{"nrhp_refnum":"83001954","name":"Universal Terminal Company Dock and Warehouse","other_names":["Nicholson Cleveland Terminal"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5451 N. Marginal Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cleveland","county":"Cuyahoga County","state":"OH","lat":41.52996594000007,"lon":-81.65527529599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-09-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story reinforced concrete marine terminal and automobile warehouse on the Lake Erie shoreline at 5451 North Marginal Road, Cleveland, built in 1929 for the Universal Terminal Company.","why_significant":"It is associated with Cleveland's early twentieth-century commercial and navigation history as a lake port. It is the only marine terminal in Cleveland designed exclusively for unloading and warehousing automobiles. Its Tudor-style brick facade carries concrete ornament symbolizing its function, and it later served as a newsprint depot.","narrative":"Built in 1929 on filled land beside Lake Erie in Cleveland, this four-story reinforced concrete building served as a dock and warehouse for automobiles shipped by steamship from Detroit. The Universal Terminal Company, tied to the Nicholson shipping interests of Detroit, put it up in about three months, from August to October 1929. The trapezoidal structure measures 100 by 550 feet, with a concrete dock along its west side. Its red brick front is loosely Tudor in style and carries concrete reliefs of anchors, a steamship and a winged automobile tire. Cars were used through 1957, when railroads took over the business with multi-level cars. The building then became a major depot for newsprint serving Cleveland's newspapers and other Ohio dailies. A large steel-frame addition was added in 1964, and some windows and doors were blocked, though the building still resembles its early appearance. It is listed for its role in Cleveland's lake commerce and transportation.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1929)","architect_builder":"Hunkin-Conkey Construction Company/The American Construction Company","architectural_style":"Tudor (described as vaguely Tudor in style) with industrial concrete construction","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied by commercial tenants and used for warehousing; the fourth floor is unoccupied. Condition is listed as good and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.113889-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/83001954.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001954/672656a1b6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001954/672656a1b6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LeeG7144","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Universal_Terminal.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">LeeG7144</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Universal_Terminal.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987837","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137699133"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/cuyahoga-county/universal-terminal-company-dock-and-warehouse-83001954/"}