95-670: The Collinwood school fire (also known as the Lake View School fire ) was a major disaster that occurred at the Lake View School in Collinwood , Ohio , when a fire erupted on March 4, 1908, killing 172 students, two teachers and one rescuer. It is one of the deadliest school disasters in United States history. The Lake View School was vulnerable to fire, as were many similarly designed buildings throughout
190-676: A streetcar line, proposed a line to reach Lake View's main gate in July 1874. However, as built in 1876, the line followed Superior Avenue to Euclid Avenue before proceeding east—reaching Euclid east of Lake View Cemetery. The first streetcar to reach Lake View Cemetery was the East Cleveland Railway's Euclid Avenue Line in 1886. The company extended its tracks from its existing terminus at E. 107th Street up Euclid Avenue to Rosedale Avenue in East Cleveland (just short of
285-467: A $ 1,000 par value, and be payable in 50 years. Interest for the last six months of 1892 would be paid in cash at a 7 percent annual rate. The new bonds would carry coupons for all other past-due interest, to be paid at a 6 percent annual rate. Additionally, redeemed bondholders would receive an income debenture equal to 20 percent of the bond's face value. Only $ 100,000 ($ 3.39 million in 2023 dollars) in income debentures would be issued, carrying
380-437: A 3 by 3 inches (76 by 76 mm) piece of Georgia marble or slate. Hatch also hired landscape architect Ernest W. Bowditch to finish laying out the cemetery's 300 acres (120 ha). Bowditch retained the garden cemetery design begun in 1869, and began planting large numbers of ornamental trees, including bald cypress , copper beech , gingko , oriental plane , pin oak , and purple beech . Importantly, he also planned
475-401: A 3-foot (0.91 m) walkway between tiers. Any section deeper than 150 feet (46 m) in depth also needs to have an 8-foot (2.4 m) wide service road bisecting it. All ground was roughly graded before the construction of infrastructure and roads; wet ground was drained after rough grading. Section and lot corners were marked with cornerstones, and all permanent fixtures were recorded on
570-490: A 7 percent (or less) annual interest rate. To ensure payment of the interest on the debentures, the cemetery agreed to establish a sinking fund whose proceeds would pay the interest. Lake View Cemetery agreed that revenues would go toward maintenance and cemetery expenses first. Excess revenues would be applied first to the income debentures, second to interest on the 1878 and refunding bonds, third to sinking fund payments, and lastly to any reasonable improvements to be made to
665-442: A grand tomb to be erected at the highest point in the cemetery. The popularity of the garden-like cemetery and the public's desire to see Garfield's resting place were such that large crowds began thronging Lake View every Sunday. Roughly 50,000 people a year were visiting the crypt. The cemetery received no revenues from the memorial committee despite the wear and tear on its property. Cemetery officials began requiring tickets in
760-602: A large Slovenian community. The boyhood home to eventual Cleveland mayor and Ohio governor and senator, George Voinovich , the Slovenian neighborhood was centered on St. Mary of the Assumption Church, and the Slovenian Home, both located on Holmes Avenue. America's Polka King Frankie Yankovic , a South Collinwood native, played live polka music in many of the taverns and dance halls in the area and owned
855-455: A music bar. Italians , many of whom had settled the neighborhood after relocating from the Central neighborhood's Big Italy district, also settled heavily in the area, mainly along its southern border. The Italian Village, with a population of Italian descendants greater than that of Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood, became well known for its Feast of St. Anthony, held every June and
950-629: A new cemetery. Thirty of them showed up to the meeting on May 24. The group of 30 formed the nonprofit Lake View Cemetery Association on July 28, 1869. The trustees were William Bingham (owner of the W. Bingham Co. hardware company), Hinman B. Hurlbut (banking executive), Henry B. Payne (railroad investor), Joseph Perkins (banking and railroad executive), U.S. District Court Judge Charles Taylor Sherman , Amasa Stone (steelmaker and railroad investor), Worthy S. Streator (railroad executive and investor), Jeptha Wade (co-founder of Western Union ), and Stillman Witt (railroad investor). Wade
1045-497: A new entrance for Lake View Cemetery on Euclid Avenue, with a new circle just inside the cemetery gate. The new office building at the entrance was designed by noted local architect Charles F. Schweinfurth , and the cost of its construction donated by Hatch. Neoclassical in style, it was faced with Ohio sandstone . The $ 6,000 ($ 200,000 in 2023 dollars) rectangular structure was 25 by 51 feet (7.6 by 15.5 m) in size. The floors and wainscoting were hardwood . Ground for
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#17327877677071140-414: A pile that completely blocked the exit. Although later accounts sometimes described children pinned against inward-swinging doors, Lake View's doors opened outward. However, the vestibule created an impassable bottleneck for the crowd trying to rush through it. Collinwood's small volunteer fire department and horse-drawn engines arrived too late and were ill-equipped to battle the fire. In less than an hour,
1235-466: A single-burial lot had more than doubled since the cemetery opened, to ($ 14 to $ 17 in 2023 dollars) a square foot. By late 1888, Lake View Cemetery was nearing bankruptcy. Mismanagement was part of the problem, and The Plain Dealer newspaper said the cemetery's financial records were in "deplorable" shape. Lake View had outstanding debt of $ 432,980 ($ 14.7 million in 2023 dollars), and interest on
1330-578: A small percentage of the cemetery's roads were paved, and the remainder, all dirt roads, were heavily eroded and rutted. Lake View's finances were so poor that many residents believed it was close to bankruptcy. The association needed revenue so badly that its trustees considered lowering the price of lots so that the poor could afford to be buried there. The cemetery generated so little revenue that it had incurred about $ 365,700 ($ 12.4 million in 2023 dollars) in debt above and beyond interest and principal owed on bonds. With revenues extraordinarily low and
1425-431: A square foot. The cemetery's distance from Cleveland's population center and the price of its plots meant that only those with a middle class income or better could afford to be buried at Lake View. It's not clear when the first interments at Lake View Cemetery were made, but several plots were in use by October 21, 1870. Improvements to and expansion of the cemetery continued over the next few years. The first ravine
1520-425: A square foot; the surge in lot-buying, it was believed would raise $ 2 million ($ 67.8 million in 2023 dollars). In addition, spending on cemetery improvements would be cut back sharply. The reaction of the bondholders was not reported, but area businesspeople began suggesting that the city of Cleveland purchase the cemetery. The plan was amended at the end of April 1889 so that all interest coming due that year
1615-640: A village in Euclid Township , it was annexed by the city in 1910. Collinwood grew around the rail yards of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (now CSX ) and is divided by these same tracks into the neighborhoods of North Shore Collinwood and Collinwood–Nottingham . Collinwood was identified as one of America's Best Secret Neighborhoods by Travel + Leisure in 2008. The neighborhood's most infamous incident antedates its annexation by Cleveland. On Ash Wednesday, March 4, 1908, Collinwood
1710-472: A year of dispute, the state purchased the land where the Lake View School had stood, and the town converted it into a memorial garden, designed by Louise Klein Miller . The new Collinwood Memorial School, built to the highest standards of fire resistance at the time, was constructed on an adjacent lot. Collinwood Collinwood is a historical area in the northeast part of Cleveland , Ohio . Originally
1805-448: A year, the cemetery encompassed 211 acres (85 ha).) This gave the cemetery about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) of frontage on the avenue. The combined cost of the two purchases was $ 148,821.84 ($ 3.59 million in 2023 dollars). Located in what was then East Cleveland Township , the site was somewhat isolated. With the city pushing eastward at a swift pace, city and county government officials were already planning additional roads in
1900-543: Is now Section 26 be small and affordable like those at Woodland Cemetery. Unsold large lots in what is now Section 1 were subdivided into smaller lots as well. Terra cotta markers were placed to mark section boundaries, and new maps of the cemetery produced for the first time in several years. Cemetery-wide improvements included the laying of 600 feet (180 m) of fresh water pipe for irrigation purposes, 2,400 feet (730 m) of drainage pipe to reclaim soggy land for burial purposes, 800 feet (240 m) of new fencing around
1995-555: Is said to have crippled the Mafia in Cleveland. In the 21st century, Collinwood has become a place of interest for artists seeking low-cost urban places to live and work. The housing and foreclosure crisis, though somewhat detrimental to the urban fabric of the neighborhood, has provided opportunities for artists to acquire properties very inexpensively. A collective known as Arts Collinwood has been instrumental in helping to revitalize
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#17327877677072090-479: Is the James A. Garfield Memorial , erected in 1890 as the tomb of assassinated President James A. Garfield . The second is Wade Memorial Chapel , which began construction in 1898 and was completed in 1901. It honors the memory of Jeptha Wade , one of the cemetery's co-founders, and was donated by his grandson. In 1868, prominent Cleveland businessmen Jeptha Wade , Henry B. Payne , and Joseph Perkins began discussing
2185-577: Is the central business district of the neighborhood, and is also the location of Collinwood High School , whose sports teams are aptly named the Railroaders. Although today it is largely African American , South Collinwood has historically been an enclave of European immigrants, as well as migrants from the Southern United States . South Collinwood at one time was home to large concentrations of Eastern Europeans, and in particular,
2280-565: The Feast of the Assumption , held every August at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on Kipling Avenue. Its American immigrants, many relocated Southerners – mostly from Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky – began arriving in the 1940s to work in the factories. Mainly they settled along the western edge of the neighborhood, especially along the E. 140th section; many bars in that area featured live country music and Southern food. South Collinwood
2375-551: The receiving vault for use by plot-holders, designed by local architect Joseph Ireland, was almost finished. A superintendent's lodge at the front gate on Euclid Avenue was finished at the end of the year. By this time, several large, artistic funerary monuments had been erected at Lake View. The association purchased another 41 acres (17 ha) of land in October 1872 and 2.17 acres (0.88 ha) in January 1873. By June 1873,
2470-413: The 1875 and all $ 40,000 of the 1878 issue. Houghton claimed to have been given misleading information on the amount of outstanding debt by Lake View officials, and he threatened to sue the cemetery to force it into receivership (a process which would take about six years to accomplish). Support for the cemetery's plan among the miscellaneous bondholders was about evenly split. Those in opposition argued it
2565-476: The 1875 bond issue. The trustees decided to retire both debts by issuing $ 40,000 ($ 1.26 million in 2023 dollars) in new bonds at 7 percent annual interest. Although the new bonds were sold, the old debt was inexplicably not retired. President James A. Garfield, a resident of nearby Mentor, Ohio , was shot in Washington, D.C., on July 2, 1881. He died on September 19, 1881. Garfield himself had expressed
2660-516: The Citizens Savings and Loan Association, a local bank, in order to pay interest on its bonds. The association paid out only 4 percent of the 7 percent annual interest due on its bonds at the end of 1888, creating a severe financial hardship for bondholders who relied on the interest for their living expenses. Bonds which formerly sold for $ 108 to $ 110 (the par value was $ 100) now began selling at $ 50 to $ 75. Angry bondholders protested
2755-579: The Cleveland Electric Railway Company opened its Mayfield Road Line. This line went past Lake Views Mayfield Road gate. The line began at the East Cleveland Railway's car barn, went south down Coltman to Mayfield, and then east on Mayfield to Lee Road. This line closed in 1907. In 1902, Lake View Cemetery gave permission for the Cleveland Electric Railway to build a spur into the cemetery so that
2850-555: The LVCA board of directors authorized issuance of the refunding bonds. Legal work took longer than usual, however, and it was not until December that the bonds were finally issued. The cemetery's financial condition improved significantly over the next few years. Although some board members felt the cemetery should still be sold to the city of Cleveland, the board rejected this proposal overwhelmingly in June 1895. The cemetery board approved
2945-476: The Lake View Granite and Monumental Works on Mayfield Road adjacent to the cemetery. Carabelli began encouraging other Italian sculptors, stonecutters, and artisans to settle in Cleveland near his works, and by 1885 a substantial enclave of Italians, mostly immigrants, had grown up there. By 1892, the neighborhood adjacent to the cemetery's southwestern corner had become known as Little Italy . It
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3040-880: The United States, began the erection of a funerary monument in Lake View Cemetery. Some time before 1882, Rockfeller purchased a 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m ) family plot on one of the cemetery's highest points, slightly northeast of the Garfield Memorial. Three people were buried in the John D. Rockefeller plot. Two of them were children of Frank Rockefeller , John's brother. They were William Scofield Rockefeller (81 days old, died on March 17, 1878) and Myra Rockefeller, 2 years and 81 days old, died on August 23, 1886). Rockefeller's mother, Eliza Rockefeller, died on March 28, 1889, in New York City. She
3135-625: The Village of Nottingham were rolled into Collinwood. For much of the 20th century, Collinwood thrived due in large part to heavy industry. Besides the railroad yards, major corporations such as General Motors , which operated its Fisher Body plant on Coit Road and General Electric with its Pitney Glass Works on E. 152nd., employed thousands of workers. By the eve of World War II , Collinwood's economic vitality had drawn large numbers of both ethnic white Europeans and Southern Appalachians. The 1960s had an influx of African Americans, who are today
3230-553: The Waterloo Road business district on the north side of the neighborhood. Begun mainly as the residential section, North Shore Collinwood , commonly known as North Collinwood , is bounded roughly between E. 133rd Street to the west and E. 185th Street to the northeast (E.200th street due east), and between Lake Erie to the north and the Collinwood Railroad Yards and tracks (currently operated by CSX to
3325-739: The angel atop the Truman P. Handy memorial, the weeping woman atop the Bucher and Hanna monuments, the group of angels supporting a cross atop the Cross grave, figures carved on the upright slabs over the Johnson and Garretson plots, a sculptural group named "Hope" atop the Perkins monument, and another sculptural group atop the Chamberlain monument. Although a number of large mausoleums had been built in
3420-428: The area, several of which would reach the new cemetery. Landscape architect Adolph Strauch , who designed Cincinnati's celebrated Spring Grove Cemetery, was hired in October 1869 to design Lake View. Joseph Earnshaw of Cincinnati was the civil engineer, and O.D. Ford was hired as the first superintendent. During the winter of 1869–1870, work crews began grading and laying down roads and paths, terracing part of
3515-627: The association not having paid any interest in cash since 1889, cemetery trustees formed a committee consisting of Daniel P. Eels, Henry R. Hatch, and Edwin R. Perkins to see what level of cash interest could be sustained. The committee proposed a new plan in February 1892: All 1871 and 1878 bondholders could turn in their bonds and receive a new "refunding bond" paying lower annual interest. To cover all outstanding debt, about $ 400,000 ($ 13.6 million in 2023 dollars) in "refunding bonds", back-dated to December 1, 1891, would be issued. They would have
3610-480: The association, hoping to raise $ 150,000 ($ 3.43 million in 2023 dollars). Within six weeks, they'd raised the money and set a new goal of $ 200,000 ($ 4.58 million in 2023 dollars), which was also reached. Selah Chamberlain (ironmaker, railroad investor, banker), Payne, Perkins, Stone, Wade, and Witt held $ 60,000 ($ 1.37 million in 2023 dollars) in bonds, while another 11 individuals held $ 55,000 ($ 1.26 million in 2023 dollars) in bonds. A committee
3705-429: The boiler too hot. Another theory held that the fire was caused by girls smoking in a basement closet near flammable materials. A quickly completed coroner's inquest concluded that heating pipes running next to exposed wooden joists ignited the building. The coroner blamed the fire on "conditions" and held no one legally accountable for it. Many parents condemned the speed of the inquest and objected to its refusal to hold
3800-506: The bondholders in December 1891. The cemetery's plan was tweaked to provide for even smaller par values for the refunding bonds. In total, $ 500,000 ($ 17 million in 2023 dollars) in refunding bonds were proposed, 350 at $ 1,000 par value, 50 at $ 500 par value, and 1,250 at $ 100 par value. Five months after Garfield began his lobbying effort, 75 percent of bondholders approved the plan. The remaining approvals were received in June 1892, and
3895-556: The burial ground in 1888. Financial recovery only began in 1893, and took several years. Lake View grew and modernized significantly from 1896 to 1915 under the leadership of president Henry R. Hatch. The cemetery's cautious management allowed it to avoid retrenchment and financial problems during the Great Depression . Two sites within the cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The first
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3990-513: The cemetery engineer's maps. With the Long Depression ending in the United States, the board believed lot sales would rise significantly. With the board's backing, Hatch began making new improvements to the cemetery and converting undeveloped land into sections 4, 10, and 26 at a cost of $ 10,000 ($ 400,000 in 2023 dollars). Realizing that lot sizes were too large and expensive for middle-class purchasers, Hatch ordered that lots in what
4085-459: The cemetery faced bankruptcy if the syndicate scheme was not adopted. Gaining acceptance from the bondholders was complicated. C.F. Houghton, a banker and bond dealer based on the East Coast , held all $ 10,000 of the outstanding 1871 bonds and $ 7,000 of the 1875 bonds. Samuel E. Williamson, a local judge, held $ 13,000 of the 1875 issue. Another 331 individuals held the remaining $ 10,000 of
4180-430: The cemetery had a total of 266 acres (108 ha). It had spent $ 65,643 ($ 1.67 million in 2023 dollars) on landscaping, with eight sections landscaped, plotted, and open for burials. The cemetery even dammed Dugway Brook in places to create ponds. Plots at Lake View Cemetery in its first three years sold for half the average price of plots in established cemeteries. Plot sales generated little income initially. At
4275-439: The cemetery's acreage totalled 304 acres (123 ha) in 1876. Euclid Avenue was paved up to Lake View Cemeteryn in 1874. Lake View Cemetery purchased another 100 acres (40 ha) of land in 1875, issuing $ 150,000 ($ 4.16 million in 2023 dollars) in 6 percent annual interest bonds to pay for it. By 1877, The Plain Dealer estimated, more than $ 100,000 ($ 2.86 million in 2023 dollars) in funerary monuments dotted
4370-491: The cemetery's cash flow, and by the end of 1889 it could not pay any interest in cash. Income was so negatively impacted by the exchange of bonds for lots that cemetery trustees admitted on June 1, 1889, that no cash interest would be paid at the end of the year; all interest would be paid in scrip. The trustees also warned that scrip might not be issued unless bondholders agreed to the cemetery's financial rescue plan. Angry bondholders began to threaten lawsuits to personally hold
4465-407: The cemetery, the newspaper noted that the most elaborate of these was the tomb being erected by H.J. Wilcox. Wilcox had visited Italy , where he employed artisans to design a vault that mimicked the look of an Italian Renaissance chapel. With lots selling quickly, cemetery officials used the revenue to redeem debt. By 1878, only $ 10,000 of the 1871 bond issue remained unredeemed, and just $ 30,000 of
4560-471: The cemetery. The cemetery staff believed that only about $ 4,000 ($ 100,000 in 2023 dollars) a year was needed to maintain the cemetery. Interest on the 1875 bond issue (of which only $ 35,000 was outstanding) amounted to $ 2,100 a year ($ 100,000 in 2023 dollars), while interest on the refunding bonds would amount to $ 16,000 a year ($ 500,000 in 2023 dollars). About half the outstanding bondholders approved of Lake View's plan, but it needed 90 percent to do so before
4655-553: The children died from burns and smoke inhalation, most were either crushed or suffocated in the frantic attempt to escape the building. Those killed in the fire who could not be identified were buried in a mass grave in Cleveland's Lakeview Cemetery . National building standards requiring that doors in public buildings open outward were already in effect, and the fire did result in a trend towards municipalities nationwide adopting policies of school inspections and enforcing stricter building codes. Annexed by Cleveland in 1912, portions of
4750-536: The cities of Cleveland , Cleveland Heights , and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gilded Age , and today the cemetery is known for its numerous lavish funerary monuments and mausoleums . The extensive early monument building at Lake View helped give rise to the Little Italy neighborhood, but over-expansion nearly bankrupted
4845-511: The close of the 1872–1873 fiscal year, the cemetery was technically bankrupt, with more debt (about $ 198,000 [$ 5.04 million in 2023 dollars]) than assets. Plot sales were brisk, however, and the cemetery was proving extremely popular with local residents. As much as 40 percent of all burials at Lake View Cemetery between 1870 and 1873 were removals from Woodland Cemetery. Another 21.8 acres (8.8 ha) of land were purchased in August 1873, and
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#17327877677074940-405: The crypt could hold as many as 96 coffins. Two private receiving vaults also existed on the crypt level, closed off by marble doors. Ground for the new chapel was broken on February 19, 1898. The hillside was excavated 25 feet (7.6 m) down to bedrock , and the foundations and crypt level finished in late December 1898. Completing the interior took much longer than expected, and the chapel
5035-401: The debt consumed $ 23,031 a year ($ 800,000 in 2023 dollars). Maintenance of the few open sections cost another $ 9,676 ($ 300,000 in 2023 dollars) a year, yet income was only $ 23,875 ($ 800,000 in 2023 dollars) a year on average. The cemetery superintendent had spent $ 150,000 to $ 200,000 ($ 5.09 million to $ 6.78 million in 2023 dollars) on improvements, a figure officials privately admitted
5130-402: The design for the chapel and commissioned Hubbell & Benes to finalize the blueprints. The association did not formally accept the new chapel until the plans were done. The site chosen for the chapel was between two existing lakes, diagonally across a road from the existing public vault. The exterior walls were clad in near-white Barre granite from Barre, Vermont . The interior decor
5225-422: The erection of a crematorium in 1900, but no action was taken on the plan. In 1896, Lake View Cemetery's entrance was unprepossessing. Located next to Mayfield Road about 200 feet (61 m) southwest of the current entrance, it consisted of a small wooden gate, a two-room office in a wooden shack just inside the gate, and a small wood-frame home for the superintendent adjacent to the office. Henry R. Hatch
5320-458: The exchange of bonds for lots would impact revenues, cemetery officials believed that only $ 7,000 to $ 8,000 in bonds would be redeemed. The initial plan to save Lake View Cemetery, proposed by association officials, paid bondholders 3 percent of interest due in cash and the remainder in scrip . The cemetery would also create a sinking fund to redeem scrip. To generate revenue, the cost of lots would be halved to just 25 cents ($ 8 in 2023 dollars)
5415-576: The exterior of the cemetery, 1,017 feet (310 m) of new concrete sidewalks, and extensive graveling of dirt roads. Cemetery staff were given uniforms to wear for the first time, and a marquee purchased to provide cover for funeral attendees during inclement weather. In sections with large lots intended for funerary monuments, Hatch ordered that lot corners by marked with a 6 by 6 inches (150 by 150 mm) piece of polished dark Quincy granite with lot numbers carved into each corner. Where section lots contained just two to six graves, corners were marked with
5510-447: The financial recovery plan could be implemented. The cemetery association tried and failed to get bondholder approval for its plan, and then turned for assistance to Harry A. Garfield , son of President James A. Garfield and a local attorney who represented several cemetery bondholders. Garfield felt the association's plan was needed to ensure the cemetery's financial stability, and began sending personalized and form letters to all
5605-503: The fire was of "unknown origin." The town of Collinwood paid for the burial of 19 unidentifiable bodies in a shared grave at Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery . After crews demolished the ruins of the school, disputes about the use of the land quickly arose. In the interests of efficiency and economy, the school board had initially planned to build a new school on the site of the tragedy, but mourning parents objected, and some also filed lawsuits seeking to prevent construction. After more than
5700-600: The foothills of the Portage Escarpment . Dugway Brook (which bisected the site) and several small streams ran south-to-north through the area, carving out a number of ravines The Dugway Brook ravine was particularly deep, and Euclid bluestone (a bluish-colored sandstone) had once been quarried there. By late September 1869, the Lake View Association had purchased 175 acres (71 ha) of land on this ridge adjacent to Euclid Avenue. (Within
5795-497: The highest point in the cemetery in June 1883 for the president's final resting place. Lake View Cemetery built a road around the memorial in early 1885, and began work on cutting a road from the Euclid Gate to the memorial site in the fall of that year. The cemetery also began work on making improvements to the landscape, water, and drainage around the site. The Garfield Memorial was dedicated on May 30, 1890. Lucretia Garfield,
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#17327877677075890-749: The landscape at Lake View Cemetery. These included the highly visible obelisks and shafts over the Doan, Kelley, McDermott, Potter, and Tisdale plots; the Goodrich and Jaynes memorials; the Keynes column (topped with a funerary urn); the Jeptha Wade shaft, which was topped by an angel ; and the Hurlbut pillar topped with a weeping figure. There were also a number of monuments with well-designed, expertly carved bas-relief or freestanding sculptures. These included
5985-476: The major thoroughfare of Noble Road). The East Cleveland Railway opened a second set of tracks, an extension of its Cedar Avenue Line, in 1889. This line began at the company's car barn at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Coltman Road. The line traveled south on Coltman to reach Mayfield Road, then south down Murray Hill Road to Cedar Avenue. A year after the Cedar Avenue Line extension opened,
6080-658: The majority population both in North and South Collinwood. Collinwood took national center stage in the 1970s during a gang war when the Cleveland Mafia , centered in the Collinwood and Murray Hill neighborhoods, fought a territorial war with the Celtic Club led by Irish gangster Danny Greene . The eventual bombing death of Greene brought the federal organized-crime task force to Cleveland, which after many trials,
6175-413: The move, but were assured that the cemetery's financial problems were temporary. Bondholders representing about $ 50,000 out the bonds formed a committee in late March 1889 to seek more information about the cemetery's financial status. Quietly, the cemetery began accepting bonds as payment for lots. Usually, purchasers held few bonds, with those holding large amounts of bonds refusing to sell. Although
6270-421: The nation. During the fire, the school's masonry exterior acted as a chimney, sucking flame upward as the wooden interior burned, and open stairways and the absence of fire breaks enhanced the chimney effect . The building had only two exits, and fire quickly blocked the front door. Children rushed to the rear door, but in a vestibule narrowed by partitions, they stumbled and climbed on top of one another, forming
6365-404: The need for a new cemetery for the city of Cleveland. They believed that the city's then-preeminent burial ground, Woodland Cemetery , was too small for the growing city as well as overcrowded, ill-maintained, and not scenic enough. They issued an invitation on May 8, 1869, to about 40 of the city's other leading businessmen, asking them to meet at the end of the month to discuss the organization of
6460-491: The new office building was broken on October 21, 1897, and it was completed in April 1898. In 1896, Jeptha H. Wade II decided to fund the construction of a new receiving vault and chapel, dedicated to the memory of his grandfather, at Lake View Cemetery. Wade asked the newly founded Cleveland architectural firm of Hubbell & Benes to create a preliminary design. He was so happy with their work that he chose this concept as
6555-613: The president's widow, died on March 13, 1918, and was interred in the Garfield Memorial on March 21. Little Italy largely owes its inception to funerary monument maker Joseph Carabelli. In 1870, the 20-year-old northern Italian journeyman stonecarver emigrated to the United States. He spent 10 years in New York City, where he dressed stone and carved the statue Industry for the Federal Building and Post Office in Brooklyn . Carabelli relocated to Cleveland in 1880, establishing
6650-489: The purchase of lots, and said it would accept bonds for only one-third of the lot sale price. The cemetery also agreed to accept scrip for up to a third of a lot's cost as well. Local banker and cemetery trustee Daniel P. Eells proposed in November 1889 to form a syndicate to raise $ 200,000 ($ 6.78 million in 2023 dollars) and redeem two-thirds of all outstanding bonds at the current market price. A trustee would hold
6745-425: The redeemed bonds until January 1, 1893, paying interest on them from net cash income. The trustee would distribute the bonds on a pro rata basis on January 2, 1893. Subscribers to the redemption fund were essentially betting that the price of the bonds in 1893 would have risen more than enough to not only cover their investment but also offset the loss of income from the reduced interest payments. Eells said
6840-432: The school board, the architects, Hirter or anyone else responsible. J.H. Morgan, Ohio's chief inspector of public buildings, explained the problem in his annual report to the governor and citizens: "The cause of the fire cannot be determined. Many believe it originated from the heating system or boilers, but proof has been offered to the contrary." A memorial plaque placed at the site by the state of Ohio in 2003 asserts that
6935-571: The sinking funds, redemption of scrip, a fund to pay the next year's cash interest, and to pay other debts. Significant bondholder opposition to the plan began to emerge. In June 1889, the Lake View Cemetery Association paid only 3 percent of the 7 percent annual interest due in cash, the remainder in scrip. The cemetery was forced to redeem $ 11,000 ($ 400,000 in 2023 dollars) in bonds at par that month alone as payment for lots. The redemption of bonds significantly impacted
7030-463: The site for in-ground plots and mausoleums, and removing underbrush and unwanted trees. By February 1870, two sections were being laid out with a total of about 500 plots. The 300 plots in the first section went on sale on June 23, 1870, according to The Plain Dealer newspaper. The cost of a standard size in-ground grave was set at $ 4.00 ($ 96 in 2023 dollars). Larger sites for families, monuments, or mausoleums went for 20 cents ($ 5 in 2023 dollars)
7125-410: The south, Woodworth Avenue to the southwest, and roughly Roseland Avenue to the southeast. North Collinwood is the location of several parks, including Wildwood Park and Marina, East Shore Park, and Beachland Park, and was the site of historic Euclid Beach Park . The Roman Catholic Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School is located at E. 185th and Lakeshore Boulevard. What was once the industry-heavy of
7220-526: The streetcar firm's funeral car could be used to transport caskets and funeral parties to the cemetery. As of 1888, Lake View Cemetery had 300 acres (120 ha) of land. About 70 acres (28 ha) had been laid out, but only half had been sold. The cemetery association had spent $ 800,000 ($ 27.1 million in 2023 dollars) buying land and improving it. By the end of 1888, about 14 percent of Lake View's 300 acres (120 ha) had been sold, bringing in $ 406,000 ($ 15.6 million in 2023 dollars). The price of
7315-572: The summer of 1882 to enter the grounds in order to control the crowds and maintain a suitable atmosphere for mourning. Relic hunters were so willing to vandalize the Scofield tomb (they even ripped up the grass around it) that a wire fence had to be erected to keep them away. In 1891, the cemetery barred all non-lotholding visitors from the cemetery on Sundays unless they had a pass. With only about 230 Sunday passes available, hundreds of people were turned away. The Garfield Memorial Committee selected
7410-410: The three floors and the roof of the Lake View School collapsed into the basement, leaving only a hollowed-out brick ruin. Almost half of the children and two teachers in the building died. The origin of the fire remains uncertain, although numerous explanations proliferated. Newspapers circulated many possibilities, sometimes blaming the building's janitor Fritz Hirter for inattentiveness and for running
7505-459: The trustees responsible for the payment of interest. The bonds-for-lots exchange program proved financially disastrous. Lake View sold lots worth $ 12,000 in September 1889 but received only $ 1,000 in cash as the remainder was paid in bonds. In the same month, maintenance expenses amounted to $ 5,000. At the beginning of October 1889, the association stopped accepting the full amount of bonds for
7600-466: The two sections, Collinwood–Nottingham , commonly known as South Collinwood , is roughly bounded between E. 134th Street on the west and Euclid Creek on the east, the Collinwood Railroad Yards and tracks to the north, Woodworth Avenue to the southwest, and roughly Roseland Avenue to the southeast. The location of the Five Points, where Ivanhoe Road, St. Clair Avenue, and E. 152nd Street intersect,
7695-414: The wall mosaics. The Favrile glass and gold tile mosaics depicted the passage of life to death. The left side mosaic became known as "The River of Life", while the other had the title "The River of Death". The chapel featured a casket pedestal in place of an altar . This pedestal could be lowered mechanically through the floor into crypt, where the receiving vault was located. The "public" portion of
7790-482: The wish to be buried at Lake View Cemetery, and the cemetery offered a burial site free of charge to his widow, Lucretia Garfield . Mrs. Garfield agreed to bury her husband at Lake View. Garfield was temporarily interred in the cemetery's public vault on September 26, 1881, then transferred on October 22 to an empty mausoleum owned and designed by noted local architect Levi Scofield . Even before Garfield's funeral, plans were laid by his friends and admirers for
7885-427: Was bridged in November 1870, and in December the association purchased an unspecified number of acres that doubled the length of its frontage on Euclid Avenue. The cemetery sold $ 400,000 ($ 10.2 million in 2023 dollars) in bonds in 1871 to pay for more improvements. To secure the bonds, the cemetery pledged all but sold lots, roads, and water features. By August 1871, six sections of the cemetery were laid out and
7980-494: Was designed and manufactured by Tiffany & Co. The commission was considered so important that Louis Comfort Tiffany personally contacted Hubbell & Benes to win the job. The chapel featured a massive stained glass window at the rear and mosaics on each side wall. The stained glass window, titled Resurrection or Flight of the Soul , was designed by Tiffany artisan Agnes Northrop. Tiffany artist Frederick Wilson designed
8075-435: Was elected Lake View's president in June 1896. Lake View was in dilapidated condition, with nearly all monuments and headstones sinking or out of plumb. The cemetery's financial problems had hindered its development for years now, and Hatch implemented new, modern financial and recordkeeping systems to further improve accounting and cash flow. A new system of gravedigging orders was also implemented, and cemetery engineering
8170-474: Was formed to choose a site for the new cemetery. Its members consisted of Holden, Payne, Perkins, Sherman, and J.C. Buell (a local banking executive). The committee wanted a location on the lake shore, but found nothing suitable. While traveling on Euclid Avenue, Holden came upon the cemetery site by chance. The area was known as "Smith Run". Beginning on the Erie Plain in the northwest, the site rose into
8265-473: Was improved. Lake View had long laid out lots according to the contour of the ground. Steep slopes were avoided, and roads with storm drains laid out before a section was plotted. The new engineering standards required that all sections have a 3-foot (0.91 m) wide infrastructure border around them. The outermost tier of graves was intended for monuments, and lots were 12 feet (3.7 m) deep. All other tiers had lots just 9 feet (2.7 m) in length, with
8360-429: Was largely inhabited by Italian immigrants who worked as groundskeepers at Lake View or who worked in the funeral monument companies making headstones or memorials for placement in the cemetery. 1892 also saw the city of Cleveland annex Little Italy. The annexation included all of Lake View Cemetery west of a line running from the end of Brightwood Avenue south to Mayfield Road. Lake View, Collamer & Euclid Railway,
8455-577: Was named president, and Liberty E. Holden (owner of The Plain Dealer newspaper) the association clerk. The group resolved to build a garden cemetery in the style of Mount Auburn Cemetery near Boston , Massachusetts , or Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati , Ohio, and Judge Sherman chose the name: Lake View Cemetery. Lake View was "non-sectarian" and open to all, which (in the 19th century) meant that its intended clientele were Protestant . The group sold 7 percent annual interest bonds in
8550-460: Was not finished until 1901. The cost was variously reported to be $ 350,000 ($ 12.8 million in 2023 dollars), $ 150,000 ($ 5.49 million in 2023 dollars), $ 140,000 ($ 5.13 million in 2023 dollars), and "more than $ 100,000" ($ 3.66 million in 2023 dollars). In 1898, John D. Rockefeller , the co-founder and largest stockholder in Standard Oil and one of the wealthiest men in
8645-501: Was once the headquarters for the Jordan Motor Car Company when it produced cars from 1916–1931. The plant was located at 1070 E. 152 St. Cleveland, where the Collinwood athletic complex stands today. 41°33′29″N 81°34′08″W / 41.558°N 81.569°W / 41.558; -81.569 Lakeview Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned , nonprofit garden cemetery located in
8740-419: Was paid in scrip. Interest due after 1889 would be paid 3 percent in cash, 4 percent in scrip. The cemetery agreed to pay 6 percent annual interest on scrip, to devote all income first to maintaining the cemetery and second to paying cash interest, and to create a second sinking fund dedicated to redeeming bonds at maturity. Excess income (after expenditures for maintenance and cash interest) would go toward
8835-577: Was the site of an event known as the Collinwood School Fire , at Lakeview Elementary School. One of the deadliest school fires in American history, 172 children, two young teachers, and one rescuer died in the fire after being trapped in stairwell vestibules. Originally, the students were thought to be trapped because doors to the school opened inward, but the coroner's report indicated that the doors did indeed open outward. While some of
8930-492: Was too much. Lot sales fell below expectations, and the cemetery had never established a reserve fund to see the organization through difficult economic times. Cemetery trustees were aware of the worsening deficit many years earlier, and believed the cemetery should stop paying interest on its bonds to bring its finances back in order. This step was not taken because the trustees believed many bondholders relied on interest for income. The cemetery began quietly borrowing money from
9025-534: Was unethical for the cemetery to create a financial crisis which caused bond interest to cease and bond prices to collapse, and then turn around and offer to buy those bonds back at the new low price. A recession hit the U.S. economy in 1890 followed by a brief depression in 1891, further depressing lot sales. By 1892, the grounds at Lake View Cemetery were seriously neglected. Sections ready for sale were unmown, weeds and other plants grew wild, and erosion and drought had left some areas bare of vegetation. Only
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