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Millionaires Row

Free self-guided tour of Cleveland’s Millionaires Row on Euclid Avenue.

• Location: Euclid Avenue near downtown Cleveland, Ohio

Millionaires Row on Cleveland’s Euclid Avenue:  What was once known as “the most beautiful street in America” is now a distant memory over a century later. Cleveland’s Euclid Avenue, otherwise known as Millionaires Row, was once the residential street of some of the most influential families in American history and their lavish estates. These monstrous mansions with broad sweeping lawns, ornate architecture and wondrous landscapes used to be home to industrial tycoons and celebrated philanthropists like Rockefeller, Mather, Wade, Severance, Gund, Stone, Brush and Everett and political figures such as John Hay, Tom Johnson and Leonard Hanna. Now, only 10 homes remain on the once famed avenue. And most of those are hidden from view by the byproduct of their industrial architects – buildings.  However, you can still take a stroll down memory lane and see what’s left but do so at your own risk because this isn’t exactly Rockefeller’s neighborhood anymore.

The homes that remain in whole or in part include the following:

• Luther Allen House (7609 Euclid Avenue)
• Morris Bradley Carriage House  (7217 Euclid Avenue)
• John Henry Devereaux (3226 Euclid Avenue)
• Francis Drury House (8625 Euclid Avenue)
• Hall-Sullivan House (7218 Euclid Avenue)
• Howe Residence (2248 Euclid Avenue)
• Samuel Mather Residence (2605 Euclid Avenue)
• Stager-Beckwith House (3813 Euclid Avenue)
• Lyman Treadway House (8917 Euclid Avenue)
• H.W. White Residence (8937 Euclid Avenue)

These homes were once stunning monuments to America’s growing prosperity. Those remaining sit like relics releasing a hint of what once was “the most beautiful street in America.”

Source: The Ohio Preservation Alliance

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These 11 Nostalgic Photos Of Cleveland's Millionaire's Row Will Have You Longing For The Good Old Days

Nikki Rhoades

Nikki is a lifelong Ohioan with a love for literature. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Akron and has enjoyed publishing her written work since 2007. She has a love of travel and does so frequently, though she believes that home is where the heart is — she continues to work in and around Cleveland as a digital content specialist to this day, working on everything from commercial scripts and social media posts to grassroots marketing initiatives.

More by this Author

Cleveland owes much of its growth to its earliest and most influential industrialists, including John D. Rockefeller and John L. Severance. Not only did these intellectual men bring industry and philanthropy to the city, but they also brought with them an elite culture of glamour and elegance. Such beauty once lined Euclid Avenue in the form of breathtaking mansions, exquisite gardens, and lavish lifestyles. These 11 photos will take you back in time and make you long to see such splendor in the city once again:

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Though this gorgeous neighborhood is mostly gone these days, a few artifacts and buildings from its heyday still remain. Most of its storied past is preserved solely in photographs, which have the power to take us back in time to see the nation’s most expensive neighborhood of yore.

Love local history? These images of Cleveland’s automotive industry will leave you in awe.

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Euclid Avenue: Cleveland's Millionaire's Row

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Mather Mansion

Introduction.

Text-to-speech Audio

A painting of Mather Mansion in its younger years

The grand staircase in Mather Mansion

Backstory and Context

Mather Mansion was the largest house of the original 'Millionaire's Row': a set of mansions that sprawled down Euclid avenue from the mid to late 19th century until they began to be torn down in the early to mid-20th century. It was built in 1910 and would have rivaled even the other wealthy homes that showed off Cleveland's wealth: In addition to being the largest, it was also the most expensive home in the city during the time that it was built.

The mansion was built for Samuel Mather, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist who owned Pickands, Mather and Company, a transporter of iron ore. Mather's financial contributions to Cleveland were numerous, including the creation and funding of the city's community chest which aided a variety of humanitarian organizations and public services for the city. Today, the community chest has transformed into United Way Services of Cleveland. One source states that even Mather Mansion itself was part of a plan for Cleveland, an initiative by Mather to start a return of the city's wealthy to Millionaire's Row when many were leaving the city core and some of the larger homes were being repurposed.

Mather Mansion features the Tudor Revival Gothic style of architecture and has three stories and 43 rooms. From an enormous fountain in the dining room, to a ballroom with a 16-foot ceiling that can hold over 300 people, it was the height of luxury at its time and was meant to be impressive and comfortable, down to the smallest details. Even the steps on the staircase are spaced closer together than is normal, so that women with enormous flowing gowns would not find it too difficult to ascend them.

Today, the mansion is currently used to hold several offices for Cleveland State University, but it is also used for college and community meetings, with meeting rooms that can be rented out. Its third floor - which contains the impressive ballroom - is not open to the public and is still under the process of being renovated.

Mather Mansion: 5 Fun Facts, Engaged: Cleveland State University. 2020. Accessed May 12th 2020. https://clevelandstate.tumblr.com/post/134816228637/mather-mansion-5-fun-facts-following-an-extensive.

Mather, Samuel, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. 2020. Accessed May 12th 2020. https://case.edu/ech/articles/m/mather-samuel

Rose, Danielle. Mather Mansion: A Remnant of Millionaire's Row, Cleveland Historical. November 16th 2010. Accessed May 12th 2020. https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/87.

The Four Millionaire's Row Mansions Still Standing, Cleveland Storyteller. February 8th 2017. Accessed May 12th 2020. https://www.clevelandstoryteller.com/blog/2017/02/the-four-millionaires-row-mansions-still-standing/.

United Way Services , Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. 2020. Accessed May 12th 2020. https://case.edu/ech/articles/u/united-way-services.

Washington, Julie. Cool Spaces: Mather Mansion is one of last remaining homes on Millionaire's Row (photos) , cleveland.com. March 30th 2016. Accessed May 12th 2020. https://www.cleveland.com/insideout/2016/03/cool_spaces_mather_mansion_is_one_of_last_remaining_homes_on_millionaires_row_photos.html.

Washington, Julie. Cool Spaces: Mather Mansion is one of last remaining homes on Millionaire's Row (photos) , cleveland.com. March 30th 2016. Accessed May 12th 2020. https://www.cleveland.com/insideout/2016/03/cool_spaces_mather_mansion_is_one_of_last_remaining_homes_on_millionaires_row_photos.html.

Additional Information

• More information about Samuel Mather from Case Western University

Next Program

Next Meeting: Thurs, Mar 14, 7:30pm at Barlow Community Center. Tom Vince shares stories of Hudson’s long-lost saloons.

“The Cleveland Storyteller” to bring “Millionaire’s Row” to Life

Mark Twain called it “the grandest, most beautiful street in all the world.”

Travel guides of the time called it the “Showplace of America,” compared it to Paris’ Avenue des Champs-Élysées and designated it a must-see for tourists from Europe.

The home of financier Sylvester T. Everett, at Euclid Avenue and East 40th Street, was one of the largest mansions on Cleveland’s Millionaires’ Row.

Today, the ornate mansions, lavish gardens and unparalleled elegance of Cleveland’s “Millionaires’ Row” are a memory – at least until Dan “The Cleveland Storyteller” Ruminski brings them back to life with his spellbinding stories.

For its February program, Hudson Heritage Association welcomes Ruminski, who will share the stories of some of the 250 mansions that once lined a four-mile stretch of Euclid Avenue and of the wealthy industrialists – Rockefeller, Mather, Hanna, Stone and others – who inhabited them.

The home of John D. Rockefeller, the most famous resident of Cleveland’s Millionaires’ Row.

His presentation, “Euclid Avenue: Cleveland’s Millionaires’ Row,” will be Thursday, February 11, 2020, at 7:30 p.m. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the program will be virtual, airing on Hudson Community TV (Channel 1021) and HCTV’s online livestream (www.hudson.oh.us/1081/Watch-HCTV-Channels-Online). For those who miss the broadcast on February 11, the program will be rebroadcast and then made available on HCTV’s online archives.

From his storytelling chair, Ruminski, a retired history teacher, transports his audiences back to Cleveland’s heyday with an engaging, easy style, captivating them with illuminating tales of the people and events that transformed Cleveland into one of the world’s top cities.

Dan Ruminski, aka “The Cleveland Storyteller,” can hold an audience in the palm of his hand.

Over the course of more than a decade, Ruminski, who carefully researches all his stories, has presented to more than 50,000 people across the region.

“I want to celebrate individual Clevelanders and the great families who changed this area and the world,” said Ruminski, who lives in Wickliffe. “I want to inspire audiences and light up the hearts and minds of our region’s younger citizens, help our community find its way to a future that honors and learns from achievements of our past. I want to promote the community I loved as a boy and still do.”

“Breathing life into history through captivating storytelling – that takes special talent. And Dan Ruminski has it,” said Chris Bach, HHA’s President. “We are thrilled to be able to introduce Dan to the Hudson community and hope that his passion for history, research and storytelling rubs off on all of us.”

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24 Stunning Vintage Images of Millionaires' Row on Euclid Avenue

By Scene Staff on Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 1:48 pm

Only a few of the  Millionaires' Row homes still exist today in Cleveland. But back when the city was the sixth largest in the country, in the early 1900s, Euclid Avenue was one of the most stunning places in the world. Here's a peek back at the past.

Photos courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project

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Cleveland Scene

1422 Euclid Avenue, Suite 730

Cleveland, OH 44115

millionaires row

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A visual history of Millionaires' Row (Vintage photo gallery)

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Readers point way to Mather Mansion history (photos)

Several local history buffs have offered Cleveland State University help in learning more about the lore surrounding Mather Mansion. A Cool Spaces story published last week mentioned that CSU architect Melanie Boyd, who oversaw the university's $2.7 million renovation of Mather Mansion, wished she knew more about the craftsmen who worked on it and how the rooms were used.

Cool Spaces: Mather Mansion is one of last remaining homes on Millionaires' Row (photos)

Industrialist Samuel Mather commissioned architect Charles Schweinfurth, who designed Trinity Cathedral, to build his $1 million residence. Mather Mansion took its place alongside the mansions of Millionaires' Row, a stretch of Euclid Avenue that held the fabulous homes of John D. Rockefeller and other wealthy families.

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Check out the most expensive cars at Millionaires Row inside the 2016 Cleveland Auto Show at the I-X Center. The annual event goes through March 6, featuring some of the newest car models.

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The Allen-Sullivan House of Cleveland’s Millionaire’s Row

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Euclid Avenue

Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio stretches 19 miles from Cleveland’s Public Square to the suburb of Willoughby as a part of U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 6. Between Public Square and  the area that was once known as Millionaire’s Row, you’ll pass Playhouse Square, Cleveland State University, the famous Agora Theater and Ballroom and numerous businesses from ALDI to local coffee shops, food markets and restaurants. Today the Avenue is still one of the busiest areas leading travelers through Cleveland as it has become a main area for not only workers and business owners, but tourism to pass through the city as well. While sections of Euclid Avenue on its west end operated as thriving business districts during early years, Millionaire’s Row to the east was filled rather with beautiful homes. If we look back to the mid-1800s, we will see that today this section of the Avenue is a complete parallel to what it once was; an area where some of the wealthiest, most prominent businessmen, doctors and industrialists called home.

In fact, one of the few areas remaining along the avenue to still operate as it did during the early days of Cleveland’s growth is Playhouse Square — the country’s second largest theatre district next to New York City’s Broadway theatre district. Playhouse Square is only rivaled in size by Lincoln Center.

During Cleveland’s earlier days as a growing city, Euclid Avenue had become known as one of the most beautiful residential streets in the world, rivaling even two of the most adored streets in the world at the time —  Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris and the Unter den Linden in Berlin. During the late 19th century, the amount of combined wealth between all of the residents along the Avenue surpassed New York’s famous Fifth Avenue. 

Notable residents

People to live along the “Millionaire’s Row” section of the Avenue included John D. Rockefeller, Sylvester T. Everett, Isaac N. Pennock I (inventor of the first steel railway car in the US), Charles F. Brush (inventor of the arc light), George Worthington, Horace Weddell, US Senator Marcus Hanna, Ambrose Swasey of Warner & Swasey , Amasa Stone, John Hay (personal secretary to Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State under William McKinley), Jeptha Wade (Cleveland benefactor and founder of Western Union Telegraph), Charles Lathrop Pack, and more. Of course one of the most notable and arguably memorable names along the Avenue was the infamous Cassie Chadwick, but that’s a story for another time.

Richard N. Allen

There were once over 300 incredible homes standing along Euclid Avenue, but only a handful remain today. Among those remaining in 2020 is the grand home of Richard N. Allen, and his wife, Susan Allen; though unfortunately, the house was never designated as a historic landmark, and will not be standing for much longer as there are plans to demolish the home.

Allen was a railroad engineer known for revolutionizing passenger railway travel during the 19th century. A large portion of his wealth came from his invention of the paper car wheel, which helped to dampen wheel noise and vibrations on train cars, making for a much more pleasant ride for travelers. The wheels were constructed of wrought iron or steel with an interlayer of laminated paper. In the center of the wheels, paper was compressed and held between two plate-iron discs. These wheels were most commonly used on Pullman dining and sleeping cars.

Richard was born in Massachusetts in 1827, but would move to Cleveland for the first time around 1860. He resided in the city for a handful of years before moving back to Massachusetts. In 1867, Allen started the Allen Paper Car Wheel company with his brother-in-law, and would eventually open a factory near the Pullman Company’s factory complex in Chicago. After opening the factory, Allen would move back to Cleveland in 1881. Having built a great deal of wealth through his business ventures, he moved him and his wife into a home on Euclid Avenue, alongside some of the richest people in America.

Moving to Euclid Avenue

Initially they purchased a home formerly owned by Ephraim J. Estep, a distinguished Cleveland attorney. The home, located on the south side of the Avenue, was built by a founder of the Joseph & Feiss Company during the 1850s. It sat just a few houses away from East 71st street, which at the time was known as Giddings Avenue. At the time, the section of Euclid Avenue from Giddings to East Madison (now East 79th street) was not as wealthy or desirable of an area as the section between East 22nd and East 40th; the area officially known as “Millionaire’s Row.” While not the same level of wealth as Millionaire’s Row, the area was still quite grand and desirable. In their section of the neighborhood you could find other notable figures neighboring their home, such as Morris Bradley, heir to a shipping fortune and the feather of future Cleveland Indian’s owner Alva Bradley, Dr. Hiram Little, a physician who would eventually become one of the largest real estate developers in Cleveland, Edward Lewis, co-founder of Otis Steel Company,  J. H. Thorp, vice-president of Forest City Varnish Company, Hiram Haydn, pastor of the Old Stone Church and eventual President of Western Reserve University, and the largest coal and coke operator in the United States – William J. Rainey.

When they moved in, there were nineteen impressive homes between East 71st and East 79th streets. In a matter of about 20 years, 17 more homes were built, totaling 36. Most of the homes built during this time were of the Queen Anne architectural style, which was the most popular architectural style between 1880-1910. This architectural style included features such as fine brickwork, varied with terracotta panels, or tile-hung upper stories with white painted woodwork, or sometimes limestone detailing. Other decorative elements included oriel windows, which were often stacked one above another, corner towers, wraparound front porches, and deeply shadowed entrances among other things.

Richard and Susan build a new home

In 1887, after residing in the Estep House for six years, Richard and Susan decided to tear it down to make way for a new three-story, 9,000 square foot Queen Anne style house to be built in its place. One of the most notable architectural features of the home is an unusually wide, off-center bay on the right side of the home. The bay rises up onto the roof, almost becoming a turret, though a true turret can be found on the left side of the home’s front facade. 

Richard’s death

Unfortunately in 1890, shortly after the home’s construction was completed, Allen suddenly died at the age of 63. For the next 8 years, Susan would continue to occupy the house before moving back to Massachusetts. After she moved, the home was sold to Jeremiah J. Sullivan, Irish immigrant and founder of Central National Bank, which had become one of Cleveland’s largest banks during the twentieth century. The company is also responsible for constructing the AmTrust Financial Building in 1968, which at the time was known as the Central National Bank Building, and was the fifth-tallest building in downtown Cleveland.

When the Sullivan family moved into the home in 1898, Euclid Avenue was seeing its peak, as more of the country’s wealthiest people continued to move in. Worchester Warner & Ambrose Swasey, life-long friends and founders of Warner and Swasey, built homes next to each other. Dan Hanna, future owner and publisher of the Cleveland Leader and the Cleveland News also lived just up the street from the Sullivans.

The decline of Euclid Avenue

The Sullivans, among these other families would see not only the rise of the Avenue, but its eventual decline as well. In 1923, shortly after Jeremiah’s death, the Sullivan family moved out of the house. At this point, Euclid Avenue had already started to see a decline as Cleveland’s elite were leaving, some headed east to Cleveland Heights. This was a result of commercial businesses starting to take up much of the Avenue, and the road becoming crowded with streetcars and other traffic. A growing nearby ghetto was also a noted reason people continued to move. As the Great Depression hit, some mansions were converted to rooming houses and more wealthy residents fled the area. By 1930, only two elite families remained on Euclid Avenue in the section between East 71st and East 79th Streets–Ambrose Swasey, who lived in his home until his death in 1937, and David Z. Norton’s son, who would eventually head to Cleveland Heights in 1939 leaving the family mansion behind.

Multiple owners over the years

Throughout the twentieth century, many of the mansions were demolished, while others were put to various uses as commercial buildings, multi-family homes and institutional facilities. The Allen-Sullivan House was one of a handful of mansions saved to be repurposed, and would change hands of ownership numerous times over the following nearly 80 years. From 1923-1931, the home operated as an upscale furniture store called The Josephine Shop. In 1934, the Grand Lodge of Ohio, Order Sons of Italy (SOI) in America took over the house. The Italian-American fraternal organization made the addition of an auditorium to the back of the house, making it their Ohio Grand Lodge. The auditorium was large enough to seat 200 people. A dedication ceremony was held on June 2, 1935, which was attended by local, state and foreign dignitaries. One in attendance was the Italian ambassador. This was a historic moment for Ohio, as it was the first time that an ambassador from Italy had visited the state.

The fraternity occupied the house until 1946, when they decided to sell it to the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers, who would then open a national research laboratory there. The group known today as ASHRAE–the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, operated the research laboratory here from 1946-1961. Three years later, the property was once again sold, this time to Mary Fisco, spouse of Italian immigrant Benjamin Fisco. Benjamin restored the home to its condition as it existed during the years when it was owned by the Sons of Italy. He would then go on to open and operate a part center here known for years by the name of the Coliseum (or Colosseum) Party Center. In the late 1990s, years after Benjamin’s death in 1992, the party center was closed and the home was abandoned. Since about the year 2000, the home has sat vacant, falling into disrepair.

Set to be demolished

In 2020, the home is now slated to be demolished as the city of Cleveland looks to further develop the Midtown Corridor along Euclid Avenue. Since 2017, there have been efforts from ASHRAE to at least place an Ohio historical marker on the site of the house to commemorate their national research laboratory, which operated here from 1946-1961. This has still been met with no answer.

It’s unfortunate to see one of the few remaining grand mansions of Cleveland’s history become no more than a rotting shell of something once so lively and beautiful.  It’s even more unfortunate to know that its inevitable fate is to be reduced to a pile of dust and bricks by a wrecking ball with visions of office buildings to take its place. 

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Tour: “Campus District: Millionaires’ Row

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Teaching Cleveland Digital is a repository of writing, pictures and videos to support the teaching of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio and Ohio @ www.teachingcleveland.org. View all posts by

West Side Millionaires' Row

The History of Cleveland’s 'Millionaires' Row'

May 31, 2022 • Ralph DiMatteo • History

As with any city, there are lost gems due to a variety of reasons, but it is usually due to an ever-changing landscape, and always in the name of progress.

But in Cleveland, Millionaires' Row, the area that ran from East Ninth Street to roughly East 55 th Street, remains a fond reminder of a time when Cleveland was considered second to none when it came to world-class residences.

The Rise and Fall of Cleveland's 'Millionaires' Row'

Even though the last of this incredible, continuous row of homes with immaculate grounds were pretty much gone by the late 1930s, these magnificent structures were often compared to those on Fifth Avenue in New York in the period known as New York’s Gilded Age.

The impressive structures even became an opportunity to promote tourism to the grand city and were easily the most exclusive and sought-after addresses in the city.

The structures sat well back off the road, were picture-perfect landscaped at all times, and had unique designs and styles along with impressive and sometimes imposing gates that represented the overall importance of the owners.

You might think it was economic downturn that began the grand area’s demise, but it actually was commercial progress that began to force Cleveland’s money further out of the downtown district. This effort to attract shoppers and businesses to downtown created quite a bit of traffic and commotion that made the area much less exclusive.

Of particular interest we found is the fact that after homes were left as owners headed for the suburbs, none were ever occupied again as single-family homes.  In some cases, the mansions were so large they became impossible to maintain and began to be utilized as rooming houses and even parking lots. The last of the area in the '50s made way for what is now the Innerbelt though downtown.

The largest house that went up was owned by Standard Oil co-founder Samuel Andrews. Started in 1882 and finished in 1885 on the corner of East 30 th , it was one hundred rooms of sheer elegance that sadly was empty by 1898.

The last of the strip’s 40 mansions was built in 1910 for Samuel Mather and was also the most expensive because of the use of handcrafted stone.

It may be sad to think that such beauty may be gone forever, but you’ll be glad to know the Mather home managed to escape being demolished and is part of Cleveland State University, while one of the earliest-built mansions in 1863, The Stager-Beckwith, was bought and repurposed in 2014 by the Cleveland’s Children’s Museum.

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