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A fellow I met online for a vintage motorcycle site noticed I was involved with Packards and told me he leases space in a building in Cleveland, Ohio that was once a Packard dealership. Here is a link to the information he sent to me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cleveland_Packard_Building.jpg

Address is in the 5100 to 5206 block of Prospect Avenue. But, when I check on the Packard Dealership page here, nothing is listed for a dealership on Prospect Avenue.

Anybody know about this dealership?

If you look closely, then you can see the script Packard logo painted on the side of the building.

Thanks, --Roger--

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According to the National Park Service's Register of Historic Places Inventory , the building was erected circa 1915. While I'm not sure how long the dealership remained in the building, I can say for sure that it was gone by 1939 as my research on Cleveland-area Packard dealerships in business from 1939 to 1950 does not include this location.

It is an interesting building located near East 55th and Prospect. It's big, too, stretching all the way to Carnegie Ave to the south. The picture you posted shows the side of the building that faces the west. The side that faces the east (and is better protected from the weather) features the Packard script in slightly better condition than what is shown in your photo.

I'm not sure exactly what you want to know about the building or dealership, but I'd be happy to help your research efforts. We have a lot of great resources in Cleveland to help with historical property research and I'm sure there's information extant that can answer many of your questions.

Hello Scott:

My interest is solely in getting the information recorded and verified that this was an actual Packard dealership and not just an advertising sign painted on the side of the building. Then, that information should be added to the data base BigKev is building under the topic - "Packard Dealerships."

Adding the dealership building, the dates it operated and the names of the dealers only enriches the history of Packard and Cleveland.

I only became curious when I could not find any record here or on the PAC website about a Packard dealership on Prospect Avenue. Nature abhors a vacuum.

Maybe you or someone else from the Cleveland area would take this on to fill in a blank space on the dealerships listing.

Thanks, --Roger--

By the way, I already asked my friend if he was certain it was a dealership and not just and advertising sign and he wrote this:

It's a full on dealership, Packard is painted on both sides of the building, and you can see the showroom is still intact on one side of the building. There's also two car sized elevators, as it's my understanding that the upper floors were used for some sort of assembly and storage. It's a neat old building, and the showroom is a real gem.

Hand laid mosiac tile floors, marble door thresholds and window sills, 40ft high ceilings, and some seriously nice woodwork. It was used by a fashion photographer as a studio space for a few years, but otherwise it's been vacant for years.

If you happen upon any additional info about the building, please pass it on. I doubt it makes a difference, but the building is on Propect Ave, not Prospect St. My address is 5100 Prospect, but I'm not sure if that's what it would have been when Packard was there.

Sounds like it was a VERY nice building in it's day. Yet there is no record of this???

--Roger--

Roger, if you haven't done so already you might consider asking PAC's Roster Keeper for dealerships. He's got the most extensive list I know of, and is a regular correspondent on PAC's forum. There is a discussion group for dealership questions/comments. Or you could contact him directly.

It indeed was a auto dealership and, most likely a Packard dealership. If you refer to page 9 of the above linked National Register Inventory, you will find the article, "Auto Row Blazes Trail for new Shopping Center," penned in 1923 and published by the Prospect Avenue Association's newsletter, A Brighter Prospect. In it, the author refers to numerous new dealerships in the area including Packard. (Other marques mentioned include: Franklin, Haynes, Reo, Lincoln, Buick, Overland, Milburn, Handley-Knight and Hudson-Essex). Unfortunately, the article does not list locations, so you can't draw a definite conclusion from it, but it certainly confirms the existence of a dealership in the area.

Making the final connection wouldn't be hard. As street addresses in the city of Cleveland haven't changed since 1906, all one would need to do is cross reference the address with any one of the extant business directories or phone books beginning in 1915. Using the same method, one can easily determine when the dealership ceased to operate at that location.

More detailed information might be available if the building was entered separately in the National Register (as opposed to its entry as part of an historic district). Also, as a city landmark, the city's Landmark Commission office should have a file on the building.

The next time I'm downtown, I'll swing past the library and see what I can find.

I have the following Packard Directories, which list all the dealerships, and zone offices worldwide for a particular year.

There was no dealership or zone office listed at that address in any of the following Directories:

1925
1928
1931
1932
1935
1939
1940

So I would imagine that the dealership in question had moved or gone out of business before the 1925 directory was published.

Also on that related topic, I don't have the mental bandwidth or time in the near future to finish going through all these directories and add any of the missing ones to Dealer list here on the website. If anyone has the time and wants to take on the project and wants to become the Czar of the Dealership List here on the website (similar to Mal with the Owner Registry). please let me know.

That's certainly possible. This area was rapidly changing and, by the time the Depression hit, it wasn't a particularly attractive part of the city. At the time a majority of Cleveland's wealthy were moving up into the Heights and I would assume the Packard Dealers were quick to follow their clientele.

Just a note, Cleveland's zone office eventually found itself in an attractive building at 93rd and Carnegie. The building still exists, owned by the Cleveland Clinic, and still sports the engraved "Packard" in its front facade.

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Czar? Conjures up all sorts of images! If someone does take on this role, as I did with the Packard Owner's Registry, you will find it is rewarding and satisfying with elements of frustration and uncertainty.

Quote:Scott,

How about including a pic of the "engraved "Packard" in its front facade" in the Packard Cleveland Company Dealership entry ?

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Funny, thats how I describe raising two teenage daughters!