Tiffany Glass Building
| Formerly | Citizens Building, City Club Building |
|---|---|
| Company type | Commercial building |
| Industry | Commercial real estate |
| Founded | 1903 |
| Headquarters | Cleveland , United States |
The Tiffany Glass Building, initially known as the Citizens Building, is a high-rise commercial and retail structure located at 840 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. Constructed in 1903 for the local financial institution Citizens Savings and Trust, its original entrance portico was removed in 1924 to make way for a two-story extension. From 1982 onward, it served as the home of the City Club of Cleveland, was renamed the City Club Building in 1999, and adopted its present name in 2024.
Project Initiation
In September 1899, Citizens Savings and Trust purchased a parcel along with a two-story edifice at 850 Euclid Avenue, a property owned by the city since 1854. This site had previously functioned as a high school and later as the administrative center for Cleveland public schools and the main branch of the Cleveland Public Library. The bank acquired the property through auction for $310,000. Five months later, they engaged local architects Hubbell & Benes to design a new headquarters—a 13-story steel-frame building clad in granite on the lower levels and brick or terra cotta on the upper floors.
By mid-1900, finalized plans detailed a 14-story () building including one subterranean level. It presented a frontage of on Euclid Avenue and on Oak Street (currently E. 8th Street), with main and secondary entrances facing Euclid and Oak respectively. Barre Granite was used on the facade of the first two floors, while brick combined with ivory-hued glazed terra cotta adorned the upper stories. The Euclid entrance was marked by a granite portico supported by four Doric columns, each standing high. The lobby measured wide by deep and featured an overhead skylight, leading into a principal banking hall originally deep and high. Nearby were dedicated spaces such as a women's banking parlor, a safe deposit banking hall with vaults, and offices for clerical staff. Initial cost estimates ranged between $1.2 million and $1.5 million.
The interior design was also crafted by Hubbell & Benes, featuring marble flooring and wall cladding throughout public corridors on all floors. Prominent artists including muralists Edwin Blashfield and Kenyon Cox contributed artwork, while Tiffany & Co. was commissioned for decorative elements in the lobby. Ornamental plasterwork was carried out by McNulty Brothers from Chicago, with local carpenter Henry Watterson overseeing all woodwork within the building.
Challenges During Construction
By April 1901, construction costs for the Citizens Building had decreased to $450,000. Variety Iron Works of Cleveland was engaged to assemble the steel framework, with demolition of existing structures scheduled to commence on April 1, 1901.
Toward the end of 1901, a major conflict emerged between Citizens Savings and architect Levi Scofield, who was developing the neighboring Schofield Building. Both parties agreed to share a party wall; however, unlike the Citizens Building—which included a portico and plaza—the Schofield Building extended fully to the property boundary by 17 ft. Citizens Savings required Scofield to construct a wall at least 21 inches thick with pilasters projecting 2.5 inches from its base; in exchange, Scofield was allowed to encroach 10.5 inches onto bank property.
Scofield initially erected both wall and pilasters but exceeded his permitted encroachment, leading to litigation. After dismantling and reconstructing the wall with pilasters integrated as bas-relief, further legal disputes arose as Citizens Savings claimed pilaster dimensions were not met. Scofield refused to reduce wall thickness due to structural integrity concerns. The ambiguous terms of their agreement resulted in both sides seeking judgment from the Ohio Court of Common Pleas.
Despite efforts at negotiation and court inspections, no definitive legal ruling was established. On January 10, 1902, Scofield’s team discovered an iron column from the Citizens Building extending into the party wall area. The court recommended a compromise: Citizens Savings would allow minor encroachment by the Schofield Building to accommodate this column; meanwhile, Scofield would move his non-shared wall back by four inches and enlarge his pilasters to better align with those on the Citizens Building. Both parties accepted this resolution to avoid an adverse judicial outcome.
Completion of Construction
The Citizens Building's construction was postponed due to a conflict with Scofield, compelling Citizen Savings to leave its former premises and relocate temporarily on February 3, 1902. Despite being unfinished, the building welcomed the public on September 28, 1903, drawing several hundred visitors eager to experience its opulent interior. By late October 1903, the vaults and safe deposit boxes were fully operational, enabling the transfer of valuables exceeding $1 million, including bonds, furs, rugs, silver, stocks, and other assets to the new site.
Building Overview
The finished Citizens Building stood 14 stories tall—comprising 13 floors above ground and one subterranean level. Its footprint was rectangular at the base but transitioned into a north-facing U-shape from the third floor upward, ensuring every interior office was within 10 feet of daylight. The structure utilized a steel framework combined with reinforced concrete floors, incorporating a weight-efficient design that embedded steel T-beams crosswise within concrete. This method proved both stronger and more economical compared to conventional I-beams.
From an architectural perspective, the building merged Renaissance Revival elements with a Neoclassical portico, a stylistic fusion that generated debate among architects. The facade's initial two stories were finished in granite; floors three through eleven featured brick with ivory-glazed terra cotta window surrounds; while the top two floors were fully clad in ivory-glazed terra cotta.
The Portico
The entrance portico drew inspiration from the Parthenon on Athens' Acropolis of Athens in Greece, positioned back from the Euclid Avenue (north) property boundary. It included four Doric columns, each measuring in height and in diameter, hewn from single granite blocks. The tympanum above—sculpted by Cleveland granite artisan Joseph Carabelli—was also carved from a solitary granite piece. Interpretations of its allegorical sculptures vary, portraying themes such as Industry, Banking's wealth distribution, or Industry paired with Thrift.
Concealed behind the portico was the principal bank entrance—a double door larger than typical—that featured a glass-inset architrave crafted by Tiffany & Co. The bronze doors slid horizontally into wall recesses rather than swinging open. To the east lay a door opening into a foyer providing elevator and stair access to offices on floors three through thirteen; on the west side were double windows illuminating the women's banking parlor.
Lobby and Adjacent Rooms
Entering through the main doors led into a lobby measuring wide by deep, crowned with a leaded glass barrel vault ceiling that allowed ample natural illumination. Walls and pilasters were faced with Italian marble accented by Tiffany & Co. inlays of colored glass, gold leaf, and mother-of-pearl decorating pilasters, architraves, door lintels, and piers.
On the lobby’s east side, a doorway opened into the foyer for upper-floor access, continuing the white Italian marble and Tiffany inlay motifs. On the west side, another door led to the women's banking parlor adorned with silk brocade tapestries and ivory-and-gold Tiffany embellishments on walls. This exclusive room was furnished with custom mahogany pieces upholstered in green damask.
A second door on the west provided elevator and stair access to the second floor, which housed bank offices and specialized departments.
Murals by Blashfield and Cox
The lobby showcases two allegorical lunette murals created by Edwin H. Blashfield (east side) and Kenyon Cox (west side), both of whom had previously partnered on significant commissions such as the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Blashfield’s piece, titled The Uses of Wealth (also known as Capital, Supported by Labor, Offering the Golden Key of Opportunity to Science, Literature, and Art), portrays Wealth as a woman draped in gold, clutching a key that represents opportunity alongside an olive branch symbolizing peace. Around her are emblems of labor and protection, including a robust man wielding a shovel. Opposite them stand personifications of the arts and sciences—a chemist, musician, and poet—accompanied by cherubs that embody opportunity and enlightenment.
Cox’s mural, The Sources of Wealth, depicts Prudence seated before a temple adorned with industrial symbols such as a beehive and a cherub holding a bridle to signify self-discipline. To Prudence’s right are figures that personify wealth’s origins: a fisherwoman, farmer, and weaver, surrounded by tools representing industry. At the center floats Commerce, greeting Prudence while holding a caduceus—the Hermes staff symbolizing trade. Compared to his Library of Congress work, Cox’s mural is noted for its more nuanced allegory and earned him a gold medal at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
Upon their debut in 1903, both murals were highly praised and continue to be viewed as exemplary instances of early 20th-century commercial art propaganda.
Main banking hall and upper levels
The central banking hall measured approximately wide by long and featured a U-shaped marble counter inlaid with smoked glass and mother-of-pearl by Tiffany & Co. Bank tellers operated behind bronze-grilled cages designed by Hubbell & Benes and crafted by Jno. Williams, Inc. from New York. Italian marble clad the walls and pilasters, enhanced with glass and gold decorative elements from Tiffany & Co., while the ceiling was adorned with silver-and-gold finishes illuminated by hundreds of electric lights. The upper walls displayed glass mosaic financial aphorisms, complemented at the southern end by a large clock and additional mosaics. All lighting fixtures were bronze, and bespoke mahogany furnishings completed the space.
Two corridors flanked this main room: on the east side was the safe deposit banking parlor featuring small to medium-sized boxes toward the rear; on the west side were clerical offices.
Public spaces on the basement and upper floors included marble flooring and wainscoting. The basement housed vaults for cash and large valuables. The second floor contained executive offices—president, treasurer, vice president—alongside departments like trust services and a boardroom. Electric elevators provided access to all floors. The building was equipped with its own electrical generation system, HVAC, water chilling units supplying ice water on each floor, and a centralized vacuum system.
Removal of the portico in 1924
Union Trust Co. purchased the Citizens Building in August 1923 for $3 million (equivalent to roughly $ today). In March 1924, the new owner removed the original portico, leading to the destruction of Blashfield’s mural; however, the fate of other artworks such as Cox’s mural and Carabelli’s tympanum remains uncertain.
Architect Harry D. Hughes from the local area designed a one-story extension replacing the portico that projected forward to achieve an overall depth of , with a facade width of . This renovation cost $400,000 (approximately $ today) and introduced six retail storefronts along with an entrance foyer providing access to the original building interior. Hughes also refurbished the basement level and replaced an existing mezzanine with a new second floor. Architectural historian Joseph J. Korom characterized this addition as an “exercise in design banality.”
1999 renaming
The City Club of Cleveland established its headquarters on the second floor of the Citizens Building in 1982. In 1998, the organization initiated a $1 million fundraising campaign aimed at renovating its premises and extended its lease agreement for a decade, with an option to prolong it by an additional 20 years. The building’s proprietor, Barris-Guren & Co., consented to rename the property in honor of the City Club.
The renovation project, totaling $2.5 million, resulted in a 5% increase in auditorium seating capacity, an enlarged lobby area, and enhancements to the telecommunications and networking systems. Additionally, a vertical sign measuring $30,000 and displaying "The City Club" was installed along the E. 8th Street facade. Both the refurbishment and renaming were finalized by January 2000.