| May 2007 view of home at 506 Literary. House has been vandalized. |
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| Landmark, \'landmark\, noun. A structure (as a building) of unusual historical and usually aesthetic interest. (Source: Merriam Wesbster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.) |
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General Casimir Pulaski Post, #30 1041 Starkweather Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44113 216-771-8905 The Polish Legion of American Veterans for the states of Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and New York had its first organizational meeting in Cleveland in 1921. The General Casimir Pulaski Post #30 of the Polish Legion of American Veterans of Cleveland, Ohio, will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in May 2008, receiving its charter on May 17, 1933. The Pulaski Post #30 has been a fixture on Starkweather Avenue since 1946. Prior to that date it was located in a reconverted home on West 11 Street between Kenilworth and Starkweather Avenues. The original meeting place was torn down and sold as a parcel of land for a new Merrick House. On May 5, 1998, the Honorable Dennis J. Kucinich (House of Representatives), honored the organization's 65th anniversary with this Proclamation: (The) "Pulaski Post 30 has served the community as a patriotic, civil, and religious center. These veterans have established themselves as a viable force in the Tremont area, dedicated to public service. Through the years, members of the Pulaski Post have serviced veterans at local veterans hospitals with thousands of hours of assistance. The post is dedicated to community programs, such as encouraging members and others to participate in donating blood to the Red Cross. Pulaski Post 30 has a distinguished uniformed rifle and ritual squad that carries out patriotic ceremonies and performs in parades and funerals. Throughout the years, many of the Pulaski Post's members have succeeded in public service or in the private sector, including distinguished elected officials, judges, doctors, and accountants. This organization has clearly distinguished itself as an important community force in the Tremont area." Once open only to veterans of Polish ancestry, the organization is now open to any Honorably Discharged American Citizen, male or female. |
| Landmark: Any object, regardless of structure, showing to have contributed to the recognition of the area once known as the Southside. (Source: Webmaster) |
| Home on right: 506 Literary Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, October 2006. |
| Rear view of 506 Literary Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio. |
| Backyard of 506 Literary Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio showing "out-house." |
homes for the influx of immigrants to this area. 506 Literary was built in 1890, and became the home of the Paul and Anielka Kocuba family on July 18, 1924. The house and lot was purchased from Anna Hewis. Paul and Anielka had five children that made it to adulthood: Steve, Paul, Jr., John, Michael and Anna. This home has stayed in the Kocuba family since 1924, and may have been occupied up until 2004. The home is vacant today. No further information on the legal status of this home is available other than it is still owned by the Kocuba children. The parents and four of the children have passed on with a son, Michael, surviving. A legal property description from the Cuyahoga County Recorder's web page shows the home to be a two-story structure, two-family occupancy with 12 rooms, (six on each level), consisting of six (three each level) bedrooms and two (one each level) full baths. According to official records, there is no attic, but an attic can be seen on the above photo showing a rear view. The home is listed as a colonial, but the correct description of the house would be called a "worker's cottage." This type of architecture was popular in neighborhoods where there was an influx of persons in the early 1900's such as the Southside, Ohio City and Old Brooklyn. The out-house is not listed on county records, but it is important to the history of the Southside in that it was the norm to have such a structure up until the mid- 1940's. During the 1920's and 30's a home such as 506 Literary Avenue would have housed at least four or more families. (Update May 2007: Home looks to be vandalized; no work being done. "Typical South Side.") |
2543 West 7th Street (Office) Cleveland, Ohio Photo courtesy of Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA). Used with permission. Taken in the 1990's as part of a "renewal project." Unit in photo was not typical of the other units in the area.
It shows the inside section of a pamphlet given out to show income requirements for persons who wanted to rent a townhouse in the Valley View Estates. Circa late 1950's.
Sources: Cleveland Plain Dealer, multiple dates; Cleveland Press, multiple dates Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (originally called the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority [CMHA]) Kelvin Smith Library, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland -- Ernest J. Bohn Collection. Robert Leech, January 2007, in Memories Sandborn Fire Insurance Map |
Jefferson Branch 850 Jefferson Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44113
Jefferson Branch’s history begins when it opened as a Station in the basement of Tremont School in October 1899. In December 1911, it was moved into a portable building on the school grounds. This was the first instance of a library moving out of a school building, but remaining on school property. The new library was named the Tremont School Branch. On December 7, 1918, the Tremont School Branch opened in a new building at 850 Jefferson Avenue and the name was changed to Jefferson Branch Library. The structure was built with funds from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. The Andrew Carnegie Foundation gave monies to various cities for building of branch libraries. Between 1903 and 1914, the Foundation pledged $590,000 to the city of Cleveland. By 1917, it no longer focused on building libraries but on training librarians. Jefferson may have been one of the last branches built with the Carnegie money in Cleveland. The building project was supervised by Ora Coltman, a prominent Cleveland artist who also gave his painting Little Russia to the branch. The library has been described as having delightful ivy and green grass with an attractive cleanliness and "blending of European and American taste in its interior appointments that easily stands out as one of the most modest of all institutions on the Southside." The plain brick semi-fireproof building has a condensed floor plan and factory- type skylights. Because fluctuating populations affect library use, Jefferson Branch was built with a convertible plan, designed to give maximum service for a minimum cost. The building could be converted to a business or commercial use after it was no longer needed for library service. In this branch, "for both adults and children," "where foreign-born predominated," the library performed the work of "Americanization in the broadest and most liberal sense of the term." The results of being able to borrow books, have story hours and join library clubs "were sometimes magical in transforming a shy and bewildered foreigner into a reasonably confident American." It is interesting to note that during one of the mid years of the Depression the number of books in circulation for home and school use from this branch library was 282,661 books. "It is both ironic and logical that in times of drastic business decline, when people are unemployed and in a state of psychological and economic depression, they turn to the free services of the library." The whole library system was under stress. There was no tax support because there was no tax income of any kind available. A placard over the New Book rack at the Main Library downtown told the story. "No New Books for Display This Week Because of Curtailed Funds. Have You Read These Older Titles? You'll Find Them Interesting." Between 1935 and 1939 this branch was one among others that was "cleaned, repaired, painted and re-pointed" with assistance from the Public Works Administration (PWA.) At one time a considerable portion of the library contained books in the native languages of the people of the area. "The collections in Bohemian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovenian," Ukrainian "and Yiddish" afforded unsolved problems. "As the collections grew it became more difficult for assistants who did not know the languages or literature to help the foreign readers find what they want. The foreign-speaking assistants were usually untrained and often without much knowledge of their own literature." One Jefferson Branch librarian was honored by a local Ukrainian newspaper, the Svoboda, for "her very friendly attitude toward Ukrainian readers and takes considerable care to put the Ukrainian department on the proper level. The constant supplementing of the stock due to her shall be greatfully acknowledged here." Alice Martin, director of the branch along with Assistant Librarian Mrs. Green were featured in a writeup by this newspaper in 1959, for their exceptional work in maintaining and supplementing the over 3000 volumes of Ukrainian books that were at Jefferson. Twenty years earlier this library was criticized in Between Spires and Stacks for not having anyone who could speak a foreign language with the exception of a part-time page who knew Ukrainian. Jefferson Branch's staff proved to speak the language was not always as important as having books for the populace who knew the language. In 1975, Jefferson Branch, served a community of 13,041 persons. Library circulation for this year was 26,070, down from 32,919 in 1970; 79,457 in 1965; 95,381 in 1960; and 90,426 in 1956. "The branch itself is almost hidden from public view; probably only the immediate neighborhood is aware of it." The roof had extensive leakage, pollution was blamed for the difficulty in keeping the building clean, the rest rooms had been vandalized, the furniture and shelving were old as was the card catalog. The "redeeming" factor was that while the neighborhood was run-down, it was not excessively poverty stricken. In May 1976, a report, Program for Branches, 1976-1980: Building, was submitted to the Library Board of Cleveland outlining recommendations on the rehabilitating of the branch libraries of the Cleveland Public Library System. In this report, it was recommended the Jefferson Branch be combined with the South Branch on Scranton Road and Clark Avenue. The report stated "Jefferson Branch has a difficult location. It is somewhat hard to find since access to the area is not easy. The branch is old and in poor condition. It might be possible to serve this area from South Branch. On the other hand, residents may well feel that there are too many physical barriers for this to be a solution." For whatever reason, the Library Board did not take the recommendation to combine Jefferson with South Branch. On September 20, 1981, the library was remodeled. While this proved to be an improvement in the overall interior conditions of the building, it lost its old world charm, replaced by the modernistic openness that bespoke another, newer era of primary colors and plastic. In 1983 it was given the Award of Excellence in Library Architecture from the American Institute of Architects. For an interesting look into a pictorial history of Jefferson Branch Library, visit this website: Image Collection, Cleveland Public Library. (2006's total circulation was approximately 76,207 items in circulation.) Sources: Cleveland Public Library, Archives Department. Hendry, Charles E. and Margaret T. Svendsen, Between Spires and Stacks, Cleveland, 1936. See Books and Links Ann Olszewski, Preservation Department, Cleveland Public Library. Cramer, C. H., Open Shelves and Open Minds -- A History of the Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1972 Svoboda, Ukrainian Weekly, Saturday, January 31, 1959 Huttner, Marian A., Program for Branches, 1976-1980 -- Buildings, Cleveland, May 1976. Wood, James M., One Hundred and Twenty-Five, 1869-1994, A Celebration of the Cleveland, Public Library, Cleveland, Cleveland Public Library, 1994. Olszewski, Ann and Mary Haverstock, "The Canvas Scraper", Timeline, a Publication of the Ohio Historical Society, January-February, 2002, Volume 19/No. 1. |
| Cleveland's Southside |
| Today's Tremont Neighborhood |
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Tremont War Memorial:
the area’s servicemen and women. During World War II, the Tremont Area Civic Assn. led a successful campaign to raise money for a neighborhood honor roll. More than $4000 was collected in the drive and the Honor Roll in Lincoln Park, with about 4000 names, was installed in the Park, located at West 14th St. and Kenilworth Avenue. However, the elements took their toll and in 1947, the wooden honor roll was removed after suffering irreparable damage. Left over from the original drive was about $500, and for some time the neighborhood wrestled over the best idea for another memorial. Then came Korea. Following that conflict, the idea to permanently honor veterans was discussed and one idea was tentatively selected. The proposal was for a seven-foot marble slab, upon which were to be carved flags and a simple expression of gratitude to the area’s servicemen of World Wars I and II and the Korean War. Originally, the proposed sites were Lincoln Park, Merrick Settlement House at 1050 Starkweather Avenue and the triangle in front of St. John Cantius High School at Tremont and West 10th Streets. Residents and businessmen attended the November 25, 1958 meeting at Merrick House to decide upon the monument’s design and location. They also decided upon whether to raise additional money for the new monument and discussed how to involve a younger generation of residents. The campaign to collect funds for a war memorial in the Tremont area ended with a total of over $1,875 in pledges and cash. This figure was announced at the first fall meeting (September 1959) of the Tremont Area Civic Association, one of the organizations cooperating in the drive. The triangle in front of St. John Cantius High School was the chosen location. It was also decided to involve area high school students in the designing of the monument. In November 1959, an 18 year-old girl and a 16 year-old boy were awarded blue ribbons for the "Tremont Area Veterans Memorial" designs. Al Olsen, chairman of the Veterans Memorial Committee, presented the awards to Jessie Pelech, 1215 Auburn Avenue, and Leon Lavdas, 1435 Brainard Avenue, at a meeting of the Tremont Area Civic Association. The designs were among 16 entries submitted by St. John Cantius and Lincoln High School students. Judges were Jim Herron, chief editorial artist for the Press, and Joe Koryta of the Plain Dealer art staff. Edward Kotecki of the Kotecki Monument Company was to design the final memorial using the best ideas from the winning entries. Kotecki also donated $25 to each school to be distributed among the top contestants. All top entries were put on display at Merrick House, 1050 Starkweather Avenue and later at Jefferson Branch Library and the two schools. Jessie Pelech, a St. John Cantius student, came from Poland, where she had no art training, in 1956. Leon Lavdis had studied art only one semester at Lincoln High School. In June 1960, the final plans for the Tremont Veterans Memorial were presented. “Most of the students’ sketches included both the central shaft ideas and the 'Four Freedoms', both of which are incorporated into our design,” said, Edward Kotecki, Jr. of Kotecki Monument Company. He said that the globe, and even the hands supporting it, (was) suggested by the contestants. “In all, we used about seven or eight ideas—all from the students,” said Kotecki. The design was approved, work on the monument was begin immediately and this took about two months. The center shaft was carved out of a nine-ton chunk of gray granite and weighed about three tons in its final form. It stood 10 feet, 8 inches high and 2 feet square at its base. Carved into each side are the wording of one of the “Four Freedoms." (Original plans called for a flag pole to be erected but it is unclear if this was ever done.) The Tremont War Memorial, at the intersections of West 10th Street, Tremont Street and Kenilworth Street (The Tremont Triangle,) was dedicated on May 28, 1961 at 2:00 P.M. Participants were the Lincoln High School Band, Ohio Congressman Michael A. Feighan, Cleveland Mayor Anthony Celebreeze, Thirteen Ward Councilman John Bilinski, Father John Krispinsky of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Father Francis Szudacek of St. John Cantius Catholic Church and The Reverend Mr. Ludwig C. Emigholz of Pilgrim Congressional Church. ( A last minute change of speakers: The dedication address was given by U. S. Representative, Charles A. Vanik, D-21.) |
"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential
human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want--which, translated into universal terms, means econ
human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want--which, translated into universal terms, means econ