Invisible Giants: The Empires of Cleveland's Van Sweringen Brothers (Ohio)

Invisible Giants is the Horatio Alger-esque tale of a pair of reclusive Cleveland brothers, Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen, who rose from poverty to become two of the most powerful men in America. They controlled the country's largest railroad system -- a network of track reaching from the Atlantic to Salt Lake City and from Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. On the eve of the Great Depression they were close to controlling the country's first coast-to-coast rail system -- a goal that still eludes us. They created the model upper-class suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio, with its unique rapid transit access. They built Cleveland's landmark Terminal Tower and its innovative "city within a city" complex. Indisputably, they created modern Cleveland. Yet beyond a small, closely knit circle, the bachelor Van Sweringen brothers were enigmas. Their actions were aggressive, creative, and bold, but their manner was modest, mild, and retiring. Dismissed by many as mere shoestring financial manipulators, they created enduring works, which remain strong today. The Van Sweringen story begins in early-20th-century Cleveland suburban real estate and reaches its zenith in the heady late 1920s, amid the turmoil of national transportation power politics and unprecedented empire-building. As the Great Depression destroyed many of their fellow financiers, the "Vans" survived through imaginative stubbornness -- until tragedy ended their careers almost simultaneously. Invisible Giants is the first comprehensive biography of these two remarkable if mysterious men. A comprehensive biography of the rise of the famous railroad barons who developed Shaker Heights, Ohio. Invisible Giants is the Horatio Alger-esque tale of a pair of reclusive Cleveland brothers, Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen, who rose from poverty to become two of the most powerful men in America. They controlled the country's largest railroad system—a network of track reaching from the Atlantic to Salt Lake City and from Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. On the eve of the Great Depression they were close to controlling the country's first coast-to-coast rail system—a goal that still eludes us. They created the model upper-class suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio, with its unique rapid transit access. They built Cleveland's landmark Terminal Tower and its innovative "city within a city" complex. Indisputably, they created modern Cleveland. Yet beyond a small, closely knit circle, the bachelor Van Sweringen brothers were enigmas. Their actions were aggressive, creative, and bold, but their manner was modest, mild, and retiring. Dismissed by many as mere shoestring financial manipulators, they created enduring works, which remain strong today. The Van Sweringen story begins in early-twentieth-century Cleveland suburban real estate and reaches its zenith in the heady late 1920s, amid the turmoil of national transportation power politics and unprecedented empire-building. As the Great Depression destroyed many of their fellow financiers, the "Vans" survived through imaginative stubbornness—until tragedy ended their careers almost simultaneously. Invisible Giants is the first comprehensive biography of these two remarkable if mysterious men. Annotation Invisible Giants is the Horatio Alger-esque tale of a pair of reclusive Cleveland brothers, Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen, who rose from poverty to become two of the most powerful men in America. They controlled the country's largest railroad system -- a network of track reaching from the Atlantic to Salt Lake City and from Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. On the eve of the Great Depression they were close to controlling the country's first coast-to-coast rail system -- a goal that still eludes us. They created the model upper-class suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio, with its unique rapid transit access. They built Cleveland's landmark Terminal Tower and its innovative "city within a city" complex. Indisputably, they created modern Cleveland. Yet beyond a small, closely knit circle, the bachelor Van Sweringen brothers were enigmas. Their actions were aggressive, creative, and bold, but their manner was modest, mild, and retiring. Dismissed by many as mere shoe-string financial manipulators, they created enduring works, which remain strong today. The Van Sweringen story begins in early-20th-century Cleveland suburban real estate and reaches its zenith in the heady late 1920s, amid the turmoil of national transportation power politics and unprecedented empire-building. As the Great Depression destroyed many of their fellow financiers, the "Vans" survived through imaginative stubbornness -- until tragedy ended their careers almost simultaneously. Invisible Giants is the first comprehensive biography of these two remarkable if mysterious men

Invisible Giants is the Horatio Alger-esque tale of a pair of reclusive Cleveland brothers, Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen, who rose from poverty to become two of the most powerful men in America. They controlled the country’s largest railroad system—a network of track reaching from the Atlantic to Salt Lake City and from Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. On the eve of the Great Depression they were close to controlling the country’s first coast-to-coast rail system—a goal that still eludes us. They created the model upper-class suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio, with its unique rapid transit access. They built Cleveland’s landmark Terminal Tower and its innovative "city within a city" complex. Indisputably, they created modern Cleveland.

Yet beyond a small, closely knit circle, the bachelor Van Sweringen brothers were enigmas. Their actions were aggressive, creative, and bold, but their manner was modest, mild, and retiring. Dismissed by many as mere shoestring financial manipulators, they created enduring works, which remain strong today. The Van Sweringen story begins in early-20th-century Cleveland suburban real estate and reaches its zenith in the heady late 1920s, amid the turmoil of national transportation power politics and unprecedented empire-building. As the Great Depression destroyed many of their fellow financiers, the "Vans" survived through imaginative stubbornness—until tragedy ended their careers almost simultaneously. Invisible Giants is the first comprehensive biography of these two remarkable if mysterious men.

0253341639......Page 1 Introduction......Page 8 1 • Oasis in a Gritty City......Page 20 2 • The Ideal Suburb......Page 30 3 • Mr. Smith Sells a Farm......Page 46 4 • Mr. Smith Sells a Railroad......Page 55 5 • Shaping Solid Forms......Page 67 6 • A Difficult Birth at the Public Square......Page 77 7 • The Beginnings of an Empire......Page 90 8 • To the South, East, and North......Page 104 9 • Taking Stock: 1924......Page 119 10 • Some Shadows Fleet By......Page 133 11 • Building, Rebuilding, and Juggling......Page 144 12 • Consolidation Anarchy I: The Maverick and the General......Page 160 13 • Consolidation Anarchy II: The Street Fighter......Page 170 14 • The Summit I: An Appalachian Peak in the Rockies......Page 180 15 • The Summit II: Filling Out the Railroad Map......Page 193 16 • The Summit III: Consummation in Cleveland—and a Jolt......Page 207 17 • Completions and Complications......Page 219 18 • Taking Stock: 1930......Page 236 19 • Sudden Darkness......Page 253 20 • The Rails Roll Downgrade......Page 265 21 • A New World......Page 274 22 • The Cruelest Year......Page 288 23 • The Last Train......Page 300 24 • Epilogue I: New Empires from Old......Page 311 25 • Epilogue II: The Ghosts......Page 324 Notes......Page 332 Sources and Acknowledgments......Page 352 Index......Page 356 "This is the Horatio Algeresque tale of Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen, who rose from poverty to become two of the most powerful men in the country. They controlled the country's largest railroad system - a network of track reaching from the Atlantic to Salt Lake City and from Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. They created the model upper-class suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio, with its unique rapid-transit access. They built Cleveland's landmark Terminal Tower and its innovative "city within a city" complex. Indisputably, they created modern Cleveland." "The Van Sweringen story begins in early-twentieth-century Cleveland suburban real estate and reaches its zenith in the heady late 1920s amid the turmoil of national transportation power politics and unprecedented empire-building. But as the Great Depression was destroying many of their fellow financiers, the "Vans" managed to survive through imaginative stubbornness - until tragedy ended their careers almost simultaneously. Invisible Giants is the first comprehensive biography of these two remarkable, if mysterious, men."--Jacket. Cleveland's bachelor Van Sweringen brothers created the country's largest railroad network, and innovative "city within a city" complex Cleveland, Ohio, at the turn of the twentieth century was a booming, wealthy city but not a particularly pretty one.