The Cleveland Memory Project

Cleveland State University Libraries present

Group Plan Buildings:

The Cleveland Group Plan of 1903

Postcard showing the exterior of the
Cleveland Public Library . View image.

Cleveland Public Library

• Designed by: Walker and Weeks
• Started in: 1919
• Completed in: 1931
• Rennovated in: 1999
• See more images of this building

The Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library is composed of the historic Main Building and the Louis Stokes Wing, completed in 1997.  They are built on the former site of a building known as the Case Block, which for a time housed City Hall.  After the demolition of the Case Block, the site was built with the Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library and the offices of the Plain Dealer. 

Eventually bought out, the Plain Dealer building served as the annex of the Main Branch. Between the buildings is the Eastman Reading Garden that stands as a tribute to Linda Anne Eastman (1867-1963), Director of the Cleveland Public Library from 1918-1938.

External Links

• Cleveland Public Library: About Us
• Eastman Reading Garden
• Cleveland Public Library - from The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Close-up of "The City in 1833" mural by
William Sommer. View image.

Eastman Reading Garden, 1969. View image.