EVEN MORE FIRES, EVEN MORE LOSSES

It is with "heavy heart" that we must, once again, and so very soon after the previous post, report even more loss to historic Cleveland, Ohio, buildings due to fire.  In the early morning hours of September 23, 2015, fires erupted in five different locations across the city.  One totally destroyed three adjacent buildings in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.  The most significant of the three was the structure built for John Cain in 1893.  Its exterior had been restored in recent years, and it had even been given a period-appropriate paint job.  [Note:  The owner at that time put an incorrect year of construction, plus his own name, onto the roof-line pediment.]

The two adjacent structures, both still in desperate need of restoration, were equally historic.  The middle building had been built in 1893 for the allotment-owner, Henry Grumbacher, while the one at the other end had also been built in 1893 (with a one-floor addition the following year), for William J. Krause.

One of the other fires severely damaged a house only a block and a half from Euclid Avenue, in Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood.

1997 photo

This house had been built in 1887 for 'speculative' purposes by Rollin White, which was then promptly purchased and occupied by Charles W. Foote.

All five fires occurred within hours of each other and spaced enough apart to have made it feasible for them to have been set by the same person[s], if it were to be determined that arson caused them.  To our knowledge, no fire department investigation reports have been released.

R. I. P.

This post departs from the usual purpose of this site.  We regrettably must post an architectural obituary.  One of the more 'high-profile' historic buildings of Cleveland, Ohio, due in large part to its close proximity to a heavily-traveled freeway, was recently lost.  Located in the Lorain Station Historic District, this structure was built for a John Howland in 1896 -- with a decidedly out-of-fashion mansard-roofed top floor that had many convinced it was much older.

Howland Building - 1999 photo

It was severely damaged by a fire in late-May of 2015.  It and the adjacent historic building, equally damaged by the same fire, had to both be demolished a few week later.  This was one of the most unique and -- to some - one of the most picturesque historic buildings of its type in Cleveland.  At the very least, there was no better example of a mansard roof in the entire county.  It will certainly be remembered fondly for a very long time.