Stories by: Tom Matowitz
Recently retired after a 37-year career teaching public speaking, Tom Matowitz has had a lifelong interest in local and regional history. Working as a freelance author for the past 20 years he has written a number of books and articles about Cleveland’s past. He has a particular interest in the area’s rich architectural history.
Masterworks: The former St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 40th Street is one of the lasting mementos of Millionaire's Row.
Cleveland Masterworks: After designing the planned community of Shaker Heights, the Van Sweringen brothers move on to planning a new rail terminal—today known as the Terminal Tower.
Cleveland Masterworks: Architect George B. Post and artist Francis D. Millet are responsible for some of Cleveland's most beautiful treasures crafted at the turn of the 20th Century.
Cleveland Masterworks: In the early 1900s Benjamin Hubbell and W. Dominick Benes designed some of of Cleveland's most beloved landmarks that are still in use today.
Cleveland Masterworks: Arnold Brunner spent most of his life in New York, but made a mark in Cleveland as a collaborator on the 1903 Group Plan and design of the U.S. Courthouse.
Cleveland Masterworks: Daniel H. Burnham and John Wellborn Root—pioneers in steel framing construction—designed three of Cleveland's tallest buildings, for the times, in the 1890s.
Cleveland Masterworks: Frank Walker and Henry Weeks designed more than 600 buildings, including some of Cleveland's most recognizable structures—from Severance Hall to the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge.
Cleveland Masterworks: J. Milton Dyer was a versatile architect—designing industrial buildings and social clubs, while also designing summer homes for Cleveland's early elite crowd.
Cleveland Masterworks: From Civil War soldier to designing the Soldiers and Sailors monument and Central High School, to his home on a bluff overlooking the city, Levi Scofield was a man of many talents.
Cleveland Masterworks: Frank Lloyd Wright may be known for his designs for Falling Water, New York's Guggenheim, and Tokyo's Imperial Hotel, but the 11 Usonian homes he designed in Ohio—most notably the Penfield House—set the stage for Tom Matowitz's behind-the-scenes look at Wright's life.
A strong contender for Cleveland's greatest architect is Frank B. Meade, renowned for his mastery of the Tudor style. Known for designing the Hermit Club and the Drury mansion, Meade and partner Montgomery Hamilton designed more than 800 unique homes in the Cleveland area.
Architect Charles Schweinfurth made a name for himself in the late 1800s by designing homes for the wealthy on Millionaires Row and other Cleveland neighborhoods, as well as iconic landmarks like Trinity Cathedral. Historian Tom Matowitz explores Schweinfurth's life and contributions to Cleveland architecture.