This 1951 postcard shows the Euclid Beach Park arch from the waning years of the amusement park’s heyday. The arch is being relocated and preserved in a new public park adjacent to this location in Cleveland’s North Collinwood neighborhood (Cleveland Public Library). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Plans for historic arch show new park site
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s Office of Capital Projects is ready to start work on relocating and rehabilitating a gateway arch from the historic Euclid Beach Park to its planned new home a few feet away. That home is a new greenspace in the 15900 block of Lake Shore Blvd. in Cleveland’s North Collinwood neighborhood, with trees and walkways and the landmark arch spanning the main walkway lined with benches.
Detailed architectural plans for relocating the 104-year-old arch to a new Euclid Beach Arch Park were made public on Friday by the Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects and its project architect Bialosky Cleveland. The plans, as part of construction permit application, were submitted to the Building Department’s Web portal for review and approval.
The arch spans East 159th Street which is the access road for several high-rise apartment complexes that were built on the site of the former amusement park that closed in 1969. In recent years, several cars have struck the arch or the bollards intended to protect it from vehicle strikes. The new park is across Lake Shore Boulevard from land for which the city will request redevelopment proposals. And it is west of the Euclid Beach Mobile Home Community that is to be redeveloped.
In submitting the plans, Ryan Parsons, a senior associate at Bialosky, noted the work involves “Relocation of the existing Euclid Beach Arch, including the removal of the existing exterior stone finish, the addition of new sheathing and new concrete foundations. New exterior finishes and electrical power will be addressed in a future construction phase and submitted under separate cover.”
Cost for this phase of work is estimated at $200,000, the permit application shows, with the entire project and new park projected to cost about $800,000. The project is being funded by a $54 million city bond issue for capital improvements to city parks, recreation centers, other public facilities and streets. Upon completion, the arch will be illuminated from the ground and stand behind a flagpole plaza near Lake Shore Boulevard.
Site plan for the Euclid Beach Arch Park in the 15900 block of Lake Shore Boulevard shows the new location for the historic arch as well as its current location spanning East 159th Street. The plans also show other proposed park features, landscaping, proposed types of trees and hedges (Bialosky).
If the permit application is approved by the building department in a timely manner, it is possible that work might begin on removing the arch by this summer. City Planning Commission signed off on the project in December. City officials said during a presentation to the commission that the arch is being moved to improve the right of way of East 159th to accommodate deliveries by large trucks. And the arch cannot structurally survive being transported much farther than it will be.
The 1.55-acre park land at 15891 Lake Shore is being donated by the McDonald’s Real Estate Co. to the city. The land held a McDonald’s fast food restaurant until it was demolished in 2015 by C&J Contractors of Cleveland. All structures including the restaurant’s foundations were removed and backfilled with clean fill. The restaurant’s utility connections were capped, public records show.
The arch stands as one of the last, most visible remnants of Euclid Beach Park, an amusement park incorporated in 1895 and leased to the Humphrey family which opened the park in 1901. City records indicate the current arch was constructed in 1921 to replace a smaller gateway arch that preceded it. Built out of wood, the current arch was designed to resemble an “H” for the “Humphrey” family. The sign originally read “Humphrey Park.”
But in 1942, the arch was significantly rebuilt with a “Perma-Stone” covering. “Perma-Stone” is a trademarked cementitious material made to resemble stone and produced in Columbus, OH. Soon thereafter, the arch’s original incandescent bulbs were converted to neon. Each tower has a door on the rear or north side, and an internal ladder that allows access to the interior of the cross-piece. There is blue trim on each tower. The eaves, rafters, and windows are also painted a light blue.
Walking under the gateway was a point of feverish excitement for kids hopping off the 1B streetcar from St. Clair Avenue and the 6C streetcar from Euclid Avenue, and later from Cleveland Transit System buses using the same route numbers. Such theme parks at the then-urban fringe kept transit lines in major cities busy on weekends.
Looking north on East 159th Street from Lake Shore Boulevard in March 2024. Despite the addition of steel bollards in 2007, vehicle strikes have done significant damage to the Euclid Beach Park gateway arch (Andrew Baugnet).
Euclid Beach Park closed for the season on Sept. 28, 1969 and never reopened due to declining finances resulting from urban sprawl, worsening crime and the fact that the park didn’t charge a fee to enter it — only individual rides charged entrance fees.
By 1972, nearly all of the remnants of the park were demolished except for a lakeside fountain, a Lake Erie pier and the arch. While the pier was later rebuilt, only the arch was protected — it was declared a city landmark in 1973. From 1972 until at least 1978, Associated Estates, Inc. assumed ownership and occupation of the property.
A 2020 filing with the U.S. Dept. of the Interior for the arch’s inclusion on the National Register for Historic Places, noted “According to Cuyahoga County records, the high rise behind the arch is now owned by ‘AE Owner LLC’ as of 2018. As of 2020, AE Owner LLC does NOT claim ownership of the arch, and the City of Cleveland also denies ownership, citing previous evidence of private ownership and the fact that the road under the arch started as a private drive and was never officially sanctioned as a city street by ordinance.”
Two restoration efforts of the arch were undertaken. The first, in 1984, involved repainting and general maintenance. Also, the arch’s letters were infilled where the neon light wiring used to be. There is no record that a paint analysis was conducted; the original paint colors dating to 1942 with the installation of the Perma-Stone have not been studied or determined, the city’s filing shows.
Then, in 2007, limited exterior restoration, including installation of steel bollards, was performed at the arch after a vehicular impact at the east tower. The collision caused the tower to shift off its foundation by about 6 inches towards Lake Shore Boulevard. Another vehicle impact in 2020 resulted in the arch sustaining substantial damage.
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