Committee approves encroachment for Ohio historical marker at Cleveland Public Library on Superior Avenue

The Municipal Service and Properties Committee approved Ordinance 3 28 20 25 on April 14, 2025, authorizing the director of capital projects to issue an encroachment permit to the Cleveland Public Library for a 10-foot Ohio historical marker mounted on an octagonal post in the Superior Avenue sidewalk area.

Ms. Romanoff, director of capital projects, told the committee the marker would commemorate the Cleveland Public Library’s Main Library, which “will turn a hundred on 05/06/2025,” and described the building’s national significance as the first major city library designed with open stacks integrated with large reading rooms. She also noted the Main Library’s role as a contributing building to Daniel Burnham’s Group Plan of public buildings and identified its architects as Walker and Weeks.

Councilwoman Maurer urged that the marker reference Linda Anne Eastman, the pioneering librarian who led Cleveland’s library and for whom the Eastman Garden is named, saying, “I certainly hope she is referenced on this historical marker.” The committee approved the ordinance without further amendment; the clerk was directed to sign the ordinance.

Committee members confirmed the marker’s placement on the sidewalk between a bus stop and a bike rack and that it would not obstruct pedestrian travel. The permit package includes typical installation details (post, foundation, and marker) and was presented to committee members as an emergency departmental request.