Riverside Cemetery Building
Why it's listed
Standing at the entrance to Riverside Cemetery in Cleveland, this stone building was erected in 1896 as the cemetery office. The cemetery opened in 1876 on 102 acres of the former Brainard farm. The one-story building is built of red sandstone, a rare material, and has a hip roof of red tile, a conical-roofed round tower, pinnacled dormers and pointed hoodmoldings with fleur-de-lis finials. Stone buttresses, round and segmental arches and its massive form recall the Romanesque. Inside, the rooms are richly panelled in oak. Designed by Charles Hopkinson, a Cleveland architect known for public school buildings, it is probably his most significant surviving work. It was planned to add to the picturesque quality of the cemetery and to serve as offices and meeting space, while also working visually as a grand gateway. Cleveland has earlier Gothic Revival cemetery gatehouses, but no later ones as exuberant or finely detailed.
Significance in brief: The building is a rare late nineteenth-century example of cemetery architecture in Cleveland, with exuberant and finely detailed Chateauesque and Romanesque features. It was designed to enhance the picturesque character of the cemetery and acts as a gatehouse at its entrance. It is also described as probably the most significant surviving work of Cleveland architect Charles Hopkinson.
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 87000445, listed March 19, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 3607 W. Twenty-fifth St., Cleveland |
|---|---|
| County | Cuyahoga County |
| Listed | March 19, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87000445 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Hopkinson, E.O.; Schwaegerl, landscape architects; builder unknown |
| Architectural style | Chateauesque |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Exterior condition listed as good; interior condition unknown. Still used as the cemetery office. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 41.45575, -81.70003 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 87000445.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q28153610
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.