Church Design
Fire in 1948

The Euclid Tavern opened at the end of the Civil War and soon became "one of the most fashionable lunch and billiard rooms . . . one of the most popular places in the country for receptions, dances, and parties. It was beautifully furnished and equipped." In 1902 financial difficulties forced a closure, and the building on the corner of Euclid and Holyoke was placed at auction. Euclid Avenue entering East Cleveland was not yet paved. Interested brewers from the city mired in the mud. Members of the newly organized Windermere Methodist Episcopal Churche were the only bidders and won the building, furnishings, and an entire city block for $18,200. They worshipped here for six years.

The Streetcar Made East Cleveland Possible


And John D. Rockefeller made East Cleveland stylish. This was his summer home on Forest Hill.

 

From Roadhouse to God's House

"An old, old tavern at Holyoke
Could be bought for dollars. But the folk
Knew wealthy brewers down Cleveland way
Would bid for it on auction day . . .
The Methodist men milled round the door.
They hoped and wished and hoped some more.
On Flint's front porch across the way,
The women gathered to watch and pray.

The rains had muddied the Avenue;
From Lakeview east it was sticky glue.
The auctioneer came, but not brewers yet--
The table and gavel for business were set.
Charlie Gardner, having practiced from dawn,
Bid 21 thousand! "Going! Gone!
You've got yourself a tavern, Bud."
Where were the brewers? Stuck in the mud!"

Thyrza Funk wrote the poem. She is somewhere in the photo below.

East of Cleveland: Moral Imagination in Industrial Culture, 1820-1940 portrays the sweep of modern industrial history.


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