Van Sweringen brothers
Encyclopedia
Shaker Heights, Ohio
Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 28,448. It is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland that abuts the city on its eastern side.-Topography:Shaker Heights is located at...
. They are better known as O.P. Van Sweringen and M.J. Van Sweringen, or by their collective nickname, the Vans. The brothers came from a farming area near Wooster, Ohio
Wooster, Ohio
Wooster is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Wayne County. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio approximately SSW of Cleveland and SW of Akron. Wooster is noted as the location of The College of Wooster...
. Their father was for a time an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
in the oil fields of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, fought in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
. The family moved to Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
in about 1890.
Neither brother married; the two shared a common bedroom in their 54-room mansion, Roundwood Manor, on the grounds of their estate, Daisy Hill, in Hunting Valley, Ohio
Hunting Valley, Ohio
Hunting Valley is an affluent village located east of Cleveland in Cuyahoga and Geauga counties in the Northeast Ohio region, the 14th largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 705...
. During their lifetimes, they seldom gave interviews or made appearances in public; however, when they did, it was always together. An overview of their accomplishments cannot be done separately as the two were inseparable during their lives.
Real estate and Shaker Heights
Prior to the establishment of Shaker Heights, OhioShaker Heights, Ohio
Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 28,448. It is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland that abuts the city on its eastern side.-Topography:Shaker Heights is located at...
, the brothers were land and building speculators in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. After being employed by others, and after suffering several early business failures, the brothers entered the real estate business. In 1909, the Van Sweringen brothers began exercising options on 1,399 acres (5.7 km²) of land formerly owned by the North Union Community of the Society of Believers, better known as the Shakers
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...
. Conceived and planned as a garden community similar to Baltimore's Roland Park
Roland Park, Baltimore, Maryland
Roland Park is the first planned "suburban" community in North America, located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was developed between 1890 and 1920 as an upper-class streetcar suburb...
, Shaker Village soon became Cleveland's most sought-after address. This was achieved through a combination of planning, design review, and convenience - all of which fell under the strict supervision of the Vans.
Street planning for the new community used curved roads instead of the more usual grid pattern of streets found in many American communities. Three tree-lined boulevards extended eastward into the country. Moreland and Shaker boulevards' center isles would be used for track bed for a planned interurban streetcar line. Both lines would share a common route from Cleveland through Shaker Square
Shaker Square
Buckeye-Shaker is a neighborhood on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. It encompasses the old Buckeye neighborhood and Shaker Square neighborhood, the latter of which is centered around an historic shopping district and an eponymous rapid transit station, located at the intersection of Shaker and...
(recognized as the second modern planned shopping center in the United States) where they would divide onto their own routes. The Vans designated Shaker Boulevard as a grand boulevard of mansions, fronted by generous setbacks from the interurban tracks. Higher-density luxury apartments were planned for Moreland Boulevard, which was renamed Van Aken Boulevard in honor of the city's first mayor.
Building in Shaker was controlled by a set of restrictive covenant
Restrictive covenant
A restrictive covenant is a type of real covenant, a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property...
s and building guidelines established by the Vans and known as Shaker Standards. Shaker Standards prevented the community from being developed in any way contrary to how the Vans intended. Standards limited commercial development, rental property development, and residence style and size. Standards set roof slope angles, materials, finishes, and garage placement. All residences were required to be unique and designed by an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. Duplex
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
residences in the community were restricted to designated areas and were required to follow guidelines designed to give the impression that a structure was a single-family home. By 1920, the Vans controlled more than 4,000 acres (16 km²) in the community, which reached city status in 1931. Since lots sold slowly, the brothers concluded that Shaker Heights needed a transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
ation system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
between the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
and downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
.
From trolley to Rapid to Terminal Tower
In 1913, the Vans established the Cleveland Interurban Railroad, which managed the operation of their street car lines in what is now Cleveland Heights, OhioCleveland Heights, Ohio
Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cleveland. The city's population was 46,121 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Cleveland Heights is located at ....
. In order to provide convenience to residents of Shaker Heights, the Vans planned a high-speed interurban styled electric rail line, which was christened Shaker Heights Rapid Transit and commonly known as the Rapid. This prompted the Vans to purchase land in the vicinity of Public Square in downtown Cleveland as early as 1909 to provide a terminus for their rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
line. Their Rapids could travel at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), but the line could not be moved farther west than 34th Street.
In order to meet the Vans' guidelines that the Rapid would not travel in street traffic, the brothers bought a 51% interest in the 523-mile (842-km) New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...
(Nickel Plate) in 1915 from the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
. The route gave the Vans an unobstructed path to downtown Cleveland. From this acquisition, the Vans formed the Nickel Plate Securities Corporation, from which they would use investor money to buy a controlling interest in other major United States rail companies. At their zenith in 1928, the Vans controlled 30,000 miles (50,000 km) of rail worth $3 billion, nearly all of it purchased through credit. Lines under their control included the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
, Pere Marquette Railway
Pere Marquette Railway
The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. The railroad had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Buffalo; Toledo; and Chicago.The company was...
, Hocking Valley Railway
Hocking Valley Railway
The Hocking Valley Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Ohio, with a main line from Toledo to Athens and Pomeroy via Columbus. It also had several branches to the coal mines of the Hocking Valley near Athens...
, and Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
. They managed to control this huge (for the time) system by a maze of holding companies (including the Alleghany Corporation) and interlocking directorships.
To solve the problem of the passenger station, the Vans purchased more rights-of-way that gave them access to area below the southwest corner of Cleveland's Public Square. Again, the Vans planned another city within a city to solve their rail dilemma; the result was the Union Terminal Complex, a mix of high-rise offices, shopping, and hotel aboveground, with a train depot and rapid station below grade. The centerpiece of this massive complex was named Terminal Tower
Tower City Center
Tower City Center is a large mixed-use facility located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including the landmark Terminal Tower, a shopping mall, two hotels, and the main hub of Cleveland's three rapid transit lines...
, which was the second tallest skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in the United States at the time of its completion.
The Terminal Tower
The Van Sweringens realized that if their plans for a Public Square station were to succeed, they would have to include all the electric railways -- streetcars, rapid transit, and interurban lines -- as well as local freight and warehousing facilities. Following the suggestion of an official of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, they added plans to include steam railways.
On March 1, 1917, the engineers of the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
, the Nickel Plate, and the Cleveland Terminal Company reported that a new freight-and-passenger terminal located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland would be economical. The plan provided twelve stub-end tracks for the steam passenger trains, with loops for local and interurban cars above. The space above the tracks was to be developed for stores and office buildings.
In 1918, A.H. Smith
Alfred Holland Smith
Alfred Holland Smith was the President of New York Central Railroad from January 1914 to May 1918 and from June 1919 until his death. The entirety of Smith's forty-five year career was dedicated to the railroads...
, the Eastern Director of the United States Railroad Administration
United States Railroad Administration
The United States Railroad Administration was the name of the nationalized railroad system of the United States between 1917 and 1920. It was possibly the largest American experiment with nationalization, and was undertaken against a background of war emergency.- Background :On April 6, 1917, the...
and the president of the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, asked whether or not the proposed facility could be sufficiently enlarged to include the railroads using the lakefront station. Thus, it was Smith who initiated the idea for a "Union Station" on Public Square. In 1919, the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
withdrew from the project. Smith, in his capacity as the president of the NYCRR, allied with the Van Sweringens, and fiercely opposed Pennsylvania Railroad.
In 1923, the Van Sweringens announced their plans to build The Terminal Tower
Tower City Center
Tower City Center is a large mixed-use facility located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including the landmark Terminal Tower, a shopping mall, two hotels, and the main hub of Cleveland's three rapid transit lines...
(a tall building to increase office space) over the Union Station to compare to the Woolworth Building
Woolworth Building
The Woolworth Building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in New York City. More than a century after the start of its construction, it remains, at 57 stories, one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It was necessary to design the buildings to avoid vibrations from the trains below. Construction began in 1926 as 16 caissons each went down 200 to 250 feet (60 to 75 m) to support the weight of the building. Construction was completed in 1930.
In 1973, Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
chose to move out of the station, instead serving a small station along the lake route, ending intercity service to the station, though Cleveland Rapid Transit continued its local services. In 1975, the Rapid and other municipal rail and bus routes were combined under the auspices of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is the public transit agency for Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and the surrounding suburbs of Cuyahoga County. RTA is the largest transit agency in Ohio, providing over 44 million trips to residents and visitors of the Cleveland area in 2010...
. The station area was converted into a shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
known as Tower City Center
Tower City Center
Tower City Center is a large mixed-use facility located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including the landmark Terminal Tower, a shopping mall, two hotels, and the main hub of Cleveland's three rapid transit lines...
, which opened in 1990.
Terminal Tower facts
- Construction began in 1926.
- Dedicated in 1930.
- 52 floors, 708 feet (216 m) tall (second tallest building in the world when completed in 1930).
- Tallest building outside of New York City until 1967.
- There is a 63-foot (19-m) flagpole at the top, taking it to 771 feet (235 m).
- Function of the Terminal Tower is office space, hotel, retail space, and Union Station.
- More than 1,000 buildings were taken down to build the Tower Complex.
- Several streets were eliminated and others were built during the development of the complex.
- 2.5 million cubic yards (1,900,000 m³) of material was removed from the tower site, making it the second largest excavation project in the world at that time.
Brothers to the end
The fortunes of the Vans rose in the 1920s. By 1929, their holdings were valued at $3 billion, mostly as a result of the high valuation of stocks on the New York Stock ExchangeNew York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
. Their house of cards tumbled when the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
began, causing the Van Sweringen companies to falter in the 1930s. While Shaker Heights rose to join the ranks of Beverly Hills and Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
, the rail empire suffered financial difficulties. Loans were foreclosed upon and assets were sold to meet interest payments for their debts.
M.J. Van Sweringen's health began to decline in 1934, and he died on December 12, 1934. O.P. Van Sweringen was quoted as saying: "I don’t know what to do, or how to do it, or where to go from here." O.P. died on board a train near Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
of coronary thrombosis on November 22, 1936. At the time of his death, O.P. was worth less than $3,000.
The brothers are buried together in Cleveland's Lakeview Cemetery under a tombstone that reads: "Brothers".