Historic Site of Joseph Carabelli’s Lakeview Granite & Monumental Works Sitting across from the Euclid Avenue entrance to Lakeview Cemetery is the site where Little Italy’s story begins. Joseph Carabelli came to Cleveland in 1880 and started his stone yard. He hired southern skilled Italian immigrants who moved to the area to work as stonecutters known as “scalpellini”. They worked in Lakeview Cemetery and throughout Cleveland, shaping many monuments and sculptures including the Guardians of Traffic on the Hope Memorial) Bridge.
Wade Chapel Dedicated to the founder of Western Union Telegraph Company Jeptha Wade in 1901, Wade Chapel is known for its beautiful and symbolic interior themed “The Voyage of Life”. Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and his studios, the focal point of the design is “The Flight of Souls”, a stained glass window awarded the gold medal at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. The exterior was designed by local architects Hubbell and Benes in a Neo-Classical style with interior marble work executed by Carabelli.
John D. Rockefeller Obelisk & Family Burial Site Chiseled from granite quarries in Barre, Vermont and designed and installed by Joseph Carabelli, the entire four-piece monument weighs 135 tons and rises to about 66 feet. Despite being one of the wealthiest individuals in history, Rockefeller’s grave marker is understated, reflecting his humility and philanthropic nature. It is tradition to leave a dime on his gravestone in memory of the dime tips he regularly passed out.
James A. Garfield Memorial The memorial and final resting place of the 20th President and his family, was built in from 1885 to 1890. It is a tower-like building featuring a mix of Gothic and Classical styles designed by George Keller of Hartford, Connecticut. The structure is built from native Ohio Berea sandstone and stands 180 feet tall. The exterior walls are adorned with five basrelief panels depicting Garfield’s life and death. The monument’s design was influenced by the Victorian era’s romanticism and the cemetery’s picturesque landscape.
The Alta House, Started as a nursery and Kindergarten, it was expanded to become a settlement house at Carabelli’s request and was funded by Rockefeller and named after his daughter, Alta. The Alta Library built next to the original Alta House which burned down still stands. It was designed by George B. Post & Sons in a neoclassical style in 1914.
Mayfield Road A dense collection of mixed-use buildings exemplifies the skills of the local “scalpellini”. While not always achieving high style architectural design status, the working class stonemasons of Little Italy aspired to high design and many of the buildings display varied brick bond patterns and other adornments.
Walk the story of Joseph Carabelli and the many Italian immigrants who helped build and beautify Lakeview Cemetery and many other areas of Cleveland.
Discover “la bella vita”!
Holy Rosary Church The Baroque Revival styled church has been the center of life in Little Italy since the 1892. The current building was built in 1905. The addition to the church in the small piazza next to the church was designed by local architecture firm Bucchieri Architects who have many other projects scattered throughout the neighborhood.
Tony Brush Park named after champion boxer and Little Italy resident Anthony Brescia. Statues to Cleveland Indian’s baseball great, Rocky Calavito and to Christopher Columbus, who helped Italian-Americans overcome discrimination and find acceptance in America from the late 19th to the mid-20th century can also be found here. The Mayfield Road Rapid Station by City Architects, Mayfield Station Apartments designed by Dimit Architects and Quattro Condominiums, designed by RDL architects are newer additions to Little Italy by local firms that all flank Tony Brush Park.
Guardians Ohio Historic Marker Placed at the site of the former Ohio Cut Stone Co., where Cleveland’s “Guardians of Traffic” were hand-carved piece by piece and then hauled to the century-old Hope Memorial Bridge, which was built to connect the city’s East and West sides. The marker is the first in Ohio in English and a foreign language, in this case in Italian.
