- HubPages»
- Travel and Places»
- Visiting North America»
- United States»
- Ohio
The Perry Payne Building, Cleveland, Ohio
The Perry Payne Building, overlooking the western end of Superior Avenue in Cleveland’s historic Warehouse District, and directly opposite the Frank J. Lausche State Office Building, was rightly viewed in its day as an architectural masterpiece.
Erected in 1889, this fine structure clad in reddish stone rode the cusp of architectural evolution from the load-bearing masonry building to the structural steel frame building. Large areas of glass punctuate its eight-story load-bearing exterior walls, while the building’s internal framing consisted of iron posts supporting floors of tile on concrete.
The orthogonal mass of the building shell is softened both by a ninth-floor central gallery and by twin balconies projected over the heavily-columned central front building entrance. But the structure’s most dramatic space was its grand eight-story-high interior light court, roofed in glass and ringed by offices about the building perimeter. For years after its completion, visiting architects, builders and others would marvel at that interior atrium. It has, unfortunately, long since been filled in, and many of the building’s exterior window openings have been bricked down to reduced dimensions.
The Perry Payne Building was built by the prominent railroad executive and lawyer Henry B. Payne, and named for himself and his wife (maiden name: Perry). It initially housed the offices of iron-ore and shipping companies operating throughout the Warehouse District and Cleveland’s Flats. The building is situated in the heart of Cleveland’s downtown, just west of Public Square. It is thus within ready walking distance of Tower City Center, Key Center, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland Browns Stadium and Progressive Field.
Designed by the respected architectural firm of Cudell and Richardson, the building represented a clear advancement of design principles evident in their earlier Cleveland work on the Root & McBride (Bradley) Building on West 6th Street and the Worthington Building on St. Clair Avenue. Left vacant for decades, the Perry Payne Building was renovated in 1995 into more than 90 loft-style apartments under the design guidance of local restoration architects Robert C. Gaede and Jonathan Sandvick.
For great apartment/loft living at the very heart of the city!
- The Warehouse District, Cleveland, Ohio
The area recognized today as Clevelands historically significant Warehouse District began in fact as the citys prime residential zone. - Cleveland's Flats District
One might consider the Flats District an embodiment of Clevelands conflicted, scrappy and slowly maturing youth. - The Rockefeller Building, Cleveland, Ohio
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this 17-story office building is named for John D. Rockefeller. - Cleveland's Society for Savings Building
One of the first true skyscrapers of Cleveland looms above Public Square. - Courthouse Square, Cleveland, Ohio
Courthouse Square, Cleveland, Ohio Courthouse Square is a 100,000 square foot office building erected in 1914 at the northwest corner of Lakeside Avenue and West Third Street in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. This six-story brick structure is... - Howard M. Metzenbaum U. S. Courthouse
Howard M. Metzenbaum U. S. Courthouse, Cleveland, Ohio This fine and historic structure in the heart of Cleveland’s downtown has been known over time as Old Federal Building and Courthouse, and the Federal Building and U. S. Courthouse. Its formal... - Cleveland's 200 Public Square
Built as the North American headquarters of global energy giant BP, this high-rise in Cleveland is now home to local Huntington Bank. - 75 Public Square, Cleveland, Ohio
75 Public Square, Cleveland, Ohio For forty-three years after its completion in 1915, this finely crafted 15-story high-rise office building at the northwestern corner of Public Square served as the headquarters of the Cleveland Electric... - Cuyahoga County Courthouse
Cuyahoga County Courthouse, Cleveland, Ohio Entering the heart of Cleveland’s Public Square along Ontario Street, one cannot miss the Beaux-Arts mass of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, for it blocks the terminus of Ontario Street from the city’s... - Alexander Hamilton Statue, Cleveland, Ohio
Alexander Hamilton Statue, Cleveland, Ohio This statue is one of twin sculptures flanking the entrance to the Cuyahoga County Courthouse on Lakeside Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. Created by sculptor Karl Bitter, the piece depicts a seated Alexander... - Cleveland City Hall
This is but one of a half-dozen major public structures of Beaux-Arts styling that was built in conformance with Cleveland's first grand master plan of the early 20th Century.
