Cleveland Trust Tower (original) (raw)

The Cleveland Trust Tower was built in 1971 to accomodate the offices of Cleveland Trust. Noted Modern architect Marcel Breuer was responsible for the design. Breuer was initially widely known for his efforts in furniture design. Other buildings designed by Breuer include the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

The tower's entrance is located on East Ninth Street, though its address is listed as 900 Euclid. The facade of the structure is composed primarily of black granite and concrete window forms which create a distinctive presence on the downtown skyline. The southern facade features a "cut out" on the tower's cornice. The original plans for the tower included a "twin" to be constructed on the site of the 1010 Euclid Avenue building. Those plans never materialized - however the existing tower retains infrastructure which would have been utilized by tenants in the second phase.

The Cleveland Trust bank eventually became Ameritrust. Ameritrust was acquired by Society Bank, which merged with KeyBank. The tower is adjacent to the historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda, a landmark designed by George B. Post. When the tower and Rotunda were no longer used, the buildings sat vacant for almost a decade. The entire complex (Tower, Rotunda, low-rise building, and parking garage) was purchased in September 2005 for $21,700,000 by the Cuyahoga County commissioners as the location of the new county administrative center. After solicting proposals from a limited pool of architecture firms, the commissioners have selected a team comprised of Kohn, Pedersen, Fox and Cleveland-based Robert P. Madison International. This group's proposal includes the demolition of the Cleveland Trust Tower on the grounds that the tower's floorplates are inefficient and that a newer structure would be aesthetically more appealing. Opponents of demolition suggest that the tower is an important landmark by a well-regarded architect, and that preservation would result in substantial savings of taxpayer funds.

View of the tower from the south on East 9th Street.

View of the tower from the south on East 9th Street, showing the parking garage, also designed by Marcel Breuer.

View of the tower from the northeast, from Euclid Avenue.

View of the tower from the north, showing the historic rotunda.

View of the tower from the west, from the Terminal Tower observation deck.

View of the tower facade from East 9th Street.

View of the low-rise section and skybridge at East 9th Street and Prospect Avenue.

View of the tower's East 9th Street entrance.

View of the tower's cornerstone, located at the East 9th Street entrance.

View of the tower's East 9th Street entrance.

Detail view of the tower from the south on East 9th Street, showing the "cut out" along the cornice.

View of the tower lobby.

View of the 1010 Euclid Building from Euclid Avenue, which would have been demolished for the second phase of the Cleveland Trust Tower.

View from East 9th and Euclid, showing the tower under construction.

View from the Rose Building, showing the tower site and Rotunda building.

Rendering showing the second phase of the Cleveland Trust Tower (left side of image).

View showing the tower under construction, with Marcel Breuer in the foreground.

Relevant links about the Cleveland Trust Tower

Improvised Schema - Blog entry featuring renderings of the proposed Cuyahoga County Administration structure.
TOI Studio - Blog entry The Design Rag - Blog entry Article by Steven Litt, Art and Architecture critic of the Plain Dealer