Places 📍 Cleveland, Ohio - abandoned Superior Avenue subway

[Dan]

Veterans Memorial Bridge and Subway Tour

Cleveland --- On Saturday, May 29, 2004, the Office of Robert C. Klaiber, Jr., P.E., P.S., Cuyahoga County Engineer, will host walking tours of the Veterans Memorial Bridge and subway. A second tour will be held the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, September 4, 2004. As in past tours, these are self-guided and require no reservations. All are encouraged to visit between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and are welcome to stay as long as they wish to fully enjoy a piece of Cleveland’s history.

Seeing this press release, I knew right away it was an event I could not miss. Around noon, I parked my car at the Green Avenue station, took the Shaker Heights light rail line to Tower City, walked across the upper deck of the Veterans Memorial Bridge into Ohio City, and dove into a seldom-seen part of Cleveland with many other intrepid urban explorers.

Cleveland Subway open house, Saturday 29 May 2004

Lower level of Veterans Memorial Bridge looking east towards downtown

Superior Avenue tunnel, looking east

Superior Avenue tunnel, looking west

West 25th Street station, old westbound platform

Mockup of streetcar coming north on West 25th Street, turning east under Superior Avenue

Standing on West 25th Street station eastbound platform, looking north

Mockup of streetcar

West 25th Street station westbound platform

West 25th Street eastbound platform, looking west

Ramp from West 25th Street eastbound platform, looking west

Lower level of Veterans Memorial Bridge, looking north at new loft construction

Lower level of Veterans Memorial Bridge, looking east towards downtown

Lower level of Veterans Memorial Bridge, looking east towards downtown

Lower level of Veterans Memorial Bridge, looking east towards downtown

Superior Avenue tunnel, trolley wire guard

West 25th Street station, westbound platform

West 25th Street station, stairway to ???

West 25th Street station, entrance to Forest City Savings and Trust Building

 

[Dan]

West 25th Street station, stairway from surface to westbound platform

West 25th Street station, pedestrian tunnel to westbound platform

West 25th Street station, westbound platform, flooded stairs to crossunder tunnel.

West 25th Street station, stalactites

West 25th Street station, eastbound platform, stairs to crossunder tunnel leading to westbound platform

West 25th Street station, eastbound platform

West 25th Street station, eastbound platform

Superior Street tunnel, original sign on north tunnel wall

Superior Street tunnel looking west

Part of the Superior Street tunnel turned into a theater for streetcar enthusiasts

Streetcar tracks exposed by road reconstruction just north of the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, north of the Subway tour entrance.

 

[Gedunker]

Interesting pics, Dan. What is the status of light rail transit in Cleveland -- is there any? Seems at least some of the r-o-w is in place if they ever want to re-start it. Any talk along those lines?

 

[Dan]

Interesting pics, Dan. What is the status of light rail transit in Cleveland -- is there any? Seems at least some of the r-o-w is in place if they ever want to re-start it. Any talk along those lines?

There's two light rail lines; both being the Shaker Heights lines (Blue and Green) built by the Ven Sweringen brothers in the 1910s. There is extensive right-of-way beyond the end of the Green Line, down the middle of Shaker Boulevard and Gates Mills Boulevard several miles east of the current teminus at Green Road. However, the Depression bankrupted the Van Sweringens, and the proposed extension was never built; the right-of-way has stood empty since the 1920s, even though it's still mostly graded and cleared. (Check out topozone.com; you'll see the ROW and grading contours.)

The Shaker Heights development was originally supposed to extend far east of where it ends now, but again the Depression killed the original plans. The area that was supposed to be Shaker Village, following the never-built eastern extension of the Green Line, was developed from the 1950s through the 1970s; today it's the cities of Beachwood, Pepper Pike and Gates Mills.

There is an overhead-powered heavy rail line, the Red Line, running from Cleveland Hopkins Airport to East Cleveland. It was another line started by the Van Sweringens, partially built but not operated in the 1920s, abandoned in the Depression, and finally completed with service starting in the 1950s.

No talk of reusing the lower level of the Veterans Memorial Bridge for transit. The Red Line runs just south of the bridge.

 

[Miles Ignatius]

Fascinating Shots!

Thanks for posting these - I had no idea that this line existed. Folly of course, but I can't help wonder what Cleveland would be like today if resources were devoted to this project instead of say, building the Shoreway and all of the other roads that sucked the life out of the place.

 

[joe momma]

do you think its possible to get there today, undetected

 

[Dan]

do you think its possible to get there today, undetected

Based on my urbex experience, I doubt it. The fact that it's still somewhat maintained, and there was no graffiti (although that might have changed in the past 18 years), tells me it's also kept secure. The West Side portals (Detroit Avenue and West 25th) have been sealed for decades. There's an entrance from the old Forest City Savings building across W 25th, but it's probably locked. Otherwise, you'd have to find a way to the lower deck of the Veteran's Bridge from the east side. The entrance to what used to be a station on the east side is locked up tight.

I'd say wait until Memorial Day, where the site is open and you're free to roam most of the station area. You'd score more urbed cred if you can get onto the lower level of the Hope Memorial Bridge, which was designed to accommodate a subway that was ultimately never built.

FWIW, I found the original photos from this thread, and re-uploaded them.

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

When did this particular section of the subway system cease to operate?

 

[Dan]

When did this particular section of the subway system cease to operate?

1954. The subway wasn't connected to the heavy rail or Shaker lines, but part of the city's streetcar system. There wasn't a connection between the Rapid and the streetcar subway, even though the east side portal was just a couple blocks from the transit/interurban terminal at Cleveland Union Terminal. The RTA's heavy rail line (Red Line) used a mainline railroad bridge to cross the Cuyahoga. The Shaker Heights rapid transit lines were still operated by the City of Shaker Heights as a service to its residents; there was no need to expand service across the river.