The Hotel Cleveland is a historic hotel on

Public Square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, opened in 1918. It is today part of the

Tower City Center Tower City Center is a large mixed-use facility in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, in its Public Square, Cleveland, Public Square. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including Terminal Tower, the Skylight Park mi ...

mixed-use complex.

History

Site

A place of lodging has occupied the site since 1815, when Phinney Mowrey opened Mowrey's Tavern. Donald MacIntosh purchased the tavern in 1820 and operated it as the Cleveland House and later the City Hotel until it was destroyed by fire in 1845. In 1848, it was rebuilt as the Dunham House, which was enlarged in 1852 and renamed the Forest City House. That structure was demolished in 1916 to make way for the current hotel.

Hotel Cleveland

The 1000-room Hotel Cleveland was built at a cost of $4.5 million and opened on December 16, 1918.

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

spoke in a ballroom at the hotel in 1927, three months after completing his solo Trans-Atlantic flight. The

Van Sweringen brothers Oris Paxton Van Sweringen (April 24, 1879 – November 22, 1936) and Mantis James Van Sweringen (July 8, 1881 – December 12, 1935) were American brothers who became railroad barons in order to develop Shaker Heights, Ohio. They are better k ...

purchased the hotel in the 1920s and built the Cleveland Union Terminal complex, completed in 1930, around it.

Eliot Ness Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Bureau of Prohibition, Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone while enforcing Prohibition in the United States, Prohibition in Chicago. He was leader of a team ...

and his wife Evaline frequently danced in the hotel's famous Bronze Room during his time in Cleveland. Ness also questioned Francis Sweeney, a suspect in the Torso murders, in one of the hotel's rooms for over a week in 1938. The following year, in 1939, he held a meeting of local factory owners in the hotel's Empire Room, attempting to start a network of informants among their employees, to catch potential saboteurs. The local CIO head feared it was a union-busting ploy and asked

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...

to intervene. Hoover sided with the CIO and remained at odds with Ness through the remainder of his career. President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

and First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

were both guests at the hotel in the 1940s.

Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel

Sheraton Hotels Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an American international hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Centr ...

acquired the Hotel Cleveland in 1958 and rechristened it the Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

delivered a series of speeches at the Sheraton on November 4, 1960, before giving a major speech in the adjacent

. In 1961, Sheraton converted the Bronze Room to the Kon Tiki Restaurant. The restaurant has since been closed and the space has been converted to offices. In 1962, Sheraton spent $5.2 million renovating the hotel and adding an enormous adjacent convention wing structure containing a three-story, 500-space parking garage, topped by a 12,000 sq ft exhibition hall and a new grand ballroom accommodating 4000 people. A historic meeting between leaders of Cleveland's white and black communities occurred at the Sheraton on April 19, 1964, following the death of Civil Rights protester Rev. Bruce W. Klunder twelve days earlier.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

stayed at the Sheraton on September 14, 1964, before performing at the

Public Auditorium Public Auditorium is a multi-purpose performing arts, entertainment, sports, and exposition facility located in the civic center district of downtown Cleveland. The building features two large performance spaces: the 10,000-capacity Public Hall ...

the next day. Police established a cordon around the Sheraton to protect the group from mobs of fans, who surrounded the hotel. On March 23, 1965,

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

attended a

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

dinner in his honor at the Sheraton, briefly leaving the

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three Demonstration (protest), protest marches, held in 1965, along the highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery. The marches were organized by Nonviolence, nonvi ...

to be at the event. The Beatles returned in 1966, when they performed at

Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and foot ...

on August 14 and gave a press conference in the Sheraton's Empire Room that day.

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

gave a concert in the Sheraton Ballroom of the hotel on September 28, 1972. The hotel was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on March 17, 1976 as part of the Terminal complex. President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

visited the hotel on June 6, 1976 and gave a series of speeches and attended multiple receptions.

Restoration and today

In 1977, Sheraton sold the hotel, which now had only 800 rooms, to Save-the-Square, Inc. for $18 million. The group of investors, headed by

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

owner

Art Modell Arthur Bertram Modell (June 23, 1925 – September 6, 2012) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and National Football League (NFL) team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise for 35 years and established the Baltimore Ravens f ...

and also including

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

owner

Steve O'Neill Stephen Francis O'Neill (July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American professional baseball catcher and Manager (baseball), manager. He played his first 13 seasons with the Cleveland Indians. As a manager, he led the Detroit Tigers to a ...

, rescued the hotel from receivership and paid its debts. The group hired Biltmore Construction to fully renovate the aging hotel, enclosing the rear courtyard as a glass-roofed atrium, with a pool that had to be lowered into place by a huge crane. It reopened in 1978, managed by Stouffer Hotels, as Stouffer's Inn on the Square.

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

visited the hotel on October 29, 1980, prior to participating in a presidential debate against

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

. Boxer

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He is often considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. ...

fought a series of exhibition bouts in the hotel's Grand Ballroom on April 9, 1982. Cast and crew of the classic 1983 film ''

A Christmas Story ''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'' by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ...

'' stayed at the hotel while filming in the adjacent

Higbee's Higbee's was a department store founded in 1860 in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1987, Higbee's was sold to the joint partnership of Dillard's department stores and Youngstown-based developer, Edward J. DeBartolo. The stores continued to operate under ...

department store. In 1985, Stouffer began a $37 million, five-year renovation, throughout which the hotel remained open. The renovation reduced the number of rooms to 500 and modernized the fire safety systems with sprinklers, smoke detectors and alarms. In December 1986, the hotel was renamed Stouffer Tower City Plaza Hotel, to match the renovated train station and its shopping mall.

Renaissance Hotels Renaissance Hotels was founded as Ramada Renaissance in 1981, as an upscale brand of Ramada Inns. Hong Kong–based New World Development (NWD) acquired Ramada in 1989 and re-launched Renaissance Hotels as a separate brand. The brand was acqui ...

purchased Stouffer Hotels in 1993, and the hotel became the Stouffer Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. In 1996, the Stouffer branding was retired and the hotel became the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. In 2015,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

-based Skyline Investments purchased the property for $20 million. In September 2021, Skyline announced plans to renovate the hotel and move it from Marriott's Renaissance Hotel division to the company's '' Autograph Collection'', with the hotel regaining its historic name, Hotel Cleveland. In December 2021, Toronto-based VM Hotel Acquisition Corp announced plans to purchase the Renaissance Cleveland and the Hyatt Regency Cleveland from Skyline, but in May 2022 they pulled out of the deal, citing "market volatility." The hotel was renamed Hotel Cleveland, Autograph Collection in Spring 2024, as the $90 million renovations neared completion. It celebrated its grand reopening in June 2024.

Gallery

File:Hotel Cleveland (NBY 5034).jpg, Hotel Cleveland, c. 1924 File:Hotel Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio - DPLA - 447ff67f1a78af2ceef1a41e3af9e570 (page 1).jpg, Hotel Cleveland, c. 1920 File:Hotel Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio - DPLA - ad6a84e8f3d7501c87f17850f60d2869 (page 1).jpg, Hotel Cleveland, c. 1925 File:K.51-Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel (NBY 2424).jpg, Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel, c. 1960 File:Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.jpg, Hotel lobby, 2018 File:Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (2).jpg, Lobby corridor, 2018 File:Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (3).jpg, Guest floor elevator lobby, 2018 File:Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (4).jpg, Lobby corridor, 2018 File:Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (5).jpg, Guest Floor Corridor, 2018 File:Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (6).jpg, Elevator Lobby, 2018 File:Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (7).jpg, Entrance Stairway, 2018 File:Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (2348183530).jpg, Hotel entrance, 2007 File:Renaissance Hotel (Hotel Cleve) PC080065.jpg, Entrance from Terminal Tower, 2010 File:Rib Room, Hotel Cleveland (88391).jpg, Hotel Cleveland, Rib Room restaurant logo, 1930s File:Cleveland - Terminal Tower.jpg, Hotel exterior, 2010 File:Terminal Tower (May 2022) (2).png, Hotel exterior, showing 1962 wing in foreground, 2022 File:Terminal Tower with Renaissance Cleveland Hotel - Cleveland Ohio (24912332650).jpg, Hotel Exterior 2015 File:Tower City Center, Cleveland, OH (28726252308).jpg, Tower City Center, 2018 File:Tower City Center, Cleveland, OH (27732091537).jpg, Tower City Center, 2018 File:Tower City Center, Cleveland, OH (27732090647).jpg, Tower City Center, 2018

References

External links

Hotel Cleveland official websiteHotel Cleveland official chain website
{{Tower City Center Railway hotels in the United States Hotel buildings completed in 1918 Hotels established in 1918 Skyscraper hotels in Cleveland Tower City Center Sheraton hotels