Vacant 29 Story Bank Building in Cleveland OH

Cleveland Trust Company, Cleveland Ohio

Date added: January 04, 2024 Categories:

Cleveland Trust Company, Rotunda and Tower, at corner of Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue (2008)

Throughout its history, the Cleveland Trust Company was a leader in the banking industry of Northeast Ohio. In the early twentieth century, the bank played a vital role in establishing Cleveland's downtown financial district and was a pioneer in the concept of the branch bank. After years of steady growth it emerged at the mid-century as the region's largest banking institution, and from this position the bank had a profound influence on Cleveland and Cuyahoga County through the 1970s. Most notably, the bank initiated a multi-million dollar expansion program in the late 1960s that signified the institution's commitment to the city and its optimism in the region's economy. The Tower component of the Cleveland Trust Company headquarters has enduring value as a manifestation of the twentieth-century expansion of one of Northeast Ohio's most powerful banking interests and is significant for promulgating Modern-era architecture in the region.

The Rotunda, designed by George B. Post and completed in 1908, is a superior example of an early-twentieth-century Beaux Arts-style bank building. The Tower, designed by Marcel Breuer, is a 29-story concrete high-rise built between 1968 and 1971.

The Cleveland Trust Company was established in 1894, a year after state-chartered trust companies were legalized in Ohio and during the period when Cleveland emerged as a major industrial city. The purpose of a trust company was to accept and execute trusts, act as a trustee for wills, and engage in general banking business. Trust bankers could exercise liberal influence over the money on deposit and the funds in accounts they controlled. The Cleveland Trust Company quickly grew to become a powerful economic force in the city through its activities as an estate trustee and its resourceful management of extensive stock portfolios and real estate assets.

The bank's first offices were located in the Garfield Building, at East Sixth Street and Euclid Avenue. After merging with the Western Reserve Trust Company in 1903, it made plans for the construction of a new central office building and brought in the prominent New York architect George B. Post (1837-1913) to lead the project. Trained as a civil engineer, Post graduated from New York University in 1858 and received his architectural training in the atelier of Richard Morris Hunt where he developed a fluency in the Beaux Arts style. Post had an exceptionally successful career and at one point headed one of the largest and most respected architectural firms in the country. He designed a wide variety of building types including churches, commercial structures, municipal buildings, banks, and college buildings. Significant commissions include the Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building (1893) for World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the New York Stock Exchange (1904), and the Wisconsin State Capitol (1917). Post was an early advocate of the use of the steel frame, and he was involved with the development of the first skyscrapers in New York. Among other honors and awards, in 1911 Post received the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He died in 1913, leaving the firm in the hands of his two sons.

For the Cleveland Trust Company, Post designed a handsome, three-story, classically inspired building that conveyed a strong sense of stability and surety, characteristics important to the bank's image. The "Rotunda" was constructed between 1905 and 1908 on a highly visible site in downtown Cleveland. At the time, Classical Revival was the predominate style applied to banks as a building type. This would not change until the mid-1930s, when, according to historian Charles Belfoure, the Depression and the Modernist movement finally put an end to Classicism.

In the context of Post's career, the Rotunda falls into the late period of his work when many of his projects were for banking institutions. The "temple-front" was a major design feature for these projects. Post was also known for his use of the rotunda form. Examples of his bank work include the Bank of Pittsburgh (1894) and the New York Stock Exchange (1903), which features an engaged portico similar to his design for the Cleveland Trust Company headquarters. The Rotunda, however, was perhaps the "most attractive effort" of his bank projects. Post completed four other buildings for the Cleveland Trust Company; two branch banks in Cleveland and two suburban sites.

After moving its main offices to the Rotunda, the Cleveland Trust Company maintained its first location as a "branch" bank. This was a progressive step, as at the time the banking industry was still rooted in the traditions of "local" banks. In helping to establish the concept of the branch bank, the Cleveland Trust Company was a pioneer in American banking. The Cleveland Trust's initial advance into branch banking; to the extent that Ohio banking laws allowed; would be a major factor in their dominance of the region during the twentieth century. (By 1924, for example, the Cleveland Trust Company had 53 branches in the city and was the sixth-largest bank in the country.) The Rotunda served as the headquarters for all of the branch offices.

The first president of the bank, Frederick Goff, was a key player on the committee to select a site for the Fourth District Federal Reserve Bank. The 1914 decision to locate the Federal Reserve in Cleveland, rather than Pittsburgh, was partially attributed to the city's rapid economic growth and the fact that it had never had a national bank failure. In 1917 the Cleveland Trust Company was the first state bank or trust company in the city to enter the Federal Reserve System as a member bank. Over the long term, the selection of Cleveland as the location of the Federal Reserve Bank had significant influence over the region's banking practices.

While Cleveland had over 100 banks at the turn of the century, by the end of the 1920s, as a result of mergers and acquisitions, only 16 survived. Many of the smaller banks had been acquired by one of the three emerging Euclid Avenue "giants"; the Cleveland Trust Company and its main competitors, the Union Trust Company and Guardian Trust. These banks were located on adjacent sites on Euclid Avenue and helped to establish the corner of Euclid Avenue and East Ninth Street as the heart of the city's financial district.

The Cleveland Trust Company was the only major bank in Cleveland to survive the Depression, emerging strong after the "bank holiday" in 1933 because of the large amount of local money invested in the bank. As a testament to its stability during the nationwide crisis, the Cleveland Trust Company renovated the Rotunda, modifying its interior spaces to create additional offices. The Union Trust Company and Guardian Trust, on the other hand, closed in 1933, in part because they had so heavily financed the speculative real estate ventures of the Van Sweringen brothers, the influential Cleveland real estate investors who achieved phenomenal success in the 1920s through suburban development east of the city. From a broader perspective, the nationwide banking crisis was stabilized after 1933 by the passage of the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banking and set up a stronger regulatory framework intended to minimize the high-risk lending of bank assets.

By the 1940s Cleveland emerged as a national leader in the production of aircraft and automotive parts. During World War II, Cleveland's banks, including the Cleveland Trust Company, were instrumental in making federally guaranteed defense loans to local industries. The city's economy also continued to be fueled by the iron and steel industries, which had been firmly established by the end of the nineteenth century.

Under the leadership of George Gund, who took over as President in 1941, the Cleveland Trust Company emerged in the 1940s as the region's largest local bank. National rankings were also high. By 1945, the bank had grown to be the fortieth largest business in the country and the nation's fifteenth largest bank. During the post-war period, the bank succeeded in developing its financial base throughout Cuyahoga County by taking advantage of the city's expansion into the suburbs. Following the population, the bank established branches along commuter lines and in new shopping centers. Although there was heavy competition among area banks for deposits and loans in these emerging suburban markets, the Cleveland Trust Company maintained its position at the top of the industry through aggressive mortgage financing. Residential investments were important as they served to funnel deposits into the bank from branches in the suburbs, giving the company a county-wide financial base. Furthermore, they lessened the bank's dependence on commercial activity and the economics of urban businesses and industries. By 1964, the Cleveland Trust Company managed a network of 77 branches in Cuyahoga County, twice as many as any other bank system in Ohio. Because Ohio's state banking laws prohibited branch banks outside the county where the main bank was located, there were restrictions on Cleveland Trust Company's potential for growth.

Although the Cleveland Trust Company experienced tremendous success over the years, its policies did not necessarily include long-term planning for its downtown facilities. As space was required, the bank extended its Euclid Avenue offices piecemeal by occupying adjacent buildings along East Ninth Street and through minor new construction. In 1963, for example, a new computer and service center was built a block down from the Rotunda, and, during the mid-1960s the bank embarked upon on an $8 million dollar construction and renovation program. This involved "wet sandblasting" the exterior facades of the Rotunda and modernizing other properties. Even with these projects, the bank's growth and efficiency remained critical issues. Finally, in 1966, the board of directors set forth a proposal that would meet the needs of the institution in a satisfactory and long-term way. They approved the construction of a new office tower that would increase efficiency of operations, meet anticipated space requirements, and provide rental area.

The next President/CEO of the bank, George F. Karch, was supportive of the board's proposal stating, "The new building will provide much-needed space and new facilities for our growing banking and trust business...It will increase the efficiency of our entire operation." Notably, in consideration of the proposed modernization and expansion project, the bank did not waver in its commitment to its historic location. Since it was virtually established there by the Cleveland Trust Company in 1905, Cleveland's financial district had remained centered at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East Ninth Street for decades. Over the years and in the face of growing suburban influence, all of the city's major banks, including the Cleveland Trust Company, succeeded in preserving their downtown presence. Ultimately, the decision was made to preserve the Rotunda and demolish several of the bank's subordinate buildings, locating the new building in their place. A major advocate of the office tower project was Severance A. Millikin, a board member since 1925 and heir of John L. Severance, one of Cleveland's notable philanthropists. Throughout his life, Millikin continued his uncle's philanthropic pursuits, especially in regard to the Cleveland Museum of Art, where he served as a trustee and as chair of the Acquisitions Committee. As a major patron of the arts in Cleveland as well as New York, Millikin was personally acquainted with the Modernist architect Marcel Breuer and can be credited with introducing the city to Breuer's work. Using his influence and his longstanding association with the bank and the museum, Millikin helped secure for Breuer two significant commissions; the Cleveland Trust Company office tower and a second addition to the Cleveland Museum of Art.

In mid-1966, at Millikin's suggestion, the bank's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Public Affairs, Robert Miller, met with Marcel Breuer in New York to discuss the bank expansion. Miller told Breuer that they needed space to expand, essentially giving him free rein to design a new structure for the bank. The bank's only requirement was that the architect saved the Rotunda. Breuer's initial vision for the Cleveland Trust project involved the construction of two towers on either side of the Rotunda, providing the bank with a total of 600,000 additional square feet of office space. The towers would be linked by a shared core that would contain service facilities, mechanical equipment, and elevator access. Work would proceed in two phases, with the tower south of the Rotunda and the service core being constructed first, followed by the second tower on Euclid Avenue. Breuer integrated the historic Rotunda into his design by placing the towers behind and in a way subordinate to the corner structure. With this treatment, the Rotunda anchored the composition on its corner site and became the focal point of Breuer's design. In Breuer's view, the Rotunda had historic as well as architectural significance, and he openly sanctioned the bank's desire to retain the structure. Furthermore, he maintained that the existing bank structure and the modern towers would form a mutually advantageous visual group and was quoted as stating, "The existing Cleveland Trust Company headquarters building...is an excellent example of neo-classic architecture, dating back to an important period in this country's development." He went on to say that too often new construction meant the destruction of old buildings and that architects should preserve buildings that have traditions. For a Bauhaus-trained architect, this was a notable departure from the Modernist philosophy which promoted a radical departure from the past and a break with architectural traditions.

In the early years of the twentieth century when the Cleveland Trust Company hired George B. Post to design its new main office, the trend in bank design was to construct classically inspired edifices using traditional materials and featuring richly tasteful interiors. Since architectural design was one of the few ways in which the bank was prepared to advertise itself, Post created a building that communicated solidity, security, and permanence. When it came time for the board of the Cleveland Trust Company to once again make a significant contribution to the city's streetscape, the bank carefully considered their goals for the new building. First, the new building would make an architectural statement. To accomplish this, the bank used Millikin's connections to hire the top-tier, internationally-recognized architect Marcel Breuer. With this choice, the bank was guaranteed a bold, high-quality, progressive design. George Karch, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Cleveland Trust Company said the project would represent "one of the most dramatic changes in the face of downtown Cleveland since the construction of the Terminal Tower group of building in 1930." The bank's annual report went one step further stating, "Contemporary in design, the new building will be a notable architectural achievement in Cleveland." Second, the expansion would be a physical manifestation of the bank's commitment to the city as well as its historic ties to the downtown. Cleveland's Mayor at the time, Carl B. Stokes, noted, "It illustrates great confidence and belief in the city and will serve as a focus of business activity in the downtown area." The project would be a clear demonstration of the bank's prosperity, future success, and longevity, and an affirmation of the region's economic progress. Third, it would promote the bank's image as a modern banking institution and convey a sense of openness, accessibility, transparency, and efficiency. The project would consolidate the bank's office space into a high-rise tower and bring together the various departments and employees who had been scattered throughout numerous temporary quarters for years. Breuer's proposed design incorporated ground-level plazas, expansive window walls, and double-height interior lobby spaces. Through these features, he would instill the Tower with a sense of openness and accessibility. In summary, Breuer's concept for the building was developed with the clear expectation that it would be a significant addition to the bank's historic Rotunda, an important part of the Euclid Avenue financial district, and a clear representation of Cleveland's prominence within the region's banking and financial sectors. An article on the bank expansion published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer echoed the symbolic importance of the new office tower stating that, "the structure would bring added prestige to an area that is rapidly becoming the financial center of the Midwest."

In 1967, the same year the bank was ranked the nineteenth largest of the country's 14,000 commercial banks, the Cleveland Trust Company announced its plans for a $30 million expansion of its downtown headquarters. The following summer, the bank's buildings south of the Rotunda were demolished, and the first phase of construction began. Hamilton Smith worked as Breuer's design partner on the project. Flynn, Dalton, Van Dijk & Partners were the associate architects for local supervision. The structural engineer was Weidlinger Associates, and the general contractor was Turner Construction Company. The building was dedicated in 1971. The upper floors of the 29-story tower, mainly dedicated to office space for the bank (or to lease), featured open floor plans to provide for flexible partitioning of interior space. The mezzanine level opened up to a ground-level public entrance lobby and banking floor. In these areas, the wall surfaces were granite and the floors were terrazzo. High-quality materials were used throughout the bank's public areas to instill the building with a sense of elegance and permanence. A double-height window wall, articulated with a geometric glazing pattern and black granite mullions, brought natural light into the lobby areas and helped blend interior and exterior spaces. An employee cafeteria and kitchen facilities were located in the basement, and there was a secure sub-basement for the bank's vaults. The main entrance along East Ninth Street was set back behind an open gallery, and black granite pilotis supported the building's upper floors. Thus, despite site restrictions, Breuer was able to incorporate a small plaza into the design, a typical feature of Modern-era architecture. For the exterior skin, Breuer used a system of prefabricated concrete units, with each module containing a deeply recessed plate-glass window. Bands of granite veneer at the base and crown of the building unified the composition. The overall effect was a highly faceted facade over which sun and shadow were in dynamic contrast. In its use of prefabricated concrete units, Breuer's design was both economically efficient and technologically advanced.

In the early 1970s, just as the first phase of the bank's expansion came to an end, economic conditions in Cleveland began to decline. While there are numerous reasons for the downturn, contributing factors included the expansion of foreign competition in the automotive and steel industries, the consequent loss of associated shipping jobs, and a local decline in the manufacturing of steel products. Perhaps as a result of this slide, the second phase of the project never went forward, and Breuer's concept for the site was only partially realized.

The Rotunda was substantially renovated between 1971 and 1973 as part of the overall expansion project. The project was led by Montgomery Orr, of the firm of Frazier, Orr, Fairbanks, and Quam of Geneva, Illinois. Much of the work involved creating additional office space and tying the historic building with the new Tower addition.

Despite the city's economic recession, the Cleveland Trust Company (later renamed AmeriTrust) remained profitable. The bank's "return on equity" was low because of the tremendous capitalization that had accrued during the tenure of George Gund. Conversely, the "return on assets" was phenomenal because the bank had strong capital reserves. The bank suffered a rapid decline, however, during the 1980s due to high interest rates and the general default on real estate loans, which significantly diminished its assets. When AmeriTrust was acquired by Society Corporation/Key Corp in September 1991, banking operations were consolidated, and the Rotunda and Tower were vacated.

Building Description

The Cleveland Trust Company headquarters building is located at the prominent intersection of Euclid Avenue and East Ninth Street in the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio. The handsome building consists of two integrated yet distinctive components; a Beaux Arts-style Rotunda and a Modern-era Tower.

The Cleveland Trust Company Rotunda is a monumentally scaled, three-story, Beaux Arts-style building designed by architect George B. Post and completed in 1908. It is set on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East Ninth Street.

The building is located on an irregularly shaped lot created by the acute angle formed by the intersection of its adjacent streets. The bank was designed in response to the shape of the site with its two primary facades - facing north along Euclid Avenue and west along East Ninth Street - having slightly different dimensions. (The facades measure 123' on East Ninth Street and 140' on Euclid Avenue.) Despite this, the design of the bank building is highly symmetrical and features classical proportions, typical of work in the Beaux Arts style.

The Rotunda is constructed around a steel frame and is sheathed in white granite from North Jay, Maine. It has a heavy rusticated stone base and smooth ashlar masonry walls. The north facade is five bays wide, and at the ground level there are round-arch openings in each bay. Entrances in the three central bays provide access to the interior bank lobby. The upper level of the north facade features a monumentally scaled, pedimented portico supported by four pairs of engaged Corinthian columns. In each bay, there are double-height windows set in bronze spandrels. The pediment is richly decorated with sculptural groupings depicting the allegory of the "main springs of wealth." The figures are by Karl Bitter, an Austrian artist who practiced out of New York and was noted for his architectural sculpture. A dentiled cornice projects from the roofline which supports a low parapet with curved balusters. Finally, a 61' diameter dome, supported by a low circular drum, rises from the center of the structure.

The design of the Euclid Avenue facade is mirrored on the east wall, with slight modifications, perhaps to distinguish it as the secondary elevation. The East Ninth Street facade measures seven bays. At the ground level, there are round-arch openings in each bay, but only the center bay provides interior access. The portico along the east facade has six engaged pilasters, and the sculpture in the pediment above features a more simplified treatment than its counterpart. The cornice and the parapet wall wrap around to the east facade unifying the exterior composition. At the northwest corner, the building is set back from the street. This elevation features a double-height window unit flanked by engaged columns to complement the rest of the building's design.

On the interior, the building is essentially a three-story office volume wrapped around an open rotunda. The rotunda is covered by an ornate stained-glass dome that rises 85' above the main floor. The banking floor is covered with marble and terrazzo, and there is a bronze medallion of the Cleveland Trust Company in its center. On the upper floors, open galleries supported by a ring of thirteen columns overlook the rotunda. The upper-level floors are concrete, and the office spaces have dropped ceilings. The columns at the ground level have modified bases and capitals. These alterations were made between 1971 and 1973 as part of a restoration by the firm Frazier, Orr, Fairbanks, and Quam of Geneva, Illinois. Along the north wall are elevators set in bronze frames. A significant interior element is the marble staircase in the northeast corner of the building. It features a bronze balustrade that rises uninterrupted from the basement level to the top floor. (There are also bronze balustrades around the galleries.) The basement features a marble floor as well as original bank vaults and safety deposit boxes.

The Cleveland Trust Company Tower is a 29-story office building designed by internationally renowned architect Marcel Breuer. Completed in 1971, it is a major example of a Modern Movement building' The Tower is located adjacent to the Rotunda along East Ninth Street and is effectively a multi-story addition to the original bank building. There are connections between the Tower and the Rotunda at three levels, providing direct internal circulation between the two buildings, and the first-floor lobby of the Tower intersects with the Rotunda lobby to create a continuous public space at the ground level.

The Tower was built as the first stage of what was to be a multi-year bank expansion project. Breuer's original drawings for the Cleveland Trust Company project called for a second tower (never realized) with a street facade along Euclid Avenue. As originally envisioned, the complex would have enveloped or "cradled" the Rotunda building, which would remain as the cornerstone of the composition and serve as a monument to the history of the bank. Ultimately, only the first phase of the expansion was realized.

The Tower is a steel-frame high-rise structure with exterior walls primarily composed of an assemblage of 1,314 precast concrete panels set within a grid of granite bands. The prefabricated panels are molded in a rectangular form and have rounded inside corners and rainwater channels designed to help prevent staining and control surface weathering. Prior to assembly, the concrete panels were etched to expose the material's grey Vermont granite aggregate and create a rough surface texture (similar to a bush-hammered finish) meant to further promote even weathering. The panels form modular units that interlock at the edges and are attached with anchor clips to the frame of the structure. Each unit contains a large opening to frame a single-pane window. The windows are deeply recessed 2'-6" into the unit, a design feature frequently used by Breuer to shade windows and protect against direct sunlight. In addition, the concrete panels are fabricated with cavities molded into the inside faces to conceal structural framing as well as heating and air-conditioning equipment. In contrast to the highly sculptural, textured treatment used on the primary facades, the wall angled north facing Euclid Avenue is sheathed in a thin-stone granite veneer unbroken by fenestration. A granite veneer is also used around the base of the Tower and at its crown to mask the mechanical floors.

The primary entrance to the tower is located along East Ninth Street. It is recessed under a five-bay, two-story colonnade and set within a large, two-story window wall. The entryway is located in the second bay from the north and consists of two revolving doors flanked by swing doors, all set in aluminum frames. The doors lead to an impressive double-height entrance lobby featuring a fixed seating enclosure and a reception desk of precast terrazzo. An engraved cornerstone is set into the north wall of the lobby. Beyond the entrance lobby and on a slightly lower level (18" below street grade) is a wide corridor that provides access to the elevator banks and the adjoining Rotunda. South of the entrance lobby is the banking lobby. This space is characterized by a large, two-story window wall with a distinctive, geometric glazing pattern and black granite mullions. In the lobby areas, the interior walls and columns are faced with high-quality black granite, original to the building. The granite has been treated with contrasting finishes; a mirror-like, polished finish and a rough thermal finish. The mezzanine level, which opens up onto the double-height lobby areas, features a granite parapet. The floors throughout the lobby areas are original terrazzo and are in good condition. Other original interior features include bronze elevator doors and phone booths.

The upper floors of the Tower, designed for office space, feature an open plan which allows for the flexible use of interior space. Elevator banks, fire stairs, and chases for mechanical and electrical equipment are relegated to the east side of the floor plan along the backside of the Tower.

The south facade of the Tower abuts an alley, or "Barn Court," which extends east from East Ninth Street. Along this alley at the base of the building's east facade is a two-story wing clad with brick veneer. This wing is not tied to the actual structure of the Tower. Currently, its interior walls are bare concrete. Originally, on the ground floor of this wing there was a loading dock as well as storage areas, and on the second floor there was a meeting room/auditorium.