The Cleveland Board of Education Building would open in 1931 on Cleveland’s Mall. Today the building is the Drury Plaza Hotel. The office building was one of the many buildings designed by Cleveland’s own Walker and Weeks architecture firm. It was the last of the public buildings to be built in the early 1900’s that were part of the Group Plan of 1903, which help redesign this part of downtown.
The Drury hotel bought the building in 2013 and began a three year renovation project transforming it into a 189 room hotel, which opened in 2016. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District would move their offices a couple blocks away.
The two story lobby still contains the original murals done by Cora Holden, “Progress of Education” and “Branches of Education”. Cora worked with Walker and Weeks on several of their buildings in Cleveland. The statue of Abraham Lincoln, by Max Kalish, stands outside the building, on the side facing the mall.
Guided Walking Tours of Cleveland
The Board of Education building and the statue of Abraham Lincoln are included in our guided walking tours of downtown Cleveland. All summer 2020 long, tours are offered daily, with small group sizes. Learn more, see our schedule and book your tour at www.toursofcleveland.com.
