LEMMERS, A. EUGENE (7 July 1907-2 June 1992), inventor in the field of lighting, was born in Cleveland the son of Maurice and Florence Victoria (Bierbrier) Lemmers. After graduation from Glenville High School in 1926, he began working for General Electric at Nela Park and took college courses but did not earn a degree.
LEMPCO INDUSTRIES, INC. was the umbrella corporation for 5 companies operating in the fields of auto rebuilding and replacement parts, die sets and supplies, and specialized machines. Started in 1918 as the Lake Erie Metal Products Co., the company produced war material in the ebbing days of World War I. After the armistice, owners James F.
LENHART, CARL H. (1 Sept. 1880-8 Apr. 1955), surgeon and medical researcher in shock, hemorrhaging, kidney studies, and endemic goiter treatment, was born to country doctor Peter J. Lenhart and his wife Ida I. (Pfeifer) Lenhart in Wauseon, Ohio. He graduated with an A.B. from Adelbert College (1901) and a M.D. from Western Reserve University Medical School (1904).
LEO'S CASINO was a premier showcase in Cleveland for R&B and Motown artists. The co-owner of Leo's Casino, Leo Frank, got his first taste of the entertainment business while serving in the Navy in 1945. He was in charge of a theater on a base near San Francisco that featured Bob Hope, Harry James and other prominent entertainers. In 1952 Leo Frank opened his first club, called Leo's, at E. 49th St. and Central Ave.
The LEONARD SCHLATHER BREWING CO. was begun in 1857 by Leonard Schlather and operated by him until 1902. Schlather, born in Ebenhausen, Wurttemburg, Germany in 1835, emigrated to America in 1852. After coming to Cleveland, Schlather began his own brewery in 1857 with the aid of a loan from his brother, Frederick. He built a brick building at Carroll Ave. and York (W. 28th) St.
LEONARD, WILLIAM ANDREW (15 July 1848-21 Sept. 1930), bishop co-adjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio (1889) and 4th bishop (1889-1930), was born in Southport, Conn., to William B. and Louise D. (Bulkley) Leonard. He graduated from St. Stephen's College (1866) and received his B.D. degree from Berkeley Divinity School (1871).
LEONARDS, JACK R. (25 Feb. 1919-15 July 1978), internationally known for his biochemical research and a world expert on aspirin, was born in Montreal, Canada, son of David and Sara R. Leonards. He graduated from McGill University in 1939, and 2 years later received master's degrees in chemistry and nutrition from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
LEOPOLD BROTHERS FURNITURE was established in 1859 by Henry Leopold and has been continuously operated by the family. Leopold came to the city from Germany in 1853 and worked as a cabinetmaker for 6 years before opening his own furniture shop at Lorain and Green streets in 1859. He made his own furniture in the store basement as well as caskets, which he sold to the immigrants in the neighborhood.
LERNER, ALFRED "AL" (8 May 1933-23 October 2002) was a businessman, philanthropist and former owner of the CLEVELAND BROWNS.
The LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND was incorporated by Arthur G. MacDonald, Michael Madigan, and Ethan A.
LETTER, BEN I. (25 Dec. 1907-27 June 1983) spent nearly half a century as a technician and stage manager at the CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE.
LEUTNER, WINFRED G. (1 Mar. 1879-25 Dec. 1961), classical scholar, educator, and administrator, was born in Cleveland to Frederick M. and Mary Ernst Leutner. He graduated from Adelbert College (See: CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY) in 1901.
LEVERT, GERALD (13 July 1966 – 10 November 2006), was a significant African-American vocalist, songwriter and producer.
LEVERT, SEAN (28 September 1968 – 30 March 2008), was a famous African-American singer.
LEVIN, ALBERT ARTHUR (2 March 1899-2 Feb. 1969) was a Cleveland attorney and commercial real estate developer whose one-man multimillion dollar property renewal program helped revitalize downtown Cleveland.
LEVINE, LESTER “LES” (12 November 1946-3 February 2021) was a Cleveland sports media personality.
LEVINE, MANUEL V. (25 May 1881-6 May 1939), lawyer and judge, was born in Vilna, Russia, to David J. and Michelle (Corban) Levine.
LEVY AND STEARN, a company that specialized in women's apparel and toys, was established in 1862 when Isaac Levy and Abraham Stearn opened a toy and novelty store on Superior Ave. near W. 9th St. Business grew rapidly and it became the leading toy store in the region. When Levy left the firm in 1895, it became Stearn & Co. and moved to a new location on Euclid Ave. That year it introduced a line of women's clothing.
LEVY, DARRYL ALLEN [d.a. levy] (29 Oct. 1942-24 Nov. 1968) was a native Cleveland poet well known within the national counterculture of the 1960s for his publications celebrating free expression and attacking social injustice and repression. Son of Joseph J. and Carolyn Levy, d.a.
LEWIS, FANNIE (6 June 1926 - 11 August 2008) was the Ward 7 representative for the CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL, an area that included the city's Hough neighborhood, for almost thirty years.
LEWIS, FRANKLIN ALLAN "WHITEY" (18 Jan. 1904-12 Mar. 1958), sports editor of the CLEVELAND PRESS from 1939-58, was born in Lafayette, Ind., to John R. and Mae (Armacost) Lewis and grew up on Cleveland's east side. Lewis was an All-Senate football halfback at Glenville High School and the catcher for the Edelweiss Cream Cheese sandlot baseball team.
JOANNE MARCIA WAXMAN LEWIS (5 JUNE 1933 - 18 FEBRUARY 2024) was an educator and local historian.
LEWIS, ROBERT ELLSWORTH (29 Sept. 1869-23 Oct. 1969) general secretary of the Cleveland YMCA and advisor to the Minister of Foreigh Affairs of China, was born in Berkshire, Vermont, the son of C. P. VanNess and Ellen E. (Haynes) Lewis. Educated at the University of Vermont, he received a PhB., M.A., and an L.H.D in 1892.
ROBERT L. LEWIS (25 September 1919 - 3 August 2005) was a lawyer and education activist.
Lewis was born in New York City and was a vaudeville performer during his youth. He and his older brother were billed as “The Sunrise Happiness Kids.” At age 16, he entered Hamilton College.
The LEZIUS HILES CO., a century-old commercial printing firm built by merger to regional prominence, began in 1888 as the Forest City Printing House with $600 in capital and was located on Champlain St. In 1914 it was incorporated as the Lezius Printing Co., and in 1919 the company bought out the Hiles & Coggshall Co., a small general printing firm started in 1883. The newly formed Lezius Hiles Co.
The LGBTQ LIAISON TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND THE DIVISION OF POLICE is a municipal position in Cleveland that was established in July 2018 in order to improve relations between the police and Cleveland’s LGBTQ community. Director of Public Safety Michael McGrath named Commander Deirdre Jones as the first LGBTQ Liaison.
LGBTQ RIGHTS IN CLEVELAND have been shaped by legal decisions at the local, state, and national levels. This article provides an overview of the laws and legal changes that have shaped LGBTQ rights in Cleveland, including policies concerning sodomy, domestic partnerships, marriage, discrimination, identity documentation, and access to gendered bathrooms.
LIBERTY ROW was dedicated on Memorial Day 1919 to honor Cleveland-area soldiers who had died during WORLD WAR I. The memorial consisted of a series of oak trees planted from Gordon Park on Lake Erie into SHAKER HTS. The trees stretched along the then newly renamed Liberty Blvd.
LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES, AND HISTORICAL SOCIETIES In general, the development of libraries, historical agencies, and archives in the WESTERN RESERVE has followed patterns experienced throughout the Old Northwest Territory. There are some differences, in part dictated by location, population trends, wealth, and select creative individuals.
LIBRARIES, ETHNIC. The large number of immigrant groups that have come to Cleveland have had a profound effect on its libraries, requiring the major public library to evolve a noted collection of works in foreign languages and leading to the establishment of a variety of private libraries by various nationality groups.
LIFE SAVERS, the brightly colored ring-shaped candies, were developed by Cleveland chocolate manufacturer Clarence A. Crane, father of poet HART CRANE. Clarence Crane began making and selling chocolate candy in Cleveland in Apr. 1891. The following year he introduced "Crane's Peppermint Life Savers" to bolster his slow chocolate sales during the summer.
LIGGETT-STASHOWER, INC., was formed from the merger of two of Cleveland's leading advertising agencies. Carr Liggett, formerly a vice-president of the Krichbaum-Liggett agency, established his own firm, Carr Liggett, Inc., in 1933 with offices in the Leader Bldg., 524 Superior. By 1937 Carr Liggett had moved to the NBC Bldg., 815 Superior.
LIGHTS OUT CLEVELAND, is part of a growing international urban movement to protect migratory birds endangered by city lights. A partner of the statewide Ohio Lights Out, It inaugurated its first season monitoring bird migrations in 2014.
The LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY has an international reputation as a pioneer in arc welding and for its innovative employee profit-sharing program. It was founded by engineer John C. Lincoln in 1895 to manufacture an industrial motor of his own design. Before opening his own shop, Lincoln worked with prominent figures in the growing field of electricity and electric manufacturing in Cleveland.
LINCOLN PARK is a small, rectangular public park located between W. 11th and W. 14th streets and Kenilworth and Starkweather avenues in the TREMONT section. In 1850 Mrs. Thirsa Pelton purchased about 70 acres on Cleveland's south side with the idea of founding a girl's school.
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. See ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S FUNERAL and ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S VISIT TO CLEVELAND.
LINCOLN, JAMES F. (14 May 1883-23 June 1965), head of LINCOLN ELECTRIC CO. from 1914 until his death, was born near Painesville, Ohio and studied electrical engineering at Ohio State University, leaving without his degree in 1907 due to typhoid fever; he was awarded his degree in 1926. In 1907, Lincoln joined his brother's Lincoln Electric Co.
The LINDSAY WIRE WEAVING CO. became one of the country's leading manufacturers of papermill wire cloth. It was established when Hamilton L. Lindsay, a mechanic at the W. S. Tyler Co., invented an automatic power loom for weaving metal. Realizing the potential for his machine to revolutionize the papermaking process, Lindsay quickly secured a patent.
LINDSETH, ELMER L. (12 Feb. 1902 - 26 Jan. 1999), chairman of the CLEVELAND ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING COMPANY, directed advertising campaigns that promoted his company and boosted the image of the city. Lindesth was born in Chicago to Swedish born parents, Lena (Anderson) and Andrew Lindseth.
LINDSTROM, E(chel) GEORGE (24 Feb. 1879-2 July 1968), was an author and historian and the founder of Lindstrom Typesetting Co.
The Cleveland Chapter of LINKS, INC., a national black women's service organization, was founded in 1951 (five years after the national group) to promote civic, cultural and educational activities. Dubbed the "Black Junior League," Links of Cleveland celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1976 with a benefit for KARAMU HOUSE.
LINNDALE (inc. 1902) is the smallest village in Cuyahoga County. Located southwest of downtown Cleveland, it encompasses only .08 square miles (less than 1 dozen blocks).
The LION KNITTING MILLS produced high quality knit goods for 78 years. Founded in 1912 by Louis and Harold Ensten at 1011 Power Ave., the knitting mill produced a variety of knit goods for the military and the private-label market. Lion's first product, the varsity or award-letter sweater, was knitted on hand-operated machines.
LIPP, FREDERICK JOHN (23 Jul 1916 – 8 Jun 1995) was an award-winning novelist, play, radio and TV scriptwriter, and newspaper editor. The son of Fred J. Lipp Sr. and Lulu Hasenplug, Lipp was born in Toledo.
LIPSCOMB, JAMES SAMUEL (15 Dec. 1923-5 June 1987) was the first executive director of the GEORGE GUND FOUNDATION. Under his leadership the foundation achieved national and international acclaim through its support of educational, artistic, social, economic, civic, and environmental programs.
Cleveland Medal of Honor Recipients
LISTER, JAMES M. (9 March, 1907-September, 1983) was born in Cleveland and grew up in Twinsburg and LAKEWOOD, graduating from Lakewood High School. He earned a B.A.