About this collection
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- 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.
- David Z. Norton (1851-1928) was a Cleveland, Ohio, banker, a partner in the Oglebay Norton Company, and a philanthropist active in many Cleveland cultural and educational institutions. The collection consists of views of the Cleveland, Ohio, residence of David Z. Norton. The photographs depict both the exterior and the interior of the residence at 7301 Euclid Avenue.
- John Devereux was a sea captain of Marblehead, Massachusetts. John H. Devereux was a Civil War officer, engineer, railroad executive, and philanthropist, of Cleveland, Ohio. Henry K. Devereux was an engineer, real estate agent, industrialist, philanthropist, and harness-horse fancier, of Cleveland. The collection consists of five albums, unmounted photographs, and stereographs relating to the life and interests of various Devereux family members of Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to many individual portraits of Devereux family members and friends, the collection includes group portraits of the Cleveland Gatling Gun Battery; various coaching groups; gatherings at North Randall and Wickliffe, Ohio; and horses, drivers, and harness racing. Included are stereographs (ca. 1890-1910) of the Devereux farm in the South, the Medina County, Ohio, fair (1910), and the North Randall, Ohio race track.
- The Dunbar Company, also known as Dunbar Construction Company, was established in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1884 by William Dunbar, a carpenter. The collection consists of views of commercial, business, industrial, and other buildings, located in Cleveland, Ohio. Included are photographs of the Cleveland Trust Company, Elliott Shoe Company, Pathe Film Company, Dinner Bell Meat Company, Fisher Food Inc., Ohio Bell Telephone Company, Geauga Community Hospital, Slovak Home for the Aged, Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Ursuline College Campus Center, and other representative examples of the company's work.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ethel Standiford opened the Standiford Photographic Studio in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1919. Between 1919 and 1936, when the studio closed, she photographed many of Cleveland's elite. She was also elected president of the Cleveland Photographers Association. The collection consists of mounted portraits representing the studio work of Ethel Standiford, a prominent Cleveland, Ohio, photographer of the 1920s-1930s. Portraits of prominent business, political, religious, cultural, and society leaders of Cleveland are included in the collection.