Bridges of Northeastern Ohio: Resources at Cleveland Memory
A pathfinder to our extensive collections having to do with bridges and Civil Engineering. Includes links to the Wilbur J. and Sara Ruth Watson Bridge Book Collection, several image collections, E-books and Articles, and off-site reading.

Cleveland, Ohio Along the Nickel Plate Road
In 1926 the New York, Chicago, & St. Louis Railway (Nickel Plate or NKP) undertook a grade elimination project along its right-of-way in Cleveland. At the start of the project the NKP took a series of photographs that documented the conditions both along its right-of-way and the adjacent neighborhoods. In 1930 the NKP produced another series of photographs, this time along its right-of-way through Lakewood, Ohio, a western suburb of Cleveland. Each series of images form a rare photographic cross-section of a major American metropolitan area in the mid-1920's and early 1930's.

*Nickel Plate Road is a registered trademark of the Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society, Inc.

Cleveland Union Terminal Construction Film
A digital version of a 1928 film depicting foundation engineering work on the foundations of the Terminal Tower complex on Public Square, the Cuyahoga Viaduct and other projects for the Cleveland Union Terminal. This 16mm film, discovered at a New York area swap meet, was generously donated in 2005 to support historical research related to civil engineering and the architecture of Cleveland, Ohio.

Cleveland's First Infrastructure: The Ohio & Erie Canal
When the first section of the Ohio & Erie Canal opened on the Fourth of July 1827, a reliable passage became a reality for persons and products traveling between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. This event eased the uncertainty with which Ohio settlers lived, and redirected the course of cities and towns along its route. At the time, the Canal was hailed as a "vast and magnificent undertaking" by John Kilbourn writing in 1828, during a time when the field of civil engineering was "becoming of great importance to mankind, both in a pecuniary and political point of view..."

Construction Photographs in the Cleveland Union Terminal Collection
This site documents the construction of the Cleveland Union Terminal (CUT) on the southwest quadrant of Public Square. The CUT was designed to be the union passenger station for railroad trains entering Cleveland after 1930. The project included a complex of office buildings, a hotel, department store, and post office; all capped by the Terminal Tower, then the tallest building between New York City and Chicago. The exhibit includes two collections of black and white photographs documenting the original conditions on this land before the neighborhoods and commercial districts were demolished to make way for for the Union Terminal project.

Disasters in Cleveland History
Images of the fires, explosions, floods, and other calamities that have left their mark on the city over the years. Includes the infamous mid-20th century Cuyahoga River fires, the Collinwood School Fire of 1908; the Cleveland Clinic Disaster of 1929, the Waterworks Tunnel Disaster of 1916, and the East Ohio Gas Co. explosion and fires of 1944.

Great Lakes Industrial History Center
The Great Lakes Industrial History Center provides a resource where the public can gain an appreciation for the efforts and accomplishments of business and industry which led to the opening of the Great Lakes and the industrial development of adjacent regions and where visitors are inspired to continue the pursuit of inventiveness, ingenuity, and excellence.

King Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Company
The King Iron Bridge Co. played an important role in the development and construction of metal truss bridges, a product of American engineering and construction technology, nationwide during the latter part of the Nineteenth Century. The Company built bridges in Cleveland that include the Central Viaduct in 1888; the Center Street swing bridge in 1901, Cleveland's last remaining swing bridge; and the 591 ft. steel arch of the Detroit-Superior (Veteran's Memorial) bridge in 1918.

Naef & Joslin Company Photographs of Conneaut, Ohio
Naef & Joslin was a professional photography firm in Conneaut, Ohio. About 1900 they took several series of photographs of the docks, vessells, bulk material handling equipment and other features at the port of Conneaut.

Postcards of Cleveland
Dr. Walter C. Leedy, Jr. began his comprehensive collection of Cleveland postcards, now numbering nearly 8,000 in earnest in 1989. Leedy realized the unique value picture postcards could have to him as an architectural historian, permitting him to observe the changing urban environment, or to visually recreate what a neighborhood looked like. As Leedy puts it, "I don't really collect postcards-I collect images of life, moments in time. Nostalgia glues people to postcards. There is something intimate and direct about them. As an art historian, I think of postcards as a vehicle to introduce art to the millions-people aren't intimidated by postcards the way they might be by paintings or other "fine" art."

Railroad History Holdings at Cleveland Memory
A pathfinder to our extensive Railroad history collections, including links to the Cleveland Union Terminal Collection, Newburgh & South Shore Collection, and Nickel Plate Railroad Collections.

*Nickel Plate Road is a registered trademark of the Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society, Inc.

Wilbur & Sara Ruth Watson Bridge Book Collection
This archival collection includes over one hundred and seventy-five rare books, some dating from the eighteenth century, and fifteen albums of photographs on historic bridges. The collection is considered one of the best of its kind in the country.