{"nrhp_refnum":"87002287","name":"Cleveland Municipal Stadium","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Erieview Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cleveland","county":"Cuyahoga County","state":"OH","lat":41.50879802600005,"lon":-81.69742608584343,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-11-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large double-deck stadium on Erieview Drive on the Cleveland lakefront, built in 1930-31 and designed by the architectural firm Walker and Weeks, with engineering by Osborn Engineering Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the stadium reflects the architectural diversity of Walker and Weeks and is part of Cleveland's Group Plan and the major building projects of the 1930s. It also notes that it hosted some of the nation's largest outdoor events and helped build Cleveland's professional sports franchises. Its extensive use of aluminum is described as a departure in stadium construction.","narrative":"Cleveland Municipal Stadium is a mammoth double-deck structure on the Lake Erie shoreline, built in 1930-31 to hold about 80,000 people for football and to host baseball, boxing, opera, religious gatherings and other public events. Its exterior is mottled gray brick over reinforced concrete and steel, with an upper level set back and clad in aluminum louvers. The architects, Walker and Weeks, used the aluminum and the set-back design to reduce the apparent height of the 116-foot building against the sky and lake. Proposed in 1925 as part of Cleveland's Group Plan, it was completed during the Depression and became a focal point for large events, including a 1935 religious service that drew more than 125,000 people. It became home to the Indians baseball team and the Browns football team. The adjoining Donald Gray Gardens survive as a remnant of the 1936 Great Lakes Exposition. Later improvements added loges, seating and a new playing surface.","period_of_significance":"1930-31","architect_builder":"Walker and Weeks; A. Donald Gray (landscape, Donald Gray Gardens)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as an entertainment and recreation facility; altered with improvements including luxury loges, new seats, a scoreboard and a lowered playing surface, though the structure has undergone relatively few major changes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.330768-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/87002287.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002287/3ca6e2925a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002287/3ca6e2925a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Wasted Time R (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ClevelandMunicipalStadium1993Interior.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Wasted Time R (talk)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ClevelandMunicipalStadium1993Interior.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987620","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Stadium","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2113078"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/cuyahoga-county/cleveland-municipal-stadium-87002287/"}