USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of the city of Cleveland: its settlement, rise and progress, 1796-1896 > Part 35
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president of the Council; Charles H. Bulkley, Amos Townsend, and John F. Pankhurst. Mr. Bulkley was made president, and F. C. Bangs elected to the office of secretary.
Results have already shown that these gentlemen un- derstood, to a large degree, the needs of the situation, and the importance of the work that had been entrusted to their hands. To quote their own words: " The general plan, which they decided to be one of the best adapted for achieving the ends aimed at, had, as its principal fea- ture, a large park on the outskirts of the city, in each of the several main sections, the same to be so located, that, in case the future should so determine, and the needs of the city so require, such outlying parks could be readily united and connected by a broad, smoothly-paved boule- vard, encircling the city, thus, with the parks, forming a chain of verdure around it." 25
Only the briefest mention of the labors of the commis- sion, and the results, as already apparent, is possible here. The main features are as follows: The acquisition of the Doan Brook Valley, from Wade Park to Lake Erie, con- necting Wade and Gordon parks; the creation of Edge- water Park, containing eighty-nine acres, and situated on Lake Erie, on the West Side, beginning at the foot of Waverly avenue; the purchase of Brooklyn Park, con- taining nearly eighty-one acres, and situated to the west of the new Brooklyn-Brighton viaduct; the creation of the South End Park, in the Newburg of the earlier days, ·containing one hundred and forty-five acres; the addition of thirty acres to Gordon Park, to be used as picnic grounds; the creation of Ambler Parkway, containing fifty-five acres, commencing at Cedar avenue, and follow- ing the valley of Doan Brook, for a distance of one and a half miles, to the Shaker Heights; and Shaker Heights
25 " Second Annual Report of the Board of Park Commissioners," 1894, p. II. This report, and that for 1895, give a detailed history of the park system as managed by the commission, accompanied by many illustra- tions, showing portions of the parks and approaches thereto.
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Park, containing two hundred and seventy-eight acres.26
A magnificent addition to the public park system of Cleveland was made, in 1896, when John D. Rockefeller authorized the announcement that he had quietly deeded to the city, two hundred and seventy-six acres of land, worth $270,000, for park purposes, and followed that by a cash donation of $300,000, for the purpose of complet- ing the boulevard between Wade Park and the park lands on Shaker Heights.
This announcement came as a complete surprise to the people of Cleveland. It was made by J. G. W. Cowles, president of the Chamber of Commerce, in the great mass meeting, held on July 22, 1896, in celebration of Cleve- land's Centennial birthday. Mr. Cowles explained the gift, and its conditions, in these words: "On this, Found- er's Day, of our Centennial Celebration, on behalf of the Park Commissioners, I am instructed to announce to the citizens of Cleveland, the offer made to them, not only of the gift to the city for park purposes, of the lands pur- chased, at a cost of $270,000, but also to replace in the treasury of the park board, the amount of $300,000, paid by said board, for Doan Brook lands, before such individ- ual purchases were undertaken, making, in all, a gift to the City of Cleveland of two hundred and seventy-six acres, costing $600,000, upon conditions already under- stood and approved in part, the principal one being, that
26 The Park Commission lost two of its ablest and most industrious mem- bers, in 1895. Hon. Amos Townsend, who died at St. Augustine, Fla., on March 17th, was for many years connected with the business and pub- lic interests of Cleveland. He was born near Pittsburg, Pa., in 1831, was in business in Mansfield, Ohio, for a time, and removed to Cleve- land, in 1858. He was, for many years, a member of the wholesale gro- cery firm of Edwards, Townsend & Co .; served for ten years as a member of the City Council, during seven of which he filled the office of president. He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1,873; and in 1876 was elected to Congress by the Republicans of Cuyahoga County, and ably served in that office for several terms. The other loss to the commission came in the death of its able president, Charles H. Bulkley, who died on December 29, 1895. The vacancies thus created were filled by the appointment of J. H. McBride, and L. E. Holden; Mr. McBride being elected to the office of president.
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the whole amount of the cost of these lands shall be spent in improving and beautifying them, so as to make this magnificent addition to the parks of Cleveland speedily available for the use, and benefit, and delight, of all the people." The sentiment with which Mr. Cowles closed his speech found an echo in the hearts of Clevelanders, everywhere: "From this hour, in the honored and noble company of Wade and Gordon, as benefactors of their fel- low citizens and fellow men, in our hearts with gratitude, and upon our lips with praise, will be the name of the giver of this princely gift, John D. Rockefeller."
At a meeting of the Park Commissioners, held on Au- gust 5, 1896, there came yet another surprise, of a like welcome character, in the public announcement that Patrick Calhoun had donated to the city a strip of land, having over four hundred feet frontage on Euclid avenue, beginning at Fairmount street, and running parallel to the land given by Mr. Rockefeller, as far as Cedar avenue, thence along Doan Brook Valley, to and through Cedar Glen. This has made possible the dream of the commis- sioners - the construction of a circular park, on Euclid avenue, near Fairmount street, as the grand entrance to what will, eventually, be one of the most beautiful park systems in the world.
In 1871, the office of city auditor was created, and Thomas Jones, Jr., elected to the position. Prior to that time, the duties belonging to such department had been performed by the city clerk, who was an officer of the City Council, and under its direct control. The new depar- ture served as a check upon extravagance, and a safeguard against the misappropriation of funds, as the new official took the stand, and maintained it, that no warrants on the treasury could be legally drawn, unless the money to pay such warrant was "already in the treasury, and to the credit of the proper fund, to which it should be charged."
The wisdom of that position has been fully proved, by the subsequent financial history of Cleveland.
The growth of Cleveland, by accessions to her popula-
A VIEW IN GORDON PARK.
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tion by immigration, had been steady, and the time now came when her borders were to be measurably increased, by annexations. East Cleveland had become, in all es- sential features, a portion of the city in fact, and it was thought, on both sides of the line, that it should become also a part in name, and in government. When the pre- liminary steps had been taken, the question of annexation was submitted to the voters of Cleveland, in April, 1872, and received 7,240 votes in favor, to 2,885 opposed. The East Cleveland vote upon the same question resulted in 268 in favor, and 198 opposed. Henry B. Payne, J. P. Robison, and John Huntington, were appointed as com- missioners for Cleveland, and John E. Hurlbut, John W. Heisley, and William A. Neff for East Cleveland. It was agreed that all liabilities of the section to be an- nexed should be assumed by the city, with the exception of assessments for local improvements already made, that should be paid as already provided; that the annexed dis- trict should be divided into two wards; and that within eighteen months the city should expend, in those wards, . not less than seventy-five thousand dollars, in extension of water pipe, fire service, and other improvements. This agreement was approved on October 29, 1872, and the two communities became one, in law.
East Cleveland was hardly safe in the municipal fold, before the village of Newburg came clamoring for admis- sion. A meeting of its citizens was held on August 4, 1873, at which resolutions were adopted, which declared that the time had come "when the necessity and future welfare of the people " imperatively demanded the bene- fits of village or city corporation, and that the best means of obtaining that end, was by annexation to the City of Cleveland.
A committee of three, E. T. Hamilton, A. Topping, and Joseph Turney, were appointed to present a petition to the Cleveland City Council, looking to this end. John Huntington, H. H. Thorpe, and A. T. Van Tassel, were appointed to represent the Council in the matter. The
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question was submitted to the voters of Newburg, and carried, and before the end of the year named, Newburg constituted the Eighteenth Ward of Cleveland.
The legal business of the Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court had so grown by 1873, that increased facilities of some character became a matter of absolute necessity. The plan suggested was the establishment of a Superior Court, on the plan of one then existing in Cincinnati, which should have jurisdiction for civil cases only, com- ing from the City of Cleveland, exclusive of the rest of Cuyahoga County. An act was accordingly passed by the Legislature on May 5, 1873, creating said court, to consist of three judges, who should hold office for five years. At a special election held in June, Seneca O. Griswold, James M. Jones, and Gershom M. Barber were elected such judges. The brief history of this court is thus graphically told, by one who was an honored member thereof : 27 "The expectation that the two courts would be able to do the judicial work of the county, as then organized, was not re- alized. The business of the country, which had enjoyed an unheard-of prosperity, met with a sudden and un- looked-for check. On the 18th of September, 1873, the most extraordinary financial panic that the country had ever experienced, began. Failures of manufacturing and commercial establishments took place in every part of the country. Laborers all over the country were thrown out of employment, and what had never before been experi- enced in Cleveland, the savings banks substantially closed their doors, and even the bonds of the city sold at ruinous discount. The result upon the work of the courts was soon apparent, and in less than two years both courts were overcrowded with business, and immediate relief was re- quired. On the 25th of March, 1875, an act was passed by the Legislature entitled 'an Act to facilitate the Admin- istration of Justice in Cuyahoga County,' by which the Superior Court was abolished, to take effect on the Ist of
21 " The Superior Courts," by Hon. G. M. Barber .- " Bench and Bar of Cleveland," p. 50.
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July following, and its business transferred to the Court of Common Pleas, and by the same act four additional judges were added to the Court of Common Pleas, to be elected at the regular State election, in October of that year. At that election, two of the judges of the Superior Court, Hon. James M. Jones and Hon. G. M. Barber, were elected to seats on the bench of the Court of Common Pleas, both of whom served two successive terms in that court, and are now in active practice. Judge Seneca O. Griswold, on the termination of the Superior Court, re- turned to practice, and until his health failed, was recog- nized as one of the ablest members of the Cuyahoga County bar."
The general financial difficulties, to which Judge Barber refers in the above, were the most severe that had been ex- perienced since 1857, and were largely caused by the same combination of circumstances that brought about the panic of 1837. General speculation, excessive inflation, and the projection of far more railroads than were needed, combined with the actual shrinkage from war prices, worked together for the crash that was started on that memorable day, when Jay Cooke & Co., of Philadelphia, went down. Business everywhere received a severe check, there were failures in all directions, and from four to six years passed before the country really recovered. Cleveland, like other cities, felt the blow, but had so far advanced in wealth and manufacturing importance that the shock was but temporary. Not a bank was compelled to suspend. The most severe effects were felt upon real estate values, which wild speculation had inflated beyond all reason, and many projects for pushing the limits of the city far beyond the demands of the day, went suddenly to pieces, at the first touch of the storm.
One of the leading features of 1874 was the great woman's crusade against the liquor traffic. This phenom- enal movement had its commencement in Hillsborough, O., in December, 1873, when Dr. Dio Lewis, of Boston, delivered an address on temperance, in which he sug-
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gested that "the work of temperance reform might be suc- cessfully carried on by women, if they would set about it in the right manner-going to the saloon-keeper, in a spirit of Christian love, and persuading him, for the sake of humanity and his own welfare, to quit the business." When the speaker asked if the ladies present were ready to undertake the labor, scores of them arose in pledge for the undertaking. On the day following, a number of them met at the church, and after services filed out two by two, called at the nearest saloon, where prayer was offered, and then went on to other places, which were visited in a like manner. Saloon-keepers, inn-keepers, and druggists were all asked to sign the pledge and quit the business. The plan was soon followed in other places, and before long these "praying bands" were seen in all parts of the State.28
The movement reached Cleveland on March 10, 1874, when a meeting was called under the auspices of the Women's Christian Association. Six hundred women re- sponded, among them the leaders of thought, the most active in church work, the most cultured to be found in the city. A Temperance League was formed, with Miss Sarah Fitch as president. Pledge books were obtained, the city districted, and praying bands sent out. "In a short time," to quote from the official report of the Cru- sade, "over five thousand were enrolled members of the league, each one signing a pledge neither to use intox- icants nor offer them as a beverage, and to discounte- nance their use in every possible way ; and about ten thou- sand names to all the other pledges." The first visit was to a saloon on the Public Square, on March 17th, by a band of twenty-two, led by Mrs. W. A. Ingham. The work was carried on for weeks, with only one or two dis- turbances of note, which were quickly subdued by procla- mation of Mayor Otis, and the efficient work of the police. To continue the above record: "During these three
25 The full history of this movement may be found in the following work: "History of the Woman's Temperance Crusade," by Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer; with an introduction by Frances E. Willard.
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months of crusade work, three distilleries, eight breweries, thirty-one drug stores, thirty-five hotels, forty wholesale dealers, and one thousand one hundred saloons were visited, many of them again and again. Four hundred and fifty of these places often admitted the band for serv- ices. There were seventy out-door meetings in ware- houses, etc. Mass meetings on the Sabbath, conducted by women, were held in wigwams in different wards, as well as churches, and always crowded." A closed saloon on River street was converted into a home for temperance and general rescue work, under the name of the River Street Friendly Inn. Other institutions of a like character were opened in various parts of the city, and some of them have found permanent work and locations, and are ranked among the most efficient of the reformatory and moral agencies of the city. The Young Ladies' Temper- ance League was also one of the direct results of this sea- son of temperance labor.
The most direct and permanent result of this crusade, however, came in the establishment of the Woman's Chris- tian Temperance Union, which was organized as the Woman's Christian League, and incorporated under that name in 1880, making the change of appellation in 1883. This great Union has, in many ways, worked for the good of the community, in lines of temperance, and religious and benevolent labor.
The holding of the nineteenth Saengerfest, in 1874, was an event which illustrated the great importance of the German element in Cleveland, and its ability to carry out any undertaking to which it was committed. A stock company was raised, and sixty thousand dollars paid in, with which a large structure was erected on Euclid avenue, between Case and Sterling avenues, with a capacity of fif- teen hundred on the stage, and nine thousand in the audi- torium. The week from June 22nd to 29th was given over to orchestral and vocal music of the highest char- acter, participated in by German singing societies from all parts of the country.
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The opening of the newly-erected Euclid Avenue Opera House, on September 6, 1875, was in the direction of better amusements, and provided a place of entertainment in keeping with the size and culture of modern Cleveland, which had long outgrown " Brainard's Hall," and the old "Academy of Music," on Bank street. The movement for securing this needed dramatic temple was set on foot by John A. Ellsler, who gave his time, and so pledged his means, that when it proved to be otherwise than a financial success, he lost the accumulations of a life of de- votion to his chosen profession.
A retrospective glance at Cleveland, from the theatrical standpoint, will be of interest. In 1820, when yet a straggling village of five hun- dred souls, Cleveland was visited by its first theatrical troupe. This was managed by an actor named Blan- chard, and as there was no other suitable EUCLID AVENUE OPERA HOUSE. place, the perform- ances, which lasted a week, were given in the ball-room of the Cleveland House, which stood where the Forest City House is now. After that, there were many perform- ances of this nature in the ball-room, and later in the old brick courthouse on the Square. Here Shakespeare was first given in 1831. The first building, especially erected for a theatre, was at the corner of Union lane and Superior street hill. It was built by Samuel and William Cook. The theatre was on the second floor, a room about 70 by 50 feet, and was poorly equipped for its purpose. Early in the thirties, Italian Hall was built, on Water street,
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where the wholesale grocery of William Edwards & Co. now stands. It was of brick, three stories high, and the theatre was on the top floor. In 1839, Mechanics' Hall, at the corner of Prospect and Ontario streets, was fitted up as a theatre, but the enterprise was unsuccessful. The Water Street Theatre was built, in 1848, by John S. Potter. It stood on the present site of the New England House, and was a magnificent structure for the times. It had a front of sixty feet, a spacious pit, two tiers of boxes and four private boxes, and seated over a thousand people. It was destroyed by fire in 1850. Watson's Hall was built in 1840, by J. W. Watson, on Superior street, where the Wilshire Building is now lo- cated. In 1845, Silas Brainard bought it, and changed the name to Melodeon Hall, by which title it was known un- til 1860, when it was called Brainard's Hall. It was af- terwards known as Brai- nard's Opera House, and the Globe Theatre ; it was torn down in 1880.
The most famous play- house in the city was the JOHN A. ELLSLER. Academy of Music, on Bank street. It was built in 1852, by Charles Foster, who ran it for a short time, and then, on account of bad business, leased it to John A. Ellsler, Jr. On its boards, the most famous actors of the world ap- peared, and from its stock company many of to-day's great actors were graduated. It was partly destroyed by fire on June 30, 1889, but was rebuilt, only to suffer entire destruction from the same cause, on September 8, 1892. It was again rebuilt, in a cheap way, and is now used as a variety house. Shortly after the building of the Acad- emy of Music, P. T. Barnum started a theatre in the Kelley Block, on Superior street. It was afterwards managed by
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A. Montpelier as a variety theatre, until he assumed charge of the Theatre Comique. Then it was converted into offices. The Theatre Comique was built by G. Over- acher, in 1848, and was a prosperous theatre until the Academy of Music came into existence, when the com- petition proved disastrous. It was then run as a variety show by A. Montpelier, and after he retired was continued on the same lines by his successors. It was torn down some years ago.
In 1875, John A. Ellsler, Jr., as before stated, formed a stock company, and built the Euclid Avenue Opera House, at a cost of $200,000. It was opened September 6, 1875, with Mr. Ellsler as manager, and he continued in charge until 1878, when poor business compelled him to abandon management, and the house. It was then sold at sheriff's sale, to Marcus A. Hanna, its present owner. October 24, 1892, this theatre was destroyed by fire, but it was immediately rebuilt by Mr. Hanna, on a grander scale than before, and was reopened on September 11, 1893.
The Park Theatre, built by Henry Wick & Co., and managed by Augustus F. Hartz, was dedicated October 22, 1883. Fire destroyed it January 5, 1884. It was re- built and reopened September 6, 1886. It is now known as the Lyceum Theatre. The Cleveland Theatre was built in 1885, by Charles H. Bulkley, and was formally opened October 19, 1885. It was destroyed by fire De- cember 7, 1891, but was rebuilt at once, and reopened March 21, 1892. The Star Theatre was built by Walde- mar Otis, and was opened September 12, 1887. It was first known as the Columbia Theatre, but took the present title in 1889. The People's Theatre was once a skating rink, but was opened as a theatre January 26, 1885. It was made over, for a business block, in 1887.
Of the minor places of amusement, Case Hall, now turned into offices, was the most famous, and all the great musicians of the past thirty years appeared there. Also there are the Y. M. C. A. Hall, Music Hall, and various smaller halls used for concerts and the like.
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The National Centennial year, 1876, was ushered in with a welcome, the like of which the city had never before witnessed, and in which all the people participated. An official invitation had been issued to the public at large, by the mayor and City Council, to attend an informal mid- night reception at the City Hall, which was elaborately decorated for the occasion. A clear sky, and weather of almost June warmth, invited to outdoor exercise, and at an early hour of the evening the streets were filled with people. As eleven o'clock approached, a myriad of lights began to show around the Public Square, and when the clock struck, all the lower part of the city burst into a blaze of illumination. The signal was taken up in all directions, and street after street, clear out to the sub- urbs, added to the brightness and enthusiastic effect of the scene.
On the stroke of twelve, the steam whistles all over the city, broke into one vast chorus of echoing notes. A great cauldron of oil on the Public Square was set ablaze, and the deep boom of the guns was heard. Before the echo died away, a perfect tornado of sound swept in from all quarters, and made the very foundations of the earth seem to shake. The alarm of the fire bells cleft the air with sudden sound, and a dozen church towers gave answer, while the hoarse voices of the steam monsters, the bang- ing of firearms, the popping of firecrackers, and the shouts of thousands of excited people, were added to the chorus, while every now and then the deep boom of the cannon came in as a heavy accompaniment.
The main events of the year thus patriotically ushered in, can be briefly noted. At daybreak, on July 4th, the great steel flagstaff 29 on the Public Square, erected by private generosity, was formally delivered to the city, through Mayor N. P. Payne, and other exercises of a pa-
29 This is said to have been the first flagstaff of Bessemer steel ever erected. It was the gift of Henry Chisholm, on behalf of the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company; was placed in position near the center of the Square by David Price and James Pannell; and inspired a stirring poem
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triotic character marked the hundredth anniversary of the nation's independence. Other features of the year were the opening of Riverside Cemetery, already described; and a Police Life and Health Fund, created by act of the Legis- lature to provide pensions for disabled police officers, or aid for the families of those fatally injured in the dis- charge of duty.
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