Morgan, Garrett, House
Why it's listed
This modest two-story frame house at 5202 Harlem Avenue in Cleveland was the home of inventor and businessman Garrett Morgan from 1904 until his death in 1963. The building is a late nineteenth century vernacular structure, long in proportion to the width of its facade, with a gable roof of slate and a stone foundation. Its only notable feature is a later front porch with four round columns on a masonry base, and the original horizontal wood siding is now covered with imitation brick asphalt siding. Morgan worked with textile machinery and started a clothing manufacturing business here, along with the Morgan Hair Refining Company. He patented a safety helmet, an early gas mask, in 1912, and it was used in a dramatic rescue in 1916. He also invented an electric traffic signal in 1923 and founded the Cleveland Call in 1920, forerunner of the Call and Post. The house sits on an older residential street in the heart of a Black neighborhood, opposite a large clothing factory. It is listed as vacant.
Significance in brief: The house is tied to Garrett Morgan (1877-1963), an inventor and businessman who lived here for nearly sixty years. He began his clothing manufacturing and hair refining businesses here, patented a safety helmet in 1912 and an electric traffic signal in 1923, and founded the Cleveland Call in 1920. The reviewer's comments indicate it appears to meet Criterion B.
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) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82001369, listed December 17, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 5202 Harlem Ave., Cleveland |
|---|---|
| County | Cuyahoga County |
| Listed | December 17, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001369 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1904-1963 |
| Architectural style | Vernacular |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Invention |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as vacant; interior in fair condition and exterior in poor condition. The original wood siding is covered with imitation brick asphalt siding, and a front porch was added later. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.51485, -81.65309 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82001369.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.