Best of Cleveland
Best Window on History
1890 at the Arcade
In 1890, it cost big spenders Marcus Hanna, John D. Rockefeller, and Louis Severance close to $1 million to build the glass, brass, and iron engineering marvel that is the Cleveland Arcade. A century later, it cost more than three times that amount to restore it. Yet it's impossible to put a price tag on this one-of-a-kind tribute to Victorian opulence, or to imagine downtown without its remarkable architecture. On the other hand, it's entirely possible to grab a seat in the lounge or dining room at 1890, the Hyatt Regency's contemporary restaurant near the Arcade's Superior Avenue entrance, and soak up the sights, a glass of wine in one hand and a forkful of, say, truffle-scented rib-eye steak in the other. Suddenly, history's not so boring after all.
