ART & ART DECO CLEVELAND 2006
September 13-17, 2006

Silver Grille (1931)

Philip Small, architect.

The Higbee Co. Department Store (1931)

100 Public Square. Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, architects.

Even those in our group that had never been to Cleveland had seen Higbee's—it was the department store featured in the beloved 1983 movie A Christmas Story. The opening scene shows Ralphie admiring the Red Ryder BB gun in the Higbee window. Higbee's was also the site of the "mean Santa scene" and featured in the movie's Christmas parade.

When Higbee's opened on September 8, 1931, it was the largest department store to open in the United States in the previous 20 years: 12 stories and 1 million square feet. Higbee's was Cleveland's oldest department store, dating from 1860. Their previous—and much smaller—location was on Euclid Avenue near East 12th Street. The new Higbee store was connected to the Cleveland Union Terminal, which had opened two years earlier. It was all part of an enormous mixed used complex that also included a hotel, the main post office, and several office buildings--including the Terminal Tower, Cleveland's landmark building.

The "Terminal Group" was planned, developed, and constructed by O.P. and M.J. Van Sweringen, two brothers who eventually created a $3 billion railroad and real estate empire. Their initial plans were to build a light rail line from Public Square to Shaker Heights, a community of elegant homes they were developing on Cleveland's east side. The Van Sweringen brothers recognized that convenient and swift transportation was essential if the community was to be a success. Their projects did have a way of ballooning. In order to obtain a few miles of right-of-way for their proposed Shaker Rail Line, they purchased the entire Nickel Plate Railroad in 1916. Through multiple railroad acquisitions they created a nearly transcontinental, 30,000 mile railroad empire by 1929. With their vast railroad holdings, it made sense for the Van Sweringens to expand the original plans for the Shaker interurban line to include the major railroads as well.

To secure the department store for their Union Terminal project, the Van Sweringens purchased The Higbee Company for $7.5 million in 1929. Since it opened later, Higbee's interior has more Art Deco details than the Cleveland Union Terminal. With walls of walnut paneling, it was intended to resemble a private club. Bronze railings feature an abstract flower (lotus? tulip?) The store's elevator lobbies are especially handsome. The elevator doors are of walnut with brass inlay in an exquisite Art Deco design. It is believed that Higbee's was among the very first installations in the country of the "revolving door."

Their railroad and real estate empire was heavily leveraged, and the Van Sweringens' holdings quickly lost value following the stock market crash of 1929. So vast was the collapse of the Van Sweringen companies: by many accounts it actually accelerated the Great Depression! Many of their loans were held by banks in New York City. By 1935 the brothers had defaulted on their loans, and much of their property was sold at auction. They were later able to buy back some of their holdings, but neither brother lived to rebuild the empire: M.J. died in 1935, and O.P. died in 1936.

The Higbee Company survived the Great Depression and prospered as a locally owned department store chain until the 1980s. In the 1980s there were a series of owners; ultimately it was purchased by Dillard's. It was the last of Cleveland's downtown department stores to close, in January 2002. Dillard's still operates stores in Cleveland's suburbs.

Our private tour of Higbee's and the Silver Grille—as well as other areas of the Terminal Tower complex—was provided by Jim Maier, the operations manager for Tower City Center. Tower City Center is owned by Forest City Enterprises, a multi-billion dollar real estate and development company headquartered in Cleveland. (Read more about the Cleveland Union Terminal under the "English Oak Room" heading.) www.forestcity.net

Mr. Maier also gave us a rare and privileged tour of The Greenbrier Suite, the private apartment of the Van Sweringens that even most Clevelanders have never seen. It is located on the 12th, 13th, and 14th floor of the Terminal Tower, and decorated in an English Gothic style. We admired the oak paneling, vaulted ceilings, and marble fireplaces. The two story Great Hall was especially impressive.

Unfortunately, when we were visiting there was limited access to The Higbee Building. This was because of construction on the first and second floors for Greater Cleveland Partnership offices (the local chamber of commerce) and a new Cleveland Visitor's Center. We were also disappointed that the observation deck on top of the Terminal Tower was closed, because of exterior masonry restoration. However, we forgot our disappointments when we arrived on the 10th floor of Higbee's.

Stepping off the elevator, we entered a lovely walnut paneled lobby--which served as the perfect prelude to the elegance of the Silver Grille. The Silver Grille was the premier dining room at Higbee's, rich in Art Deco detail. The furniture was designed by the Cleveland firm of Rorimer-Brooks, who designed furniture for Cleveland's most prestigious families as well as the Statler Hotel chain, The Greenbrier Hotel, and the Van Sweringen mansion. (Today, many Rorimer-Brooks pieces are in museums.) The china—intended to compliment the architecture of the room—was designed by Guy Cowan, who once operated the famed Cowan Pottery Studio and then later worked for Syracuse China. It wasn't long before The Silver Grille became the lunch destination for Cleveland Society. On busy days they served over one thousand people a day.

The Silver Grille closed in December, 1989. It remained vacant for over a decade until it underwent a careful restoration by Forest City Enterprises, completed in 2002. Fortunately, the room had changed little from 1931, including much of the original furniture. Our favorite story: since all the archival photographs were in black and white, a former waitress helped determine the color of the original carpet, now replicated. The room is now rented for special events.

An excellent book about the subject: The Silver Grille (new and expanded edition) by Richard E. Karberg, Judith Karberg, and Jane Hazen is available through Cleveland Landmarks Press, Inc.

The last four photos in this set are from the Special Collections of Cleveland State University Library.

Standard Building