The 1970s may have given us Scott Baio and Star Wars, but it also saw an ugly steel facade slapped onto the Schofield Building at Euclid Avenue and East Ninth Street. A 7-year restoration project has finally revealed the old office building's original 1902 red brick and terra cotta surface in time for its new life as the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants' the Schofield Hotel and the Schofield Residences. Here are three things we learned during a sneak-peek tour of the hotel and apartments.
Monument valley: The 114-year-old building was designed by Cleveland architect, Levi Scofield, who created Public Square's Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument in 1894. While the views of East Ninth and the lake are picture perfect, rooms on the northwest corner get a remarkable view of Schofield's monument. "Whether it's intentional or not, it's there," says the hotel's director of sales and marketing Jeff Andrews. "The higher you go up in the building, the better view you get."
Splendor rules: The Schofield has 52 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. With rent starting at $1,450, residents get hotel perks such as valet parking, a fitness center, housekeeping and dry-cleaning. The kitchens are decked out in stainless steel appliances, but if you don't have Top Chef talent, the hotel's Parker's Downtown restaurant is a lifeline. "If a tenant comes home from work and they want to get dinner, they just order room service and it comes from our kitchen," says Andrews.
Community guidance: On top of offering concierge services such as bikes for guests to use around the city, the hotel staff will be made up of locals who can steer people to off-the-beaten-path experiences such as a backstage tour at Playhouse Square or a private viewing at a local art gallery. "There's a wealth of information that comes from someone that has spent some time in Cleveland and has done some out-of-the-ordinary things," says Andrews.
