Hubbell & Benes

(Benjamin Hubbell, 1857–1935; W. Dominic Benes, 1867–1933). “Their

first major project,” writes Johannesen, “was WADE MEMORIAL CHAPEL (1901) in LAKE VIEW CEMETERY. Other projects in Cleveland include the Citizens’ Bldg. (1903); the Cleveland School of Art (1905), demolished; the Mather College Gymnasium (1908); the WEST SIDE MARKET (1912) and the designs for adjacent (unbuilt) structures; the YMCA (1912); and the Illuminating Bldg. (1915) on Public Square.  Perhaps the firm’s most important building was the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART (1916). At this time they also drew up plans for cultural buildings around the Wade Park Oval. Afterwards came the Masonic Auditorium (1921); the PLAIN DEALER building (later used by the CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY) at Superior and E. 6th (1922), demolished; and, in 1927, the PHILLIS WHEATLEY ASSN. building, St. Luke’s Hospital, and the Ohio Bell Telephone Co. The latter, considered Cleveland’s most important early skyscraper, is noted for its Modernistic (Art Deco) style. The firm gained a reputation for its fine classical revival and early commercial structures. Hubbell and Benes is considered one of Cleveland’s leading architectural firms of the early 1900s.”