8508 Connecticut Ave. Re Birth Certificate

8508 Connecticut Ave.

4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1408 sq. feet, multiple occupancy

Built in 1910, Colonial style

**

Newburgh Heights—Slavic Village

In the late 1790s, a log cabin built at the intersection of the current Broadway Ave. and East 93^rd began the settlement of what is now the Newburgh Heights neighborhood of the Slavic Village in Cleveland. At its inception, the area was its own village, called Newburgh. Newburgh even vied for--but lost to Cleveland--the distinction of being named the county seat in the late 1820s.

In the mid-1800s, significant historical events occurred that led to the neighborhood becoming the place that it is today. The Czech presence in the area began to increase; immigration of the Czech people boomed during this time because of the Prague Upheavals, an early Czech national movement quashed by the Habsburg military. The Polish presence increased as well, with many laborers working in stone quarries in the area. And, Cleveland began annexing pockets of Newburgh--with Newburgh’s citizens’ cooperation and encouragement. The gradual absorption of Newburgh into Cleveland took ninety years.

The first rolling mill also began operating in the area. The mill employed many Czech and Polish immigrants, as well as English-speaking workers, but tension between the Eastern European groups and the English-speakers led to union clashes. Strikes in the late 1800s sparked violence and arson with the intention of intimidating immigrants into not crossing picket lines. New Polish immigrants were recruited to work in the mill from the east coast. Eventually, the issue was resolved, and the union lost power--but the base immigrant population of the area was more prominent than ever.

The Czech and Polish immigrants’ culture colored the neighborhood. Churches like St. Wenceslaus, built in 1867, and St. Stanislaus, built in 1888, served as centers for the community. Large businesses and construction projects by Eastern European immigrants sprang up in the early to mid-1900s, leading to the richly varied neighborhood that exists today. Now a community that celebrates its past and plans for the future, bike trails, art installations, and festivals are all prominent features of the neighborhood.

The People

During the early part of the twentieth century, the residents of the multi-family dwelling at 8508 Connecticut Ave. were, in many ways, typical of those who lived in the area. The neighborhood’s residents worked blue collar jobs--many at the nearby mills--and most of the population was of Polish descent. At the time, the property was divided into two living spaces: upstairs and downstairs.

One Polish resident of the property, Joseph Solek, was naturalized as an American citizen while he lived at 8508 Connecticut Ave., in 1924. He immigrated through New York in 1900, as a seventeen-year-old. Solek was a factory machinist who lived in the building with his wife, Helen, also a Polish immigrant, his daughter, Mildred, and a boarder, another Polish immigrant named Powell Sulek. We know that this group lived in the building through at least 1930.

The other occupants of the house at that time were second generation immigrants from Austria and Germany, Stephen and Olga Fisceri. Stephen was the conductor of a street railroad, which may well have been the interurban Cleveland and Youngstown Railroad, which eventually became Shaker Heights Rapid Transit.

Ten years later, the structure was home to people of English and Swiss descent. Rose Nash occupied the downstairs apartment with her son, Robert, who was a recorder at the steel mill. Her grandkids, Robert Jr., Audry, and John, also lived there with them. Both Robert and Rose were widows. Upstairs, Elmer Reinhardt lived with his wife Edna, their daughter Beverly, and a son from Edna’s previous marriage, Miller. Elmer was an accountant at the oil plant.

Harvesting the wood at 8508 Connecticut! 

The Wood

The house at 8508 Connecticut Ave. was built of Southern Yellow Pine, the strongest softwood lumber. A popular choice for home-building because of its strength, ability to hold fasteners, and its resistance to wear, Southern Yellow Pine played a key role in building during the Industrial Revolution. Europe imported vast amounts of Southern Yellow Pine in the 19^th century.

It’s a high density wood that grows in a band from East Texas all the way to Virginia. It has been used in home construction since the 1800s and is also used extensively in wooden roller coasters, docks, and utility poles.

There are four main species: shortleaf, longleaf, loblolly, and slash. Each of these species has similar characteristics, but can demonstrate variation in color and grain. Color ranges from light orange to dark red, and can even sometimes be a cream color. The grain pattern might be wavy or knotty. Sometimes its long needles are used in holiday decorations when it’s cut.

A popular wood still in abundant use today, Southern Yellow Pine grows rapidly and is renewed more quickly than it is harvested. Growing it does not endanger old growth forests.

3592 E. 149th St. ReBirth Certificate

3592 E. 149^th Street

Built in 1953

Single-family dwelling: three bedrooms, two bathrooms

The Place

The makeup of the neighborhood of Mount Pleasant has undergone both ethnic and socioeconomic shifts since it was first settled in 1826.

The first residents hailed from the Isle of Man, near Ireland. Then, in the late 19^th century an influx of Jewish settlers from Bavaria arrived, only to move out again in the 1930s. Other immigrant groups in the 19^th and early 20^th century included Czechs and Italians.

In 1921, Mount Pleasant became a neighborhood instead of a rural community: streets were mapped and trees planted along Bartlett Ave., just half a block away from 3799 E. 149^th St.

Now, it’s a predominantly African-American community. The first African-American settlers came to the community during World War I. In the 1940s and 1950s, African-Americans became the majority ethnic group in the area.

The neighborhood’s socioeconomic makeup has been in flux since the mid-20^th century. Philip Richards, an African-American writer and professor who grew up in the area, wrote about the population shifts in the neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s, as seen by his own family: “[Richards’ parents]…departed Mount Pleasant as it filled with black newcomers from the inner city. Years earlier, when they had moved into Mount Pleasant, both the Eastern European immigrants and the black middle class were leaving.”¹

Now, Mount Pleasant is an area with a rich history and hope for the future. Many positive programs have been initiated, including a painting program to revitalize existing structures, home ownership workshops, an energy efficiency program, and other community outreach through Mount Pleasant NOW. Luke Easter Park and the Zelma Watson George Community Center also provide opportunities for community building in Mount Pleasant.

The People

The house from which your [table/countertop ] was made was built in 1953, a time when racial tension was a prominent issue for the denizens of Cleveland. Phillip Richards wrote about his experience coming of age in Mount Pleasant in the 1960s, and we can imagine that those who lived in the house had similar experiences.

Richards attended elementary school in a mostly white part of town and then went to Alexander Hamilton Junior High School in Mount Pleasant. As he grew up, he struggled against his anger even as it was provoked by seemingly everyone around him--black or white. He found solace in academia and is now an English professor at Colgate University. You can read more about his experiences in the Cleveland Magazine article from 2006² or in his book, An Integrated Boyhood: Coming of Age in White Cleveland.

April McClellan-Copeland, a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, recently participated in a multimedia series³ that takes a look at Mount Pleasant’s past and present. She fondly remembers her childhood on 138^th St., recalling family parties and playing outside with the large number of children who lived on her block. She spoke of the respect for neighbors that was characteristic of that close-knit community.

Tommy LiPuma, legendary Cleveland music producer and Verve label head, also grew up in Mount Pleasant, very near where the house once stood. The first record he made was the O’Jays early regional hit, “Lipstick Traces⁴.” LiPuma continually gives back to his hometown, donating funds to the Cleveland Art Museum and to Cuyahoga Community College.

The Wood

The house at 3799 E. 149^th Street was built of Southern Yellow Pine, the strongest softwood lumber. A popular choice for home-building because of its strength, ability to hold fasteners, and its resistance to wear, Southern Yellow Pine played a key role in building during the Industrial Revolution. Europe imported vast amounts of Southern Yellow Pine in the 19^th century.

It’s a high density wood that grows in a band from East Texas all the way to Virginia. It has been used in home construction since the 1800s and is also used extensively in wooden roller coasters, docks, and utility poles.

There are four main species: shortleaf, longleaf, loblolly, and slash. Each of these species has similar characteristics, but can demonstrate variation in color and grain. Color ranges from light orange to dark red, and can even sometimes be a cream color. The grain pattern might be wavy or knotty. Sometimes its long needles are used in holiday decorations when it’s cut.

A popular wood still in abundant use today, Southern Yellow Pine grows rapidly and is renewed more quickly than it is harvested. Growing it does not endanger old growth forests.

Harvesting the Wood!

1 Richards, Philip. “Coming of Age at Alexander Hamilton Junior High School.” Cleveland Magazine. October, 2006.

2 Richards, Philip. “Coming of Age at Alexander Hamilton Junior High School.” Cleveland Magazine. October, 2006.

3 http://www.cleveland.com/mountpleasant/media/

4 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xoh93_the-o-jays-lipstick-traces_music

APOC will be in NYC for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair! In collabo with 44 STEEL!

We are showing the APOC 44 line of tables and benches.

Here is the text from one of the Rebirth Certificates coming with us:

Material Source & Story:

2620 E. 115^th St. Cleveland

The Place: Prior to the 1920s, most Italian immigrants lived in the Big Italy neighborhood, but conflict between other ethnic groups in that area prompted some families to move to communities in nearby areas of Cleveland. The neighborhood from which the wood for your table originated was one such enclave, the seventh of these offshoot communities.

Maintaining cultural and familial ties was of the utmost importance to Italians; many of the immigrants to Cleveland came from the same villages. Hometown societies, as well as strong church communities, allowed them to keep their heritage alive. Though many choose to concentrate on linking Italian immigrants with organized crime, that lifestyle was much more anomalous than usual.

The People: John Ciarlillo was born in 1884 in what was recorded as Sangonni, Italy. Though reference to a village named Sangonni cannot be found, it possibly refers to the Val Sangone, a valley in Piedmont, Italy. He immigrated to the United States as a boy, in 1895.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Ciarlillo lived in the house at 2620 E. 115th Street with his wife, Philomena, and his children, John Jr., Joe, Vincent, Gusty, Peter, and Marie. He was a janitor at Hawken School, which was then a small private school that educated boys from kindergarten through ninth grade. He and his wife died on the same day in 1960. The cause of death is not clear. They are buried at Lake View Cemetery.

The Wood and Metal: Antique Southern Yellow Pine was shipped to Cleveland and other industrial cities from the late 1800's through to the 1930's. This wood is old-growth, solid pine not found in the market today.

44 Steel, and APOC have developed a line of fully customizable furniture for the modern home.

Deconstruction VS Demolition

I’m sure many of the Apoc Blog readers are familiar with demolition, which literally is just knocking down a building when it is beyond repair. Demolishing houses is relatively simple, since they are usually only 2-3 stories high. The process involves a safety plan so that the debris doesn’t affect surrounding areas and people by planning where it falls. Even though it is planned, it’s rather chaotic: the building is collapsed with smashing and rubble. After a building is knocked down, the waste materials are loaded into trucks and transported to the local landfill.

The process of demolition does not take into account the preservation of recyclable materials. Everything is just toppled and piled together, dumped into a truck and taken away to waste and decay in a landfill. Some demolition waste that breaks down in landfills give off hazardous elements and gases, and may contain other hazardous materials. Since most landfills are already over capacity, this only contributes to MORE landfills being created – which is a waste of space and materials, and, as you all well know, is terrible for the environment.

Deconstruction is a great solution to demolition. From the start, deconstruction is considering the possibility of saving materials. The approach is truly green, taking the time to sort out things that can be recycled or reused. If properly organized and carried out, deconstruction can divert up to 90% of materials away from landfills,

Apoc has a successful deconstruction program that utilizes an important source of materials. Reclaiming wood from local, expired homes around Cleveland not only gives back to the planet, but gives back to the community by respecting the history of the buildings and neighborhoods from which the reclaimed wood is sourced.

Be sure to catch the Details Magazine article covering Apoc’s contribution to the Rust Belt Revival.

http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201204/rust-belt-revival-cleveland-ohio

-TB