Category: Business and Industry

Cleveland based FULLER & SMITH & ROSS, INC. (FSR) was a leading nationally known ad agency in the 1930s, ‘40s and '50s, specializing in industrial and business-to-business advertising. It generally ranked among the top 20 to 25 U.S. agencies in terms of billings.

THE FUND FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE (the Fund) is a non-profit alliance dedicated to advancing a vibrant and inclusive economy in northeast Ohio.

FUNERAL HOMES AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. Pre-canal era. In late May of 1797, David Eldridge, a drover sent out on the Connecticut Land Co.'s second survey, drowned while trying to cross the Grand River. His body was brought to Cleveland and buried around 1 June in a hastily set up graveyard east of Ontario and north of Prospect St. (original plots 97 and 98).

The GABRIEL CO., a major supplier of shock absorbers for the original-equipment and automotive aftermarkets, was founded by CLAUD H. FOSTER in 1904 to market an automobile horn he had created and named for the Angel Gabriel. The Gabriel Horn became popular on luxury cars throughout the world.

GARMENT INDUSTRY. As early as 1860 the manufacture of ready-to-wear clothing became one of Cleveland's leading industries. The garment industry probably reached its peak during the 1920s, when Cleveland ranked close to New York as one of the country's leading centers for garment production. During the Depression and continuing after World War II, the garment industry in Cleveland declined.

GATEWAY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP. was organized in the spring of 1990 to oversee the financing and building of a sports complex at E. 4th St. and Bolivar Rd. in downtown Cleveland. Endorsement of the project by city leaders in 1989 and a spirited campaign in May 1990 led to voter approval of a 15-year "sin tax" on sales of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages to help finance the project.

The GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., a major manufacturer of electrical appliances and a leader in the development of electrical lighting, has maintained important manufacturing and research-and-development facilities in Cleveland since 1901. When GE was established on 1 June 1892, it acquired Cleveland's Brush Electric Co., which had been formed in 1880 by lighting pioneer CHAS. F.

GENERAL PICTURES CORP. was formed in 1957 by George Oliva Jr. to produce films for business and industry. The studio began in the Cleveland Dramaturgy Building at 2307 Chester Ave. The studio later moved to 4501 Pleasant Valley Rd. in Cleveland.

The GEORGE R. KLEIN NEWS CO., a wholesale distributor of magazines, paperback books, and out-of-town newspapers, was founded on W. 3rd St. by Geo. R. Klein in 1927. A family-owned company to distribute newspapers and magazines, the business was guided by Geo. R., and his sons, G. Robt. and Wm. C., until 1978 when the presidency passed to his grandson, Geo. Klein, Jr.

The GEORGE WORTHINGTON CO., one of the nation's leading hardware wholesalers and industrial distributors, began in 1829 when 16-year-old GEORGE WORTHINGTON came to Cleveland from New York.

GILDENMEISTER, RICHARD LEE (10 July 1932 – 17 Dec 2020) was born in Bellevue, Ohio, to parents Frances and Corrine Gildenmeister. As a master bookseller, Gildenmeister worked to promote the works of local and national authors throughout northeast Ohio by fostering a strong connection between authors and their readers. 

GILL, JOHN & SONS CO. See JOHN GILL & SONS CO.

GM PARMA PLANT. See CHEVROLET PONTIAC CANADA GROUP, PARMA PLANT DIVISION, GENERAL MOTORS CORP

GOODRICH, B.F. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CENTER. See B.F. GOODRICH RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CENTER.

GOULD, INC., once a leading defense contractor in the Cleveland area, began doing business in Cleveland in 1945 as Gould Storage Battery. Known as the Gould-National Batteries Co. in 1950, it was located at 4500 Euclid Ave.

The GRASSELLI CHEMICAL CO., one of Cleveland's leading chemical producers, began in Cincinnati where Eugene Ramiro Grasselli established a chemical works to manufacture sulfuric acid in 1839. In 1866 Grasselli erected a plant in Cleveland on Independence Rd. near Broadway and moved his headquarters there the following year to manufacture sulfuric acid in quantity for the city's growing number of oil refineries.

GRAY DRUG STORES, INC., a leading drugstore chain and a pioneer in merchandising techniques, was founded by ADOLPH WEINBERGER, a Hungarian immigrant who opened his first drugstore at E. 30th St. and Scovill Ave. in 1912. Weinberger moved his store several times before introducing cut-rate prices at a Prospect Ave. location and by 1928 he had 7, which he organized as Weinberger Drug Stores, Inc.

The GREAT LAKES AIRCRAFT CO. was established in Oct. 1928 after Glenn L. Martin relocated his base of operations from Cleveland to Baltimore (see GLENN L. MARTIN CO.). Great Lakes, headed by William Roberts Wilson (COB); Charles F. Van Sicklen (VP and dir. of sales); Richard Hunter (dir. of advertising); and P. B. "Zeke" Rogers (chief engineer), acquired the entire Martin facility at 16800 St.

The GREAT LAKES BREWING CO., located at 2516 Market Ave. in Cleveland, was the city's first modern brew-pub. This combination micro-brewery and restaurant near the West Side Market was opened in 1988 by brothers Pat and Dan Conway. The historic building, said to have the oldest working bar in Cleveland, was once a feed store, and some elements remain from that era. The Great Lakes Brewing Co.

GREAT LAKES DREDGE AND DOCK CO. was established when the use of larger ships on the Great Lakes created a need for deeper channels and sturdier docks. Founded in 1890 by William A. Lydon, the company has grown since then and expanded its operations to Central and South America, as well as the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean Islands.

GREAT LAKES TOWING CO., whose services have included vessel towing as well as marine salvage and ice breaking, is the last remaining company operating tugboats at the Port of Cleveland and on the Cuyahoga River. The firm once had a near-monopoly on such services on the Great Lakes and tributary waters.