WRAH SPRING 2025 PROGRAMS
Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 9:30 AM MEMBERS ONLY
Subject: The History of the Henn Mansion
Speaker: Ginny Petrie, Trustee, Friends of the Henn Mansion
Place: Henn Mansion/Sims Park, 23131 Lakeshore Blvd, Euclid, OH 44123
Albert Henn, founder of the Acme Machine Screw Company, hired architect Earl Andrews to design and build a 9,200-square-foot, three-story, twenty-three room Tudor Revival style home, with Bungalow/Craftsman features, as a birthday present for his wife Gertrude in 1923. Andrews designed over one hundred large houses in the City of Cleveland and the inner-ring suburbs. The home was completed in 1925 but, unfortunately, Henn's wife passed away in 1931. Henn lost his fortune during the Great Depression, and as he was unable to pay his taxes, Henn agreed to a settlement that enabled him to live in the house until his death at which time full ownership and use of the house and property would transfer to the City of Euclid. In 1947, upon Henn's passing, the city took possession and over subsequent years used the house for the extra school classrooms, offices of the Board of Education, and the headquarters of the Recreation Department. After, a new city hall was built, the house stood empty except for police and fire training. By the 1990s, the home had fallen into disrepair. In 1995, the Friends of the Henn Mansion formed to save the structure from demolition and raised funds to restore the mansion. Many of the architectural features have been maintained including the slate roof, leaded windows, and the grand staircase. Today, this former residence is on the National Register of Historic Places and is used as an event venue. The Henn Mansion anchors a 30-acre park and bird sanctuary on the scenic shores of Lake Erie with lakefront amenities, trails, and beaches.
RSVP reservations to Steve Kish at 440.382.7454 or email stevekish74@aol.com mailto:stevekish74@aol.com by Thursday, March 7.
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Date: Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 10:00 AM (Station 26) & at Noon (Fire Museum)
Subject: Cleveland Fire Stations / Western Reserve Fire Museum
Speakers: Lt. Michael D. Norman, CDF / Western Reserve Fire Museum Staff
Places: Fire Station 26, SW Corner of East 79th St. & Kinsman (7818 Kinsman) Rd.
Western Reserve Fire Museum, 310 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
Lt. Norman, Public Information Officer of the Cleveland Division of Fire, will lead a tour of three different Cleveland firehouses on the southeast side spanning the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries beginning at Station 26 where further directions will be distributed. After visiting the fire stations, the group will rendezvous at the museum. Attendees wishing to skip the tour may meet at the museum at noon. Tour free. Western Reserve Fire Museum admission: WRAH members free & Guests $10.
Parking limited at all sites - recommend carpooling. At Station 26 park in adjacent driveway to the east of the building - overflow parking on west side of East 78th St. at Kinsman Rd. Park next to/on side of museum or in parking lot across the street on Commercial Rd. Access museum via East 9th Street to Commercial Rd.
RSVP reservations to Steve Kish at 440.382.7454 or email stevekish74@aol.com mailto:stevekish74@aol.com by
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Thursday, March 27.
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 9:00 AM MEMBERS ONLY
Subject: Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Speaker: Paul Westlake, Jr., FAIA, DLR Group (formerly Westlake Reed Leskosky)
Place: Cleveland Museum of Natural History, One Wade Oval, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
(Please assemble at the main entrance of the museum facing Wade Oval)
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, founded in 1920 and ranked among the top ten natural history museums nationally, celebrated the completion of a five-year-long, $150 million renovation and expansion project in December 2024. Beginning in 2019 with the selection of the DLR Group (Cleveland office) to lead the "Centennial Transformation Project," a new lobby, visitor hall, exhibit hall, and science labs were created and the planetarium, auditorium, and interior courtyard were renovated adding interactive and immersive elements for visitor experiences. The importance of glaciers and water in shaping Lake Erie and its environs are echoed in the new façade and roofline of the museum including the rippling, grooved panels that swirl from the roofline and cascade downward over the front wall. Mr. Westlake will describe the project and lead a tour of the museum.
Parking: CMNH garage (fee) or on street (not metered on weekends). Reservations: limited & mandatory. Adm. Fee: CMNH members none / Others - $13 (contact Anne Meissner for discounted WRAH tickets).
RSVP reservations to Anne Meissner at 216.382.7883 or email ammeissner@aol.com mailto:ammeissner@aol.com by Wed., April 30. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Subject: M. L. King, Jr. Campus of the Cleveland Public Library / Library Lofts
Speakers: Kimberly Hunter, Manager, Martin Luther King, Jr. Campus CPL
Chris Persons, AIA, Associate/Architect, Bialosky Cleveland
Laura Breig, Community Manager, Library Lofts Apartments
Places: MLK, Jr. Library, 10601 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Library Lofts, 10555 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Campus of the Cleveland Public Library and the Library Lofts Apartments are an innovative public-private collaboration within a single building. Kimberly Hunter, Branch Manager, will discuss the new library and lead a tour of attendees through the two-story facility. Chris Persons will speak on the overall design and construction of the shared structure. Laura Breig will talk about the apartments and show the group both common areas and suites.
Parking: Free parking in designated areas in garage across alleyway behind building.
RSVP reservations to Steve Kish at 440.382.7454 or email stevekish74@aol.com mailto:stevekish74@aol.com by Friday, May 30.
