As noted on a previous posting I took the opportunity to get some current photos of Cleveland for the second in the ‘Time Travel’ series.
The corner of Euclid Avenue and East 9th Street has always been the financial center of Cleveland. The view below is looking west on Euclid Avenue in 1905.
Note the red building on the left remains from the 1905 photo, while most of the closer buildings have been replaced over the years.
While streetcars no long run down the streets, there are dedicated bus stops in the middle, which is where the new photo was taken from.
Just up the block is the Arcade – which was featured in the earlier posting. This photo is also from around 1905.
And as you can see it hasn’t changed much at all! It is amazing to think of all of the people who have walked these corridors in 130 years.
The Colonial Arcade is just across Euclid Avenue. It too is nearly identical except for the fashion.
Meanwhile just outside of the Colonial Arcade on Prospect Avenue is an exterior view of the hotel.
If you look closely at the top of the new photo you will see a portion of the original sign painted on the outside wall.
Also of note a Kia is now parked where the horse and buggy was in 1900.
Meanwhile back on Euclid Avenue we see the Arcade from the outside, with a view in the distance of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Public Square.
As with the early 1900s one – traffic was light on our visit too.
This view is at the monument looking back down Euclid to where we just came from.
Notice the lamp post is still in the same spot in the foreground, just a different lamp.
The Williamson Building below was completed in 1899, and stood until the early 1980s.
In a brief departure from the normal ‘before and after’ photos, the photo below shows the implosion of the Williamson Building in the early 1980s. Of note I am in the crowd somewhere, and was covered from head to toe with the (most likely hazardous) dust.
The result is the aforementioned 200 Public Square Tower. Since the 1930s the iconic Terminal Tower dominated the Cleveland skyline, and Public Square.
When the long time Cleveland industrial giant Standard Oil of Ohio wanted to build their corporate headquarters, the city finally relented and gave permission to have this dominating building. Of course before it was even completed British Petroleum (BP) bought Sohio, so it opened as the BP Building! It has since then changed names a couple of times.
Again as with the earlier photo the wagon with horse has been replaced with the wagon from Honda.
The Northwest Quadrant of Public Square features the Old Stone Church, one of the oldest buildings in Cleveland – built in 1855. The right side has had an additional steeple added, but other than that it is the same.
The church is still there, but all of the other buildings have long since been replaced – so long ago that the replacements are now considered historic.
Finally a look east on Superior Avenue. The Arcade’s northern entrance is visible on the right (just behind the first streetcar in the old photo and with the canopy in the new photo).
RDZ Photography 