Decorative drawing: a nineteenth-century public building. Not a photograph of this place.

Nomination for Superior Avenue Viaduct

The case file that argued this property on to the National Register: 1,887 words across 14 pages, filed in 1978. Read by 4 independent recognisers, of which at least 3 had to agree before a line was published.

Source document Held by the National Archives in Record Group 79 as reference 78002043, where it exists only as a scan with no text layer. The words below were read off that scan by 4 independent recognisers at two resolutions. Only lines that at least 3 of them returned identically appear below; where they disagreed, the line is withheld rather than guessed, so some of the form's furniture is missing. Spelling is never corrected, so a stray character that all the readers agreed on is the recogniser's and the typewriter's.. Nothing is summarised, corrected or written by this site. See the catalogue record, or return to the property.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

PH009528 DATA SHEET Form No. 10-300 (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES JUN 9 INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES -- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS AND/OR COMMON STREET & NUMBER -NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 20th - Mary Rose Oakar - VICINITY OF - CATEGORY PRESENT USE MUSEUM X STRUCTURE - WORK IN PROGRESS -EDUCATIONAL -PRIVATE RESIDENCE SITE PUBLIC ACQUISITION _IN PROCESS -YES: RESTRICTED _BEING CONSIDERED X YES: UNRESTRICTED MILITARY XOTHER: vacant OWNER OF PROPERTY 5 LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC. Cleveland City Hall , 601 Lakeside Avenue REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS DEPOSITORY FOR Washington D. C.
Cuyahoga DATE ACCESSIBLE LOCATION TRANSPORTATION CODE CLASSIFICATION HISTORIC ENTERTAINMENT OWNERSHIP Cleveland XCOMMERCIAL Historic American Engineering Record STATE Superior Avenue RELIGIOUS AGRICULTURE COUNTY OCCUPIED Superior Viaduct DISTRICT PARK Ohio STATUS PRIVATE Superior Street Viaduct _INDUSTRIAL NAME BUILDING(S) August 1975 XPUBLIC National Park Service City of Cleveland COURTHOUSE. FOR NPS USE ONLY _GOVERNMENT SURVEY RECORDS Office of the Cleveland City Engineer _SCIENTIFIC DATE ENTERED -OBJECT -BOTH 039E XFEDERAL STATE COUNTY LOCAL AVenue XORIGINAL SITE DATE DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

The Viaduct, beginning on the western bank of the Cuyahoga Valley at what is now street cars. approximately 580 feet. CONDITION DETERIORATED UNALTERED EXCELLENT MOVED 7DESCRIPTION XGOOD FAIR CHECK ONE Roman arches give both the appearance of massive solidity and graceful refinement. approach was a continous plate-girder bridge of six spans, four of which were Subsequent alterations to the structure have been the low-barricading of the eastern The Viaduct has since been demolished except for a small portion attached to the eastern approach of the Detroit-Superior Bridge and a large section of the western access to several small commercial sites.Despite these changes, the remaining long cantilever swing bridge on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River.
The eastern half of the remaining section and the re-surfacing of the western part for vehicular West 25th Street, consisted of ten masonry arches made of Berea sandstone.Eight part, consisting of eight stone arches. The remaining length of the Viaduct is feet long and 64 feet wide, containing sidewalks and a set of double-tracks for -UNEXPOSED of the arches had a span of 83feet and two of 97.5 feet;the masonry work was 160 feet long and two of which were 145 feet long. The entire complex was 3,2ll -RUINS XALTERED 1,382 feet long and 72 feet above the foundation.The Viaduct ran up to a 322 foot- . PERIOD AREAS OF

Statement of significance

to facilitate the movement of pedestrian, vehicular, and commercial traffic across ,sense of unity and common purpose in a city which had been, twenty years earlier, on the east and Ohio City on the west. Detroit-Superior Bridge just south of it, was condemned. In 1922, the structure RELIGION X1800-1899 EDUCATION XTRANSPORTATION XENGINEERING SIGNIFICANCE ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC XCOMMERCE XARCHITECTURE POLITICS/GOVERNMENT AGRICULTURE LAW PHILOSOPHY THEATER SCIENCE INVENTION EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT SCULPTURE portation and commerce to join the two sides of Cleveland, enhancing the developing MUSIC engineers.
Previously, Morse was an architect and designer of the Northern Ohio not altogether friendly rivals on either side of the Cuyahoga River, with Cleveland Considerable community support has developed to re-make the Superior Viaduct into the valley of the Cuyahoga River, and to remove certain dangerous conditions involving railroad crossings at street levels. The bridge itself was the first major first major engineering efforts. was demolished except for the present arches. The Superior Viaduct's significance resides in the fact that it was one of the largest and viewing the downtown skyline and the traffic on the Cuyahoga River below. Its The Superior Viaduct was constructed during the years 1875-1878. Its purpose was important symbolic link between the once hostile east and west sides of Cleveland.
engineering projects in America at the time of its construction and that it was an -ECONOMICS cantilever swing bridge in Cleveland. It was also the first major structure of trans- recognition would be an incentive in preserving what remains of one of Cleveland's -1500-1599 an urban park, landscaped for pedestrian use and for such activities as picnicking, Lunatic Asylum (1874) already listed on the National Register. -COMMUNICATIONS -1400-1499 The Superior Viaduct'sdesigners, E.W. Ensign and B.F.Morse,were both city In 1920,the entire structure, whose functions had been replaced by the then completed -1600-1699 _CONSERVATION -1700-1799 - LITERATURE - MILITARY -1900- BUILDER/ARCHITECT E. W. Ensign & B. F. Morse ART PREHISTORIC INDUSTRY

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Cuyahoga County", Cleveland City Landmarks Commission. Volume II of maps, page 46, Records of Cuyahoga County. 10 GEOGRAPHICAL DATA ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY Slightly less than one acre VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION 11 FORM PREPARED BY NAME / TITLE July, STREET & NUMBER CITY OR TOWN Ohio 44114 2 STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS: NATIONAL - LOCAL - As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665).I. hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.
STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE DATE 11- 29-77 FOR NPS USE ONLY I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS PROPERTY IS INCLUDED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER GPO 892-453 216-623-7250 CODE DATE TELEPHONE ORGANIZATION COUNTY NORTHING Cleveland STATE ATTEST ZONE EASTING Cuyahoga County Archives Clarence James,'Inventory of Noteworthy Engineering and Industrial Works in James Harrison Kennedy, The History of Cleveland, Imperial Press,1896. SHPO 1l2 Hamilton Court William Ganson Rose, Cleveland: The Making of a City, World Publishing, 1950.
A|1,7] 14|41/2,00 * HAER fun LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES ZONE Ohio 4.519.3169.0 Photos - ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN REVIEW UNIT CHIEF Federal Register Entry OTHER HAER Send-back KEEPER TECHNICAL Maps ARCHEOLOGIST HISTORIAN Review Re-submit United States Department of the Interior National Park Service WAso No.7 BRANCH CHIEF State National Register Write-up Inventory X Property INT:2106-74 Cuya Avenue 4.11.78 DEC 12 1977 Cleveland, Cuyahoga@.Ohio JUN 9 Cuyahoga Co. Archives Overhead View- looking NE. PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER Superior Viaduct #l3 David Thum August 1977 DEC 12 1977 Cleveland, Cuyahoga"-Ohio David Thum Cuyahoga Co.
Archives PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER August 1977 Road-level View- looking NW Superior Viaduct #2 3 JUN 9 DEC 1 2 1977 JUN 9 Superior Viaduct Western Reserve Historical S PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER Original Struc.-looking NW August 1977 Tom Fisher Old Photo Ca.1880's Clèveland, Cuyahoga,ª ohio 441/200 - 4593/690 CLEVELAND SOUTH QUADRANGLE Cleveland South Quad. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Superior Viaduct GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Cleveland, Cuyahoga, 7.5 MINUTE SERIES (TOPOGRAPHIC) UNITED STATES U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TIME OF CALL 1. CALL LI TO: ADDRESS (Tel. No. il needed) 2. DETAILS OF DISCUSSION DATE TELEPHONE REPORT (August 1971) FROM (Name) 3. SUBJECT, PROJECT NO., ETC. NAME OF PERSON PLACING/RECEIVING CALL OFFICE TITLE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TIME OF CALL CALL ADDRESS (Tel. No.
il needed) TELEPHONE REPORT WASO-166 NAME OF PERSON PLACING/RECEIVING CALL (August 1971) 3. SUBJECT, PROJECT NO., ETC. 4. DETAILS OF DISCUSSION DATE OFFICE TITLE FROM (Nan.o) Wut Honorable Howard M. Metzenbaum Honorable John H. Glenn, Jr. Director, The Ohio Historical Society Columbus, Ohio 43211 1978 Mott/bjr 6/13/78 Location JUN Name STATE State Historic Preservation Officer Also Notified Cleveland OHIO Cuyahoga County Date Entered Interstate 7l at 17th Avenue Superior Avenue Viaduct ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER Honorable Mary Rose Oakar Dr. Thomas H. Smith . NAME OF STRUCTURE NATURE OF STRUCTURE 14. INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION BRIDGE:ARCH: ST&BR 5. LOCATION: STREET & NUMBER TRANS: ROAD VIADUCT: (48,2) CLEVELAND, OHIO CUY AHOGA 6. USGS QUAD MAP & UTM GRID REF OWNER OF PROPERTY 8.
CONDITION: X DETERIORATED into a recreational park for the thousands of workers in this heavily industrialized area, as well as for 0. PHOTOGRAPHS & SKETCH MAP ON REVERSE SIDE. 11. RELATED SOURCES OF INFORMATION: HISTORICAL REFERENCES (PUBLISHED ARTICLES, MANUSCRIPTS, REPORTS, DRAWINGS, PHOTO GRAPHIC RECORDS) 2) Watson, Sara Ruth, (Historian), 3570 Glen Allen Drive, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Personal Interview. 12. DANGER OF DEMOLITION OR DAMAGE X YES NATURE OF THREAT 4. EXISTING SURVEYS X LOCAL 5. INVENTORIED BY: YOUR NAME 17/441200/4593680 1875-1878 AFFILIATION COUNTY DATE UNEXPOSED HEAT ADDRESS EXCELLENT SURVEY MECH OTHER 8/11/75 STATE RUINS with stunted overgrowth.
TEXT MATS XALTERED HABS DAM (over) FAIR VIADUCT MATH operation of some of Cleveland's marvelously engineered movable bridges which serve river, road, and rail HAER INVENTORY One half of upper surface has been barricaded and is covered ADAPT CITY OF CLEVELAND GOOD OLD SUPERIOR AVENUE VIADUCT commercial downtown) Cleveland at work.It also is an excellent vantage point for viewing the LHAER AGRI HOUS NHL AND DATES: X ACCESSIBLE TO PUBLIC 9.DESCRIPTION & BACKGROUND HISTORY:NUMBER OF STRUCTURES:DIMENSIONS;FABRIC:STRUCTURE & FORM;SURVIVING MACHINERY,FITTINGS AND IRON CONTACTS:(NAMES& ADDRESSES OF ANYONE WITH EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNTS OR RELEVANT INFORMATION):TAPE RECORDINGS. CITY OR TOWN 13.PRIORITY BPGC SUPERIOR AVE. WEST BANK OF CUYAHOGA RIVER spans of 97 1/2 feet. Morse, B.F., "The Cleveland Viaduct", Engineering News, January 11, 1879, pp. 10-11. Clarence H. C.
James plate-girder bridge which consisted of the following span lengths: Three at 160 feet, two at 145 feet, one PLEASE RETURN TO THE HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, WASHINGTON, DC 20240 METAL FENES CONST FRAME PRESENT CHEM The east approach consisted of a continuous ROOF COAL MUSEUM E.24 @ Euclid Ave.,Civil Engrg.Dept.,Cleveland State University TUNLS Then came a EQUIPMENT:APPROX.AREA OF SITE:ALTERATIONS:PRESENT USE:ENGINEER ARCHITECT DESIGNER:IMPORTANT EVENTS &INDIVIDUALS. Thus the more than 37,0oo square foot surface of this section might be beneficially converted swing bridge 322 feet long which was over the Cuyahoga River. MNRL ANCIL at 160 feet. FOOD many of Cleveland's venturesome tourists. The masonry construction was done by E. W. Ensign, and Lauderback & Co. erected the iron railing.
3 OTHER NAMES: 3 date of entry: ) county code: JUN 9 X STATE 12)SOURCE Of NOMINATION - FEDERAL O deteriorated Daltered 1) features: Oruins ED NOT INTACT-O -unexposed > C UNKNOWN-6 -unexcavated - No Access IS PROPERTY A HISTORIC DISTRICT?
Dyes Ono 2I) AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE : -RECREATION -28 @OCLAIMS: explain - LAW - 16 'first'O - RELIGION- 22 - SETTLEMENT-29 - ARCHEOLOGY - historic-1 - LITERATURE -17 - SCIENCE- 23 'oldest' O - AGRICULTURE-3 - CONSERVATION - 8 - HEALTH-27 - MILITARY - 18 - ARCHITECTURE-4 - ECONOMICS- 9 - INDUSTRY - 13 - MUSIC - 19 - SOCIAL / CULTURAL- 30 'only' D - ART-5 - EDUCATION-10 C INVENTION - 14 - PHILOSOPHY - 201 TRANSPORTATION - 25 2) funetions e) dates of initial construction: major alterations : EVENTS :( NATIONAL REGISTER WRITE-UP county CONDITION 20th ETHNIC Cleveland Cuyahoga engineer: ASSOCIATION GROUP artist: ENGINEERING-11 Superior Avenue ENTERTAINMENT-26 PERSONAL: historic events: INSTITUTIONAL: CURRENTLY: ADMINISTRATOR SUBSTANTIALLY INTACT-1 Superior Viaduct PRIVATE ORGANIZATION vicinity of interior decorator: if state who prepared form?
Superior Avenue Viaduct NATIONAL REGISTER DATA SHEET architectural style(s): WHEN HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT: master builder: URBAN PLANWING-31 landscape architect/ garden designer: LOCAL Dexcellent Coriginal site SAVED? YES GNPS REGION: Dmoved Ogood PH 0095281 (11) CONGRESS. DISTRICT ZO NOT APPLICABLE - 9 -ARCHEOLOGY -prehistoric-2 - COMMUNICATIONS-7 Bartisan: Breviewers initials. _date_ 5O UNKNOWN -6 - LANDSCAPE ARCH.- 15 - POLITICS / GOVT.- 21 builder/contractor: COMMERCE-6 EXPLORATION-12 as it appears on federal register: Dfair