It received nationwide attention from the 1860s to the 1920s for its beauty and wealth, including a string of mansions that came to be known as Millionaires' Row. There are several theaters, banks, and churches along Euclid, as well as Cleveland's oldest extant building, the Dunham Tavern. It can be reached through the Healthline.
Millionaires' Row
Homes on Euclid Avenue's "Millionaire's Row" (south side of Euclid Avenue), circa 1870
Advertising postcard (pre-1906) for the R&L Electric Car, taken in front of the Leonard Hanna mansion on Euclid Avenue
In the second half of the 19th century and early in the 20th century, Euclid Avenue was internationally known. Baedeker's Travel Guides called the elm-lined avenue "The Showplace of America", and designated it as a must see for travelers from Europe. The concentration of wealth was unparalleled; the tax valuation of the mansions along "the Avenue" far exceeded the valuation of New York's Fifth Avenue in the late 19th century. Accounts at the time compared it to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris and the Unter den Linden in Berlin.[2]
Euclid Avenue was an elegant showcase for Cleveland's wealthy citizens, who built their high, grand mansions high on a ridge overlooking Lake Erie. Set two to five acres back from the avenue, which was paved with Medina sandstone, the mansions seemed to float amid spacious, landscaped grounds.[3]
Christmas shoppers on Euclid Ave. and Ontario St. in the 1950s
Growth of commercial district and decline of Millionaires' Row
Charles Lathrop Pack is credited with at least part of the development of Euclid Avenue, on which he lived from about 1888 to the early years of the 20th century, into a thriving business district. According to Eyle, "In 1913, an article about Charles reported that 'inside of ten years...the [one-story, commercial buildings that he had developed at the lower end of Euclid Avenue] have disappeared. In their stead are skyscrapers, great retail establishments, magnificent banks, and a hotel that cost $2,000,000. Much of the land is owned by Mr. Pack and is leased for long periods. He helped to organize the companies which erected the buildings. It is said that his rentals, out of which not a penny is subtracted for taxes or anything else, amount to $100,000 a year."[5]
As Cleveland's commercial district began to push eastward along Euclid Avenue, families moved east towards University Circle. However, southeast of University Circle, the topography of the area rises sharply into what is referred to as "The Heights", and the development of Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, along with more efficient means of travel, became more attractive than the increasingly commercialized Euclid Avenue.
By the 1920s, the former "Millionaires' Row" was in decline. During the Great Depression, many mansions were converted by their owners into rooming houses, which accelerated the decline. In the 1950s, Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway cut through the Euclid Avenue neighborhood between downtown and the rail crossing at East 55th Street. By the 1960s, the street that once rivaled Fifth Avenue as the most expensive address in the United States was a two-mile (3 km) long slum of commercial buildings and substandard housing. In the late 1960s, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Nick Mileti announced plans to move the basketball club from Euclid Avenue's Cleveland Arena to a new arena in suburban Richfield Township.
Eight houses from the era remain on Euclid, including the Samuel Mather and Howe mansions owned and used by Cleveland State University. One of the most recent to be demolished was the Lyman Treadway Mansion, which served as part of the Cleveland Museum of Health from the 1930s until it was razed in 2002 for a new museum building.
On August 5, 1914, the American Traffic Signal Company installed a traffic signal system on the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue, the first traffic light installed in the United States.[6][7]
Euclid Avenue during the construction of the Euclid Corridor project
In April 2006, parts of Euclid Avenue were closed to traffic for the filming of a scene from the film Spider-Man 3. No major stars were on location, but the filming drew thousands of gawkers. Most of the filming involved explosions and destroyed cars, with hired extras walking the sidewalks. The sections of the street that were closed off were redressed to resemble a city street in New York City, complete with magazine stands and poster-covered walls.[8]
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority completely refurbished the western section of Euclid Avenue as part of the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project, which opened fully in 2008. A bus rapid transit line, the HealthLine, now runs from Public Square to the Stokes Rapid Transit station in East Cleveland, which is the eastern terminus of the Red Line rapid transit route. The refurbishing also entailed development – as of November 2009[update], more than $3.3 billion worth of completed or proposed urban renewal projects lined the street and surrounding area.[9]
Route designations
Euclid Avenue, originally known as part of the Buffalo Stage Road,[10] has carried various route designations throughout history:
Prior to 1923 Euclid Avenue carried Inter-county Route 2 and Main Market Road VI in parts.[11][12]
In 1926 SR 2 was rerouted onto Superior Avenue, leaving Euclid Avenue as only SR 15 from Public Square to Mayfield Road, and undesignated from there to Superior Avenue in East Cleveland.[15][16]
In 1932 U.S. Route 6 was added to the US 20 portion from Superior Avenue eastward to Euclid.[18][19]
In 1936 U.S. Route 6 Alternate and U.S. Route 20 Alternate were created to run along the US 322 portion from Public Square to Mayfield Road then along the previously undesignated section from there to Superior Avenue.[20][21]
In 1950 US 322 was shifted north to run along Superior Avenue and Chester Avenue from Public Square to Euclid Avenue in University Circle. US 322 remains on Euclid Avenue from Chester Avenue to Mayfield Road.[22][23]
In 1967 US 20 was removed from Superior Avenue and US 6 and placed on Euclid Avenue from Public Square to Superior Avenue in East Cleveland, replacing Alt. US 6 and Alt. US 20.[24][25]
Eyle, Alexandra. 1992. Charles Lathrop Pack: Timberman, Forest Conservationist, and Pioneer in Forest Education. Syracuse, NY: ESF College Foundation, Inc., and College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Distributed by Syracuse University Press. Available: books
Wilson, Ella G. 1932. Famous Old Euclid Ave. Cleveland.
^Morrow, James B. January 5, 1913. "No sentiment, just plain common sense made him the first active worker for forest conservation", Sunday Plain Dealer, editorial and drama section. Quoted in Eyle, p. 40
^Sessions, Gordon M. (1971). Traffic devices: historical aspects thereof. Washington: Institute of Traffic Engineers. pp. 27–28. OCLC278619.
^"New Traffic Signal Installed". The Motorist. Ken Pub. Co: 28–29. August 1914.
^Ohio State Highway Department (June 1918). Highway Map of Ohio(PDF) (Map). 1:500,000. Columbus: Ohio State Highway Department. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^Ohio Department of Highways and Public Works (July 1923). Map of Ohio Showing State Routes(PDF) (Map). 1:760,320. Columbus: Ohio Department of Highways and Public Works. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^Ohio Department of Highways and Public Works (August 1925). Map of Ohio Showing State Routes(PDF) (Map). 1:760,320. Columbus: Ohio Department of Highways and Public Works. OCLC5673562. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^ abOhio Department of Highways and Public Works (August 1, 1926). Map of Ohio Showing State Routes(PDF) (Map). 1:760,320. Columbus: Ohio Department of Highways and Public Works. OCLC5673562. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^Ohio Department of Highways and Public Works (June 1, 1927). Map of Ohio Showing State Routes(PDF) (Map). 1:760,320. Columbus: Ohio Department of Highways and Public Works. OCLC5673562. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^Ohio Department of Highways (1936). Official Highway Map of Ohio(PDF) (Map). 1:760,320. Columbus: Ohio Department of Highways. OCLC5673562. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^Ohio Department of Highways (1949). Ohio Highway Map(PDF) (Map). 1:633,600. Columbus: Ohio Department of Highways. OCLC5673562, 13655762. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^Ohio Department of Highways (1950). Ohio Highway Map(PDF) (Map). 1:633,600. Columbus: Ohio Department of Highways. OCLC5673562, 7448760. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^Ohio Department of Highways (1966). Official Highway Map(PDF) (Map). c. 1:563,200. Columbus: Ohio Department of Highways. OCLC5673562. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^Ohio Department of Highways (1967). Official Highway Map(PDF) (Map). c. 1:563,200. Columbus: Ohio Department of Highways. OCLC5673562, 7444249. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
^Earnest, G. Brooks (1974). History of Fenn College. Cleveland, Ohio: The Fenn Educational Fund of the Cleveland Foundation. pp. 718 (total).
^"History". Trinity Cathedral. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.|work=trinitycleveland.org|publisher=Trinity Cathedral
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US 6 / US 20 / US 322
US 6 / US 20 / US 42 / US 322 / US 422
SR 3 / SR 8 / SR 14 / SR 43 / SR 87 at Public Square
US 6 / SR 84 in Euclid
I-90 in Wickliffe
US 20 / SR 174 in Willoughby
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