Cleveland Museum of Natural History (Cleveland Museum of Natural History)
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum located approximately five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland, Ohio in University Circle, a 550-acre (220 ha) concentration of educational, cultural and medical institutions. The museum was established in 1920 by Cyrus S. Eaton to perform research, education and development of collections in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, botany, geology, paleontology, wildlife biology, and zoology. The museum traces its roots to the Ark, formed in 1836 on Cleveland's Public Square by William Case, the Academy of Natural Science formed by William Case and Jared Potter Kirtland, and the Kirtland Society of Natural History, founded in 1869 and reinvigorated in 1922 by the trustees of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Donald Johanson was the curator of the museum when he discovered "Lucy," the skeletal remains of the ancient hominid Australopithecus afarensis. The current Curator and Head of the Physical Anthropology Department is Yohannes Haile-Selassie.
The museum has embarked on a multi-year, $150 million renovation and expansion project. DLR Group was selected to design the project in June 2019, and the museum broke ground on its new visitor hall, lobby and exhibit wing in June 2021. A new entrance and other upgrades opened in December 2022. The project is scheduled to be completed in December 2024, two years ahead of the original schedule.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History traces its founding, in part, back to the 1830s. A two-room frame house located on the northeast side of Public Square, known as the Ark, housed taxidermy ranging from birds to reptiles and mammals. This was the collection of Leonard Case Sr., who passed the collection and building to his sons Leonard Case Jr. and William Case. The Ark was frequented by a group of 26 men known as Arkites. These men collected, researched, and discussed findings with each other. There were no museums in Cleveland at the time.
In 1876 the Ark moved to nearby Case Hall. The original structure was torn down to build a post office. The collection remained there until 1916, when the facility was converted to the Cleveland Public Library.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, as it is known today, was founded in 1920. It was located in an office of the Lennox Building. At the end of the following year, the museum moved to a mansion on Euclid Avenue, a part of Cleveland's millionaires' row. This location was first opened to the public June 24, 1922.
The museum received the precious stone collection of Jeptha Wade II, after his death in 1926. In 1930, the museum organized an ornithological safari to Kenya, expanding the Case collection. The Haplocanthosaurus dinosaur, discovered by museum crew in 1954, is one of the most complete examples ever found of this 70-footlong sauropod. Beyond their walls, the museum participated in the operation of the Cleveland Zoo from 1940 and 1975; it also served as a leading force behind the creation of the Cleveland Aquarium, which it administered until 1985. In 1995 the museum maintained 12 natural areas in surrounding counties as sanctuaries.
In 1958, the museum moved to its current location in University Circle at Wade Park. The new, two-level building housed exhibits and educational activities, while the collections were stored off-site. Additions quickly followed, including an observatory, planetarium and the Kirtland Hall of Nature.
The Ralph Mueller Observatory opened in December 1960. It houses a 10½-inch refracting telescope built by the Warner & Swasey Co. of Cleveland in 1899. J.A. Brashear Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a division of American Optical Company, ground the optics. Warner & Swasey Co. originally donated the telescope to Western Reserve College (now Case Western Reserve University). It was located on the roof of the university's physics building for 61 years before being acquired by the museum.
An 85,000 square feet addition in 1972 enlarged the museum, adding galleries, the Murch Auditorium, the Harold T. Clark Library and Rare Book Room, classrooms, a paleontology laboratory, and the front entrance and lobby. This created a circular building with a courtyard in the middle.
Donald Johanson was the curator of the museum when he discovered "Lucy," the skeletal remains of the ancient hominid Australopithecus afarensis. The current Curator and Head of the Physical Anthropology Department is Yohannes Haile-Selassie.
The museum has embarked on a multi-year, $150 million renovation and expansion project. DLR Group was selected to design the project in June 2019, and the museum broke ground on its new visitor hall, lobby and exhibit wing in June 2021. A new entrance and other upgrades opened in December 2022. The project is scheduled to be completed in December 2024, two years ahead of the original schedule.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History traces its founding, in part, back to the 1830s. A two-room frame house located on the northeast side of Public Square, known as the Ark, housed taxidermy ranging from birds to reptiles and mammals. This was the collection of Leonard Case Sr., who passed the collection and building to his sons Leonard Case Jr. and William Case. The Ark was frequented by a group of 26 men known as Arkites. These men collected, researched, and discussed findings with each other. There were no museums in Cleveland at the time.
In 1876 the Ark moved to nearby Case Hall. The original structure was torn down to build a post office. The collection remained there until 1916, when the facility was converted to the Cleveland Public Library.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, as it is known today, was founded in 1920. It was located in an office of the Lennox Building. At the end of the following year, the museum moved to a mansion on Euclid Avenue, a part of Cleveland's millionaires' row. This location was first opened to the public June 24, 1922.
The museum received the precious stone collection of Jeptha Wade II, after his death in 1926. In 1930, the museum organized an ornithological safari to Kenya, expanding the Case collection. The Haplocanthosaurus dinosaur, discovered by museum crew in 1954, is one of the most complete examples ever found of this 70-footlong sauropod. Beyond their walls, the museum participated in the operation of the Cleveland Zoo from 1940 and 1975; it also served as a leading force behind the creation of the Cleveland Aquarium, which it administered until 1985. In 1995 the museum maintained 12 natural areas in surrounding counties as sanctuaries.
In 1958, the museum moved to its current location in University Circle at Wade Park. The new, two-level building housed exhibits and educational activities, while the collections were stored off-site. Additions quickly followed, including an observatory, planetarium and the Kirtland Hall of Nature.
The Ralph Mueller Observatory opened in December 1960. It houses a 10½-inch refracting telescope built by the Warner & Swasey Co. of Cleveland in 1899. J.A. Brashear Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a division of American Optical Company, ground the optics. Warner & Swasey Co. originally donated the telescope to Western Reserve College (now Case Western Reserve University). It was located on the roof of the university's physics building for 61 years before being acquired by the museum.
An 85,000 square feet addition in 1972 enlarged the museum, adding galleries, the Murch Auditorium, the Harold T. Clark Library and Rare Book Room, classrooms, a paleontology laboratory, and the front entrance and lobby. This created a circular building with a courtyard in the middle.
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