Box 4: Newspaper articles, WRHS
45. “Rock Reverberations”, The Plain Dealer, Fri., Mar. 28, 1975; p.29

Hough Riots: The Aftermath by Brigette Bencoe

Article on the Hough riots from CWRU

Hough Riots: The Aftermath
by Brigette Bencoe

The predominately black Hough neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, encompasses the area between Euclid Avenue and Superior Avenue (running east and west), and East 55th and East 105th (running north and south).  On Monday, July 18th, 1966, a disagreement occurred between a white cafe owner and the black community of the Hough neighborhood.  This disagreement led to a state of violence and turmoil in the area that lasted until the Cleveland National Guard restored order a week later.  This week-long period of civil disorder in Cleveland history was remembered as the Hough Riots. The Hough Riots was considered “one of the most serious outbreaks of civil disorder in the city’s history” 1 .

The aftermath of the riots produced activism from residents and leaders alike in Cleveland.  The Hough neighborhood had the potential for improvement with the creation of the urban renewal programs Cleveland NOW!, Hough Area Development Corp (HADC), Special Impact Program funded by Office of Equal Opportunity, and the Neighborhood Youth Corp.  The recently elected African American Mayor, Carl Stokes, represented a fresh start for the city and its black population.  However, implementation of the urban renewal programs often fell short of proposed goals due to sparse funds, fraudulent practices and disorganization.  Racial tensions seemed to escalate and result in more violence.  Mayor Stokes was unable to achieve much success after the riots due to the problematic state of the Hough slum and continued racial violence.  Progress to improve Hough was counteracted by the shortcomings of urban renewal programs, the escalation of racial violence, and the absence of affective results from Carl Stokes.

The Seventy-Niners’ Cafe located on the corner of East 79th street and Hough Avenue was an establishment owned by a white man named Dave Feigenbaum, who has been known to discriminate against, and often times refuse service to, Hough’s black community.  On July 18, 1966, at the Seventy-Niners’ Cafe, arguments occurred between Dave Feigenbaum and two members of the black community.  The first incident occurred when a black prostitute solicited bar customers for funds to benefit a deceased prostitute’s children.  When Feigenbaum asked the prostitute to leave, she showed some resistance and quarreled with him until he finally got her to leave.  Residual tensions from this incident set the stage for Feigenbaum’s next encounter with a black man who requested water to accompany his order.  Feigenbaum claimed he could not serve the man because he was ordering out. He further instructed the barmaids not to serve water to blacks, and posted a sign on the door that read “no water for niggers (sic)” 2 .  Once the news of the incidents spread, frustrations peaked in the ghetto and led to the start of the riots.

One day after the riots began (July 19th), the Cleveland paper, the Plain Dealer, ran the front page headline, “Woman Killed in Hough Violence”3 .  Twenty-six year old Joyce Arnett was ushered into a nearby apartment by police, where she became frantic about the safety of her children.   She poked her head out the window of a building to announce that she was going to leave the building, at which point she was shot in the head and chest by three stray bullets from an unknown sniper4 .  The article also mentioned fire bombs, shots by snipers (most likely by Hough gang members), fires and looting as other forms of civil disorder5 .  While Hough only encompassed approximately two square miles, the riot had fanned out to ten square miles6 .

Chaos mounted to such a level that Cleveland Mayor Ralph Locher called in one thousand Cleveland National Guardsmen.  On the night of the National Guardsmen arrived, Percy Giles, a black man, was killed amidst a rapid exchange of gunfire between police and snipers.  The most danger from the riots occurred in the first few days, after which the Guard began to take control of the situation.  Four deaths occurred during the riots and countless looters and vandals were arrested.  The following table shows a compilation of the statistics gathered in a report by the National Guard recounting their post in Hough 7 .

Day
Total Fire Runs                Total Actual Fires             Total Police Runs

Tues 19 – Wed 27                     532                                 423                            1779

Wed 27 – Sun 31             *************                      NORMAL                 *************

In the wake of the violent activities, many asked the question, “Why had the riots occurred?”  The Hough Riots are an example of a much larger underlying problem during this time period: “racial injustice and second class status for black citizens”8 .  The frustration of poor housing, unemployment and poverty due to second-class citizenship led the younger generations in Hough to seek attention through radical means.  The older generation of the Hough community felt it was the “militant youth” that produced the catastrophe of the riots9 .  Cleveland Community Relations board director Bertram Gardner, stated that 90-95% of Hough does not agree with the methods and demonstrations of the riot.  He said that it was “black nationalism acted out by the wrong people”10 .  They felt less destruction and anger could have resulted from tactics from the Martin Luther King Jr. Era.

The riots exposed Hough as a struggling slum and the Cleveland community could no longer ignore its problems.  Of foremost importance was the election of Carl Stokes as mayor, because it marked the start of a “new and brighter period in the history of Cleveland, Ohio”11 .   To the black population in Cleveland, Mr. Stokes was a breath of fresh air in comparison to the neglect of Mayor Locher and his administration.  In fact, the loyalty of the black population to Mr. Stokes prevented a riotous outbreak the summer of 1967, one year after the Hough Riots.  Stokes was the mastermind behind the formation of Cleveland: NOW! organization in 1968 that specifically dealt with the urban renewal and revitalization of black ghettos. The organization’s priorities were housing, creation of jobs, city planning, and health care.

In 1967, The Hough Area Development Corp (HADC) was established to “bring economic prosperity to Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood”12 .  HADC promoted the creation of black businesses and fostered entrepreneurship.  One major component of the organization was the Handyman Maintenance Company which trained unemployed residents and found them work as maintenance men.  A report written by the members of the corporation in January of 1969 listed many activities that the Hough residents could be involved with during the rehabilitation of their neighborhood.  These activities included recreation centers, Police Athletic League, Good Samaritan Youth Center, Hough Housing Corp and the Opportunities Industrialization Center where job training could be received13 .

The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) became involved with raising the standards of the Hough men and women.  They funded the Special Impact Program in 1968 to offer the impoverished the opportunity to use the free enterprise systems to become independent and self-supporting.  It was created to reverse the economic decline in the Hough area, which was about 15.7% at the time.  The programs were designed in hopes of significantly changing the problems of unemployment, dependency and community tensions in Hough14 .  The OEO realized that the Special Impact program could be more effective if it had the supervision of the HADC.  Many important works grew out of the unification of Special impact and the HADC.  Some of the most important were the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza shopping center, the chain of McDonald’s restaurants, and the Homes for Hough.  Loan programs provided funding for private businesses in Hough and through the purchase of the primarily white-operated McDonald’s restaurant, HADC provided blacks who had previously experienced discrimination at McDonalds a place to find work and enjoy a meal15 .

Due to the fact that Hough had become dominated by youth and young adults, it made sense to establish programs to keep them busy and out of trouble.  Summer jobs for youth from impoverished families were used to successfully to steer them away from potential trouble.  The one-million dollar program had 1350 youth and 262 young adults involved, most within the ages of fifteen and the late twenties.  The Neighborhood Youth Corp was intended for 940 teenagers, but 1460 had come to attend the program16 .  The most important accomplishment these statistics show is that the people of Hough were taking the initiative to better themselves and their community.

The task of rebuilding the Hough neighborhood following its many years of neglect seemed almost impossible.  Marjorie Buckholz, author of “Twenty-three Years of Work to Improve the Hough Area”, foreshadowed the trials of advancing a broken community such as Hough when she wrote in October of 1966:

Basically, the same problems are there that were neglected twenty years ago.  The city lacks a large-range plan for the area within which groups and organizations which want to help can fit their efforts.  There is little evidence of courage or of conviction that a plan if created will be implemented. The deterioration of buildings and of human beings who live in this environment continues.  It is spreading to other adjacent sections of the city in the same way that it spread in the Hough Area a decade ago.

Her declaration was just the beginning of many criticisms of the rehabilitation efforts of Hough.  The ambiguity of the “large-range plan” Cleveland h17 oped to execute was exposed through these criticisms.

When the troops were leaving Hough, they mentioned the “evils” of poverty that caused the “lack of opportunity and initiative” that plagued the community18 .  The Hough community’s lack of hope and defiance of the law could not have been seen in a clearer light than through the destruction caused on the fifth day of rioting.  A seven story apartment building on East 59th street had been recently purchased by HOPE (Housing Our People Economically) to be renovated to offer low-income housing options to the residents of Hough.  It, along with a recreation center called University Party Center, was destroyed by fire and vandalism during the riots19 .  With such a lack of respect from the community toward improvements in progress prior to the riots, it is not surprising that the programs that were established after the riots would meet a similar fate.

A major issue was the missing link between the creation of urban renewal programs and the implementation of them.  An article in the New York Times, dated February 23rd, 1968, informed its readers that at that point in time, six projects had been started, none finished, and six more had been formulated but not started.  Six thousand-plus acres of land had been reserved for renewal, “nearly twice that of any other city”20 .  The irony behind all of this was that while no city had ever put so much time and supposed effort into creating and formulating programs, no major city had a project completion rate as low as Cleveland’s.  The inactivity of the Cleveland city council was brought to the attention of officials in the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The officials involved in the department were so “disgusted” with the failure in Cleveland that, in 1967, they cut off access to the ten million dollars in “additional renewal funds that had been allocated for Cleveland”21 .

The Special Impact program did not find much success.  It got off to a slow start and business in Hough seemed to remain stagnant.  The different programs that grew out of HADC and Special Impact had made very few strides as of February 1971, more than two and one half years later22 .  Loan programs and other community projects were anticipated to be the most helpful institutions, but did not bring the success many had hoped.  The Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza project started late, and since many businesses had left Hough because of the riots, it was hard to find interested vendors23 .  Homes for Hough, as of February 1971, had built three family-sized homes and completed one half of the anticipated plans for town homes.  The original projection for completion by Homes for Hough was to have fifty units available to residents by 196924 .

The HADC was criticized for not having the “know-how to devise an effective plan”25 .  Lack of support from the community as a whole, and the haphazard and rushed formation of HADC, could be reasons why this conclusion was drawn.  In addition, the organization did not see the “deficient housing and services” that littered Hough as a threat to the Cleveland Community until it was too late to make immediate progress in the wake of the riots26 .  Inefficiency, neglect and the lack of understanding were not just problems within the HADC; most urban renewal programs were similarly afflicted.

The Cleveland NOW! organization started by Carl Stokes experienced a bout of fraudulent activity that permanently damaged the reputation of the association.  Fred “Ahmed” Evans, a man closely associated with the militant groups thought as catalysts of the riots, was a member of the Black Nationalist group in Hough.  He was able to channel funds from the Cleveland NOW! program through the HADC because it was funding private businesses in Hough.  The private business that Evans was involved in was called the African Cultural Shop. He used the money provided for this shop to buy guns for his Nationalist members when racial tensions were at an all-time high during the few years immediately following the riots27 .  After Evans’ unlawful actions, the Cleveland NOW! foundation had a very hard time recieving funds, eventually leading to its demise.

There was inconsistency between a couple urban renewal programs.  HADC remained active until 1984 while the last major project by Cleveland NOW! was completed in 1970.  It failed due to its ties with “Ahmed” Evans and his fraudulent practices.  Although, HADC did experience its own turbulent times in the aftermath of the riots.  Congressman William E. Marshall criticized the validity of their tax-exempt status, and a Plain Dealer article questioned the effectiveness of their programs28 .  These issues may have hampered the abilities of the HADC when it began, but HADC did not experience the negative repercussions Cleveland NOW! did.  The inconsistency of urban renewal projects in Cleveland made it hard for many, including organizations willing to endow the projects, to see their value.

While a riot in Hough did not take place, a riot of similar magnitude took place in on July 23rd, 1968 called the Glenville Riots.  The money stolen from the Cleveland NOW! program by Fred “Ahmed” Evans was used to fund the violence in Glenville.  The Glenville Riots was a shootout initiated by Evans and his militant Nationalist followers and directed at the Cleveland Police Department, which was primarily white.  By the end of the shootout, three policemen, four suspects, and one civilian had died while fifteen were wounded29 .  Stokes felt that further violence could be stopped if black policemen patrolled Glenville to keep racial tensions under control, while the National Guard and Cleveland Police stayed on the perimeter.   No more deaths were reported, but looting and vandalism did occur30 .  The Glenville Riots was an explosion of racial tension and another drawback to implementing improvements after the Hough Riots.  It slandered the image and hard work of Mayor Carl Stokes and further angered racist whites.

Almost seven months before the Glenville riots was to take place, Stokes faced harsh criticism of what he had done to improve conditions in Cleveland.  The unorganization of urban renewal efforts was coupled by poor conditions in Cleveland slums, including Hough, looking “as depressing as ever”31 .  Granted, Stokes was dealt a difficult hand by the previous Mayor Ralph Locher.  His ineffective and inefficient methods allowed “the city to slide into a sad state of disrepair”32 .   Critics realized this and were willing to acknowledge the setbacks of the Stokes administration early in his term as inexperience and adjustment to issues passed onto him as he entered office33 .  Yet, despite conditions for which Stokes had no control, or the lack of sufficient time to prove his competence, he had to realize that drastic improvements needed to be made before he would gain the trust of the people of Cleveland.

With Stokes trying to prove his abilities as Mayor, the Glenville Riots did not help positively develop his image.  During the riots, Stokes banned whites from the area after the first nights “fire fight” and equipped the area with a black police force, hoping to ease the racial tension and prevent further deaths34 .  Stokes and his administration believed that this was a smart move on the part of the mayor, but white policemen believed otherwise.  Angered by the death and injury they had already endured, the white policemen saw the move as a “sellout to the black nationalists”35 .  Cleveland NOW! had the potential to make great strides in Cleveland’s ghettos, but after Glenville the large funds from big businesses and individual donations left the organization’s collection dry.

Many believed the Mayor had direct contact with Fred “Ahmed” and his squandering of Cleveland NOW! funds. Carl Stokes was summoned to the Probate Court in Cleveland when a complaint was filed saying Stokes “directed” money from the program into the hands of the Black Nationalists and Ahmed, as well as claiming he participated in an “unlawful parade” on the second anniversary of the Hough Riots36 .  While proper sources were unavailable to confirm the outcome of the trial, it can be inferred that the complaints were probably invalid and the charges against Stokes were most likely dropped.  Regardless of the validity of these statements, the publicity of this complaint would put doubt in the mind of Stokes most avid supporters; maybe even eliminate their support for good.

After the Glenville riots, many were searching for answers as to what could have motivated Evans and his followers to commit such a brutally violent act.  In response, a New York Times article read,

From the shabby Hough slums to the luxurious homes in Shaker Heights, Negroes express a conviction that the police are there to abuse them, not to protect them.37

The brutality of the white police force was yet another issue that finally came to the surface in the aftermath of the Hough Riots.  The Cleveland Police made comments about needing capital punishment to “keep the Negro in line”, and directed “anti-Negro” statements at Mayor Stokes on the police radio during the Glenville Riots38 .  The policemen were angered by Stokes’s decision to keep the Cleveland National Guard and white police out of the area to prevent further violence from racial tensions.  Violent eruptions due to police brutality took place throughout the country.  A white policeman was killed in New Jersey by black youths when they retaliated against the suppression and discrimination the police employed39 .  If the abusive ways of the white police force was not handled properly, the friction would lead to more militancy by blacks and “a growth of fascism among whites”40 .  All in all, it was made clear that the racial tension preceding the Hough Riots was increasing, and violence and death seemed to be the ultimate result.

Polarization of the races was also due to violence caused by the white minorities who had “the most to lose in the steady advancement of Negro rights”41 .   The Hough neighborhood was surrounded by “unsympathetic neighborhoods of Poles and Italians” who did not want an equalizing of standards in Hough42 .   Most of the Italian-Americans, like those who lived in Murray Hill, a neighborhood adjacent to Hough, were unskilled workers who felt that their jobs were in jeopardy.  In fact, several major riots of the past were due to extreme competition for the limited jobs and housing that were available43 .  More white gangs surfaced that were ready to strike at the militant blacks of Cleveland at any time.  Former youth groups in the areas were becoming stomping grounds for “viscously racist” gangs, like the white Chain Gang that practiced shooting guns at “paper targets they [called] ‘niggers’”44 .

The immediate aftermath of the Hough Riots resembles one of triumph and of disappointment.  The City of Cleveland finally noticed the “people lost inside a country” and realized that civil disobedience of this magnitude should not be ignored45 .  Large corporations within Cleveland and individuals associated with the leadership community of Hough joined forces to combat the devastating conditions of this overcrowded neighborhood in the black ghetto.  The many measures taken by citizens of Cleveland to improve Hough were more than any other major city during the Sixties.  However, not enough of the proposed goals were met.  Racial tension actually increased the violence and, in particular, it seemed to aggravate the white racists.  Programs took on too much too soon, and they either failed due to fraudulent practice and incompetence within the organizations, or they were not provided with sufficient funding or support.  Mayor Stokes presented a new beginning for Cleveland at its black residents, but the works he initiated did not produce many results and the extreme frustration in Hough played out again in the Glenville Riots.  Attitudes within the ghetto did not seem to change, and the prevailing atmosphere of hopelessness felt by the residents did not appear to be heading in an optimistic direction.

The Hough Riots will forever symbolize an important turning point for the City of Cleveland.  The riots identified an underlying problem of racial discrimination within poor, black communities among Cleveland’s 876,050 residents (as of 1960) that could no longer go unnoticed.  Unfortunately, the city’s leadership at the time could not gain a sufficient understanding of the change needed, and could not implement the solutions they found in enough time to do any immediate good.  Furthermore, the Hough community itself displayed little desire to change its ways and better the community.  While the direct outcome of the riots did not produce much success, with the help of the new mayor, Carl Stokes, and a change in attitude from the black and white residents alike, the neighborhood made some progress in the years to come.

Link one: http://statenews.org/story_page.cfm?ID=5134&year=2001&month=7
Link two: http://www.clevelandmemory.org/hough/

Notes

1. Mark E. Lackritz. “The Hough Riots of 1966.” Special Collections of the Cleveland
State University Library: 7.  http://www.clevelandmemory.org/hough/

2.             Lackritz 7

3.            “Women Killed in Hough Violence”.  Plain Dealer.  19 July 1966:  1

4.            Lackritz 8

5.            “Women Killed in Hough Violence”.  Plain Dealer.  19 July 1966:  1

6.            Adjutant General’s Dept. “The Hough riot, Cleveland, Ohio. This report on the role of the Ohio National Guard during the Hough area riots in Cleveland, 18-31 July 1996.” Columbus: Ohio. 1966.

7.            Adjutant General’s Dept.

8.              Lackritz, 5

9.            Robert G. McGruder. “Older People in Hough Want No Part of Trouble”. 20 July 1966

10.            Doris O’Donnell. “Rioting Blamed on Negro Frustration.” Plain Dealer 21 July 1966: 9.

11.            Lackritz,69.

12.            Hough Area Development Corporation Records.  Cleveland, OH: Hough Area Development Corp., 1968-1985.  Register

13.            Hough Area Development Corp, Box 16 Folder 313

14. General Accounting Office. “Development of minority businesses and employment in the Hough area of Cleveland, Ohio, under the special impact program [of the] Office of Economic Opportunity. Report to the Congress by the Comptroller General of the United States”. Washington. 1971. 6-8

15.            General Accounting Office. 10

16.            “Cause of costly riot and unrest may be eliminated by reforms”.  Plain Dealer.  23 July 1966

17.            Marjorie Buckholz.  “Twenty-three years of work to improve the Hough Area”.  1966 25

18.            “When troops leave…”.  Plain Dealer.  21st July 1966

19.            “When troops leave…”.  Plain Dealer.  21st July 1966

20.            Paul Hoffman. “Stokes Program Gains Momentum”.” New York Times 23 Feb. 1968: 66. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2002).  http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?sid=1&RQT=511&TS=1134527551&clientId=43422&firstIndex=0

21.            Hoffman 66

22.            General Accounting Office 11

23.            General Accounting Office 11

24.            General Accounting Office 43

25.            Buckholz 24

26.              Buckholz 22

27.            Cleveland NOW! register

28.            Hough Area Development Corporation Records. Register

29.            Louis H. Masotti and Jerome R. Cosi. “”Glenville Shootout”” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. 1969. <http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=GS1>. 1

30.            Masotti and Cosi 1

31.            Hoffman 66

32.            Lackritz 66

33.            Hoffman 66

34.            Anthony Ripley. “Terror in Cleveland.” New York Times 28 July 1968: 136. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2002). <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?sid=1&RQT=511&TS=1134528104&clientId=43422&firstIndex=10>.

35.            Ripley 136

36.            “Cleveland’s Mayor Ordered into Court.” New York Times 2 Oct. 1968: 769. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2002). <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?sid=1&RQT=511&TS=1134528104&clientId=43422&firstIndex=10>.

37.            Thomas A. Johnson “The Racial Violence in Cleveland.” The New York Times 3 Sept. 1968: 36. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2002). <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?

38.            Johnson  36

39.            Johnson  36

40.            Johnson  36

41. David Vienna. ““Black vs. White: Riots in Cleveland, Brooklyn took Ugly Turn”.” Wall Street Journal: 14 March 1967: 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The Wallstreet Journal (1889-1988). <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?sid=1&RQT=511&TS=1134530768&clientId=43422&firstIndex=0>..

42. Paul Hoffman. “Cleveland Fears New Outbreaks as It Awaits ‘Nonviolent Action’ by Dr. King; ‘We Need No Sermons’ ‘Cleveland Casbah’ Directive From City Hall Dr. King Assailed Fears Are Voiced.” New York Times 12 May. 1967: 51. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2002). <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?sid=1&RQT=511&TS=1134530768&clientId=43422&firstIndex=0>.

43.            Vienna 1

44.            Monroe W. Karmin and David Vienna. “Racial Powder Keg; Negro-White Hostility Mounting in Cleveland As City’s Efforts Fail; Armed Youth Gangs Growing; Mayor Blamed by Business, Established Negro Leaders CORE, Reds, Klan Eye City.” Wall Street Journal 14 Mar. 1967: 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The Wallstreet Journal (1889-1988). <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?sid=1&RQT=511&TS=1134530768&clientId=43422&firstIndex=0>.

45.   “Despair lights fuse of Bombs in the US Ghetto”.  Plain Dealer.  23 July 1966

Architecture in Cleveland

From the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The link is here

ARCHITECTURE. Cleveland’s innovations in certain areas of architectural planning have displayed a progressiveness and vision matched by few other cities. The 1903 Group Plan, which produced widespread national admiration at the time, is only one example. In the 1920s, the plan of the CLEVELAND UNION TERMINAL complex anticipated many of the features of Rockefeller Center. Greater Cleveland also developed the first comprehensive modern building code (1904), the first industrial research park (NELA PARK, 1911), and the most spectacular realization of the garden city suburb idea inSHAKER HEIGHTS Moreover, Cleveland is not without its individual architectural landmarks that have no peer anywhere, the most notable being theARCADE of 1890.

Architectural design in Cleveland during most of its history was typical of that in any growing midwestern commercial and industrial city. The building needs for various uses–domestic, commercial, religious, social, industrial, and so on–were common. The same is true of the styles used to clothe these uses; styles followed the general chronological development of those in the rest of the nation. The design of buildings was determined less by any discernible architectural philosophy than by the function or symbolism of the building, the wishes of the builder, the type of site or amount of money available, and the dictates of fashion. Because of the demand, the city attracted numerous fine architects, who generally produced buildings at a very high level of quality, though Cleveland is not known as the home of prophetic architects of national reputation.

At the time of Cleveland’s beginnings in the early 19th century, there was no profession of architecture in the modern sense. The designer of buildings was sometimes a gentleman-scholar but more often a master builder in the late-18th-century tradition. The first master builder practicing in Cleveland who called himself “architect” was JONATHAN GOLDSMITH† (1783-1847) of Painesville, who built at least 10 houses on Euclid Ave. in the 1820s and 1830s. The most notable were the Federal-style Judge Samuel Cowles mansion (1834) and the Greek Revival Truman Handy mansion (1837). The modern profession of architecture began in the 1840s, and the individual private practice, performing most of the services of the modern architect, was established in Cleveland before the Civil War. Goldsmith’s son-in-law CHAS. W. HEARD† (1806-76) was the most important architect from 1845 until his death. From 1849-59 he worked in partnership with SIMEON C. PORTER† (1807-71) from Hudson, OH. Heard and Porter designed predominantly in the Romanesque Revival style (Old Stone Church, 1855). They introduced the use of cast-iron columns in Cleveland in the mid-1850s. Heard designed the Case Block (distinct fromCASE HALL), rented and known as city hall, Cleveland’s greatest Second Empire building, in 1875.

In the last quarter of the 19th century, Cleveland’s most magnificent architectural ensemble was found on EUCLID AVE., lined with the fashionable mansions of wealthy executives in shipping, iron and steel, oil, electricity, and railroads. The fine residential stretch between E. 12th and E. 40th streets was known as “Millionaires Row”; Clevelanders and many visitors called it “the most beautiful street in the world.” Mansions remaining from the Greek Revival period, together with Gothic Revival and Tuscan villas from the 1850s and 1860s, stood side by side with great Romanesque Revival stone residences and eclectic houses in the Victorian Gothic, Renaissance, Queen Anne, and Neoclassic styles. The residences were designed both by Cleveland architects such as LEVI T. SCOFIELD†, CHAS. F. SCHWEINFURTH†, and GEO. H. SMITH† and by out-of-town architects, including Peabody & Stearns, Richard M. Hunt, and Stanford White. Euclid Ave. remained fashionable until after the turn of the century, but virtually all of “Millionaires Row” was destroyed in the years around World War II.

At the same time, Cleveland participated in the revolution in commercial architecture that evolved simultaneously in Chicago, New York, and other large commercial cities, and which was characterized by 1) a concern for fireproof construction, 2) the provision of lighter and more open structure, and 3) the evolution of iron and steel skeletal construction. The foremost exponents of this development in Cleveland were FRANK E. CUDELL† (1844-1916) andJOHN N. RICHARDSON† (1837-1902), who produced a remarkable series of progressively lighter and more open structures between 1882-89–the Geo. Worthington Bldg., the Root & McBride-Bradley Bldg., and the PERRY-PAYNE BUILDING The first in Cleveland to utilize iron columns throughout all 8 stories, the latter contained an interior light court that attracted visitors from a considerable distance. The Chicago School of commercial building was actually represented by 3 buildings of Burnham & Root–the Society for Savings (1890), whose masonry load-bearing walls enclose an iron skeleton, and whose lobby is an unusually fine example of decorative art in the 
Wm. Morris tradition; the WESTERN RESERVE BUILDING (1891), a building of similar structure built on an unusual triangular site; and theCUYAHOGA BUILDING (1893; demolished 1982), the first building in Cleveland with a complete steel frame.

The development of skeletal structure and the interior light court reached a climax in Cleveland with the construction of the ARCADE. Opened in 1890, the Arcade is an architectural landmark that has remained without peer for more than 100 years. Combining features of the light court and a commercial shopping street, the “bazaar” of stores and offices was built by a company whose officers included STEPHEN V. HARKNESS† of Standard Oil andCHAS. F. BRUSH†. The architects were JOHN EISENMANN† and Geo. H. Smith. The 300′ long iron-and-glass arcade of 5 stories is surrounded by railed balconies and connects two 9-story office buildings designed in the Romanesque style. Because of the differences in grade, there are main floors on both the Euclid Ave. and Superior Ave. levels. The skeletal structure of the Arcade consists of iron columns and oak, wrought iron, and steel beams. The roof trusses were of a new type; since no local builder would bid on the construction, the work was done by the Detroit Bridge Co. The central well of the Arcade, with its dramatic open space and natural light, is the most impressive interior in the city, and its renown is international.

Other architects active in the last quarter of the century were ANDREW MITERMILER†, planner of breweries, business blocks, and social halls; JOSEPH IRELAND†, architect to AMASA STONE† and DANIEL P. EELLS†; Levi Scofield, designer of Cleveland’s most important monument, the SOLDIERS’ AND SAILORS’ MONUMENT (1894); and COBURN & BARNUM, whose major works were institutional and business buildings. By 1890 36 architects were listed in the city directory, and in the same year the Cleveland chapter of the AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, CLEVELAND CHAPTER was formed. To design important Cleveland buildings in the 1890s, however, many clients sought architects of national reputation, among them Burnham & Root, Richard M. Hunt, Henry Ives Cobb, Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, Geo. B. Post, Peabody & Stearns, and Geo. W. Keller. After the turn of the century, these included Stanford White and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson.

When the profound change from Victorian revivalism to classicism took place in the 1890s, Cleveland architects responded with characteristic adaptability. Such architects as Geo. H. Smith, LEHMAN AND SCHMITT, GEO. F. HAMMOND†, and KNOX & ELLIOT began careers in the Richardsonian Romanesque and other revival styles and later were able to design tall office buildings and Beaux-Arts classical monuments with equal facility. One architect of this generation, CHAS. F. SCHWEINFURTH† (1856-1919), was the first Cleveland architect to rank with those of national stature. Trained in New York, he came to Cleveland to design mansions, institutional buildings, and churches for the wealthy, especially in association with Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Mather. His early work was in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, but his masterpiece is generally agreed to be the Gothic TRINITY CATHEDRAL(1901-07).

The dominance of the classic revival was epitomized by the Group Plan of 1903, whose significance was immediately recognized across the country. The plan evolved as a result of the conception that newly planned federal, county, and city buildings could be placed in a monumental grouping. The Group Plan Commission consisted of Daniel H. Burnham, John M. Carrere, and Arnold W. Brunner. Uniformity of architectural character and building height was recommended, and the Beaux-Arts classical style was followed. The MALL, which is the center of the plan, was finally completed in 1936, and the major buildings include the Federal Courthouse (1910), CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURTHOUSE (1912), CLEVELAND CITY HALL (1916), PUBLIC AUDITORIUM (1922), CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY (1925), and Board of Education Bldg. (1930). As an example of city planning inspired by the City Beautiful movement and specifically by the precedent of the Columbian Exposition of 1893, Cleveland’s Group Plan brought the city a national reputation for progressive municipal 
vision.

A few Cleveland architects studied at the Beaux-Arts in Paris and brought its teachings with them, the most notable being J. MILTON DYER† (1870-1957), architect of the city hall. By the 20th century, the first generation of architects trained in an American architectural school was beginning to practice. In 1921 a group of architects established the Cleveland School of Architecture, with ABRAM GARFIELD† as the first president. The school was affiliated with Western Reserve Univ. in 1929. It later became a department of WRU (1952) and continued to operate until it was discontinued in 1972. Many architects were attracted to Cleveland by the opportunities to build in the growing and wealthy industrial city. The development of well-to-do suburban enclaves inLAKEWOOD, BRATENAHL, and the Heights between 1895-1939 fostered a climate in which eclectic residential architects flourished. Among the finest were Meade & Hamilton, Abram Garfield, PHILLIP SMALL†, CHAS. SCHNEIDER†, FREDERIC W. STRIEBINGER†, CLARENCE MACK†, J. W. C. CORBUSIER†, ANTONIO DI NARDO†, and Munroe Copper.

The development of SHAKER HEIGHTS (1906-30) was probably the most spectacular embodiment of the suburban “garden city” idea in America. The subdivision was laid out so that curving roadways, determined as much by the topography of the land as by the desire for informality, replaced the grid layout of city streets. The apparently aimless meandering of the roads was actually calculated to provide access to the main arteries, as well as to create the best advantages for beautiful and livable home sites. Certain locations were reserved for the commercial areas, and lots were donated for schools and churches.

The homes of Shaker Hts. could be built for a wide range of prices, and there were neighborhoods of diverse character, from mansions to more humble homes. The architecture of the houses of the 1920s held few surprises; eclecticism was the accepted manner. The architects turned to styles that had developed satisfying and comfortable forms of domestic architecture, including American Colonial and English Manor (either Adam or Georgian), French, Italian, Elizabethan, Spanish, or Cotswold. But the similar plans and common scale, differentiated mainly in detail, resulted in familiar streets where the different styles stand side by side without jarring in the least.

The consistency of the domestic vision in the planned suburb was remarkable. Churches were designed to relate to the domestic architecture, the two favorite styles being American Colonial and English Gothic. Schools, stores, libraries, hospitals, fire stations, and even the gasoline stations were designed in the Georgian and Tudor idioms. In 1927-29 the planned suburban shopping center at Shaker Square was built in the Georgian Colonial style. The plan of the square has been compared to a New England village green, but it owes a great deal to the concepts of mid-18th-century Neoclassic town planning in Europe; it has been suggested that the octagonal form of the square and its buildings was patterned after the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. SHAKER SQUARE illustrates the continuing dependence on European models, combined with the expected references to American Georgian domestic building. It is also unusual in its integration of the rapid-transit line, which made the development of suburban Shaker Hts. possible.

The first 3 decades of the 20th century also saw a greatly increased demand for much larger and more formal private, institutional, and public buildings. Two architectural firms dominated the field–HUBBELL & BENES, architects of the WEST SIDE MARKET, the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART, and the Ohio Bell Telephone Bldg., and WALKER AND WEEKS, architects of the FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF CLEVELAND, Public Auditorium, the Cleveland Public Library, and SEVERANCE HALL. However, two of the largest such projects of the period, the HUNTINGTON BUILDING and the Union Terminal Group, were entrusted to the Chicago firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White.

The Terminal Group (1922-31), an architectural complex that became the symbol of Cleveland, consisted originally of 7 buildings occupying 17 acres. The group was notable for the development of commercial air rights over the station; all of the passenger facilities were below the street level. The arched portico on the PUBLIC SQUARE led to the Terminal Tower lobby and to ramps going to the station concourse level. The Hotel Cleveland (1918) was incorporated into the group and balanced by Higbee’s department store (1931). The Terminal Group may be compared with Rockefeller Center, which it predated by several years, in size, multipurpose use, and the incorporation of connecting underground concourses and an indoor parking garage. The 52-story Beaux-Arts-style tower, second-tallest in the world in 1928, is crowned by a classical spire, probably based on the New York Municipal Bldg. of 1913. Sometimes criticized as conservative in style, the Terminal Tower forms a focal point for the Public Square and the radiating avenues of Cleveland’s street plan, expressing the enterprise of the VAN SWERINGEN† brothers who built it. The Builders’ Exchange (Guildhall), Medical Arts (Republic), and Midland buildings, also planned by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, were designed in the modernistic style of 1929-30; their Art Deco lobbies were destroyed in 1981. The last building in the original group, the U.S. Post Office, was completed in 1934.

The Depression era saw profound effects in architecture. Apart from the general decline in building and the consequent attrition in the number of practicing architects, the most important was the arrival of modernism under the influence of the European International style, which was most apparent in the design of federal public works. The first 3 public housing projects authorized and begun by the Public Works Admin. were built in Cleveland in 1935-37. They were the Cedar-Central apartments planned by WALTER MCCORNACK†, Outhwaite homes by Maier, Walsh & Barrett, and LAKEVIEW TERRACE by Weinberg, Conrad & Teare. Lakeview Terrace is especially notable because of its adaptation to a difficult sloping site, and it appeared in international publications as a landmark in public housing. The simple design of the building units was clearly influenced by the European precedent of the International style. Other architects who adopted the new style with intelligence and vigor were J. Milton Dyer, HAROLD B. BURDICK†, CARL BACON ROWLEY†, J. Byers Hays, and Antonio di Nardo. The GREAT LAKES EXPOSITION in 1936 provided an opportunity for the display of the simple geometric forms of modernism, but the general acceptance of the style did not occur until after World War II.

The architecture of the postwar era is difficult to assess objectively from a recent perspective. New construction in Cleveland may have been more conservative in style and direction than at any other period in its history. Buildings continued to be built in traditional forms, as well as in the rectangular geometry of the assimilated International style. Many major projects were still awarded to nationally famous architects. Greater Cleveland saw structures designed by two of the old masters of modern architecture, Eric Mendelsohn and Walter Gropius. In the 1950s and 1960s, Cleveland firms such as Outcalt, Guenther & Associates filled the need for comprehensive planning on such projects as the Cleveland Hopkins Airport Terminal and master plans forCUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE and CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY While the individual practice continued, a new type of complex design organization that could plan everything from a single structure to a megalopolitan transit system was typified by Dalton-Dalton-Little-Newport. TheERIEVIEW urban-renewal plan of 1960 was one of the most ambitious undertaken under the Federal Urban Redevelopment program. The clearance of nearly 100 acres between E. 6th and E. 14th streets, Chester Ave. and the lakefront provided sites for the building of new public, commercial, and apartment structures. The centerpiece of the plan was Erieview Tower (1964), designed by Harrison & Abramovitz. A new commercial and financial center developed that extended from Erieview to Euclid and E. 9th; from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, no fewer than 12 new office buildings were erected in and around the area. Virtually all of the new buildings represented variations on the formula of the late modern glass and metal skyscraper. The architects included Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Chas. Luckman, Marcel Breuer, and local Cleveland design firms.

Though it lies just over the Summit County line, the music pavilion of the Blossom Music Center (1968) deserves mention as the product of a Cleveland architect, Peter van Dijk, for a Cleveland institution, the CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA. The Ohio Section of the AIA in 1992 voted the dramatic clam-shaped shelter a 25 Year Building Award as a structure of lasting importance.

The most significant achievements in Cleveland architecture have been in large-scale planning–the Group Plan, the Terminal complex, Shaker Hts.,PUBLIC HOUSING, and urban renewal. Chronologically, architectural design has often lagged behind national developments, and its general standard has been typical of that in cities of the same size. Individual buildings of every period rival buildings anywhere in quality–the Arcade, the Terminal Tower, the Society Bank, the Rockefeller Bldg., the motion picture palaces, and many churches. Several Cleveland architects, such as Chas. Schweinfurth and the firm of Walker & Weeks, achieved regional if not national reputations, and they will doubtless be more widely recognized when their work is fully documented. In conclusion, the architecture of Cleveland constitutes a representative index of the physical development and the taste of a large midwestern industrial and commercial city throughout its 19th- and 20th-century history.

Eric Johannesen (dec.)

Chapman, Edmund H. Cleveland: Village to Metropolis (1964).

Johannesen, Eric. Cleveland Architecture, 1876-1976 (1979).

Music in Cleveland

From the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The link is here

 

MUSIC. Music in Cleveland can date its present eminence from the first decades of the 20th century. By that time, population growth and business success had reached a plateau from which could emerge significant cultural events. It was during this era that the dedicated impresaria ADELLA PRENTISS HUGHES†, working through the FORTNIGHTLY MUSICAL CLUB and the Natl. Fed. of Music Clubs, brought the great names of western music to the city–Paderewski, Richard Strauss, Enrico Caruso; the orchestras from Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and others; the Ballet Russe, and more. During this time, music making by local ensembles of all kinds was at a new height. The CLEVELAND MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENT (1912), theCLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC (1920), and the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART (1916) came into being. At a benefit program for St. Ann Roman Catholic Church at GRAYS ARMORY on 11 Dec. 1918, the fledgling CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA was born. From its earliest days, music making had sprung naturally from the community. The earliest concert recorded in the Annals of Cleveland was a program of sacred music that took place at P. Mowrey’s assembly room on 10 May 1821. Throughout the period before the Civil War, the Annals record an increasing string of musical events, including the formation of such musical groups as the CLEVELAND HARMONIC SOCIETY (1835), the CLEVELAND MOZART SOCIETY (1837), the CLEVELAND MENDELSSOHN SOCIETY (1850), and the ST. CECILIA SOCIETY (1852). Notable early OPERA was produced by the Cleveland Gesangverein.

For much of this period, Cleveland remained in the musical orbit of Boston. This influence was epitomized in the person of Lowell Mason (1792-1872), probably the most influential musician in 19th-century America, who conducted a seminal series of workshops in Cleveland during the 1840s. This tradition did not emphasize American resources but, rather, sought to propagate standards of “correct taste” as practiced in Europe. Mason’s teachings had far-ranging implications for the development of music in Cleveland, particularly in the areas of sacred music and music education. Emphasis on sacred music was particularly strong, and the church was a major supporter of the arts. A Shaker colony known as NORTH UNION SHAKER COMMUNITY (in SHAKER HEIGHTS) was formed ca. 1822 and saw its most prosperous days between 1840-58 (it dissolved in 1899). Devotional vocal music, sung in unison without instruments, formed the core repertory for its dance-oriented religious meetings.

The first full-time supervisor in the Cleveland public schools was a disciple of Lowell Mason by the name of N. COE STEWART†, who held this post over a long tenure (1869-1907). Band music was highly popular in 19th-century Cleveland, and for many was a principal source of musical exposure. Playing in parks, in concert halls, at lawn fetes, on lake steamers, in skating rinks, at conventions, at strawberry festivals, and at numerous special events, visiting and local BANDS seemed omnipresent.

Waves of immigrants coming from Europe reached Cleveland before and after the Civil War, making the city the 7th-largest in the nation by 1900. Among these, the GERMANS were particularly skilled in music, and it was Cleveland’s German community that was responsible for much of the music making during the 19th century. The first German singing society in Cleveland was the FROHSINN SINGING SOCIETY in 1848, followed by the Cleveland Gesangverein in 1854. German groups in America began to exchange visits, becoming more formally organized following a gathering of singers in Cincinnati in June 1849. From that time, regular “SAENGERFESTS” took place, alternating between cities, over a long period of time. Five such saengerfests were held in Cleveland between 1855 and 1927. These events combined social activities, including picnics, torchlight processions, dinners, and balls, along with the concerts. Hans Balatka (1855), F. Abel (1859), Carl Bergmann (1874), EMIL RING† (1893), and Bruno Walter (1927) served as festival conductors. The final festival, which honored Ludwig van Beethoven, recognized also Cleveland composer ALBERT GEHRING† and combined more than 100 societies and 4,000 singers. Cincinnati served as a model for Cleveland in other ways. A saengerfest held there in May 1873 under the skillful leadership of Theodore Thomas (1835-1905), one of 19th-century America’s best conductors, provided momentum for a series of May festivals to follow. Such large events were much a part of the American scene during these years, and one need only point to the peace jubilees in Boston in 1869 and 1872 for other examples.

The impact of these events was not lost on Cleveland, and the person in a position to do something about it was Cleveland’s most important choral conductor, ALFRED ARTHUR†. His greatest achievement lay in his work with the CLEVELAND VOCAL SOCIETY, an organization that he conducted 29 seasons, through the spring of 1902. It was responsible for important first performances here, for entertaining renowned guests such as violinist Eduard Remenyi and composer Max Bruch, and for representing Cleveland with distinction at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Finally, Arthur was responsible for landmark orchestral concerts; 4 programs took place in Mar.-Apr. 1872 at Brainard’s Piano Ware Rooms. A new ensemble, the Cleveland Amateur Philharmonic Society, came into being in 1881, with FERDINAND PUEHRINGER† as its first conductor. Mueller Neuhoff succeeded Puehringer, to be replaced in turn by Franz Arens. In 1888 the Austrian oboist, composer, and conductor Emil Ring, who had first come to America in 1887 as a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, arrived to conduct the ensemble. Ring, a leader of obvious ability, gave programs of breadth, including works by Liszt, Wagner, Berlioz, Massenet, and Grieg. There were about 4 regular concerts each year, and the orchestra accompanied choral works for the Gesangverein, of which Ring was also the conductor, in summer programs at HALTNORTH’S GARDENS.

During the early 1900s, several local orchestras graced the growing scene, led by Emil Ring and a Cleveland-born colleague, . The short-livedCLEVELAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA with Beck as conductor represents an important venture in 1900-01. The 50-piece ensemble gave a total of 8 concerts at Grays Armory, with important soloists a regular feature. After the demise of this ensemble, the CLEVELAND GRAND ORCHESTRA came into being, playing a series of “Citizens’ Pop Concerts” through 1909 (the 1904-05 season prospectus advertised simply the “Cleveland Orchestra”). Audiences evidently were large, and ticket prices low; deficits were met through timely contributions. Although the fare aimed first of all to entertain, the repertoire included its share of works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, and other established composers. The series continued from 1910-12 under the name People’s Symphony Concerts, with the orchestra now called the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, under the alternate direction of Ring and Beck. A short-lived experiment was the organization of the Cleveland Municipal Symphony Orchestra, the financial support for which was taken over by the city. Notable though the intentions were, the conductor brought here to lead the orchestra, Dutch violinist Christiaan Timmner, eventually proved unable to develop the ensemble, and it dissolved in Mar. 1915. The next step was the tenuous beginning of the Cleveland Orchestra itself, known in its first season as Cleveland’s Symphony Orchestra. The press was enthusiastic. The ensemble of about 60 players, conducted by NIKOLAI SOKOLOFF†, was recruited mainly from the best local talent. It performed a varied schedule of more than 2 dozen programs its first season, to June 1919. The time was right; Cleveland at last had an orchestra that would endure.

Even as Cleveland was developing its own musical resources during the period to 1918, many musical visitors of importance helped shape standards of musical excellence and allowed Clevelanders to comprehend more clearly their emerging role on the national scene. The Norwegian violinist Ole Bull made repeated visits beginning in the 1840s. The Manvers Operatic Co., probably the first opera company to come, in 1849, started a tradition that culminated in the regular series by New York’s Metropolitan Opera (1899-1986). Jenny Lind (see JENNY LIND TOUR), the Hutchinson family, Adelina Patti, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, John Philip Sousa, and many more gave programs. In the orchestral sphere, Theodore Thomas made Cleveland a regular stop after 1869. Chamber music also flourished. The Cecilian String Quartet, begun in 1875, was a pioneer. Back in Cleveland after a time of study in Leipzig, Johann Beck organized the SCHUBERT STRING QUARTET 3 years later; it gave numerous concerts during the 1880s. The successor to this group was the BECK STRING QUARTET, which made its debut on 16 Oct. 1890 in a concert in the chapel of Unity Church. ThePHILHARMONIC STRING QUARTET was an important presence well into this century, and other groups followed. In Nov. 1918 the Chamber Music Society of Cleveland was formed, a precursor of the present CLEVELAND CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY.

Chronicler to Cleveland music during the second half of the 19th century was the important firm of ARTHUR SHEPHERD†, to many the “dean” of Cleveland composers, who came here in 1920 as asst. conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, and remained to compose and become long-time head of music at Western Reserve Univ. Other composers who have been a part of the Cleveland scene during the last half-century include VICTOR BABIN†, Rudolph Bubalo, Marcel Dick, Dennis Eberhard, HERBERT ELWELL†, Donald Erb, Edwin London, J. D. BAIN MURRAY†, Eugene O’Brien, Klaus George Roy, and BERYL RUBINSTEIN†. Others, associated primarily elsewhere, who contributed include ERNEST BLOCH† (who came to Cleveland in 1920 to lead the newly formed Cleveland Institute of Music), Douglas Moore, Quincy Porter, Roger Sessions, and Raymond Wilding-White. There is an activeCLEVELAND COMPOSERS’ GUILD, formed during the 1920s. Instrument building in Cleveland has played an important role. Significant among the builders are the Holtkamp Organ Co. (see WALTER HOLTKAMP†), and the KING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS CO., makers of brass instruments.

Subsequent conductors of the Cleveland Orchestra who have fulfilled the promise are ARTUR RODZINSKI† (1933-43), Erich Leinsdorf (1943-46), GEO. SZELL† (1946-70), Lorin Maazel (1972-82), and Christoph von Dohnanyi (1984- ). Pierre Boulez and Louis Lane also contributed immeasurably during the period 1970-72. A Cleveland Orchestra Chorus was formed (continuous from 1955), reaching an early high point during the tenure here (1956-67) of Robt. Shaw, and continuing to high acclaim under its subsequent directors, now Gareth Morrell. A Children’s Chorus, affiliated with the orchestra, was formed in 1967. The orchestra gives about 30 summer concerts annually at its summer home, the Blossom Music Ctr. (inaugurated 1968), where “popular” concerts increase the number to approximately 70 yearly events during the June-Sept. season. Important later contributors to the music scene have been the curators of musical arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Thos. Whitney Surette (1921-40), WALTER BLODGETT† (1940-74), and Karel Paukert (1974- ). The McMyler organ (1922), the first in this country to be installed in a museum of art, and pace-setting in its design principles, was moved and rebuilt in a new auditorium in 1971. In 1994 David Cerone was president of the Cleveland Institute of Music, succeeding Victor Babin and, more recently, Grant Johannesen. Ross Duffin was chairman of the Music Dept. at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY. in 1993. The Music Dept. of CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY, which developed under a long tenure by Julius Drossin, was, in 1994, led by Howard Meeker. The CLEVELAND MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENT, one of the largest community music schools in the country, with over 5,000 students, with branches and affiliates in several locations, grew under long-time director, HOWARD WHITTAKER†, and in 1994 was headed by Robert McAllister. Significant contributions are also made by neighboring institutions BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE, Oberlin College, and Kent State Univ.

Cleveland’s numerous ethnic neighborhoods have added rich variety. Besides the Germans, many other groups have contributed. The CIURLIONIS LITHUANIAN NATIONAL ART ENSEMBLE came to Cleveland in 1949 after extensive concertizing in Europe. The CLEVELAND KILTIE BAND, founded in 1935 to preserve the art of Scottish bagpipers, has been important here. The Balmoral Dancers became a part of this organization. TheGLASBENA MATICA has been important to the cultural life of the Cleveland SLOVENES. Representing the renowned Welsh singing tradition here have been the gatherings of the Gymanfa Ganu and, among others, the Cleveland Messiah Chorus. The HARMONIA CHOPIN SINGING SOCIETY, founded in 1902, was the first Polish male chorus in Ohio. The Hungaria Singing Society dates back to the 1890s. Ireland is represented by the Irish Musicians Assn. of America, Michael Keating Branch. The recently disbanded Czech LUMIR-HLAHOL-TYL SINGING SOCIETY was founded in Cleveland, and in 1898 presented the first performance here of Smetana’s The Bartered Bride. The oldest and largest of the Yugoslav choirs in Cleveland has been the Serbian Singing Choir. Children’s music has been represented in a number of directions, including the Zagreb Junior Tamburitzans and the more mainstreamSINGING ANGELS.

Cleveland has been a vital center of the more “popular” genres. Parlor music–that genre consisting mainly of piano music and songs aimed at the home market, particularly women–was as widespread in 19th-century Cleveland as it was elsewhere. Nearly half of the pages of Brainard’s (Western) Musical World were filled with music of this sort, mainly by Americans. Music produced in Musical World was, of course, also readily available for sale. Moving ahead in time, popular song, JAZZ, Americanized POLKAS, musical theater, and ROCK ‘N’ ROLL have all been important here. Famous songwriterERNEST R. BALL† (1878-1927) was born in Cleveland, and Art Tatum spent several seasons playing in Cleveland clubs during the 1930s. Tadd Dameron, Benny Bailey, Albert Ayler, and a host of others graced the local scene. A special Cleveland contribution lies in the inception here of rock ‘n’ roll, brought to prominence in the early 1950s in Cleveland before it achieved its phenomenal international popularity.

Evidence of Cleveland’s continuing growth in the musical arts can be seen in a variety of local ensembles of merit. The CLEVELAND CHAMBER SYMPHONY (1980- ), Edwin London, conductor, and the OHIO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (1972- ), David Lockington, director, have joined older groups, including the CLEVELAND WOMEN’S ORCHESTRA (1925- ), the oldest women’s orchestra in the nation, founded and conducted for many years by HYMAN SCHANDLER†; the CLEVELAND PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (1938- ), William Slocum, conductor; and the SUBURBAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (1954- ), Martin Kessler, conductor. Other important groups include the SINGERS CLUB (1893- ), Thomas Shellhammer, conductor, and Apollo’s Fire, Jeannette Sorrell, conductor. Opera and ballet have especially flourished in Cleveland during recent years. Two opera companies, CLEVELAND OPERA (1976- ) and LYRIC OPERA CLEVELAND (formerly Cleveland Opera Theatre; autonomous since 1976) mount important productions. The CLEVELAND BALLET (1974- ) does excellent work. Concerts supported successfully at educational institutions and through such organizations as the CLEVELAND CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY (1949- ), the Rocky River Chamber Music Society, and the Cleveland Museum of Art add greatly. Private organizations sponsoring concerts include the THREE ARTS CLUB OF LAKEWOOD (1918- ), and the Fortnightly Musical Club (1894-). Church music series, notably the Brownbag Concerts at TRINITY CATHEDRAL, under the leadership of Daniel Hathaway, often contribute in important ways. Good musical instruction at various levels, good library collections, and good newspaper reporting by HERBERT ELWELL†, Robt. Finn, Wilma Salisbury, Frank Hruby (of the musical HRUBY FAMILY), J. D. Bain Murray, Donald Rosenberg, and others have helped bring Cleveland concertgoers to new levels of sophistication. A model across the nation has become the program notes produced for Severance Hall. Program-book annotator Klaus G. Roy, now retired, was replaced by Peter Laki. Young Audiences of Greater Cleveland, autonomous since 1977, has been increasingly active in bringing relevant programs of excellence into school situations.

Patterns of funding for arts organizations have changed dramatically in recent years. Particularly since the creation in 1964 of the Natl. Council on the Arts and in 1965 of the Natl. Foundation on the Arts & Humanities, with its components, the Natl. Endowment for the Arts and the Natl. Endowment for the Humanities, the federal government has come to play an increasingly important role. At the state level, the Ohio Arts Council, which has contributed much in support of music, was also founded in 1965. Competition for funds, however, and “crisis financing” continue to hamper musical organizations as an increasing number of these vie for existing funds. As federal programs are cut because of the huge national deficit, and as funding in general becomes more elusive, musical organizations are finding they must learn better to manage their own affairs as well as to sharpen their focus and public image. Public relations has developed as an increasingly important field of professional concern. Indicative is the growth of arts administration as a professional field. The newly established and smaller musical groups have a particularly hard time, not only because of the problems of building constituencies but also because foundations and corporations have traditionally been cautious in supporting such groups.

Funding problems and opportunities, as well as demographic changes within the Greater Cleveland area, have brought about fundamental changes for Cleveland’s musical enterprises. Support for major organizations remains strong but now rests on a broader base. A number of foundations, including theCLEVELAND FOUNDATION, the KULAS FOUNDATION, and the Bascom Little Fund, provide needed help. Cleveland has built over its history a viable music-making and music-listening community and has gained for itself an international reputation for music. The signs are that that reputation will continue to deepen and grow.

J. Heywood Alexander

Cleveland State Univ.

Alexander, J. Heywood. It Must Be Heard (1981).

Grossman, F. Karl. A History of Music in Cleveland (1972).

Witchey, Holly Rarick. Fine Arts in Cleveland: An Illustrated History (1994).

Dance in Cleveland

From the Encyclopedia of Cleveland

The link is here

DANCE. Since the turn of the century, dance as a performing art has had a steady growth in Cleveland. Cleveland’s initial exposure to dance was through international touring artists who performed in local theaters. Over time Cleveland created support for dance through patrons of the arts, local arts organizations, colleges, and universities. Today there is a wide selection of dance performances available to Cleveland audiences. Both ballet and modern dance have joined the other arts as active components in the rich cultural fiber of northern Ohio.

Ethnic, social, and recreational dance have always held an important place in Cleveland’s multicultural setting, but it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that dance became recognized and supported as a fine art. The growth of business and industry in Cleveland created a base to support a variety of cultural arts. During the first 25 years of the century, Cleveland’s financial awakening led to the establishment and rapid growth of music, dance, theater, literature and the visual arts. This support was manifested in the founding of institutions such as CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART, CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA, CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC, and CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART. Also, as a result of this cultural blossoming, a local audience developed for both ballet and modern dance.

Two local personalities were instrumental in the development of this Cleveland dance audience: Cleveland’s cultural visionary, ADELLA PRENTISS HUGHES†, and local arts impresario, GIACOMO BERNARDI†, who brought to the city the most famous dancers and dance companies of the time. Anna Pavlova, the renowned ballerina of the early 20th century, appeared in Cleveland 4 times between 1911 and 1922. The internationally famous Diaghilev Ballets Russes appeared in Cleveland in 1916 during their first U.S. tour. The company returned in 1917, featuring the spectacular premier danseur, Vaslav Nijinsky.

During the time these Russian dancers were making a considerable impression on American audiences, the revolutionary American modern dancer, Isadora Duncan, was making an equally significant impact on the ballet of Imperial Russia. As an American in Russia at the turn of the century, Duncan influenced Pavlova, Fokine, and Diaghilev and established her reputation throughout Europe as a new creative force in dance. It was Anna Pavlova who convinced Sol Hurok, the national impresario, to book the tour that first brought Duncan to Cleveland. Duncan’s solo performance at Public Auditorium attracted an audience of 9,000. In 1923, the year after Isadora performed in Cleveland, Doris Humphrey appeared with the Denishawn Co. at Keith’s Palace, linking the city with the pioneers of Modern Dance in America. The trailblazing performances of Anna Pavlova, Diaghilev Ballets Russes, and Isadora Duncan were integral to the emergence of dance in Cleveland. Several generations of performers, teachers, choreographers, writers, patrons, and presenters trace their roots back to these early dancers.

By the early 1920s the local audience had developed enough to support the first dance classes and schools in the area. A character dancer with Pavlova, Russian-born Sergie Popeloff began teaching ballet at his studio in Cleveland’s Carnegie Hall and continued to train dancers for over twenty years. In 1925 a group of wealthy society women brought Russian dancer Nicholas Semenov (see NIKOLAI SEMENOFF†), former dancer with the Bolshoi and Diaghilev companies, to teach at the Martha Lee Dancing School. Four years later, Semenov opened his Russian Imperial School of Ballet in Cleveland’s Carnegie Hall. In 1932, as a protest against what he considered the ugliness of modern dance, Semenov committed suicide by leaping into Niagara Falls. Following Semenov’s death, a group of parents brought Serge Nadejdin to take his place. Nadejdin, a graduate of St. Petersburg Imperial School, was Pavlova’s contemporary and Semenov’s teacher. For 25 years he operated the Serge Nadejdin Imperial Ballet School in the Hippodrome Bldg.

During the 1930s, as the arts flourished in Cleveland, dance found new audiences and continued support of area patrons, local dance schools, and an involvement in schools both at the high school and collegiate level. In 1930 Adella P. Hughes engaged Doris Humphrey and her partner, Charles Weidman, two foremost exponents of American modern dance, to perform at a dinner party at the home of Mrs. William Mather. The following year, Humphrey and Weidman were invited to head the new modern dance department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, which was the first at any music school in the country. Busy with their company, they recommended their student and friend, Eleanor Frampton. Frampton taught at CIM until 1942, when she became director of dance at KARAMU HOUSE. Writing for the PLAIN DEALER for 35 years, she was also Cleveland’s first dance critic.

In addition, 1931 brought two other international pioneers: Martha Graham, American high priestess of modern dance, and Mary Wigman, German expressionist modern dancer, to perform at the new SEVERANCE HALL. Also in 1931, Eleanor Buchla, the first local dancer to gain a large audience, began performing her own choreography. Her dances were a highly musical mixture of modern dance and Hungarian folk dance. A strong proponent for dance in the schools, she not only opened Cleveland’s first modern dance studio but also began a dance curriculum in the city’s summer playgrounds. Buchla was instrumental in cultivating the first Modern Dance Assn., which was founded in 1934. Seventy-five dancers started the organization to promote local talent and to sponsor dance concerts by outside artists. Eleanor Frampton was elected chair and Buchla and Margery Schneider, dance instructor at Oberlin College, were on the executive committee. From 1936-42, Marjorie Witt, who had studied modern dance under Schneider at Oberlin, directed a group ofAFRICAN AMERICANS at the Playhouse Settlement. In 1939, as the Karamu Dancers, they performed at the New York World’s Fair.

Ballet also continued to flourish in the 1930s, and several new schools and groups emerged. Mme Bianca (Froehlich), a native of Austria and former prima ballerina with the Metropolitan Opera Co., opened a ballet school in downtown Cleveland. She presented many ballet programs striving to organize a local civic ballet. In 1945 Marguerite Duncan, New York-trained and a former Popeloff student, established her school and founded Cleveland Civic Ballet Co., the first nonprofit dance company in Cleveland. In 1983 the name was changed to North Coast Ballet Theatre.

During the years of World War II there were no significant developments in dance, as our country focused on the war effort. The 1950s brought a fresh surge of energy and interest for dance through the 78 dance studios, 8 downtown, offering a variety of dance classes to Greater Clevelanders. One of them, Ruth Pryor’s Ballet Russe, brought Alex Martin to town in 1954. English born and trained, Martin had danced in the Sadler’s Wells Ballet. In 1958 he opened his own studio, Cleveland Ballet Center, and founded the Cleveland Ballet Center Co., a nonprofit, semi-professional group that joined the National Regional Ballet Assn. In 1963 this company merged with Dance Horizons Inc., a company formed in 1960 by a group of local dancers led by John Begg. Begg, a Canadian, had danced with De Basil Ballet Russe, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and on Broadway. He arrived in Cleveland in 1959 to teach at Ruth Pryor’s studio. The new company became the Ballet Guild of Cleveland.

In 1956 another generation of Cleveland dancers formed the Cleveland Modern Dance Assn. (CMDA) (see DANCECLEVELAND) to further the study and appreciation of modern dance as an art form. This organization was the driving force for modern dance in Cleveland for the next 25 years. In 1961 Mark Ryder, former Martha Graham dancer, was brought to build a dance program at the new JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER in CLEVELAND HEIGHTSDuring his 4-year stay, Ryder organized the first Cleveland Dance Festival, establishing an esprit de corps among dancers. In 1961 Joan Hartshorne, a Jose Limon dancer, became dance director at Karamu, where she carried on the Humphrey-Weidman tradition until 1981.

In the late 1960s Jan and Ron Kumin founded the Fairmount Center of the Creative and Performing Arts (see FAIRMOUNT FINE ARTS CENTER), which spawned FAIRMOUNT THEATRE OF THE DEAF and Fairmount Spanish Dancers. In 1969 the Dance Theatre of Kathryn Karipides and Henry Kurth and the CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY. Modern Dance Co. was created to give students an opportunity to work in a professional-like company, and to build a dance department at the university. For 10 years it offered Cleveland audiences highly theatrical dance productions. Kelly Holt, at the time a member of the Erick Hawkins Dance Co. and a regular guest artist with the CWRU company, joined the faculty in 1975. The graduate dance program, housed in Mather Dance Center (formerly Mather Gymnasium), awarded its first MFA degree in 1975.

In 1973 Alex Martin of the Ballet Guild of Cleveland turned his attention to his studio, the Cleveland Institute of Dance in SHAKER HEIGHTS His partner, John Begg, directed his efforts to teaching at the CLEVELAND MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENT, Karamu, and Cain Park. Begg was artistic director for Canton Ballet 1971-76, returning to direct the dance department at Fairmount Center for the Creative and Performing Arts in Cleveland Hts. Meanwhile, in 1972, IAN HORVATH, a Cleveland native, and Dennis Nahat, a colleague at American Ballet Theater, acquired Ruth Pryor’s studio, then located at Masonic Temple. By 1976, with support from the CLEVELAND FOUNDATION and the Ballet Guild trustees, they established the Cleveland Ballet School and the CLEVELAND BALLET, the first professional ballet company in Cleveland. During the 1970s Cleveland revived PLAYHOUSE SQUARE to house the performing arts. CMDA moved downtown to be a presenter and in 1979 became known as DanceCleveland. In 1976 Alice Rubenstein, a CMDA member, founded FOOTPATH DANCE CO., Cleveland’s first professional modern dance company. Several other companies sprang up but survived only briefly. In 1986 Tom Evert, a Cleveland native who had danced in the Paul Taylor Company, started a company to showcase his choreography. Another grass-roots company, the Repertory Project, was formed in 1987 by Susan Miller and Colleen Clark to bring to Cleveland the work of a variety of contemporary choreographers.

From Pavlova’s performance in 1911 to the present wide variety of dance classes and performances available in Cleveland, dance has become an enriching artistic element integral to the cultural network of the city. In 1995 local companies included the Cleveland Ballet, Tom Evert Dance Company, the Repertory Project, Mary Verdi-Fletcher’s Cleveland Ballet/Dancing Wheels, North Coast Ballet Theatre, and a regular visitor, Akron’s Ohio Ballet. Several dozen ethnic and folk dance companies and a number of liturgical dance groups enrich the community. CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY,CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY, and CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE continue to support dance. Touring companies are presented by DanceCleveland, Playhouse Square Center, Tri-C, and Cain Park. Smaller companies and solo artists are presented by Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Public Theater, and Mather Dance Center. Wilma Salisbury was Plain Dealer dance critic. Cleveland’s influence on the fine art of dance goes far beyond its borders, with many artists who trained here now performing, teaching, and creating work throughout the world.

Judith Diehl

Diehl Consulting Services

Kathryn Karipides

Case Western Reserve Univ.

Art in Cleveland

From the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The link is here

ART. The development of an art life in Cleveland primarily resulted from the efforts of 2 distinctly different groups within the community: the wealthy patrons of art and the artists themselves. The first group consisted of families who accumulated their wealth from industry and commerce; the artists derived mainly from the German community. Also important was the influence of the commercial arts on other aspects of Cleveland’s art life. These contributing factors would change–to varying degrees–following World War II. An established art life really did not begin in Cleveland until 1876. In earlier years the city managed to support a few itinerant portrait painters, woodcarvers, stonecutters, and sign painters. Traveling exhibitions were occasionally announced in the newspapers and were usually held in the courthouse or local churches. Typical of these was an exhibition in 1844 that featured reproductions of Italian and Flemish paintings. By 1857 the Cleveland directory listed 6 professional artists. They mainly subsisted on portrait commissions and fees for individual or class instruction. Painting was occasionally lucrative, as in the case of JULIUS GOLLMAN†, who received $400 for his group portrait of the Arkites. In 1876 2 events combined to accelerate the growth of art in Cleveland. The Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, with its various displays of European and American art, is largely credited with encouraging local art interest throughout America. The most popular painting at the exhibition was SPIRIT OF `76 by Cleveland painter ARCHIBALD WILLARD†, who returned to Cleveland a celebrity and agreed to lead a group of young artists who that year formed the Cleveland ART CLUB. Also known as the Old Bohemians, the artists obtained rent-free space on the top floor of the Case Block (the city hall annex), where they set up studios and offered classes. The Cleveland Art Club provided the city with its first nucleus of notable artists, most of them–such asFREDERICK GOTTWALD†, OTTO BACHER†, and Max Bohm–the sons of German immigrants. Many received training abroad, primarily at the art schools in Munich and Dusseldorf.

In 1878 a group of women organized the first loan exhibition in Cleveland (see ART LOAN EXHIBITIONS) in order to raise money for social relief. The exhibition featured 167 oils, 67 watercolors, books and manuscripts, ceramics, bronze and statuary, gems, laces, and an Oriental collection. As in future loan exhibitions, artwork was borrowed from private collections in Cleveland, as well as from other cities. Many of the city’s galleries and art stores mainly offered for sale reproductions of European paintings. Sales of original works by the old masters increased toward the end of the century. Although a few galleries set aside space for local artists, their works were seldom sold. Oscar Wilde’s lecture in Cleveland in 1882 on the English Arts & Crafts Movement helped to encourage the founding later that year of the Western Reserve School of Design for Women (the future Cleveland School of Art). Art activity continued to increase in the 1890s with the founding of several new artists’ and art organizations, and 2 more loan exhibitions, in 1893 and 1894. The catalog for the loan exhibition in 1893 reveals the steady growth of art in private homes in Cleveland since the first loan exhibition 15 years earlier. The Cleveland Art Assn., the first organized effort among the city’s wealthy industrialists to promote art in Cleveland, was responsible for the loan exhibition in 1894. As the year before, half the proceeds were donated to the city’s poor fund, and the other half for the purchase of artwork for a future museum.

In the first decade of the 20th century, Cleveland experienced a lull in its art development. One reason was the defection of many of the city’s finest artists to Europe in search of a more favorable art climate. This emigration led in part to the dissolution of the Cleveland Art Club, the city’s most vital artists’ organization. Another factor for this period of inactivity was the delay in the establishment of an art museum. By 1891 3 substantial funds had been bequeathed for this purpose, but problems arose from an inability to legally consolidate the separate trusts. Late in arriving (even Toledo had an art museum before Cleveland), the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART was finally incorporated in 1913. In the meanwhile, exhibitions were periodically held at CHAS. OLNEY’s private gallery and the Cleveland School of Art’s new building (1906), which featured the city’s first large exhibition room. From 1910-29, the city experienced its greatest period of art activity, reflected in the emergence of the Art Museum, the MAY SHOW, a resurgence in art and artists’ organizations, and a number of exhibitions of current art from Europe. In 1913 10 cubist works from Paris were exhibited at the Taylor Dept. Store and caused quite a negative reaction in the community. The following year a Cleveland expatriate artist, ALEXANDER WARSHAWSKY†, organized an exhibition of postimpressionist paintings that included the works of fellow Cleveland artists. This show also drew almost unanimous criticism, the PLAIN DEALER labeling it as the “Biggest Laugh in Town.” Although the city wished to eliminate its provincial image, as late as the 1930s paintings of “undraped nudes” would still excite controversy in the newspapers.

The 1910s also saw the emergence of 2 dominant artists’ organizations in the city. The CLEVELAND SOCIETY OF ARTISTS was founded in 1913 as a revival of the Cleveland Art Club. Its initial purpose was to continue the tradition of academic art. Its antithesis was the KOKOON ARTS CLUB, founded in 1911. Cofounder CARL MOELLMAN† oriented the club toward the philosophy of his New York mentor, Robt. Henri, who disdained academicism in favor of more individualism in art. Cleveland at this time was becoming a thriving commercial-arts center. In lithography, the Morgan and Otis companies, and later Continental, were attracting artistic talent from around the country. The city also boasted well-known engraving and publishing houses such as the Caxton Co. In ceramics, the Cowan Pottery in ROCKY RIVER was gaining national recognition, in large degree due to the “Jazz Punch Bowl” designed for it by Viktor Schreckengost, an instructor at the Cleveland School of Art. The artists’ organizations drew the bulk of their membership from the commercial arts, providing artists with an uncensored outlet for their creative energies. The Kokoon Club was significant in that it provoked a struggle for the city to achieve a reconciliation between progress and extremism. This struggle was based largely on a misconception among Americans that linked “new art” to political extremism and immoral behavior. Tension increased with city hall when the Kokoon Club’s annual ball began to display some of the antisocial themes pervasive among America’s avant-garde following World War I. Mayor FRED KOHLER† banned the ball in 1923, claiming that the event fell within Lent, but it was resumed the next year and continued to attract enormous publicity (from outside the city, as well) as the yearly review of Cleveland’s Latin Quarter.

This second generation of Cleveland artists still consisted largely of the sons and grandsons of German immigrants (of the 13 original members of the Kokoon Club, 9 were of German heritage). Many still received training in Germany, although the French postimpressionists–especially Cezanne
–were also popularly emulated. Because many of the city’s artists made a living as engravers, illustrators, and lithographers, fine draftsmanship often characterized their efforts–as in the paintings of WM. SOMMER†. Overall, like most American artists until World War II, Cleveland artists generally sought a middle-of-the-road compromise between the old masters and moderns. The introduction of the MAY SHOW in 1919 helped considerably to bring attention to local artists. The Cleveland Museum of Art and the new Cleveland Art Assn. (revived 1915) organized the first May Show to exhibit the works of local artists and craftsmen and to provide a market for their sale. A similar show already existed in Chicago, but the Cleveland show was to become one of the country’s largest and best known. Traveling exhibits were sent around the country and did much to establish the reputation of Cleveland as an art center.

As the new center of art in Cleveland, the Art Museum implemented many programs to promote art in the city. For the general public, various educational programs were offered. In 1918 the museum stated an intention to build permanent collections in areas that would benefit the city’s industries, such as printing, textiles, iron and steel, furniture, and woodcarving. That resulted in the founding of the PRINT CLUB OF CLEVELAND in 1919, and the Textile Art Club in 1934. In the 1920s, Cleveland surpassed Boston as the country’s leading center in watercolor painting. The medium achieved popularity here because of the close-knit character of the artistic community; moreover, from 1924 it was the most important feature of the May Show. Many of these paintings won prizes at the prestigious Annual Intl. Exhibition at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. Such attention helped to bring about the identification of a “Cleveland School” of artists, which, besides Sommer, included Alexander and Abel Warshawsky, GEO. ADOMEIT†, HENRY KELLER†, PAUL TRAVIS†, FRANK WILCOX†, CHAS. E. BURCHFIELD†, and many others whose work gained notable attention outside Cleveland. Despite growing recognition, the artists received a great unevenness of support in Cleveland itself. The May Show, ironically, was partly responsible. Removed from the show’s prestige, the artists were more or less left stranded the remainder of the year. The various artists’ organizations offered comparable works at yearly auctions, but these usually sold at disappointingly low prices. Dwelling in the shadow of the May Show, in later years such exhibitions indeed became popularly known as “reject shows.” The wealthy in Cleveland were primarily dedicated to the collection of European art, and patronage of the Art Museum and May Show.

Like everything else, art in Cleveland suffered during the Depression. For the Cleveland Museum of Art, bequests were reduced, and purchases had to be curtailed. At the Cleveland School of Art, enrollment dropped 35% between 1930-33. Many artists and craftsmen dependent on the commercial arts for a living applied to the WPA’s Federal Art Project, which had been prefigured by the Public Works of Art Project, established in 1933. Under the PWAP, Cleveland artists produced 8 murals for the CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY, plaques for schools, historical maps, and other art objects. Later, in 1936, the FAP put 75 Cleveland artists to work in an old factory building to make signs, lantern slides, paintings, and sculptures. Ceramics were also produced and were very much in demand throughout the country, upholding Cleveland’s national reputation in that area of art production. Notable were the figurines of storybook characters produced by Edris Eckhardt and others for the CPL. By the late 1930s, there was a general decline among Cleveland’s artists’ organizations. The Depression and the increasing use of automation in th e commercial arts, especially lithography, helped to check the flow of artists into Cleveland. European-trained artists were aging and giving way to a greater diversity of younger artists from the highly regarded Cleveland School of Art. As “new art” became more acceptable, the Kokoon Club and Cleveland Society of Artists blurred together. For these reasons, and others that occurred after the war, Cleveland’s artists’ organizations would never again be as visibly active.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the art center of the world moved from Paris to New York, which also marked a turning point in the art life of Cleveland. After the war, a general shift took place in Cleveland from smaller commercial-art companies mainly involved in graphic arts (lithography, engraving, advertising, etc.) to a diversity of larger companies interested in industrial design. From the 1920s, the Cleveland School of Art had been placing a stronger emphasis on the practical uses of art and design in order better to serve the various industries in Cleveland. Following the war, this emphasis increased as manufacturing companies across America called for advertising artists and industrial designers to work in such industries as automobiles, home appliances, aluminumware, toys, ceramics, and greeting cards. Previously, most of Cleveland’s artists had been concentrated in several leading commercial art firms; now there was a general dispersion of artists, craftsmen, and designers among many industries. There was also the new and overpowering draw of New York for younger artists. These factors contributed to a further debilitation of the artists’ organizations and led to a continuing shift in focus from local to regional art.

As the importance of the artists’ organizations diminished, the void would be filled in the 1950s with a proliferation of neighborhood art centers and a multitude of art events sponsored by such diverse organizations as women’s clubs, churches, cultural institutions, civic and ethnic groups, and department stores. In 1949 the CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART Alumni Assn. held its first annual art show and sale at SHAKER SQUARE. It was followed in the 1950s by a strong involvement from the Jewish community with the introduction of the JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER show. The annual exhibition at the PARK SYNAGOGUE, begun in 1960, helped to bring local attention to new movements in modern art, such as abstract expressionism. Black artists in Cleveland were also making an important contribution. In 1940 6 black artists, under the auspices of the KARAMU HOUSE, formed a new artists’ organization known as the Karamu artists. Within a few years they developed into the largest single group of black artists in the country, exhibiting at such notable institutions as the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. The Karamu House has also, since 1915, maintained a gallery with special interest in the works of talented black artists.

By the early 1960s, the diversity of local involvement had become considerable. In 1964 local exhibitions included, among others, African art at the May Co., master prints at Higbee’s, the Baycrafters’ annual juried show, an exhibition of Cleveland artists at the Circle Gallery, the annual exhibition of work by teachers of art in Cleveland high schools, and a show by students of the Cooper School of Art. Gallery openings and closings also proliferated at this time. The HOWARD WISE GALLERY OF PRESENT DAY PAINTING, opened in 1957, attempted with little success to bring works of contemporary European and American artists to Cleveland, and in 1961 moved to New York. In contrast to New York, where galleries are concentrated in specific parts of the city, galleries in Cleveland since the war have been dispersed throughout the greater metropolitan area. Recently, however, artists and galleries have been attracted to the Murray Hill area and later to TREMONT. In the 1970s, a number of outdoor art fairs were introduced in Cleveland. Included among these were the Boston Mills, Lakewood, Cain Park, and Clifton art festivals. Since the 1950s, corporations have arrived on the local art scene in an area formerly dominated by the wealthy industrialists. They have joined local foundations in making grants to art institutions in Cleveland; many corporate executives serve as board members for these institutions. Although its arrival was somewhat late in Cleveland, corporate art collecting has been a significant factor in the city’s art life since 1975.

In addition to its other exhibits, the Cleveland Museum of Art has customarily put together at least 1 major exhibit yearly. One of its best-known shows nationally was a bicentennial exhibition, “EUROPEAN VISION OF AMERICA,” which it cosponsored with the Natl. Gallery and the French government. A nearly $2 million deficit in 1992, however, led to the elimination of the museum’s popular Extensions Exhibition Service, which had provided exhibits for such venues as the Beck Ctr. for the Cultural Arts and the Cleveland Public Library. In 1976 Clevelanders were forced to confront modern sculpture in Isamu Noguchi’s The Portal. Commissioned by the GUND FOUNDATION at a cost of $100,000, the 15-ton, 36′ high curving configuration of carbon steel piping is located at the W. 3rd St. entrance of the Justice Ctr. Sherman Lee, then director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, considered The Portal one of the most important monumental sculptures in the U.S. Public reaction–especially to its cost/value–was mostly opposite. Later, when BP America declined to install a giant rubber hand stamp entitled Free Stamp, which it had commissioned from sculptor Claes Oldenburg for its headquarters on PUBLIC SQUARE, the city found a place for it in Willard Park.

In recent years Cleveland has seen the founding of several theme-based nonprofit art organizations. Contemporary art finally gained a foothold in the city with the establishment of the CLEVELAND CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART in 1968. A similarly oriented organization is the Spaces Gallery, located in the warehouse district. Both organizations claim a commitment to Ohio artists. A revived interest in the “Cleveland School” artists led, in 1984, to the founding of the CLEVELAND ARTISTS FOUNDATION, which by 1993 had acquired a collection of 300 works in its area of interest. NOVA (the New Organization for the Visual Arts) is dedicated to the advocation of the artist in the community, a responsibility previously held by the now-defunct Cleveland Area Arts Council. NOVA has implemented many new programs and exhibitions, including, in 1983, the Art in Special Places Program to expose art to people who do not frequent museums and galleries.

Compared to cities with similar growth, an art life in Cleveland was late to arrive. But between 1910-29, Cleveland experienced a renaissance in art that rivaled, and in some areas surpassed, that of other cities in America. The viability of the commercial arts in the city and the leadership of the Art Museum were strong contributing factors. With the possible exception of the May Show, Cleveland’s art life has not been innovative, but rather has reacted to outside influences. Since World War II, Cleveland, like all other American cities, in terms of art has largely dwelt in the shadow of New York. The Cleveland Museum of Art, of course, has been a leader in such areas as Oriental art. Both the Art Museum and the Cleveland Institute of Art are proudly supported and remain among the finest of their kind in the country. But there is, perhaps, a tendency among Clevelanders to see these two institutions as the only centers for art in the city. That has led to Clevelanders’ not fully taking advantage of the manifold offerings of the city’s art life and, perhaps more seriously, has made it sometimes difficult for galleries, artists, and smaller art organizations to achieve a vital existence in the city.

James Shelley

Clark, Edna. Ohio Art and Artists (1932).

Marling, Karal Ann. Federal Art in Cleveland, Cleveland Public Library (1974).

Smart, Jermayne. “Folk Art of the Western Reserve” (Ph.D. diss., WRU, 1939).

Witchey, Holly Rarick. Fine Arts in Cleveland: An Illustrated History (1994).

Wittke, Carl. The Cleveland Museum of Art (1966).

Wixom, Nancy Coe. Cleveland Institute of Art (1983).

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