Views from the Terminal Tower Observation Deck, Then & Now
Thanks to the generosity of Tower City Archivist Drew Rolik, some local archivists got to see the Terminal Tower's observation deck, the Van Sweringen's personal offices, and the Greenbrier Suite yesterday.
The views from the observation deck reminded me of similar scenes from our
Cleveland Union Terminal Collection in Cleveland Memory, shot in the late 1920s. So here below are some I happened to snap with my cell phone, going clockwise around from Public Square.....
LOOKING DOWN ON PUBLIC SQUARE
LOOKING NORTH UP ONTARIO
LOOKING NORTHEAST OUT SUPERIOR WITH LAKE IN BACKGROUND
LOOKING EAST OUT EUCLID AND PROSPECT TOWARD THE AT&T BUILDING (LEFT)
LOOKING SOUTHEAST ALONG EAST BANK OF THE RIVER
(OLD CENTRAL MARKET IN THE CENTER OF THE INTERSECTION)
LOOKING WEST TOWARD COLUMBUS PENINSULA
LOOKING DOWN ON THE INTERSECTION OF WEST SUPERIOR AND HURON ROAD
Labels: aerial views, Cleveland history, Cleveland OH, Cleveland Union Terminal, observation deck, Terminal Tower, then and now
Terminal Tower Souvenirs
Here's
a cool blog site about a private collection of souvenir objects that once were sold in the Terminal Tower. The blog says: These Terminal Tower souvenirs are charming reminders of the romance of train travel. And relics of a desire to take with us a sweet reminder of where we have been."
Labels: Cleveland Union Terminal, souvenirs, Terminal Tower
Terminal Tower Gets a Make-Over
This morning's
Plain Dealer carries a
two-page spread about the recent renovations going on to the venerable Terminal Tower. The article gives us the good news that the scaffolding, which has marred the Tower for a couple of years, is gradually going away, and there's the hopeful comment that owners Forest City Enterprises would like to find a way to re-open the observation deck. With the Sears Tower opening a splashy new cantilevered glass-floored deck and the Empire State Building having a long history of their observation deck being open, I'd sure like to see ours be accessible once again.
The article mentions that the Tower was the "second tallest building in the world" for many years, to the Empire State Building. This is a confusing subject that is repeated in a number of forms and depends upon what's measured and when the clock starts running, but it's pretty clear that the Terminal Tower was the second tallest building when it was topped out in 1927, may've slipped when the complex was dedicated in June of 1930 (well before the Empire State Bldg.), but was still the tallest outside of New York until 1967. The claims often run to the whole world, not just Cleveland, but I haven't taken the time to sort out all the possibilities, which include the considerably-higher 1889 Eiffel Tower.
Thanks to William Neff for the graphics and the PD in general for the article about Cleveland's most important and revered landmark.
Labels: Cleveland history, Cleveland Ohio, Cleveland Union Terminal, Forest City, Terminal Tower
