Police Buildings: Fourth Precinct, 1888 E. 55th, ca. 1896
In January of 1883 the Cleveland Police Department went through a major reorganization, surpassed only by the enactment of the Metropolitan Police Act in 1866. Precinct boundaries and the numbering…
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“The Little Lost Girl” Painting
The painting of a policeman guiding and protecting a small girl has graced the walls of the Cleveland Police Department, and now the Cleveland Police Museum, for many years. Many…
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Police Buildings: Third Precinct, 2495 East 35th, ca. 1872
The Third and Sixth precincts bordered each other, with both having station houses along Woodland Avenue. In 1878, between the two precincts there were “eight hundred arrests, two hundred and…
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Police Buildings: Second Precinct, ca 1869
The two-story brick building included ten prison cells, offices, an armory, a lunch room, and bath rooms. At the time, it was described as being “of creditable appearance and…is an…
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Police Buildings: Watch houses, 1853 to 1875
Prior to 1853, the city rented buildings to house both the Watchmen and the prisoners. Newspaper records show Council authorizing the payment of rent and repairs for a Watch House…
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Communications: The Radio Room
The Cleveland Police Department installed a new communication system at Central Station in 1929. The radio was designed by Ralph C. Folkman and using the call letters WRBH, the station…
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Police Buildings: Second Central Station and Patrol Station #1, 1894-1925
Designed by architects Lehman and Schmitt, the new station was “as much in touch with the advances made in the last thirty years as was the old one at the…
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Police Buildings: First Central Station and Precinct, 1863-1893
The First Precinct boundaries at this time ran from the Cuyahoga River along the lake shore to Erie Street, to Euclid Avenue, to Brownell Street, to Woodland Avenue, to Cross…
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The Cleveland Police “Sign Shop”
As automobile traffic increased in the United States, auto clubs sprang up across the country. In the early 1900s, these clubs began discussing the need for uniform traffic regulations. Individual…
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Communications: Murphy Call Box
In 1907, Jerry Murphy developed his most efficient and successful version of the call box system. The new call boxes were significantly smaller – still tall, but made of steel…
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Criminal Identification: Fingerprinting
In 1904, George Koestle and Chief of Police Fred Kohler traveled to the St. Louis World’s Fair to witness a demonstration of a new method of criminal identification, fingerprinting. Based…
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Eliot Ness’ Final Resting Place
The Memorial Service for Eliot Ness, his wife Elisabeth and their son Robert took place on September 10, 1997, organized by the Cleveland Police Historical Society and Museum. The service…
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Traffic Semaphore
The Cleveland Police used traffic semaphores to bring order and safety to our streets. The officer set up the semaphore in the middle of the intersection and controlled the flow…
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Criminal Identification: Early Mug Shots
In 1896, the Cleveland Police Department created the Bureau of Criminal Identification, led by George Koestle. As a young man, Koestle worked for one of the commercial photographers hired by…
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Criminal Identification: The Bertillon System
The Plain Dealer touted the new system in an extensive article on July 31, 1898: “Another great stride forward has been made in the local police department by the adoption…
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