Farewell to Cleveland: Some Architectural Favorites

When I first took a tour of the Cleveland State campus on my HR orientation day nearly three years ago, I remember distinctly regretting not having a camera on me. The art deco style of Fenn Tower caught my eye right away.

 

 Fenn Tower - The first building on the Cleveland State campus (then Fenn College)

Detail of Fenn Tower

Despite passing numerous amazing buildings in downtown Cleveland by bus throughout my employment at Cleveland State University, I rarely made the time to take pictures of the structures I had grown to know and love. After deciding that I would leave my job at Cleveland State to pursue graduate studies at UNC, I always planned on having a week or two to spend simply taking pictures and enjoying Cleveland after resigning. This plan did not pan out as I hoped, but I did manage to spend an afternoon taking pictures after my last day of work. Included in this post are a few of the pictures from that bittersweet day. Oddly I was asked three times during those few short hours if I was a tourist. I proudly told these individuals that I was not a tourist and that Cleveland was my home.

Taking photos around downtown made me notice things I never had before even though I had seen many of these buildings too many times to count. I had never truly looked at the semicircular mural paintings in the entrance to Tower City. I had also never realized that figural designs were included in the surface treatment of the buildings behind Tower City on Prospect Ave. Like sketching, photography also forces you to inspect things more closely than one might otherwise.

 Inside Tower City

 Ceiling in Tower City

One of seven murals in the entrance way of Tower City

Old Stone Church

 Rockefeller Building entrance - 614 W Superior Ave.

 Rockefeller building

Rockefeller building

 Robed men in art deco style that I never noticed on Prospect Ave. behind Tower City

 Deco doorway on Prospect Ave.

 E-Line Trolley with Trinity Cathedral in the background

I was not able to visit all of the buildings I love in the few short hours I had. One notable exception was Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center. I also didn't get to the Westside Market, of which I have very few pictures. There are so many other sites in Cleveland I wish I had seen again before moving, but I guess this gives me a good reason to visit soon.