About this collection
Pages
- Clifford W. Henderson (1895-1984) was the director of the National Air Races, 1928-1939, as well as other air races and expositions. Henderson managed and promoted sporting and cultural events, expositions, and conventions in the Los Angeles area after resigning from the National Air Races. He served with honor in North Africa during World War II, and founded the community of Palm Desert, California. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of Clifford W. Henderson and his associates, including studio portraits and candid site photographs, often autographed; views of the National Air Races, including air race events and individual planes; and panoramic and oversize photographs. Individuals pictured include Pancho Barnes, Vincent Bendix, Jacqueline Cochran, Frederick C. Crawford, James Doolittle, Amelia Earhart, Harvey Firestone, Jr., Charles A. Lindbergh, Mary Pickford, Eddie Rickenbacker, Will Rogers, Alexander de Seversky, Roscoe Turner, Rudy Vallee, and Chuck Yeager.
- The Congregational Union of Cleveland Churches was organized in 1853, as the Cleveland Congregational Conference, to oversee the organization of new churches and the mergers of existing churches in Cleveland, Ohio, and to provide financial assistance. In 1912 it merged with the City Missionary Society to form the Congregational Union of Cleveland. In 1963 the Union was merged into the Western Reserve Association of the United Church of Christ. The collection consists of views of the member churches, officers, and activities of the Congregational Union of Cleveland Churches, of Cleveland and northeastern Ohio.
- The Detroit-Superior High-Level Bridge opened to traffic on Thanksgiving Day 1917 and was the city's first high-level bridge over the Cuyahoga River. Connecting Detroit and Superior avenues, it was engineered to relieve the traffic congestion that had clogged the old Superior Viaduct, just north of the new span. Built at a cost of $5.284 million, the bridge took 5 years to complete. The bridge was designed by Cuyahoga County engineers Frank R. Lander, Alfred M. Felgate, William A. Stinchcomb, and Albert W. Zesiger. The principal contractor for the construction was the King Iron Bridge Manufacturing Company. The bridge was renamed Veterans Memorial in Veterans Day ceremonies on 11 Nov. 1989. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. This digital collection includes contemporary and more recent images of the bridge, as well as material related to the planning and construction of the span, The images featured in the collection were assembled to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Detroit Superior High Level Bridge.
- The collection consists of photographs and copy negatives assembled from a variety of sources, including PG 273 United Auto Workers, Local 45 Negatives (Western Reserve Historical Society), the Cleveland Press collection of Cleveland State University, and former Press photographer William S. Nehez. The photographs were used in an audiovisual presentation for the January 18, 1989 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at the Western Reserve Historical Society. The bulk of photographs are views of Dr. King's visits to Cleveland, Ohio and portraits of program honorees from the 1989 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration.
- The East Ohio Gas Company Explosion and Fire occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 20, 1944. A tank, constructed at the northern end of East 61st Street in 1942 to store reserves of liquid natural gas for local war industries, began to leak vapor which, when mixed with air, became combustible and exploded. It contained the equivalent to 90 million cubic feet of non-liquified gas and set off the most disastrous fire in Cleveland's history. A second tank exploded about twenty minutes after the first. Homes and businesses in the largely Slovenian-American neighborhood were set ablaze through an area of more than one square mile of Cleveland's east side. The affected area had boundaries of St. Clair Avenue NE, East 55th Street, East 67th Street, and the Memorial Shoreway. A wall of fire engulfed the area, destroying some homes while leaving others untouched. As the gas vaporized, it flowed through gutters and along curbs until it reached catch basins and the underground sewage system, causing streets to explode and manhole covers to blow off. The gas eventually flowed into homes and businesses via the sewage system, causing further explosions, destruction, and injuries. By the following day the fire had largely burned out but the damage was immense, including 79 houses, 2 factories, and 217 cars. The explosion and fire killed 130 people. As a result of the fire and the analysis of its causes, new and safer alternatives to storing natural gas were developed.
- Edgar Decker was one of Cleveland, Ohio's, most prominent photographers. He opened a studio in 1859, and moved his business to Euclid Avenue in 1883. Decker photographed many of the business, political, and society elite of Cleveland over a 40 year period. He also photographed presidents of the United States, statesmen, soldiers, and other famous persons of the time. Decker was elected president of the National Photographic Association in 1887, and was also involved in Cleveland politics, serving on City Council from 1878-1882. His business was taken over by his protege, George Edmondson. The collection consists of one album containing photographs taken by Edgar Decker. The album came into the hands of George Edmundson when he purchased Decker's business. Photographs are primarily of Cleveland, Ohio's, business, political, and society elite. Photographs of many women are included.
- Edwing Arthur Kraft (1883-1962) was the organist of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio (1907-1959) and Director of Music at Lake Erie College (1933-1951). His second wife, Marie Simmelink, was a vocal soloist at the First Baptist Church in Cleveland (1920-1934) and at The Temple (1934-), and head of the Vocal Department of the Cleveland Institute of Music (1949-1963). The collection consists of photographs relating to the family, life, and career of Edwin Kraft, musician and organist of Cleveland, Ohio. Photographs include portraits of Kraft, his wife, Marie Simmelink Kraft, his parents, the interior and choir of Trinity Cathedral, the Kraft home, and group portraits of the Trinity Cathedral Choir.
- Ella Grant Wilson (1854-1939) was a Cleveland, Ohio florist, publicist, journalist and author. She was founder of the Floral Syndicate, a publicity service which promoted conventions and other activities of interest to the floral industry and was garden editor of the Plain Dealer. Her series in the Sunday Plain Dealer, focusing on historic Cleveland led to her book, "Famous old Euclid Avenue", featuring anecdotes, history and biographies relating to the homes and personalities of "Millionaires' Row." The collection consists of photographs of flowers, floral arrangements, and floral displays. Included are many views of early homes of Cleveland, Ohio, and Cleveland area florists and florist operations and facilities.