LEHMAN AND SCHMITT - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

LEHMAN AND SCHMITT was a Cleveland architectural firm that designed many important public and institutional buildings between 1884-1935. ISRAEL J. LEHMAN† (1859-1914) and Theodore Schmitt (1860-1935) formed a partnership in 1884. The first 2 buildings of which there is a record were large covered public halls, the Sheriff St. Market (1891) on E. 4th St. at Bolivar and the CENTRAL ARMORY (1893). Their differences in style, the former classical and the latter medieval, epitomize the range of the eclectic architect. Lehman & Schmitt designed 2 large synagogues, TIFERETH ISRAEL in 1894 (later Friendship Baptist Church) and the Euclid Ave. Temple (ANSHE CHESED) in 1912 (later Liberty Hill Baptist Church). In 1913 they planned a large Jewish social club in UNIVERSITY CIRCLE, the handsome EXCELSIOR Club (Thwing Hall of CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY since 1929). Their public buildings included the old Central Police Station (1896) on Champlain St., an impressive classical edifice, and their major existing work (1993) is undoubtedly the CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURTHOUSE, completed in 1912, one of the chief Beaux-Arts monuments on the MALL. The firm also planned many public buildings outside Cleveland, including the Erie County Children's Home in Sandusky. Lehman & Schmitt also designed commercial buildings, stores, and warehouses, of which the most important one remaining in 1993 was the Detroit-Warren Rd. Bldg. in LAKEWOOD (1923). After Lehman's death in 1914, Schmitt continued the firm as the Lehman-Schmitt Co. until his death in 1935.

Related Article(s)

• BUSINESS, INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY
• ARCHITECTURE