Last month, we reviewed Laura DeMarco’s Lost Cleveland and highlighted the fact that people really interested in exploring Cleveland history can use that book and its incredible tidbits as they journey around town to see what exists today and think about what used to be.
We decided to continue in that spirit and track down the last remaining mansions on what was once considered the most desirable avenue in the U.S. — Euclid Avenue, known informally as “Millionaires’ Row.” We visited what we think are the five remaining mansions that were once a part of an expansive avenue of 40 homes which stretched from Public Square to what is now the campus of the Cleveland Clinic. Some of the wealthiest Americans once called the famed thoroughfare home during Cleveland’s heyday of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If you want to read more about the history of Millionaires’ Row — Jan Cigliano wrote an incredibly comprehensive book (Showplace of America, Kent State University Press, 1991) that includes details of the grand houses and their architects, their owners and the industries in which they made names for themselves, and a richly detailed history of the street from 1850 – 1910. And, as you’ll see below, we make many references to Cleveland Historical. Check out either the website or download the app. If you’re even casually interested in Cleveland history, it’s one of the coolest apps you can have on your phone.
2258 Euclid Avenue
According to Cleveland Historical, Cleveland businessman George Howe built the home, which is now on CSU’s campus. Howe, a nephew of Elias Howe (who patented the first sewing machine in America), actually also served as Cleveland police commissioner and was reportedly instrumental in bringing professional baseball to Cleveland. Now known as Parker Hannifin Hall, the structure is home to CSU’s Office of Graduate Studies and its office of research.
2605 Euclid Avenue
CSU actually boasts a second remaining mansion from the glory days of Millionaires’ Row. Perhaps you have heard of the name Samuel Mather. At one time, he served as chairman of Pickands, Mather and Company, one of the four largest iron ore shippers in the U.S. at the time. He and his family gave generously to numerous organizations and civic causes, and they continue to do so generations later. The home is located on the eastern edge of the CSU campus and adjacent to the bridge over the Inner Belt. According to Cleveland Historical, the 45-room mansion was the largest of the mansions ever built on the street. Today, it serves as the CSU Center for International Services and Programs, a program to teach English as a second language.
3813 Euclid Avenue
Today you probably know it as the Children’s Museum of Cleveland, but the structure that houses it is actually the oldest mansion on Euclid Avenue, built in the 1860s. According to Laura DeMarco, Anson Stager had it built and moved in with his family but only lived in the house for two years. His claim to fame? He served as the general superintendent of Western Union Telegraph and created the most effective secret code used during the Civil War. Soon after the Stagers left, Thomas Sterling Beckwith moved in with his family. He made his money by founding one of Cleveland’s first furniture and carpet stores, Beckwith, Sterling & Company. Now it stands as the most accessible of the remaining mansions, albeit significantly renovated by the Children’s Museum of Cleveland.
8615 Euclid Avenue
The Francis E. Drury mansion is one of two former mansions that are now a part of the Cleveland Clinic campus. According to Cleveland Historical, Drury invented the first internal gear lawnmower and would eventually make his fortune leading the Taylor & Boggis Company, also known as T&B Foundry Company. After living with his wife and son in the 34 room, 25,000 square foot home, they moved east to Gates Mills. In fact, the home they built on the corner of S.O.M. Center and Cedar roads would become known as the “Tudor House” on Gilmour Academy’s campus. The Clinic bought it in 1989 and renamed it the Foundation House. The Clinic partly restored the mansion’s first level to a condition similar to that in which the Drurys had left it in when they moved in 1924. Now, the space is used as a conference center and office space where it hosts receptions, graduations for medical residents, and some Cleveland Clinic Foundation board meetings.
8937 Euclid Avenue
The H.W. White mansion, according to “The Cleveland Storyteller,” asserts that in the coach house of this mansion behind the structure, people worked on the atomic bomb. Henry Windsor White’s Romanesque stone house was designed by renowned architect Frank Meade. Henry W. worked for the Baker Motor Vehicle Company, and not the famous White Motor Company.
Today, the Clinic uses the building for alumni relations and development.
7218 Euclid Avenue
Known as the Allen-Sullivan mansion, this grand house no longer exists on Euclid Avenue as it had done since 1888. Just months ago, it was demolished to make way for a new apartment complex. Richard Allen, who originally purchased a home on the site, tore it down and built a three-story Queen Ann house. Allen invented the paper car wheel, which dampened wheel noise and vibrations, revolutionizing railroad passenger travel in the 19th century, according to Cleveland Historical. He did not live long in the house, as he died suddenly a couple years after its completion. In 1898, Allen’s widow sold the house to Jeremiah J. Sullivan, a prominent Cleveland banker who founded Central National Bank, which was one of Cleveland’s largest banks in the twentieth century. The family stayed there until 1923, when many of Cleveland’s richest were leaving Euclid Avenue. Since 2000, the house remained vacant, but in the intervening years, it reinvented itself, as it was used for everything from a fraternal headquarters to a research building to a party center. Coming soon, the Foundry Lofts will grace the plot once occupied by the Allen and Sullivan families.
