After nearly 30 years of shuttering, the former Cleveland Trust Co. rotunda didn’t look as bad as architect John C. Williams imagined. “It wasn’t covered with spider webs and dust,” says the Cleveland-based Process Creative Studios’ founder, who spearheaded the 1908 Beaux Arts landmark’s transformation into a Heinen’s grocery store. Features such as ornamental bronze railings and 13 Francis Millet murals depicting European settlement of the Midwest were in good condition. But six months of construction behind the building’s granite facade did uncover some interesting details, which Williams walks us through. 900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 216-302-3020, heinens.com/downtown
Floors While the main floor’s bronze medallion and surrounding granite, marble and terrazzo pattern were still exposed, carpet covered areas outside the colonnade as well as the mezzanine. Ripping it up and grinding down layers of glue revealed more marble, along with sections of concrete. Williams opted to grind the concrete smooth rather than replace it. “It’s a beautiful material,” he explains. “And it’s part of the history of the building.”
Teller stations Counters and tables, primarily in the mezzanine, are topped with green and white marble salvaged from the bank’s service areas. Unlike the concrete floors, there was simply no way to incorporate the existing teller stations into the store. “We couldn’t work around them,” Williams adds. “There would be no way to reuse the rotunda with the cases for the foods.”
Stained-glass dome The Nicola D’Ascenzo-designed feature is actually two domes — a plain glass counterpart covers the stained glass. The task of cleaning it involved negotiating a series of stairwells and catwalks to access a space between the domes. “It’s fascinating,” Williams says of the area, which is about 16 feet tall at its highest point. “It’s all this lightweight steel framing that supports both the stained glass and the exterior glass.”
Auxiliary vault Williams turned the vault that housed safety deposit boxes into office space for Heinen’s employees. But the real attraction is the original glass vault door. “You can look inside and see all the gears and all the beautiful machining,” Williams says. “They’re absolutely gorgeous.”
