The Arcade opened in 1890. It was built at a cost of $867,000 by a company of which Stephen V. Harkness was president. The architects were Geo. H. Smith and John Eisenmann. The building is a cross between a light court and a commercial passage or shopping street. It consists of three structures: two 9-story office buildings connected by the 5-story iron-and-glass enclosed arcade. The 300-ft-long arcade is a covered light court ringed by 4 levels of balconies. The Superior Avenue front entrance features the original Richardsonian arch. The Euclid Avenue front was remodeled in 1939. The Arcade has been compared to the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele in Milan, Italy, according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
Photos courtesy of The Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery
Arcade InteriorEuclid Avenue street scene featuring the Colonial Arcade. Located at 520 Euclid Avenue, the arcade is a 439 ft interior passageway through to Prospect Avenue SE. c. 1952Interior view of the Arcade, looking from the Euclid Avenue end toward Superior Avenue. c. 1959Looking from the Euclid Avenue end toward Superior Avenue. Designed by Architects George H. Smith and John Eisenmann, the Arcade opened in 1890. c. 1895Looking from the Euclid Avenue side toward the Superior Avenue side during construction. Designed by Architects George H. Smith and John Eisenmann, the Arcade opened in 1890. c. 1899Looking south in Superior Arcade. c. 1946Ornate ironwork in the old Arcade. 1976Looking north toward the Superior Avenue end of the Arcade (401 Euclid Avenue and 412 Superior Avenue).Looking north on East 4th Street from Prospect to Euclid Avenues, showing a view of the Arcade on the north side of Euclid Avenue. Sol Bergman Diamonds and Mary Lee Candies are on the northeast corner of Prospect and East 4th. c. 1929Looking south across Euclid Avenue to the Colonial Arcade, 530 Euclid Avenue, and west to the Euclid Arcade, immediately to the right. Businesses visible on the first floor are Universal dry cleansing and dyeing, a shoe store, and a fur shop. Upper floors house dentists, tailors, a Christian Science reading room, and the Citizens Detective and Police Company. Designed by George Horatio Smith,
the Colonial Arcade was built in 1898 and connects Euclid to Prospect. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. c. 1910The Euclid Arcade at 530 Euclid avenue extends from Euclid south to Prospect. Designed by architect Franz Childs Warner, it was completed in 1911. c. 1910The Euclid Arcade at 530 Euclid avenue extends from Euclid south to Prospect. Designed by architect Franz Childs Warner, it was completed in 1911. Marshall’s Drugs is located to the right of the entrance. In this photo the Pocock Shoe Company is seen to the left of the Euclid Arcade (with a sign for its successor, the Pocock-Wolfram Shoe Company) and the W. H. Quinby store is located to the right. Automobiles and a horse and buggy are parked on the street. c. 1912The north side of Euclid Avenue below E. 6th Street, looking west. The Nottingham Block is to the right of the Arcade. c. 1899The Euclid Arcade at 530 Euclid avenue extends from Euclid south to Prospect. Designed by architect Franz Childs Warner, it was completed in 1911. Marshall’s Drugs is located to the right of the entrance. In this photo the Pocock Shoe Company is seen to the left of the Euclid Arcade (with a sign for its successor, the Pocock-Wolfram Shoe Company) and the W. H. Quinby store is located to the right. Automobiles and a horse and buggy are parked on the street. c. 1912View from East 4th Street facing northwest to Public Square. Euclid entrance to Arcade in center. c. 1914North side of Euclid from East 6th Street looking toward the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the southeastern section of Public Square. The Old Arcade is seen on the right, with Davis, Rosenblums, and Loew’s Mall farther to the east. Library print from a negative by Louis Baus. c. 1929Taken during the National Convention of Republican Clubs. Two thousand delegates and their friends attended the banquet pictured. c. 1895View is looking towards Euclid Avenue end taken from the Superior Avenue side of the Arcade . 1900
