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Cleveland, Ohio

Ohio has hosted fourteen conventions, four of them in Cleveland. Cleveland is also home to Case Western Reserve University and our Xi Deuteron Chapter. At least one Phi Gam served as Cleveland's mayor: Newton D. Baker (Johns Hopkins 1892, Washington and Lee 1872) from 1912 until his appointment as U.S. Secretary of War in 1916.

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Forest City House (stereograph, 
Cleveland State University)

Forest City House (site only)

1879 Convention

A guest house or hotel has occupied the site of the Forest City House since 1812. The Forest City House was replaced in 1918 by the Hotel Cleveland (see below), which stands today.

October 15-17, 1879 saw twelve chapters in convention.

24 Public Square,
Cleveland, Ohio


Cleveland Hotel, 
from 
The Phi Gamma Delta

Cleveland Hotel

1970 Ekklesia

The "Great Lakes" Ekklesia featured Apollo 13 Astronaut Jack Swigert (Colorado 1953) as the keynote speaker.

Originally built in 1918 as the Hotel Cleveland, it is now the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, a Marriot property. www.renaissancehotels.com

24 Public Square
Cleveland, Ohio

 Hotel Hollenden
Hotel Hollenden (Western Reserve Historical Society)

Hollenden (site only)

1916 Ekklesia

Opened in 1885, the eight-story Hollenden became the central hotel for events and politics in Cleveland. A 1926 addition boosted it to one-thousand rooms. It was demolished in 1963 and replaced with the Hollenden House hotel. With the decline of downtown in the 1980s it closed and was replaced by the 1992 Bank One Center.

457 registered for this winter meeting, December 27-30, 1916.

600 Superior Avenue at East 6th Street
Cleveland, Ohio

 
Wade Park Manor 
(Judson Retirement site)

Wade Park Manor

1936 Ekklesia

The Wade Park Manor opened in 1923. After 1964 it became a retirement community, since 1983 called Judson Park.

615 registered for the 1936 Ekklesia, the largest registration since 1923.

Judson Manor
1890 East 107th Street
Cleveland, Ohio

 Newton Baker gravestone
Baker gravestone 
(Joyce Ellsworth, 
Find A Grave)
 

Lake View Cemetery

Founded in 1869, Lake View Cemetery contains the grave of Newton D. Baker (Johns Hopkins 1892, Washington and Lee 1894). Most Phi Gams know Baker for his oft-quoted "What Is A Fraternity?"

He served as Archon President 1905-1910. He was Mayor of Cleveland 1912-15, and U.S. Secretary of War 1916-21. When the Student Army Training Corps (SATC) took steps to close fraternities during World War One, Baker intervened and reversed those orders.

His grave is located in Section 30, Lot 198; a map is available at the cemetery office. www.lakeviewcemetery.com

12316 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio


1836 Western Reserve Academy Chapel 
(Hudson Heritage)

Western Reserve College

Hudson, Ohio

Western Reserve College began in Hudson, Ohio, in 1826. Our Xi Deuteron Chapter, chartered here in 1875, lasted around four years. The College relocated to Cleveland in 1882. Xi Deuteron revived from 1886 to 1889 and again in 1902.

Western Reserve College left its preparatory school behind in Hudson. It closed from 1903 to 1916. Since reopening, Western Reserve Academy has taken care to preserve the campus and its nineteenth-century feel. Hudson is located just outside Cleveland.

Western Reserve Academy
115 College Street
Hudson, Ohio


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