If you’ve ever been to downtown Cleveland you’ve likely marveled at and admired the Terminal Tower, even if you didn’t know what you were looking at, at the time (think Higbee’s Department Store and A Christmas Story). It’s a 1920s era landmark skyscraper currently undergoing a multi-year exterior rehab. Board member Steve Coon, owner of Coon Restoration, arranged for a behind-the-scenes tour of the building as part of our recent conference. Since, as a conference planner, I’m always setting up sessions and tours, but never have the pleasure of taking part in them, I was excited to have the opportunity to slip away from my other duties for a couple hours to learn about the amazing efforts to rejuvenate this venerable landmark.
As an added bonus, a construction film about the tower was discovered a few years ago. The film was donated to Cleveland State and subsequently restored and uploaded for online viewing. The film captures a brief but fascinating showing of the construction process of a 1920s era skyscraper.
As one conference ends, so begins the planning for the next one, to take place in Athens. And I’m looking forward to another group of exciting opportunities to find out more about the historic offerings of the Athens area. We’d like to give a special thank you to Steve Coon for making this one-of-a-kind tour possible, and to Forest Park and its staff for graciously opening its doors and giving us a behind the scenes sneak peek into their enormous undertaking. (Click the pictures to learn more about the tour and the Terminal Tower.)
