PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF OLD BROOKLYN

1961; Ken Booth’s House of Flowers, 3426 Memphis Avenue, northwest corner of Memphis and Pearl.

by Lynette Filips

     (Plain Press October 2024) This month we continue to look at the history of the northwest corner of Pearl Rd. and Memphis Ave. which the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation (OBCDC) is seeking to “revitalize” with a $31 million new construction project. It is the most historic section of Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005.  A picture of St. Luke’s United Church of Christ, one of the numerous commercial and institutional buildings on Pearl Rd. (and on Broadview Rd.) included in the Historic District designation, accompanies the online listing of the South Brooklyn Commercial District.

     While OBCDC pursues funding for a plan to tear down the major portion of this corner to erect a four-story building with commercial space on the first floor, residential space on the upper floors, and a brewery in the church proper portion of the former St. Luke’s, another group of people in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood is still hoping to Save Our Historic District.

     This tenth in a series of articles will shed additional light on the history of downtown Old Brooklyn in the hope that someone in authority will realize that adaptive reuse of the existing buildings is superior to tearing down most of them and replacing the demo-ed area with new construction.  Adaptive reuse would accomplish the same goals of adding new residential space, updated commercial space and new socialization space to downtown Old Brooklyn, but it would do so by using the existing historic structures. It is the method which has been employed in downtown Cleveland to put new residential, hotel, retail and restaurant space in buildings which formerly housed department stores, banks and other businesses.

     This month I’m back to the Greenline Building to talk about some of the businesses which rented the storefronts in past decades. In the August article, I listed the names and addresses of all the current tenants. This month I’ll repeat that information and add a sampling of the businesses which occupied the spaces before they did. The addresses of the five street-level storefronts are 3426, 3428, 3430, 3432 and 3434 Memphis Ave. I am grateful to the professionals in the Cleveland Public Library‘s downtown History Department who found this information for me in the crisscross section of Cleveland City Directories.  (The crisscross section of the Directory first appeared in 1929 and the Cleveland City Directory itself was last published in 1977.) 

     The current tenant at the tip of the triangular-shaped Greenline Building (3426 Memphis Ave.) is Botanica Abre Caminos (an organization which sells religious items blending Roman Catholicism with certain folk religions). 

     Previous tenants include: (1929) A barber named Mathew B. Rammes, a tire repair man named Frank Streibel, and an auto accessories shop run by Carl R. Ullrich; (1939) Y Tire & Supply Company and a barber named Joseph Incaini; (1947) House of Flowers and Joseph Incaini; (1959) Ken Booth’s House of Flowers and Keatie’s barber shop; (1969) The Flower Basket (Elsie Kirchner, florist); and (1977) The Flower Basket.

     The current tenant at 3428 Memphis Ave. (where Tailoring by Mary used to be) is now Kay’s Heavenly Beauty.

     Previous tenants include: (1929) a dentist named Jerome R, Tousley and a beauty shop operated by Mary Wutrich; (1939) Steph Malinky Beauty Shop, as well as Mamie Blasak, who was a music teacher, and upstairs — the Brooklyn News-Times/Brooklyn Publishing Co; (1947) John L. Frank, wallpaper; (1947) no listing at the street level address; (1959) no listing at the street level address; upstairs – a dentist named Will Otto; and a merchandise distributing company named Felty & Associates; (1969) no listing at the street level address; Will Otto, DDS, and Felty & Associates were still upstairs; a barber named Robert Schillace and the Natural Science Service Company have joined them; (1977) no listing at the street level address. Will Otto, DDS, Felty & Associates, and Louis Bill & Co. mail order, are all upstairs

     The current tenant at 3430 Memphis Ave. is The Historical Society of Old Brooklyn Museum.

     Previous tenants include: (1929) John L. Frank, wallpaper; (1939) John L. Frank, wallpaper; (1947) John L. Frank, wallpaper; (1959) Condar House Appliance Co.; Leonard Brown; (1969) King-Gage Sales of Ohio; (1977) Giovanni’s Beauty Salon,

     The current tenant at 3432 Memphis Ave. is Maria the Barberette.

     Previous tenants include: (1929) Fred Kohler, shoe repair; (1939) Fred Kohler, shoe repair; (1947) Fred Kohler, shoe repair; (1959) Teen Town Record Shop; (1969) Vacant; and (1977) Vacant.

     The current tenant at 3434 Memphis Ave. is Beauty Bliss.

     Previous tenants include: (1929) Greenline Dry Cleaners and a tailor named Jacob Werka; (1939) Elma Marshall, beauty shop; (1947) Robert M. Wischmeier; (1959) Pat Darrow Beauty Salon and King-Gage Sales Corporation; (1969) Ohio Judo Supply Company Sales; and (1977) Vacant.

     Interestingly, the 1929 City Directory for Memphis Ave. begins with two addresses lower (closer to Pearl Rd.) than those in the Greenline Building.  I am not certain how their location relates to the construction of the Greenline; but they are indicative of additional businesses in the center of the South Brooklyn neighborhood of 95 years ago:

     The businesses were both butcher shops — John Hanket at 3310 Memphis Ave., and Adam J. Bentleskic at 3418 Memphis Ave.

     Perhaps there will be more to talk about the Greenline Building next month.  If not, I may be moving on to how this section of today’s Old Brooklyn became listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

                  Earlier articles in this attempt to “Save Our Historic District” are also available on the Historical Society of Old Brooklyn (HSOB) website, oldbrooklynhistory.org., as well as on the Plain Press website, http://www.plainpress.blog.