The History of Terminal Tower & Cleveland's Union Terminal

It's one of the most famous buildings in the Cleveland skyline, but do you know the history of the Terminal Tower? Historian Rebecca McFarland talks about the tower itself and the Van Sweringen brothers who built it, and then Tom Pappas discusses the trains the terminal used to service.

[@nanadoc1]

I was born on the west side in 1941, we had a frequent family outing to see the NYC Mercury roar past Smith Road pulled by a 4-8-4 Niagara and then rushed to Linndale to see the steam to electric motive power switch. Only took a train out of CUT once, the Empire State Express eventually to the Canadian National Exposition in Toronto about 1955, by then the "Juice Jacks" were gone. I really enjoyed this presentation and thank you so much.

[@harri2626]

A fascinating talk which filled in my knowledge vacuum regarding the Van Sweringen brothers. Cleveland also had a magnificent network of interurban electric railroads which sadly disappeared in the 1930s. What a waste of public transit infrastructure which is now needed more than ever. Thank goodness the Shaker Heights line still operates.

[@Davett53]

I grew up in the early 1950s and we lived on the East side of Cleveland. We would go downtown on the Rapid Transit. The tracks went out to Shaker Heights,....we lived in near by University Heights. As a kid I loved accompanying my parents on the Rapid Transit into the city. The Terminal Tower was a glorious place. Probably, at the time, one of the tallest buildings, east of New York City's Empire State building.

[@lespangen]

I lived in Chagrin Falls also on the east side occasionally went downtown with Mom on the “ Shaker Rapid” leaving from Van Aiken and arriving at the terminal tower and from there perhaps visiting my Dad’s office in the National City Bank building 😬 or Halle’s or Higbees and the fabulous Burroughs? Bookstore 😬 great memories 😬

[@Davett53]

@@lespangen Yes me too. I have wonderful memories from that period of time, we lived in University Heights, probably a couple miles from the Shaker Rapid transit tracks,...my memory is failing on which street got us to the nearest rapid stop. We would also go to the Van Aiken stop and the shopping plazas near there. There was a movie theater there, and a well known and much loved old fashion ice cream parlor. I am sure a grocery store. My father's business was in a grittier area, near East 55th and Carnegie, in an industrial area, that was surrounded by slum housing. Though that was my perspective as a lad of 10 in 1963. Perhaps in the 30s to the 50s that area, was more of poor working class section, that by the 60s had become more of a slum. My father inherited his father's roofing and heating and ventilation business. My father wasn't a tradesman, or the least bit handy. He managed the business,....he knew how roofs were made, and how all the mechanical things went together, but had no known hands-on, skills. He surrounded himself with the skilled workmen who performed all the work. Some were Union trades people, like sheet metal workers. He was a businessman, & he had studied business law in college, but never graduated with his degree. He wasn't planning to take over the family business, but was called home from his studies at Ohio State University, when his father's health was suddenly failing. My dad's older brothers, all had moved away from Cleveland, to start their own businesses in other cities. None went into the roofing business. Though one did go into the scrap metal business of buying and selling to steel mills. My mother was a school teacher,....first as an elementary school teacher, then after some additional college classes she became a remedial reading teacher.

[@clevelandcbi]

Tallest outside of NYC til the 60's, actually. The Chrysler Building in NYC was also taller than the Terminal Tower, though.

[@jackx917]

I was born in Cleveland, and lived there til 1975. I remember going down to the terminal with my parents and extended family to pick up relatives traveling by train from Chicago and other destinations. It was a very big deal! My Irish, immigrant, grandmother used to take me downtown on buses that were powered with electrified, overhead wires. I also went downtown by the rapid transit (CTS, CTA, RTA) into the terminal as a teenager in the 1960s to shop and for eye appts. I have lived in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/ St Paul for the last 45 years, where the city is building a multi-line Lightrail system. Currently there are 2 legs of this system, a 3rd under construction, and a 4th line caught in a dispute with the railroad authority where it would need to operate. Formerly, streetcars ran on the streets here, but were dismantled in the 1960s. Many of the old streetcars were sold to the Shaker Rapid and Mexico City.

[@jamesexner127]

I rode in the cab of the Erie Lackawanna Youngstown commuter on its last run from CUT out to Aurora Rd and Northfield Rd stop...I will never forget it.....Back in January 1977

[@funnytime13]

Used to take the rapid transit when I worked downtown and also had work in the terminal! I remember when the terminall would swing in the wind and those beautiful lamps on the chains would swing too!

[@funnytime13]

I am a former Cleveland resident and have alot of memories of the terminal tower

[@robertweldon7909]

This building and its wings at one time was what you first thought of when asked about Cleveland. The only part of the complex that I never was in was the inner parts of the hotel and the office floors of the tower. Whenever I see videos of Cleveland, I always look for the Terminal Tower for location reference. Nice video, ;-)

[@robertohlrich369]

Took the train to Higbee’s from Solon to work during the holidays. Also, many trips downtown on the yellow Shaker rapid.

[@johnchambers8528]

I got to be in the Terminal tower in the 1970’s to interview with the railroad for a job. It was a very impressive complex that included the department store as well as the hotel. Amtrak at that time had relocated to the lakefront station but there still was the trolley line to a shaker Heights as well as the rapid transit that served the airport. Like most cities Cleveland’s downtown no longer has the major department store but I am glad they have updated and preserved the building today.

[@mrpeel3239]

Terrific historical overview!

[@gailjohnson8315]

I am originally from Cleveland, Ohio. I love visiting the Terminal Tower. Thanks for sharing.

[@renerene-gw7nj]

I lived there 58 years. I loved exploring the Terminal towers and stopping to shop at Fred Harvey!

[@funnytime13]

That's when it was CTS! In the 60's and 70's! Yes I remember trolly cars!

[@frantarasiewicz6613]

Beautiful Cleveland so much history people

[@chuckliebenauer3656]

When they had the grand opening of the terminal, there was large party in the main concourse. The brothers chose not to attend and listened to the speeches from their home in Shaker Heights.

[@toadjam12000]

There is a plastered set of overalls in the Terminal Tower that were done my my relative John T. Corrigan and his co workers. John graduated law school later and went on to be the prosecutor in Cleveland. The Van Sweringen brothers developed Shaker Heights and Rocky River as well.

[@RadioPsychicAstrologyByPepper]

My dad was a friend of his and somehow we ended up having 2 wonderful orange Maine coon cat named Seamus and Patrick Corrigan! I liked the name as a kid and I guess my one brother said you can’t have anything that orange in an Irish Catholic household so I just gave them a good Irish surname .Small World. ☘️🇮🇪🐾🐈🐈

[@chuckliebenauer3656]

The electric trains were made by GE and cost $250,000 each. The rail lines were going to be electrified and these engines were the prototypes. Electrification was cancelled due to the development of the diesel engines.

[@awizardalso]

My family moved from Brookpark (southeast of the airport) to Cleveland in 1965. The rapid Transit trains ran across a bridge to under the Terminal Tower. All the train tracks that also ran across the bridge to the train station under the Terminal Tower were removed. I think the train station was moved closer to Lake Erie.

[@donolbers9446]

I believe the Van Sweringen brothers also owned the Hocking Valley RR, later absorbed by the C&O. The information gleaned from hauling coal from SE Ohio to Lake Erie, led to the Super Power improvements from Lima that were first applied to Nickel Plate locomotives.

[@MentorPublicLib]

You're correct. Looks like they bought C&O in 1924: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Sweringen_railroad_holdings

[@shopsshire9282]

We need to bring back passenger trains in the United States they use them everywhere else in the world were so backwards in the United States. I was in Germany in April 1990 and I want from the biggest cities like Frankfurt to small villages on the train.

[@rockybigdog8506]

You can thank the US government seeing they built interstate system we have today.

[@davruck1]

Thank the Rockefeller’s.

[@billhaar2919]

A little difference in population and area comparing the US & Germany!

[@baronedipiemonte3990]

We've still got the Amtrak... and I promised my Filipina fiancé that we'd take a 3-5 night trip on the train... a private cabin of course. Perhaps even spend a day in Cleveland and show her where the family lived (we left 6 months before I was born) and some of grandfather's art, much of which still exists - the murals on the ceiling of St. Wendelin's church being one.

[@chuckliebenauer3656]

How does one contact either of these speakers directly.

[@jefft6921]

Just to give it some perspective on cost to build, $150 million in 1920 dollars would equal 2 billion dollars in 2020.

[@jefft6921]

My bad Bret! How about we just move the project to the west coast and get the California Coastal Commission involved as well.

[@harrymergler3057]

This first part of this talk is riddled with misinformation.

[@davruck1]

@@harrymergler3057 the whole story is 🗑. Why is nobody questioning this stuff??

[@lawrencepayteniii7915]

I love how she said 1400 buildings being demolished was nothing worth talking about. Yeah it was just a little gentrification who really cares. The sad part about Cleveland is despite building this building other than sporting events no one even wants to go downtown anymore.

[@KennyPeepers]

Yeah, it's not like more people are living downtown now than at any time since the 1800s or anything.

[@streetcarp475]

Sad

[@chuckliebenauer3656]

When the depression hit, their lead bank like all the others were closed. When they were reopened, their bank was one of the last. That was due to the fact that the president of their bank was the treasurer of the Herbert Hoover re-election campaign and FDR made them the last to reopen.

[@Sraheens1]

Career librarian?

[@scotchtowerbibletractsocie8083]

As in "has a Master's degree from an ALA- accredited program"

[@joeconrad9147]

8th grade drop outs ...please

[@pavman1000]

We know this guy is a Democrat so sad he had to inject tat in his presentation.

[@jamessharp6800]

pav...that's right ,bring politics into it..Both parties are corrupt moron..Republicans shipped all the jobs to China..