web.ulib.csuohio.eduThe Cleveland Memory Project: Cleveland History in Photos, Video, and More

The Cleveland Memory Project Jump to page contents browse topics advanced image search ebooks reproductions about local history contact Search May 29, 1937: The Great Lakes Exposition opens its 2nd season with a new attraction: Billy Rose's Aquacade. 105 years ago, June 6th, 1916: The Cleveland Museum of Art opens to the public for the first time. June 5th, 1854: The independent municipality of Ohio City is annexed to Cleveland. June 10th, 1899: Rioting ensues across the city as striking streetcar workers and mobs numbering in the thousands dynamite streetcars and attack nonunion men. 46 years ago: April 8, 1975, in his debut as player-manager for the Cleveland Indians, Frank Robinson hits a home run at his very first at-bat at the home opener at Municipal Stadium. -- 101 years ago: April 11, 1920, the Cleveland Interurban Railroad begins service from Shaker Heights to the Terminal Tower. 20 years ago: Cleveland Memory's First E-Book! First published in 2000 and still free to read online. -- 1921-2021: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Cleveland Clinic -- 100 years ago: Opening of the Ohio Theater on Cleveland's Playhouse Square, February 14th, 1921 -- 160 years ago: Abraham Lincoln spoke from this balcony at Superior & Bank (now W. 6th) Street, Feb. 15, 1861 -- c. 110 years ago: Harvesting ice on Lake Erie, 1911 -- 110 years ago: Cleveland Mayor Tom L. Johnson's home on Millionaire's Row -- News & Features -- Ten cent beer night: what could possibly go wrong? Tuesday, June 4, 1974, many of the 25,000 baseball fans in attendance at the Cleveland Municipal Stadium took full advantage of a special promotion enabling them to purchase beer for the low price of ten cents a cup. Read all about it . The Cleveland Industrial Exposition of 1909: 112 years ago this month, 215,000 visitors from all over the world flocked to see this massive showcase of Cleveland's industrial prowess. The exposition lured new industry to Cleveland and caused a surge in retail, convention bookings, and the real estate market. Young film star Judy Garland attends the Indians home opener (and sings the National Anthem, of course) at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, April 21, 1939. A month earlier, Garland had just finished work on The Wizard of Oz, the picture which would launch her career. The Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-1, thanks to a three-hit complete game from Indians pitcher Robert Feller, who struck out ten batters. (Posted 04/22/2020). Congratulations to The Vindicator , Cleveland State University's multicultural magazine, celebrating its 50th anniversary. First published in 1970 as a newspaper giving voice to African-American students, The Vindicator has grown over the years into a glossy, student-run and contributor-based Arts and Culture magazine with the overarching themes of multiculturalism, social justice and artistic expression, as outlined in this Cleveland.com article . (Posted 02/9/2020). Cleveland native Hal Holbrook , best known for a lifetime of stage performances as Mark Twain, died on January 23, 2021 at the age of 95. Born in Cleveland in 1925, the Emmy- and Tony-winning actor was a frequent and welcome presence on Cleveland stages, beginning with a part in a play entitled “In Time To Come” at Cain Park in 1942 . More about Holbrook’s life and career . Four-time Olympian and lifelong Clevelander Harrison Dillard died recently at the age of 96. His four gold medals (a record shared with his idol Jesse Owens), were all the more remarkable given his early childhood: his mother recalled in a 1953 interview that he was born with rickets, and couldn't stand up until he was 16 months old. That didn't prevent him from serving with distinction in the Army in WWII, or from shattering worldwide track records, as outlined in this obit in Cleveland.com . (Posted 11/17/2019). Carl B. Stokes , elected 52 years ago today on November 7, 1967, was the first African-American to lead a major American city. At the time, Cleveland was one of the 10 largest cities in the United States and Stokes' election put the city in the national spotlight. We can't recommend his 1973 autobiography highly enough: a fascinating and engagingly written profile of his rise from a street thug and a pool hustler to the halls of power. Read it online right here: “Promises of Power: a political autobiography” (Posted 11/7/2019). Remembering Bernie Parrish (1936-2019) : Former All-Pro Browns defensive back Bernie Parrish died last week at the age of 83. Parrish played for the Browns from 1959 through 1966. He is best known today for his efforts to organize players in an attempt to get higher salaries and better pensions, which made him a pariah within the Browns organization and within the NFL. He wrote about his efforts in the 1971 book “They Call It a Game.” More about his life in this NYT obit . (Posted 10/28/2019). Excuse us while we powder our nose... We've been working hard behind the scenes here to migrate tens of thousands of images to a new database. This has necessitated a minor facelift throughout the site, which shouldn't change the functionality of anything our regular visitors are expecting. However, all direct links to images in the database have changed , so if you've bookmarked or linked to any of our material (hello, Facebook!) , those links will go away soon, and eventually will no longer connect. We're sorry for the hassle. If you need help finding your favorites in the new database, get in touch and we'll try to help! (Posted 10/7/19). Cleveland Memory Systems Alert! We are currently experiencing problems with our ContentDM database. The search function for some of our collections is rendering incomplete or no results. We are working to fix the problem. (Posted 01/08/18). -- Remembering A. Grace Lee Mims (1930-2019) : We're saddened to hear of the death of A. Grace Lee Mims, musician, librarian, activist, radio host, and friend. Familiar to many Clevelanders from her 43 years as the always-gracious host of “The Black Arts” on WCLV, Grace was also the wife of the late Howard Mims, former Director of Black Studies here at Cleveland State University. She'll be missed by many, including her colleagues at IdeaStream, who've posted this lovely remembrance . (Posted 10/4/2019). Huletts in the news: The Hulett Ore Unloaders , highly efficient materials-handling machines unique to the Great Lakes, have been iconic symbols in these parts since before the turn of the *last* century. So we're happy to see that the Cleveland Landmarks Commission has unanimously supported plans for a park honoring the massive machines. Details here from IdeaStream . You can learn all about the Huletts at our Great Lakes Industrial History Center (Posted 09/03/19). 65 Years Ago on July 4, 1954... Marilyn Reese Sheppard is found murdered in her Bay Village home, sparking one of Cleveland's more sensational crime scene investigations and a controversial murder trial that could be considered the O.J. Simpson case of its day. The Sheppard case has had an influence on our popular culture providing the premise for two 2 television series and a motion picture. Of course, the Cleveland Press was there to capture it all . (Posted 07/03/19). 37 Years Ago on June 17, 1982... The Cleveland Press , Cleveland's only surviving afternoon daily newspaper, stopped its presses for good. Founded by Edward W. Scripps as the Penny Press in 1878, it started out as a small, 4-page afternoon daily, and under the editorial leadership of Louis B. Seltzer, who helmed The Press from 1928 to 1966, it became one of the country's most influential newspapers. (Posted 06/17/19). The Cleveland Industrial Exposition of 1909: 110 years ago this month, 215,000 visitors from all over the world flocked to see this massive showcase of Cleveland's industrial prowess. The exposition lured new industry to Cleveland and caused a surge in retail, convention bookings, and the real estate market. Remembering Tim Conway (1...