The 925 Building is the most underutilized historic building in the state of Ohio.
That sentence best summarizes the long-running interest developer Tom Mignona, the vice president of the Millennia Co., has in what’s now called The Centennial. In early April, Mignona hyped up the soon-to-start makeover of the former Union Trust headquarters/Huntington Building. The build, slated to begin this fall, will be tremendously difficult and lengthy, with a price-tag of around $500 million.
Besides a dire activation of the East 9th-Euclid Ave. intersection’s final vacant building, there will be a combined 584 units of market-rate and “workforce” housing, an upscale restaurant, a luxury hotel, an auto museum, a cocktail lounge-situated-in-a-bank-vault (you get the idea).
Millennia took Scene on a tour of the first three floors, and the 21st floor ballroom, to get a taste of what could be rejuvenated come 2027. And what grandeur once existed and might again.
The south section of 925’s first floor will most likely become The Centennial’s main restaurant, in a style akin to the Marble Room further down Euclid Avenue. Credit: Mark OpreaThe northernmost part of the atrium is slated to become a historical car museum. Credit: Mark Oprea925’s Corinthian columns extend to highlight one of the murals by Jules Guerin, an artist who also painted similar murals at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Credit: Mark OpreaThe building’s northern lobby, which runs parallel to Chester Avenue, extends 304 feet. It was also once home to Steamship Row, a conglomeration of travel agencies known to book a huge percentage of Clevelaners’ overseas travels. Credit: Mark OpreaOriginal office decals are relics of the lobby’s past usage. Credit: Mark OpreaThe lobby’s Corinthian columns, designed by a Chicago-based architectural group called Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, will be restored in the coming renovation. Credit: Mark OpreaA room in the Executive area of 925 on the building’s third floor, which will be a part of The Centennial’s luxury hotel. Credit: Mark OpreaThough 925 is for the most part vacant, save for Huntington Bank on its first floor, its chief of security has witnessed a handful of attempted break-ins. Credit: Mark OpreaThe main hall of 925’s Executive Suite. Credit: Mark OpreaAn entrance to the former Executive Suite, which will most likely become a check-in area for the future hotel. Credit: Mark OpreaAll of 925’s brass ornamentation will be restored to its glory, Millenia said. Credit: Mark OpreaAnachronistic advertisements populate the building, along with a helping of deserted shoeshine parlors. Credit: Mark OpreaA mini retail hub occupies the building’s basement, akin to those found at The Arcade and the Halle Building. It’s likely Millennia will add new retail spaces, or expand dining options to the basement floor. Credit: Mark OpreaThe bank vault, which possesses 5,668 empty safe deposit boxes, will be home to a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge in the future, Millennia said. Credit: Mark OpreaAdjacent to the basement retail area, the vault should be one of The Centennial’s prized assets when the public can see it in 2027. Credit: Mark OpreaThe vault, the largest of its kind in Cleveland, was the source of inspiration for local author D.M. Pulley’s 2015 novel, The Dead Key. Credit: Mark OpreaDid we mention this will be wallpaper for The Centennial’s future cocktail lounge? Credit: Mark OpreaThe 5,668th box. Credit: Mark OpreaThe 21st floor ballroom, which was once host to a private men’s club and then a party room in the 1990s, will exist adjacent to a fleet of market-rate apartments. Credit: Mark OpreaDowntown views. Underutilized—until now. Credit: Mark Oprea
Mark Oprea is a staff writer at Scene. He's covered Cleveland for the past decade, and has contributed to TIME, NPR, Narratively, the Pacific Standard and the Cleveland Magazine. He's the winner of two Press Club awards.
