Two nine‑story buildings joined by a five‑story covered passage: that is the Arcade, the Victorian‑era spectacle in front of you in downtown Cleveland. Built in 1890 and opened on Memorial Day, May 30, 1890, it was one of the earliest indoor shopping arcades in the United States. The Arcade was raised at a cost of $867,000 — about $31,100,000 in 2025 dollars — financed by John D. Rockefeller, Stephen V. Harkness, Marcus Hanna, Charles F. Brush and other wealthy Clevelanders.
Designed by John Eisenmann and George H. Smith and built by the Detroit Bridge Co., run by Stephen V. Harkness, its designers modeled the space after Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Look up and you’ll see a glass skylight, 100 feet high, made of 1,800 panes of glass and spanning over 300 feet along the four balconies, bathing the arcade in light. In 1939 the Euclid Avenue entrance was remodeled and structural support was added, and in 1975 the Arcade was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Its glass skylight climbs 100 feet high, 1,800 panes strong, spanning over 300 feet above the four balconies for you to admire.