Mistakes, Myths and Mostly False Facts about the West Side Market

To write our book about The West Side Market, we spent two years digging into historical records, reading newspaper articles that spanned more than a century, and interviewing hundreds of people. We stumbled upon many little known facts but just as often we found inconsistencies, errors and bits of misinformation that had become accepted Market lore. So here, we do our best to debunk some of the most common myths and set the record straight.

The Market was once a train station?

Vendors hear people repeat this fiction almost every week—but there’s a good reason for the mistake. The Guastavino Company that created the Market’s distinctive ceiling designed the same style tiled vaults in the early 20th century for more than twenty major railroad terminals, including New York City’s Grand Central Station. The look became so closely associated with these transportation hubs that people just assume a link between form and function.

The Market officially opened November 2, 1912?

There are two “opening days” recorded in the Market’s history. After many delays in a lengthy six-year construction process, the city officially opened the doors on October 31, 1912 with speeches and a ribbon cutting. But the public was not allowed in to shop until November 2nd when special two-sided scales mandated by the city— one dial facing merchants and the other customers—which had not arrived in time, were installed.

Market days were determined by when ice was delivered?

The city set the days of operation for each of its three municipal markets. The West Side Market never needed ice delivered. It was equipped with a state of the art refrigeration plant from day one. The original unit, rated at a cooling capacity of thirty tons of ice per day was replaced in 1914 with a machine was twice as big. Merchants could rent 5’x6’ cold storage lockers for $4 dollars a month. Cooler space was also rented to outside wholesalers and even private citizens until 1954.

The Market’s hours have always been the same?

The Rules and Regulations Governing Municipal Markets for the year 1912 state that the hours of operation for the Central, Broadway, and West Side markets would be from 5AM to 2PM weekdays, 5 AM to 10:30 PM on Saturdays. They changed multiple times over the years. By 1932, the West Side Market remained open until 3PM on weekdays, but closed at 9PM on Saturdays. In 1950, the Market was open 7AM to 5PM weekdays, and Saturdays from 7AM to 8 PM. Twenty years later, the market was locking the doors at 4PM on Mondays and Wednesdays, 6PM on Fridays, and 7PM on Saturdays. In 1977, 6 PM was closing time on both Fridays and Saturdays, as it is now.

The clock tower has kept time for 100 years?

While the 137-foot tower is an iconic structure in this Ohio City neighborhood the illuminated clock at the top hasn’t always been the most reliable keeper of time. The clock, made by the Seth Thomas Company, was originally hand-wound every eight days and maintained accurate time. But once electrified in 1954, power surges and electrical outages served to interrupt its dependable operation. Although it can’t be relied on as a timepiece now, the clock tower remains one of the most defining architectural features of the Market.

One of the two architects was named Charles Hubbell?

Benjamin Hubbell and his business partner Dominick Benes were the Market’s architects. Charles Hubbell (1929-1969) was a Cleveland artist famous for his aviation themed paintings, but many stories attribute the role to him. At some point a speaker or a writer mixed the two Hubbells up and the mistake has been perpetuated in magazine, newspaper articles, pamphlets, and blogs for decades.

There was a slaughterhouse in the basement?

A newspaper reporter in 1971 as well as the occasional unofficial tour guide has said that animals were herded into the basement to emerge as the rump roasts and ground chuck, pork chops and legs of lamb in vendor’s cases. The truth is that no live animal has ever entered the Market building (with the exception of a clever customer or two who would sneak in their small dog only to be escorted out). The basement has always been used as cold storage, meat cutting rooms and workspaces for the vendors.

The original counters were made of Carrara marble?

The countertops installed in 1912 were thick slabs of a revolutionary product called Carrara glass, named after the Italian stone because of its opaque milky white, marble-like color. The manufacturing process was invented in the early 1900’s. Sheets were cast then rolled to form a smooth even surface. They were cooled slowly, then fire-polished to produce a satiny finish The material, also known as Vitrolite and Sani-Onyx, was smooth, non-absorbent, durable, non-staining, easy to clean and affordable.

Vendors own their stands and sell whatever they choose?

Space at the Market is leased on a monthly basis from the city of Cleveland. Vendors own their tools, equipment and good name. They can sell or pass on their business only with approval from the city, which also has the final word on what can be sold from each stand. The goal is to maintain a balance of products, so typically when stands change hands, the type of food sold remains the same.

The West Side Market is a farmers market?

Perhaps it’s the open look of the arcades that create this impression but the variety of fruits and vegetables that fills vendors stands comes from all around the world. Even in the early days, when farmers did show up to sell what they grew, many vendors bought their produce from the commission houses in the wholesale food district along Broadway, Woodland, and Central Avenues, from E. Sixth to E. Ninth Street where product arrived by rail. Today, there are six commission houses in the Northern Ohio Food Terminal where vendors do their buying. Some also work directly with local growers to bring fresh, seasonal produce to their Market stands.


Laura Taxel & Marilou Suszko are the authors of Cleveland’s West Side Market: 100 Years & Still Cooking, published by the University of Akron Press in October, 2012. For information about appearances and book signings, check out their Facebook page www.facebook.com/westsidemarketbook . The authors are available for talk and tours. Contact mlsuszko@gmail.com or laurataxel@ameritech.net

For a copy of the book at a discounted rate of $25 and free shipping, visit http://wsm100.bigcartel.com and use the code: ARGUS at checkout.