The AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, CLEVELAND CHAPTER, was established in the late 19th century. According to one source, it was organized on 7 Apr. 1887 from an earlier CLEVELAND ARCHITECTURAL CLUB. The existing chapter uses 1890 as its founding date. Throughout its existence, the chapter has been dedicated to architectural improvement in the city. In 1888 a joint committee of the institute and the Builders Exchange sponsored a bill in the Ohio legislature to create a department of building in Cleveland, and the city's earliest building permits date from this period. The introduction of the legislation that created the Group Plan Commission in 1902, a joint undertaking of the institute and the Chamber of Commerce, was an accomplishment of the utmost significance for the city. In 1921 the chapter organized the architectural course at the Cleveland School of Art, which subsequently became the Dept. of Architecture at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV. In 1942 the chapter sponsored a series of lectures, "Planning Our Cities." Since the 1970s the chapter has presented annual awards for the best restoration of historical buildings. As part of its centennial observances, the local chapter in 1991 published a Guide to Cleveland Architecture edited by Robt. C. Gaede, which superseded an earlier guide issued in 1958.
View image in Digital Cleveland Starts Here®
Finding aid for the American Institute of Architects, Cleveland Chapter Records, Series I, WRHS.
Finding aid for the American Institute of Architects, Cleveland Chapter Records, Series II, WRHS