Empire Builders

Lauren R. Pacini is an architectural photographer and local historian whose work centers on the renovation, restoration, and repurposing of historic industrial, commercial, and residential properties throughout Ohio. He is the author (with John J. Grabowski) of Cleveland A to Z: An Essential Compendium for Visitors and Residents Alike and Cleveland's Cultural Gardens: A Landscape of Diversity. He lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

List of Online Images Foreword Acknowledgments Prologue Introduction 1. Building a City 2. The Emergence of Eastern Suburbs 3. Building Shake Heights 4. Creating an Empire 5. Building a Railroad Empire 6. The Dominoes Fall 7. Afterword Appendix A: Population of the Western Reserve Appendix B: Genealogy of the Van Sweringen Family Appendix C: Real Estate Standards Appendix D: Deed Restrictions Appendix E: Van Sweringen Demonstration and Master Model Homes Notes Index

"Brothers O.P. and M.J. Van Sweringen left a much more visible mark on Cleveland than John D. Rockefeller but a much smaller record of their personal lives. In Empire Builders, author Lauren Pacini provides as complete an account of the Vans as the scanty records allow but compensates with a rich photographic record of their bricks and mortar legacy on the architectural face of Cleveland, from the garden suburb of Shaker Heights to the heart of downtown."-John Vacha, author of Playhouse Square and the Cleveland Renaissance "In Empire Builders, Lauren Pacini masterfully combines historical and current images of Cleveland and its neighborhoods to reveal the compelling story of how the Van Sweringens influenced the development of the city and how they ultimately fell short. This book brings to life the history of Cleveland from its first settlers to the impact of the Van Sweringens, and historians, fans of Cleveland, and those interested in urban development will be delighted from start to finish."-Julie Agar M.Ed., Hawken School, Cleveland, OH "Lauren Pacini's work expertly details-through stories and images-the past and present that binds Northeast Ohio together. His exhaustive research recounts the people and families who came to the old Western Reserve and forged a community. His camera deftly captures the physical remains of the structures that still grace the Greater Cleveland landscape, and his storytelling paints a vivid picture of the people who left behind one of the great urban areas of its time."-Greg Deegan, Executive Director, Teaching Cleveland