Finding aid for the Cleveland Public Auditorium and Stadium Records

History of Cleveland Public Auditorium and Stadium

The Cleveland Public Auditorium and Stadium, operated together under the city's division of parks and public property from 1933 through the 1950s, were the largest facilities of their kind in the country when they were built.

Public Auditorium, designed by city architect J. H. MacDowell and consultant Frank R. Walker, opened in 1922. It housed the Republican National Conventions of 1924 and 1936, and it remains a cornerstone of the city's convention facilities. The complex was expanded with the addition of the Music Hall in 1929, an underground exhibition area in 1932, and a parking garage and other renovations in 1964 and later. Stadium construction was completed in 1931, financed by a $2.5 million bond issue. It was designed by Osborn Engineering and the architectural firm of Walker & Weeks.

Since the 1960s the major attraction in overall attendance at the facility, now called Municipal Stadium, has been the Cleveland Browns football team, owned by Art Modell who leased and managed the Stadium until he moved the team to Baltimore in 1995. The Cleveland Indians baseball club played in the Stadium from 1932 until their move to the new Jacobs Field in 1994. The stadium was demolished in 1995-1997 and replaced with Cleveland Browns Stadium on the same site in 1999 as part of an agreement with the NFL to create the Cleveland Browns expansion team.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Cleveland Municipal Stadium

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Cleveland Browns Stadium

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Cleveland Public Auditorium

Scope and Content

The Cleveland Public Auditorium and Stadium Records, 1936-1950, consist of two accounting manuals ca. 1950, and one state auditor's report of examination. This report covers the period 1933 to 1936, and contains combined financial reporting on both buildings for the period, with a note that previously separate examinations had been conducted for each facility.

This collection is of value to researchers studying the financial history of Cleveland Public Auditorium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1936 and 1950.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___, ] MS 4670 Cleveland Public Auditorium and Stadium Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

John Zubal, 1972

Processing Information

Processed by Ann B. Ameling in 1994

Detailed Description of The Collection