Cleveland Police Historical Society & Museum:
The Cleveland Memory Project
BROWSE ALL IMAGES IN THIS COLLECTION
Radio-equipped "Flying Squad" vehicle & crew, 1920's.
First motorcycle policemen and their bikes in 1934.
1915 White Motors truck used as a Cleveland Police Ambulance.
Eleventh Police Precinct station house on East 105th St., 1938.
Mounted Unit on Parade on Public Square, 1950's.
Bullet-riddled car at Cleveland crime scene, 1932.
Cleveland Police Department, 1868.
Cleveland Police Women, 1936.
Inspired by a visit to Scotland Yard’s Black Museum in London, England, Cleveland Police Detective Robert Bolton convinced Chief William Hanton that Cleveland should have its own police museum. Subsequently, Detective Bolton, Chief Hanton, Deputy Chief Lloyd Patterson, and Deputy Chief Richard Kazmir incorporated The Cleveland Police Historical Society in May 1983 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
One month later, the Cleveland Police Museum opened its doors in the Justice Center. The museum features exhibits documenting the history of the Cleveland Police from its inception in 1866 through to the present day. Popular topics include the infamous Kingsbury Run Torso Murders, Eliot Ness and early policing techniques.
Since its foundation in 1983, the Cleveland Police Historical Society and Museum is where Cleveland’s law and order are always preserved.
About the Collection
The Cleveland Police Historical Society collects, preserves and interprets artifacts, archives and photographs that cover the entire history of the Cleveland Police Department, from its earliest days in the 1800s to today. The growing collection of images chosen to be shared on Cleveland Memory include a variety of subjects, including:
Cleveland Police patrolman Robert Kern directing traffic in the rain, c. 1920.
- The Cleveland Police Historical Society & Museum website
- The Cleveland Police Department article from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
- Cleveland Police Museum Facebook page
- Crime Scene Cleveland, a pathfinder to Cleveland Memory photos, ebooks, archival video footage and articles relating to
- the Kingsbury Run Torso Murders
- the Danny Greene bombing.
- Eliott Ness, Cleveland Safety Director 1935-1942
- The Hough Riots, Images, ebooks, and further reading about the 1966 Hough Riots.
- The Glenville Shootout, images, ebooks, archival video footage about the Glenville Shootout of 1968.
- The Glenville Shootout and the Trial of Fred Ahmed Evans Part of our Legal Landmarks in Cleveland History series, this comprehensive site contains photographs, legal documents, newspaper articles and a detailed account of the legal proceedings against the local Black militant charged with inciting a full-scale gun battle between Cleveland police and Black snipers in 1968, in which three Cleveland police officers were killed.
Related Links & Further Reading
Related Cleveland Memory Images and Material
Acknowledgements
The Cleveland Police Museum is digitizing our photographs, supported in part by an award from the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board, through funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), National Archives and Records Administration.
