Cleveland in the Gilded Age: A Stroll Down Millionaires' Row

by Dan Ruminski, Alan Dutka

Cleveland storyteller Dan Ruminski discovered that the 6 acres under his home were originally part of a 1,400-acre grand estate known as the Circle W Farm.

The impressive estate was created by Walter White, founding brother of the White Motor Company. Drawn in by the fascinating history, Ruminski's investigation soon embraced the full legacy of Cleveland's industrial history and the indomitable characters who created the city's Gilded Age. John D. Rockefeller, Samuel Mather and more giants of industry built Cleveland's Millionaires' Row. Come peek inside the once-grand mansions these millionaires called home and hear the delightful stories that bring the past to life. Join Ruminski and Alan Dutka on a return to this section of Euclid Avenue, which wasn't merely the most stunning show of wealth in Cleveland but also in the entire country.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

163 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2012

Reviews

[Darcie Saunier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic, but terribly written, edited, and organized.

[Tim Evanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Storyteller" Dan Ruminski became infatuated with Cleveland's Euclid Avenue in the Gilded Age (1870 to 1900) when he learned that his house sat on six acres of a former Gilded Age estate.

This book is a collection of stories about some of the great mansions which used to exist on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. Euclid Avenue once had more homes of the ultra-wealthy than any street in America, even more than New York City's fabled Fifth Avenue.

Today, nearly all these mansions are gone and Euclid Avenue is two mile long slum of commercial buildings and substandard housing.

The book is an interesting read, and contains nearly a hundred two-paragraph mini-biographies of some of the mega-wealthy individuals who used to live on Euclid Avenue. But that's the problem: Ruminski never gets into the meat of anything. This is a superficial story at best, and little about the houses or their owners is revealed.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just over 150 pages and it was a slog at times. It's co-authored by Dan Ruminski who is a retired history teacher who lives in one of the swanker suburbs and more experienced author and Cleveland historical chronicler Alan Dutka. Unfortunately, the two voices don't always blend smoothly.

At several points in the book, the narrative about one of Cleveland's wealthy is told twice if not three times in slightly different fashion. It's confusing and overkill when hearing about Francis Drury and the White family.

Cleveland's Gilded Age on Euclid Avenue was relatively short. As the rich moved east in most cases those large homes are more likely to still be around. One nice touch is to let us know what took the places of those fabulous homes and sadly in many cases it's a used car lot that's now a vacant lot.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this and I have been to the talks which are a a lot of fun, but I agree with other reviewers that an editor would have been worth their weight in gold. It becomes very confusing in parts because when they switch authors in a new paragraph, the timeline switches. For example, they just gave the year and cause of death and then talk about where the guy went to high school in the next paragraph, after already giving us the information in the previous page. I think more of a call out that a section is all historical background would have been great if they do a revised edition.
I definitely want to learn more about the people and streets. I want to go back in time and see Euclid Ave.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I learned a lot about some of Cleveland's Millionaires of "Millionaires Row," when considering the book in its entirety, I thought it rather disjointed and repetitive at times. As a native Clevelander, it has its appeal, and Mr. Ruminski is certainly an interesting and engaging speaker, I would have liked to know precisely the annotated sources of their writing.

All in all, it seemed the book jumped around a lot from one personality, story, business, to another disjointed, without a sense of logic, chronicity, or discernible pattern. That said, the stories are often quite interesting and often entertaining. I have a copy autographed by Mr. Ruminski which I plan to pass on to my children.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've lived in greater Cleveland for any period of time, you've probably heard about Millionaires' Row or the great farms and homes that were in Wickliffe in Lake County. Dan Ruminski and Alan Dutka provide wonderful stories about the mansions, but more importantly the people and events, that occurred during that time period. Well reproduced photographs and illustrations complement the very readable text -- don't expect an academic thesis here! My only wish were that the book were longer! Every home and farm must have had stories and I want to know them all!

[Jimmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like a gossip column, some fun stories but it could have used a good editor.

[Paula Anzlovar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history of Cleveland, although too much anecdote and not enough depth for me.

[April Helms · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit frustrating. There's a lot to like here, it's not a terrible book. The information seems complete and well-researched, I love all the photos and the authors clearly know their history. I also like Ruminski's conversational style. The problems are mostly with organization. The organization is all over the place, and there is a lot of repetition. A lot of this comes from having two different authors with two different writing styles writing in the same chapter. Both are good writers, although Dutka has more of academic feel. In my personal opinion, if you are going to have two different authors, either the writing needs to meld and flow as one (you can tell who wrote what, and the shifts in writing style are jarring), or have one author write one chapter, and the other write the next). It's not a bad book, and there is a lot of fascinating trivia. For example, I knew Rockefeller lived on Millionaire's Row, but never knew that Euclid Avenue was considered THE spot in the nation for the elite, and was even a tourist destination for overseas travelers. I knew Northeast Ohio once was renowned for pottery, glassmaking/marbles, Quaker Oats/cereals and - of course- rubber. Did you know that once a Cleveland company was the largest producer of kerosene stoves in the world? I was surprised how much industry and innovation had its start in Cleveland. As I said, there's a lot of good information on the people who lived on Millionaire's Row and their industries- I just wish it were better organized.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more. I thought it was interesting that it wasn't JUST about the mansions on Euclid, but more about the families who inhabited them and the stories of how Cleveland was a major international city because of these families.

However, as other have noted, this book needed a good editor. Information was often repeated several times, just paragraphs apart. Plus it was difficult to follow some of the story lines as it took more stream-of-consciousness approach, and not in a good, James Joyce way...

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've heard the author, "Cleveland's Storyteller," Dan Ruminski speak at least three different times about this history of Millionaires' Row and Estates. I'm grateful he's put down some of his story's in writing, along with historical background on the individuals that lived on Cleveland's Millionaires' Row (Euclid Ave between 1865-1930). Fascinating history about an age when Cleveland was reputed to be the "wealthiest city in the world."

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rated this so highly due to the research and stories included in this fascinating episode in Cleveland's history, recalling when Cleveland was the nation's equivalent of today's Silicon Valley and the "characters" that had such an extraordinary influence much like Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerman of today. I concur with the comments regarding editing - but if you are interested in Cleveland history, I highly recommend this book.

[Alejandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting history, but the book needs a good editor. There is so much that is fascinating about the gilded age of Cleveland and all the amazing individuals who lived there; however, the book needs to be more clear and cohesive. A few times, the same stories are told over and over again.
It has interesting tidbits about what was happening in Cleveland at the beginning of the century.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

well, this was a bit disappointing. i was really hoping for more details on the homes of millionaire's row. the history of the people during that era was interesting, but mainly i craved more photos, details of the homes themselves, info on the craftsmen, etc.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very difficult to rate. The information was extremely interesting and I loved reading about Cleveland. However, it desperately needed an editor!

[Adam Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

the first half of the book was wonderful, while the second half was very repetitive. all said however, this provides a fascinating glimpse into a lost golden age.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book (interesting topic), but sorely in need of a good editor!