{"nrhp_refnum":"73001408","name":"Cleveland Arcade","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"401 Euclid Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cleveland","county":"Cuyahoga County","state":"OH","lat":41.49956992400007,"lon":-81.69307023699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-03-20","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1975-05-15","areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A modified Richardsonian Romanesque commercial arcade at 401 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, built from May 1888 to May 30, 1890, and designed by John Eisenmann and George H. Smith.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the Arcade as the largest and tallest building of its type attempted in the United States at the time. Eisenmann's engineering carried the arch thrust through floor beams to masonry walls, and heavy spread footings on quicksand have settled less than half an inch. It is also called the forerunner of the modern shopping center and a social center of the city.","narrative":"Cleveland Arcade is a five-tier shopping and office building linking Euclid Avenue and Superior Street in downtown Cleveland. Built between May 1888 and May 1890 for $876,000, it was designed by John Eisenmann, an engineer and Case School professor, with architect George H. Smith, and built by the Detroit Bridge Company. A 300-foot esplanade is surrounded by galleries and topped by a glass and steel skylight 104 feet above ground. The site dropped twelve feet between the two streets, and Eisenmann turned the slope into two street levels joined by a staircase. Rather than using horizontal tie rods, he sent the arch thrust through floor beams into stiff masonry walls, and interior columns rest on stone footings spread over quicksand. Described as the largest and tallest arcade of its type attempted in the United States, it housed shops, restaurants and over three hundred offices, and it hosted a Republican Clubs convention in 1895. Its interior retains cast iron, mosaic floors, marble and brass.","period_of_significance":"1888-1890","architect_builder":"Designed by John Eisenmann and George H. Smith; constructed by the Detroit Bridge Company","architectural_style":"Modified Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked excellent and altered; the first two floors hold commercial stores and the upper levels serve as business offices. The Euclid Avenue entrance was altered in the 1940s and is no longer arched.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.719797-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/73001408.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001408/8f69198c5f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001408/8f69198c5f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Erik Drost","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleveland_Arcade_(16474788975).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Erik Drost</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleveland_Arcade_(16474788975).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"02000702","name":"Euclid Avenue Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/euclid-avenue-historic-district-02000702/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987652","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Arcade","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5132057"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/cuyahoga-county/cleveland-arcade-73001408/"}