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- A. Donald Gray (1891-1939) was a landscape architect and designer in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1920-1939. Gray worked briefly with Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., in Brookline, Massachusetts, before establishing a landscape architecture practice in Cleveland. He designed many private gardens and estates for some of the most elite families of Cleveland and its outlying suburbs, including the noted private development of Fairhill Rd. houses in 1931. Gray was also the landscape designer for several public projects, including the Cedar-Central apartments, the first federal public-housing project in the nation, and many of Cleveland's public parks. Perhaps his most notable achievement was the creation of the WPA-funded Horticultural Gardens for the Great Lakes Exposition, 1936-1937, some of which remain on the site north of Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. The gardens were named for Gray as a memorial after his death. Gray took several trips to England, South America, Mexico and elsewhere throughout his career to study the landscaping of great houses and public places. He also contributed a regular gardening column to the Cleveland Press during the mid-1930s. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of A. Donald Gray, his friends and business associates; views of his landscaping projects; scenes from the Great Lakes Exposition, and vacation photographs. Included in the oversize materials are images of his garden and landscaping designs for several Cleveland, Ohio families. Four of these photographs were taken by Margaret Bourke-White.
- Abba Hillel Silver (1893-1963) was a Rabbi at The Temple-Tifereth Israel, Cleveland, Ohio, and prominent leader of the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland. The collection consists of black and white and color photographs, drawings, slides, and stereo color transparencies. Of special note is a 1925 portfolio of charcoal drawings, many autographed, of the Administrative Committee of the Zionist Organization of America, including Silver, Louis Lipsky, Emanuel Neumann, Henrietta Szold, and Stephen Wise.
- Allen E. Cole (1883-1970) was a Cleveland, Ohio, photographer who produced over 50,000 photographs of people and places in the African American community of Cleveland, Ohio. Cole opened his first studio in 1922 at 9909 Cedar Avenue, supplementing his income with commercial work and commission work for eight white-owned studios, and earned prizes and commendations at state and local exhibitions. His photographs were frequently published in The Call and Post. The collection consists of approximately 30,000 black and white and color negatives; 6,000 black and white and color photographs; and 1 oil painting.
- Ameritrust Corporation began in 1894 when The Cleveland Trust Company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland Trust then assumed the contracts of the Security Safe Deposit and Trust Company, also located in Cleveland, Ohio. Beginning in 1903, Cleveland Trust acquired or merged with several other savings banks, including The Windemere Savings and Trust Company and The Western Reserve Trust Company. Cleveland Trust promoted innovative operating policies and procedures, including the establishment of an advertising department in 1913. It increased its number of branch offices through additional mergers, including Lake Shore Banking and Trust Company and The Garfield Savings Bank. Growth continued during the 1920s with the acquisition of the Pearl Street Savings and Trust Company. Two more banks were acquired in the 1930s; Midland Bank and South Euclid Bank. A new six story office building at East 9th Street and Huron Road was constructed in 1962. An adjacent office tower was completed in 1971. In 1974, CleveTrust Corporation, a bank holding company, was formed, with Cleveland Trust as the lead bank. Cleveland Trust was one of six local banks holding short-term notes of the City of Cleveland when financial difficulties in 1978 lead to the city's default on these loans. In 1979, The Cleveland Trust Company's name was changed to AmeriTrust Corporation. In 1986, the name was changed to Ameritrust Corporation. In 1991, Ameritrust merged with Society Corporation, and in 1992, went out of existence as a corporate entity. The collection consists of individual portraits of bank officials, directors, and corporate employees and their organizations, and views of banking facilities and marketing campaigns. A large portion of the collection consists of views of bank branches and views of the 1906-1908 construction and later renovation of the Cleveland Trust main office. Photographs of architectural detail images of the rotunda of the main branch by Margaret Bourke-White are included. The 1969-1971 construction of the tower office building addition to the main office located at Euclid Ave. and East 9th St. is also well depicted. Advertising and marketing activities are represented by both images used in and depictions of campaigns, particularly the E. 9th and Euclid outdoor displays. The collection also illustrates changes in banking equipment and facilities during the twentieth century. Also included are portraits of officers and employees of banks acquired by the Cleveland Trust Company. Other photographs of officers, directors, and corporate employees were integral to and retained with biographical materials in MS 4750 Ameritrust Corporation Records.
- Charles Francis Brush (1849-1929) was a Cleveland, Ohio, businessman and inventor. His inventions included a dynamo which was the predecessor for the modern generator and the arc light, demonstrated on Cleveland's Public Square in 1879. Brush formed the Brush Electric Co. in 1880, which was subsequently bought by Thomason Houston Electric Co., and then merged with Edison General Electric Co. in 1891, forming the General Electric Co. Brush continued to maintain scientific and business interests throughout his life, and founded the Brush Foundation in 1927. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of Charles F. Brush, his friends and associates, and views of his inventions, including the arc lamp and wind powered dynamo. Also included is a view of an arc lamp on Cleveland, Ohio's Public Square, ca. 1896.
- The Congregational Union of Cleveland Churches was organized in 1853, as the Cleveland Congregational Conference, to oversee the organization of new churches and the mergers of existing churches in Cleveland, Ohio, and to provide financial assistance. In 1912 it merged with the City Missionary Society to form the Congregational Union of Cleveland. In 1963 the Union was merged into the Western Reserve Association of the United Church of Christ. The collection consists of views of the member churches, officers, and activities of the Congregational Union of Cleveland Churches, of Cleveland and northeastern Ohio.