About this collection
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- A. Donald Gray (1891-1939) was a landscape architect and designer in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1920-1939. Gray worked briefly with Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., in Brookline, Massachusetts, before establishing a landscape architecture practice in Cleveland. He designed many private gardens and estates for some of the most elite families of Cleveland and its outlying suburbs, including the noted private development of Fairhill Rd. houses in 1931. Gray was also the landscape designer for several public projects, including the Cedar-Central apartments, the first federal public-housing project in the nation, and many of Cleveland's public parks. Perhaps his most notable achievement was the creation of the WPA-funded Horticultural Gardens for the Great Lakes Exposition, 1936-1937, some of which remain on the site north of Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. The gardens were named for Gray as a memorial after his death. Gray took several trips to England, South America, Mexico and elsewhere throughout his career to study the landscaping of great houses and public places. He also contributed a regular gardening column to the Cleveland Press during the mid-1930s. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of A. Donald Gray, his friends and business associates; views of his landscaping projects; scenes from the Great Lakes Exposition, and vacation photographs. Included in the oversize materials are images of his garden and landscaping designs for several Cleveland, Ohio families. Four of these photographs were taken by Margaret Bourke-White.
- Abba Hillel Silver (1893-1963) was a Rabbi at The Temple-Tifereth Israel, Cleveland, Ohio, and prominent leader of the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland. The collection consists of black and white and color photographs, drawings, slides, and stereo color transparencies. Of special note is a 1925 portfolio of charcoal drawings, many autographed, of the Administrative Committee of the Zionist Organization of America, including Silver, Louis Lipsky, Emanuel Neumann, Henrietta Szold, and Stephen Wise.
- Ada Watterson Yerkes (1873-1963) was related to three families who settled early in the Western Reserve. The Harper family came from New York in 1798 and founded Harpersfield, Ohio. The Norton family came from New York before 1839 when Ada Yerkes' maternal grandparents were married in Harpersfield. The Watterson family came from England in 1826 and settled in Warrensville, Ohio. Various family members served in the Civil War and were active in a number of business ventures, including the Gardner Gun Company of London, England and the Ogleby-Norton Company of Cleveland. The collection consists of photographs relating to the Harper, Norton, and Watterson families.
- Adella Prentiss Hughes (1869-1950) was a musical impresario and founder and manager of the Cleveland Orchestra. Her grandparents, Benjamin and Rebecca Rouse, were leaders in various charitable and religious institutions in Cleveland, Ohio. The collection consists of one album containing clippings, some manuscript items, and primarily photographs, relating to the family of Adella Prentiss Hughes of Cleveland, Ohio. Included are portraits of Benjamin and Rebecca Cromwell Rouse, grandparents of Adella Prentiss Hughes; E. C. Rouse; Margaret Miller; Mary Miller Rouse; and H. C. Rouse. Also included are views of the birthplace of Henry Clark Rouse at 489 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio; the Miller Block at 193-195 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio; and the United Brass Company Works, Lorain, Ohio. Loose photographs include views of the liner Westernland, and travel photographs taken of various sites in Europe.
- Agudath B'nai Israel Congregation is a conservative congregation founded in 1925 by the merger of Agudath Achim and Beth Israel, two existing Jewish congregations in Lorain, Ohio, and a B'nai B'rith group about to establish a third congregation. A new temple was built to house the congregation and also to serve as a center for the Lorain Jewish community. In 1983 membership accounted for over 90 percent of Lorain's Jewish population. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of staff, organizations within the congregation, and members; and views of the various synagogues and activities of Agudath B'nai Israel Congregation, Lorain, Ohio. There are also photographs of the three synagogues occupied in the history of the congregation: the Fifteenth Street Synagogue, built for congregation Agudath Achim, later a part of Agudath B'nai Israel; the temple at Ninth Street and Reid Avenue (1932-1969); and the temple at Meister Road and Pole Avenue, occupied since 1969.
- Allen E. Cole (1883-1970) was a Cleveland, Ohio, photographer who produced over 50,000 photographs of people and places in the African American community of Cleveland, Ohio. Cole opened his first studio in 1922 at 9909 Cedar Avenue, supplementing his income with commercial work and commission work for eight white-owned studios, and earned prizes and commendations at state and local exhibitions. His photographs were frequently published in The Call and Post. The collection consists of approximately 30,000 black and white and color negatives; 6,000 black and white and color photographs; and 1 oil painting.
- Ameritrust Corporation began in 1894 when The Cleveland Trust Company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland Trust then assumed the contracts of the Security Safe Deposit and Trust Company, also located in Cleveland, Ohio. Beginning in 1903, Cleveland Trust acquired or merged with several other savings banks, including The Windemere Savings and Trust Company and The Western Reserve Trust Company. Cleveland Trust promoted innovative operating policies and procedures, including the establishment of an advertising department in 1913. It increased its number of branch offices through additional mergers, including Lake Shore Banking and Trust Company and The Garfield Savings Bank. Growth continued during the 1920s with the acquisition of the Pearl Street Savings and Trust Company. Two more banks were acquired in the 1930s; Midland Bank and South Euclid Bank. A new six story office building at East 9th Street and Huron Road was constructed in 1962. An adjacent office tower was completed in 1971. In 1974, CleveTrust Corporation, a bank holding company, was formed, with Cleveland Trust as the lead bank. Cleveland Trust was one of six local banks holding short-term notes of the City of Cleveland when financial difficulties in 1978 lead to the city's default on these loans. In 1979, The Cleveland Trust Company's name was changed to AmeriTrust Corporation. In 1986, the name was changed to Ameritrust Corporation. In 1991, Ameritrust merged with Society Corporation, and in 1992, went out of existence as a corporate entity. The collection consists of individual portraits of bank officials, directors, and corporate employees and their organizations, and views of banking facilities and marketing campaigns. A large portion of the collection consists of views of bank branches and views of the 1906-1908 construction and later renovation of the Cleveland Trust main office. Photographs of architectural detail images of the rotunda of the main branch by Margaret Bourke-White are included. The 1969-1971 construction of the tower office building addition to the main office located at Euclid Ave. and East 9th St. is also well depicted. Advertising and marketing activities are represented by both images used in and depictions of campaigns, particularly the E. 9th and Euclid outdoor displays. The collection also illustrates changes in banking equipment and facilities during the twentieth century. Also included are portraits of officers and employees of banks acquired by the Cleveland Trust Company. Other photographs of officers, directors, and corporate employees were integral to and retained with biographical materials in MS 4750 Ameritrust Corporation Records.
- Andrew Kraffert (1874-1958) was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, and came to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1904 to work at the Cleveland Leader. He served as the staff photographer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer from 1908 until his retirement in 1953. The collection consists of photographs taken by Andrew Kraffert during his career as Plain Dealer news photographer. They cover a wide range of subjects including sporting events, especially baseball, American presidents and other political figures, prominent personalities, major events in Cleveland social and political life, including crimes and disasters, parades and celebrations, political campaigns, visits of numerous public figures, etc., as well as views of Cleveland structures and portraits of groups and individuals. The collection is especially useful to the study of early 20th century baseball, with many images of baseball players and action shots of the 1919 and 1920 World Series. The presidential photographs include presidents from William McKinley to Harry Truman, as well as an image of Abraham Lincoln, ca. 1860. There are also photos of many national and international figures. This collection also is significant for the study of Cleveland history as it helps to document events in Cleveland during the early part of the twentieth century. The crime scene photographs and disaster shots are particularly valuable to researchers.
- Carl Stokes (1927-1996) was the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, from 1967-1971. Stokes was the first African American mayor of a major American city and the first African American Democrat in the Ohio State Legislature, where he served three terms from 1962-67. As mayor, Stokes launched a number of programs to alleviate the problems of urban decay. Chief among these was Cleveland: NOW!, a joint public and private program with plans to raise $177 million in its first two years to revitalize Cleveland. The program was discredited due to the Glenville Shootout in July, 1968. Under Stokes, Cleveland City Council passed the Equal Employment Opportunity Ordinance, and HUD resumed funding projects aiding in the construction of over 3,000 new low- and middle-income housing units. Stokes became a newscaster with NBC television in 1972, and returned to his law practice in Cleveland in 1980. In 1983, Stokes was elected a municipal court judge. The collection consists of formal individual portraits of Carl Stokes, individual and group portraits of the Stokes family and friends, city officials, local and national celebrities and political figures, and individual citizens. It also includes candid and formal group portraits and views of official functions of the mayor, functions of individual city departments and commissions, and local community groups. Included are portraits of Hubert H. Humphrey, Edmund Muskie, Rev. Billy Graham, Pope Paul VI, entertainers Bob Hope and Bill Cosby, and Congressmen Charles Vanik and Louis Stokes. Events depicted include Cleveland NOW! activities, urban renewal and housing rehabilitation, the Glenville shootout, and youth activities.
- Charles Francis Brush (1849-1929) was a Cleveland, Ohio, businessman and inventor. His inventions included a dynamo which was the predecessor for the modern generator and the arc light, demonstrated on Cleveland's Public Square in 1879. Brush formed the Brush Electric Co. in 1880, which was subsequently bought by Thomason Houston Electric Co., and then merged with Edison General Electric Co. in 1891, forming the General Electric Co. Brush continued to maintain scientific and business interests throughout his life, and founded the Brush Foundation in 1927. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of Charles F. Brush, his friends and associates, and views of his inventions, including the arc lamp and wind powered dynamo. Also included is a view of an arc lamp on Cleveland, Ohio's Public Square, ca. 1896.