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Empire Builders |
An Illustrated History of the Rise and Fall of Cleveland’s Van Sweringen Brothers
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It took two Van Sweringen brothers to envision the garden community that became Shaker Heights. It took the promise of a fifteen-minute transit ride from home to downtown offices to draw people to the new village. It took the purchase of the 513-mile Nickel Plate Railroad and the construction of the Terminal Tower, then the tallest building outside of New York City, to make that rapid transit a reality. Before the Great Depression, the brothers’ real estate empire included 12,000 acres from Shaker Square to the Chagrin River. Their railroad empire consisted of a 30,000-mile, $3 billion network, extending from the Atlantic to within 600 miles of the Pacific. Before losing almost all of it during the depression, their personal net worth of $120 million equaled nearly $2.2 billion in today's dollars. Quite an accomplishment for two who were born into abject poverty.
After more than six years of research, photography, writing, and editing, Empire Builders - An Illustrated History of the Rise and Fall of Cleveland’s Van Sweringen Brothers is in the hands of the Indiana University Press. The story of building one of the wealthiest cities and longest railroads in America, and what happened to it after the Great Depression, combines the author’s text with nearly 180 photographs, charts, and maps. It traces the brothers’ successes and failures beginning with their purchase of a parcel on South Logan Avenue (now East 96th Street) in 1900, to the acquisition of their Alleghany Corporation by Warren Buffett’s $530 billion Berkshire Hathaway in October 2022.
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Cleveland's Cultural Gardens: Published in August of 2022, this book examines the history of a site that today honors and embodies the cultural heritages of a region through the beauty of shared outdoor spaces. From their beginnings as private farmland to their current form as monuments to cultural and ethnic diversity, the unique collection of landscaped, themed gardens that compose Cleveland’s Cultural Gardens holds a rich history. John J. Grabowski guides readers through this story, using both archival images and Lauren R. Pacini’s stunning contemporary photography to illustrate their development and importance. The effect is a comprehensive view of the factors that made the Cultural Gardens possible, from Cleveland’s geographical features to international conflicts.
ISBN: 978-1-60635-441-4
Format: Paperback, 164 pages, 8-1/2" x 10"
Oubkished by Kent State University Press, 2022
Price:$35:00
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Cleveland A to Z: A follow-up volume published in September 2019, to the original released in November 2017 in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Western Reserve Historical Society. It is comprised of a compendium of essays written by John Grabowski, PhD., with vintage images from the Historical Society archives, and contemporary images by Lauren Pacini, photographer, telling fascinating stories about Greater Cleveland, ranging from the Agora to the Zoo.
ISBN: 978-0-9967844-3-6
Library of Congress Registration: Pending
Format: Paperback; 88 pages; 11-1/2 x 8"
Price: $29.95
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Honoring Their Memory: Created for the 125th Anniversary of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument,in 2019, designed and constructed by Architect, Scuptor, and Civil War Veteran Levi T. Scofield to honor more than 9,000 from Cuyahoga County who served in the War of the Rebellion. The story includes Scofield's amazing body of work including The Soldier's and Sailors' Monument and ten other standing projects, some nearly 150 years old, through narrative and contemporary photography by Lauren R. Pacini.
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ISBN: 978-0-578-48063-7
Library of Congress Registration: TXu 002144437
Format: Hardbound w/Dust Jacket; 137
pages; 10-7/8" x 8-1/2"
Price: $39.95
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Preserving the Shaker Parklands: Published in September 2016, in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, Preserving the Shaker Parklands tells the story of the first half-century of the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes—one of incredible vision, courage, and civic action. Even as the Cuyahoga County Engineer was busy designing a massive highway interchange, the residents of Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights united to build the Nature Center at the heart of the former North Union Settlement, known by the Shakers as the "Valley of God's Pleasure."
ISBN: 978-0-692-75035-3
Library of Congress Registration: Pending
Format: Hardbound w/Dust Jacket; 196 pages; 10 x 8"
Price: $39.95 SAVE 30% $27.96
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Renaissance on East 9th Street: Published in December 2014 by Artography Press. Renaissance on East 9th Street recounts the story of Cleveland Trust Company, from its founding in 1894, through the opening of its headquarters at Euclid and East 9th Street in 1908,and its acquisition by Society National Bank in 1992, to the renovation, restoration and repurposing of its complex for mixed-use, including residential and officee space in the 1010 Building, a fine food grocer in the Rotunda, luxury hotel and apartments in The 9 (formerly the Breuer Tower), and the new Cuyahoga County Administration Building.
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ISBN: 978-0-692-28139-0
Library of Congress Registration: TXu 001927812
Format: Hardbound; 120 pages; 10-7/8 x 8-1/2"
Price: $39.95 SAVE 30% $27.96
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The Ever-Whirling Winds of Change: Published in May 2014 by the Western Reserve Historical Society, in cooperation with Artography Press. The Ever-Whirling Winds of Change recounts the story of Saint Luke's Hospital from 1894 to 2014. The narrative is accompanied by vintage photographs from the Saint Luke's Archives (Western Reserve Historical Society), and contemporary photographs by the author.
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ISBN: 0 911-704-63-9
Library of Congress Registration: TXu 1 908 028
Format: Hardbound w/ Dust Jacket; 240 pages; 10-7/8 x 8-1/2"
Price: $39.95 SAVE 30% $27.96
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Shattered Dreams Revisited: Published in May, 2012, in co-operation with the Western Reserve Historical Society, Shattered Dreams Revisited is a collection of 54 black and white photographs examining the death and the rebirth of the Midwest industrial city. The photographs are accompanied by the author's narrative and prose and poetry inspired by the photographs, submitted by Cleveland-area students. Although the story takes place in Cleveland, it takes place throughout America's post-industrial Midwest.
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ISBN: 0 911-704-63-9
Library of Congress Registration: TXu 1-799-824
Format: Hardbound w/ Dust Jacket; 160 pages; 10x8"
Price: $39.95 SAVE 30% $27.96
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