Society for Savings Building
Encyclopedia
The Society for Savings Building, also known as the Society Corp. Building, is a high-rise building on Public Square
in downtown
Cleveland
, Ohio
, United States
. The building was constructed in 1889, and stood as the tallest building in Cleveland until 1896, when it was surpassed by the 221-foot (67 m) Guardian Bank Building
. The building stands 152 feet (46 m) tall, with 10 floors. The Society for Savings Building is often considered to be the first modern skyscraper
in Cleveland and the state of Ohio. It was designed by John Wellborn Root
of the Chicago
-based architectural firm Burnham & Root
.
, Romanesque
, and Renaissance
architectural styles. It contains elements of each in its granite pillars, arched window frames and red sandstone
facade
.
The Society for Savings Building was constructed to serve as office space for Cleveland's Society for Savings. Though structurally complete in late 1889, the building did not officially open until June 23, 1890. The building was at the time dubbed "Ohio's skyscraper" by locals, as it was the first modern high-rise building to be constructed in the city and the state. It went on to serve as the headquarters of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
, or BLE, from 1896 until 1910. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on November 7, 1976.
In modern times, the building is one of several structures located at Key Center. Key Tower
(formerly known as the Society Center), the tallest building in Cleveland and in the state of Ohio, was built adjacent to the Society for Savings Building by Society Bank 100 years after it; the lobbies of the two buildings were integrated, and in the process the Society for Savings Building underwent an extensive restoration and renovation project headed by the architectural firm of van Dijk, Pace, Westlake & Partners. The building contains 147,089 square feet (13,665 m²) of office space.
Public Square
Public Square is the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It takes up four city blocks; Superior Avenue and Ontario Street cross through it. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square...
in downtown
Downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of the City of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Reinvestment in the area in the mid-1990s spurred a rebirth that continues to this day, with over $2 billion in residential and commercial developments slated for the area over the next few years...
Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The building was constructed in 1889, and stood as the tallest building in Cleveland until 1896, when it was surpassed by the 221-foot (67 m) Guardian Bank Building
Guardian Bank Building
The Guardian Bank Building, originally known as the New England Building and later known as the National City Bank Building, is a high-rise building on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was built in 1896 and stands adjacent to National City Center. At tall, it was once one of the...
. The building stands 152 feet (46 m) tall, with 10 floors. The Society for Savings Building is often considered to be the first modern skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in Cleveland and the state of Ohio. It was designed by John Wellborn Root
John Wellborn Root
John Wellborn Root was an American architect who worked out of Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style...
of the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based architectural firm Burnham & Root
Burnham and Root
Burnham and Root was the name of the company that John Wellborn Root and Daniel Hudson Burnham established as one of Chicago's most famous architectural companies of the nineteenth century....
.
Design
The Society for Savings Building was designed with a combination of GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
, and Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
architectural styles. It contains elements of each in its granite pillars, arched window frames and red sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
.
History
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is a labor union founded in Marshall, Michigan, on May 8, 1863, as the Brotherhood of the Footboard. A year later, its name was changed to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, sometimes referred to as the Brotherhood of Engineers...
, or BLE, from 1896 until 1910. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on November 7, 1976.
In modern times, the building is one of several structures located at Key Center. Key Tower
Key Tower
Key Tower is a skyscraper on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio designed by architect César Pelli. It is the tallest building in both the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio, the 18th tallest building in the United States, and the 70th tallest building in the world...
(formerly known as the Society Center), the tallest building in Cleveland and in the state of Ohio, was built adjacent to the Society for Savings Building by Society Bank 100 years after it; the lobbies of the two buildings were integrated, and in the process the Society for Savings Building underwent an extensive restoration and renovation project headed by the architectural firm of van Dijk, Pace, Westlake & Partners. The building contains 147,089 square feet (13,665 m²) of office space.