Cleveland Vintage Blog — History

After winning the 1860 presidential election, Abraham Lincoln made a barnstorming trip through the United States as he made his way to Washington, D.C.  This included a stay in Cleveland, Ohio from February 15-16, 1861, the only time he visited the city in life, as his coffin did travel through the city again following his assassination. As you can see in the speech below, the uneasy political climate and boiling tensions between the North and South already weighed heavily on Lincoln's thoughts - by this time, six states (Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) had seceded from the Union. It was obvious...

It's the joke everyone likes to make about Cleveland.  "Hey, remember when the river caught on fire?" To which you can respond, "You'll have to be more specific, because it happened a whole bunch of times."  In the 1960s, the Cuyahoga River actually caught fire more than a dozen times, as it had long been a dumping ground for sewage and industrial waste from the city's manufacturing companies. And while river fires weren't all that newsworthy to Clevelanders by the end of the decade, the blaze on June 22, 1969 (capping off a tumultuous decade that only led to a new one...

The city of Cleveland was recently sent into a tizzy, as the legendary Christmas Story house was put up for sale. The certified Cleveland landmark was used in the exterior shots of Ralphie's home in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, which has become a holiday classic thanks to its 24-hour marathon on TBS every Christmas. Since then, Clevelanders have loved the house, located at 3159 West 11th Street. And since it was purchased in 2004, underwent major renovations to mimic the interiors in the film, and opened itself up to public tours in 2006, the Christmas Story house has become...

You already know the Cleveland Cavaliers of course, but the city had a rich basketball past long before they came into the picture in 1970. The Cleveland Rosenblums were one of those long-gone teams from the early 20th century, but they were also one of the most successful - and innovative.  The Rosenblums - named for owner and Cleveland department store owner Max Rosenblum - were one of the original members of the American Basketball League (a league Rosenblum helped create), playing from 1925 to 1930. Though their run as a team was brief, the Rosenblums - also known as...

This time of year, it is always fun to explore the spooky haunts and tales that are unique to any locale, but in researching some of Cleveland’s, we came up with some truly unique, and probably relatively unknown, Northeast Ohio haunts and sightings. The Most Haunted Places in Cleveland The Federal Reserve Bank Let's start with the Federal Reserve Bank at 1466 E. 6th Street in downtown Cleveland.  Still operating today as the Cleveland-based U.S. Federal Reserve System’s Fourth District headquarters, this majestic building is home to one spirit in particular known as Matilda. Matilda is believed to have killed...