Van Sweringen brothers
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Oris Paxton Van Sweringen (April 24, 1879 – November 22, 1936) and Mantis James Van Sweringen (July 8, 1881 – December 12, 1935) were American brothers who became railroad barons in order to develop
Neither brother married; the two shared a common bedroom in their 54-room mansion, Roundwood Manor, on the grounds of their estate, Daisy Hill, in Hunting Valley, Ohio. During their lifetimes, they seldom gave interviews or made appearances in public; however, when they did, it was always together.
Career
Real estate and Shaker Heights
Before the establishment of
Street planning for the new community used curved roads instead of the more usual grid pattern of streets found in many American communities. Three tree-lined boulevards extended eastward into the country. Moreland and Shaker boulevards' center isles would be used for trackbed for a planned
Building in Shaker was controlled by a set of
Railroad projects
In 1913, the Van Sweringens established the
In order to meet the Van Sweringens' guidelines that the Rapid would not travel in street traffic, the brothers bought a 51% interest in the 523-mile (842-km)
To solve the problem of the passenger station, the Van Sweringens purchased more rights-of-way that gave them access to the area below the southwest corner of Cleveland's Public Square. Again, the Van Sweringens planned another city within a city to solve their rail dilemma; the result was the Union Terminal Complex, a mix of high-rise offices, shopping, and hotel aboveground, with a train depot and rapid station below grade. The centerpiece of this massive complex was named Terminal Tower, which was the second tallest skyscraper in the United States at the time of its completion.
The Terminal Tower
The Van Sweringens realized that if their plans for a Public Square station were to succeed, they would have to include all the electric railways, including
On March 1, 1917, the engineers of the Erie Railroad, the Nickel Plate, and the Cleveland Terminal Company reported that a new freight-and-passenger terminal located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland would be economical. The plan provided twelve stub-end tracks for the steam passenger trains, with loops for local and interurban cars above. The space above the tracks was to be developed for stores and office buildings.
In 1918, A.H. Smith, the Eastern Director of the United States Railroad Administration and the president of the New York Central Railroad, asked whether or not the proposed facility could be sufficiently enlarged to include the railroads using the lakefront station. Thus, it was Smith who initiated the idea for a "Union Station" on Public Square. In 1919, the Pennsylvania Railroad withdrew from the project. Smith, in his capacity as the president of the NYCRR, allied with the Van Sweringens, and fiercely opposed Pennsylvania Railroad.[2]
In 1923, the Van Sweringens announced their plans to build The Terminal Tower (a tall building to increase office space) over the Union Station to compare to the Woolworth Building in New York City. It was necessary to design the buildings to avoid vibrations from the trains below. Construction began in 1926 as 16 caissons each went down 200 to 250 feet (60 to 75 m) to support the weight of the building. Construction was completed in 1930.
In 1973, Amtrak chose to move out of the station, instead serving a small station along the lake route, ending intercity service to the station, though Cleveland Rapid Transit continued its local services. In 1975, the Rapid and other municipal rail and bus routes were combined under the auspices of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. The station area was converted into a shopping mall known as Tower City Center, which opened in 1990.
Decline and death
The fortunes of the Van Sweringens rose in the 1920s. By 1929, their holdings were valued at $3 billion,[3] mostly as a result of the high valuation of stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. Following the Great Depression, the brothers' rail empire suffered financial difficulties. Loans were foreclosed upon and assets were sold to meet interest payments for their debts.
In 1933, O.P. Van Sweringen testified before the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency, in Washington, D.C., and during testimony, described their complex business dealings as it related to railroads.[4]
M.J. Van Sweringen's health began to decline in 1934 and he died on December 12, 1935. O.P. died on board a train near Hoboken of coronary thrombosis on November 22, 1936. At the time of his death, O.P.'s net worth was less than $3,000.
The brothers are buried together in Cleveland's
References
- ISBN 978-0-253-34163-1.
- ISBN 0-8142-1036-8. p. 252.
- ISBN 9780807003435.
- ^ Stock Exchange Practices: Hearings Before the Committee on Banking and Currency. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1933. pp. 563–773.
- ISBN 978-1-59851-025-6
- ^ "500 Pay Tribute Today in Van Sweringen Rites". The Plain Dealer. December 14, 1935. p. 4; "Tomlinson, Ball Keep Rail Control As O. P. Van Sweringen Dies in Sleep". The Plain Dealer. November 24, 1936. p. 1.
- Invisible Giants: The Empires of Cleveland’s Van Sweringen Brothers. Herbert H. Harwood Jr. Indiana University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-253-34163-9