Lakeview Terrace, 1937.
Weinberg and Teare. The firm of Herman Gibans Fodor, Inc.(HGF) was established in 1937 when Joseph Weinberg joined with the firm of Conrad and. Teare to design Lakeview Terrace.
Lakeview Terrace is the second oldest of the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing projects which started with Old Cedar estates. This was a national movement that started here. The current firm (Herman, Gibans, Fodor, Inc.), launched originally by this project, is now rehabilitating this estate. Ernest Bohn, Director of the CMHA authority from 1933-1968, believed in integrating regional art in his buildings. The Kubinyi print pictured is from his own collection of works on paper from the WPA period that he gave to Case Western Reserve University. The use of decorative arts including sculptured relief panels by William McVey on the exterior wall of the community center auditorium, and murals in the nursery was accomplished by working with William Millikin to bring Federal funding to this plan. As one of the first public housing projects in the country, it established the firm as a pioneer in the design of multi-family housing. Continuing this tradition, HGF also recently completed the comprehensive modernization of Outhwaite Homes. Lakeview Terrace made its mark in public housing adapting to a difficult hillside site. The buildings, oriented to provide as much daylight as possible and unobstructed views of the lake. Lewis Mumford, the illustrious architecture and social critic used Lakeview Terrace as an example of a good plan for its placement of buildings, use of the terrain, abandonment of costly streets and the interior playground. This project was recognized as “one of the best public housing projects in the country” and “a milestone in the history of American architecture.
Throughout its history, HGF has designed numerous other housing projects including The Chesterfield (1966), Cleveland’s first downtown luxury apartment house and urban renewal project, six lakefront apartments on the Gold Coast in Lakewood. They have recently specialized and been recognized for their environments for the elderly and projects for corporate clients such as Progressive Insurance. They played an important role as Associate Architect with RTKL in the rehabilitation and preservation of Cleveland’s Union Terminal into Tower City Center and on the Wyndham Playhouse Square Hotel.
Source: Eric Johannesen, Cleveland Architecture 1876-1976. Cleveland, Western Reserve Historical Society, 1979, pg 198-9.
