Overview:
One of our most popular stories last year was about where to find the famed Tiffany glass in Cleveland. But Tiffany wasn’t the only stained glass game in town at the turn of the last century. We don’t get a lot of sunlight during the winter, but when we do, it’s worth checking out these stained glass windows. Follow along with our weekly series this winter highlighting stained glass in Cleveland.
A 14-story structure near the corner of East 9th Street and Euclid Avenue has a new name: The Tiffany Glass Building.
The former home of the City Club of Cleveland featured glass and other decorative designs from Tiffany & Co. when it opened as Citizens Savings & Trust Bank in 1903, but renovations over the last 100+ years removed many of the Tiffany accents.
What is still visible is Tiffany trim that sparkles around the elevator banks on Floors 2 through 9. Glass squares in shades of blue and green are bordered by gold. That trim also surrounds a drinking fountain on the second floor, recalling a time when buildings had decorative touches throughout.
Like many of its day, the building, designed by Cleveland architecture firm Hubbell & Benes, featured marble walls and floors and ornamental plaster and woodwork. There was colored glass, gold and mother-of-pearl decorations throughout the lobby. The structure’s U-shape meant that, when it opened, no interior office was more than 10 feet from natural light. Of the 14 floors, one is underground.
Two years before the building opened, the bank and local architect Levi Scofield, who was erecting the Schofield Building next door, got into an argument over the property line. Eventually, after the dispute went to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, the two sides reached a compromise to share space on Euclid Avenue.
(Side note: Levi Scofield, who named his East 9th Street structure the Schofield Building, with an H, also designed the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument at Public Square. According to Greg Palumbo, executive director of the museum, Scofield enjoyed looking along Euclid Avenue from his building to the monument.)
The City Club of Cleveland occupied 850 Euclid Ave. for 40 years before moving to new space at Playhouse Square in 2023. The large room that hosted City Club forums now houses an event venue, the Tiffany Glass Space. That floor is home to a different sort of glass: Panels etched with the names of people who have spoken at the City Club. Speakers have included Vice President Hubert Humphrey and feminist Gloria Steinem.
Those glass panels were part of the 1999 renovation of the space, designed by architect Robert Bostwick, according to Dan Moulthrop, chief executive officer of the City Club.
The building’s owner, E.V. Bishoff Co., is looking for more Tiffany touches as renovations continue.
On its website, Bishoff says, “Additional Tiffany glass improvements are being uncovered and returned to their former glory.”
Bottom line: No show-stopping stained glass windows, but pretty details throughout, from Tiffany & Co. and other artisans.
