West 25th Street-Detroit Avenue Historic District
The National Park Service has not published a boundary polygon for this district; the map shows the listed properties inside it and the district's reference point.
Why it's listed
Located at the intersection of Detroit Avenue and West 25th Street in Cleveland, this district marks a major entrance from downtown into Ohio City. It contains 16 buildings from 1836 to about 1960, mostly brick commercial and industrial structures. The oldest is St. John's Episcopal Church, a Gothic Revival sandstone building from 1836 designed by Hezekiah Eldridge. Other features include the former Baehr Brewery complex, the Italianate and Neo-Classical commercial blocks, the Cudell & Richardson-designed Seymour Block, the 1904 Forest City Savings and Trust Building with its former streetcar subway entrance, and the 1924 Lather's Union Building. The area developed as the Superior Viaduct (1878) and the High Level Bridge (1917) linked it to downtown. A 1953 tornado damaged the southern buildings, including the Odd Fellows building, which lost its upper floors. The period of significance runs from 1836 to 1954, covering the district's growth and the changes that followed the tornado and the end of streetcar service.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | 1836-1954 |
|---|---|
| Styles | Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Italianate, Late 19th/Early 20th Century American Commercial, Neo-Classical Revival |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Industry, Transportation |
| Acreage | 5.7 |
| Boundary source | not published |
| Full listing page | West 25th Street-Detroit Avenue Historic District (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.