City guide
50 buildings worth a detour, each with what to look for. Open them on the map, or walk them with the iPhone app, which collects each one you photograph.
The buildings that define the city's architecture.
The 1717 East Ninth Building is a downtown Cleveland tower designed by architect Emery Roth and completed in 1959 in the International Style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Ohio Office of Redevelopment , CC BY 2.0
The Alcazar Hotel is a 1923 apartment hotel in University Circle, built in a Moorish Revival style unusual for Cleveland, with elements also described as Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mr.Z-man , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Andrew and James Dall Houses are a pair of ornamented houses built in the Renaissance Revival and Italianate styles, standing together on their street. Both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Warren LeMay from Cincinnati, OH, United States , CC0
Victorian architecture
The Cleveland Arcade was built in 1890 to a design by John Eisenmann in the Victorian style. It stands in downtown Cleveland and is recognized both as a National Historic Landmark and as a National Register of Historic Places listed place.
Photo: Erik Drost , CC BY 2.0
Landmark
The Cleveland Museum of Art in University Circle dates to 1913 and has been shaped by successive architects across its expansions: Marcel Breuer, Rafael Viñoly, and the original firm of Hubbell & Benes. That multi-architect history spans decades of the museum's growth on the same site.
Photo: zenbikescience , CC BY 2.0
The Cleveland Trust Company Building was completed in 1907 to a design by George B. Post in the Beaux-Arts style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and stands in downtown Cleveland.
Photo: Ohio Office of Redevelopment , CC BY 2.0
Erieview Tower is a 1964 downtown Cleveland office tower designed by the firm Harrison & Abramovitz in the International Style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Aivazovsky at English Wikipedia , CC BY-SA 3.0
Fenn Tower was completed in 1929 in the Art Deco style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Tallonator (talk) (Uploads) , CC BY 3.0
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in University Circle was designed by the firm Walker and Weeks in the Beaux-Arts style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Nyttend , Public domain
First Methodist Church was designed by architect J. Milton Dyer in the Gothic Revival style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: User:Nyttend , Public domain
Franklin Castle was designed by the firm Cudell & Richardson in the Queen Anne style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its castellated massing dominates the streetscape, and it is widely retold as Cleveland's most storied haunted house.
Photo: Christopher Busta-Peck (Talk) , CC BY-SA 1.0
The Greyhound Bus Station was completed in 1948 to designs by William Strudwick Arrasmith, who was the leading specialist in Streamline Moderne bus terminal design of the era. It is considered a textbook example of the Streamline Moderne style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Colin Rose , CC BY 2.0
The Guardian Bank Building in downtown Cleveland was designed by the firm Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in the Beaux-Arts style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Eli Pousson , CC BY-SA 2.0
The Halle Brothers Shaker Square department store was built in the International Style and anchors the Shaker Square streetscape. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Christopher Busta-Peck | Talk , CC BY-SA 1.0
The Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse in downtown Cleveland was designed by architect Arnold W. Brunner in the Beaux-Arts style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith , Public domain
Key Tower was completed in 1991 to a design by César Pelli in the postmodern style. It is the tallest building in Ohio, marked by a distinctive spire visible from street level.
Photo: Cards84664 , CC BY-SA 4.0
The Maltz Performing Arts Center in University Circle was designed by architect Charles R. Greco in the Byzantine Revival style and completed in 1950. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: stu_spivack , CC BY-SA 2.0
The May Company Building was completed in 1914 by the firm D. H. Burnham & Company in the Chicago School style. It is a large downtown Cleveland department store building and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Cards84664 , CC BY-SA 4.0
The Peter B. Lewis Building in University Circle was designed by Frank Gehry, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect known for his deconstructivist approach to form. Its sculptural, non-orthogonal massing and undulating facade are distinctive for a business-school building.
Photo: Daderot , Public domain
The Phillip Gaensslen House is an ornamented residence built in the Renaissance Revival and Italianate styles, ornamentation that still reads clearly from the sidewalk today. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Warren LeMay from Cincinnati, OH, United States , CC0
Pilgrim Congregational Church was designed by architect Sidney Badgley in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Nyttend , Public domain
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland was designed by I. M. Pei, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect, and dates to 1983. Its most recognizable feature is an iconic glass pyramid and tower form that anchors the building within the downtown skyline.
Photo: MusikAnimal , CC BY-SA 4.0
Landmark
The Society for Savings Building is a downtown Cleveland landmark designed by architect John Wellborn Root and completed in 1890. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Eli Pousson , CC BY-SA 2.0
St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral was completed in 1911 in an eclectic architectural style, an unusual design for the region tied to Cleveland's immigrant community. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: w_lemay , CC BY-SA 2.0
The Superior Building in downtown Cleveland was designed by the firm Walker and Weeks in the Neoclassical style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: LeeG7144 , CC BY-SA 3.0
Terminal Tower was completed in 1928 by the firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White in the Beaux-Arts style. Upon completion it was among the tallest buildings in the world outside New York City, and it remains a defining skyscraper landmark visible across downtown Cleveland.
Photo: Erik Drost Derivative work: LakeCityCle , CC BY 2.0
The Statler is a downtown Cleveland hotel designed by architect George B. Post and completed in 1912 in the Renaissance Revival style. It served as an early luxury flagship of the Statler hotel chain and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Tallonator at English Wikipedia , CC0
Tower City Center was designed by the firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White in the Beaux-Arts style. It stands in downtown Cleveland and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Chris Gent , CC BY-SA 2.0
Landmark
Trinity Cathedral was designed by Charles F. Schweinfurth, one of Cleveland's documented significant architects. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and presents prominently on its street, its name carrying the civic weight of a cathedral rather than a parish church.
Photo: Martin Linsey , Public domain
Landmark
The West Side Market was designed by the Cleveland firm Hubbell & Benes and completed in 1912. It is a historic public market with strong local lore, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized in OpenStreetMap as a heritage site.
Photo: Scott David , CC BY-SA 3.0
Worth a stop when you're nearby.
Landmark
The Halle Building was designed in 1910 by Henry Bacon, the architect who would go on to design the Lincoln Memorial. It served as a notable department store building tied to Cleveland's local retail history and stands today in downtown Cleveland.
Photo: LeeG7144 , CC BY-SA 3.0
Karamu House was founded in 1915 and has operated ever since as a long-running community theater institution. The building is Moderne in style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Christopher Busta-Peck , CC BY-SA 1.0
Landmark
The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, in University Circle, was designed by Farshid Moussavi, a documented significant contemporary architect. The museum building faces the street.
Photo: Sarahnrehm , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
The Ohio Theatre was designed by Thomas W. Lamb, a major theater architect, and opened in 1921. It presents along the Playhouse Square streetscape in downtown Cleveland.
Photo: stu_spivack , CC BY-SA 2.0
St. Luke's Hospital was designed by Hubbell & Benes in the Neoclassical style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Christopher Busta-Peck , CC BY-SA 1.0
Landmark
St. Michael the Archangel Church was designed by Adolphus Druiding, a documented church architect. The large church presents prominently on its street.
Photo: Gradcol at en.wikipedia , Public domain
The Tudor Arms Hotel was designed by Frank B. Meade and completed in 1933 in University Circle. Its Tudor-styled facade, visible from the street, gives the hotel its name and character.
Photo: Erik Drost , CC BY 2.0
Wade Memorial Chapel, in University Circle, was designed by Hubbell & Benes in the Neoclassical style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Christopher Busta-Peck , CC BY-SA 1.0
Fine buildings that fewer people seek out.
Landmark
The Allen Memorial Medical Library is a 1926 library building in University Circle designed by Walker and Weeks, one of Cleveland's significant architecture firms. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Soundoftoday , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Alta Public Library, in University Circle, was designed by George B. Post, a nationally significant architect, and built in 1914.
Photo: Tim Evanson from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA , CC BY-SA 2.0
The Bingham Company Warehouse stands downtown, designed by Walker and Weeks, a significant regional architecture firm. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Eli Pousson , CC BY-SA 2.0
The Central YMCA was completed in 1911 to a Renaissance Revival design by Hubbell & Benes. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Nyttend , Public domain
The Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People was built in the Colonial Revival style; its name points to a distinct chapter of the city's social history. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Christopher Busta-Peck , CC BY-SA 1.0
Landmark
The Ford Motor Company Cleveland Plant, in University Circle, was designed by Albert Kahn, who pioneered modern industrial factory design.
Photo: Warren LeMay from Cincinnati, OH, United States , CC0
The John Hartness Brown House in University Circle was designed by Alfred Hoyt Granger in a Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival mode. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Nyttend , Public domain
The Rockefeller Building went up downtown in 1905 in the Chicago School style. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States , CC BY-SA 2.0
Jacobethan
The Trinity Cathedral Church Home was designed by Charles F. Schweinfurth, a significant Cleveland architect, in the Jacobethan style. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Nyttend , Public domain
The Walker and Weeks Office Building was the firm's own office, built in the Neoclassical style. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Warren LeMay from Cincinnati, OH, United States , CC0
The Weizer Building is a Beaux-Arts commercial building listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as a heritage structure in OpenStreetMap.
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