On May 18, 2007, NOCSIA members heard a presentation by Frank Wrenick on “Streamline Era Greyhound Terminals” at the Hermit Club.
In post-Depression America, the Greyhound Bus Company brought the glamour of travel within reach of everyone, regardless of financial status, and the company found an architect able to embody, in architectural form, the sleek aerodynamics of its buses: William Strudwick Arrasmith. In his new book, The Streamline Era Greyhound Terminals: The Architecture of W. S. Arrasmith, NOCSIA member Frank Wrenick explores the life and career of one of architecture’s defining artists during the short-lived era of streamline design. He examines Arrasmith’s development as an architect, focusing on his work for Greyhound during the company’s streamline era, from 1937 to 1948, when Arrasmith designed some fifty terminals and other facilities that spanned the country.
Following his illustrated presentation, Wrenick will sign his book and lead a short tour of Cleveland’s Greyhound Bus Terminal.
Frank Wrenick is a retired attorney and active preservationist. He authored successful nominations to National Register for Cleveland’s 1960s McDonald’s drive-in and the Greyhound Bus Terminal, and helped rescue the Cleveland Indians’ Chief Wahoo rooftop stadium sign (now exhibited at the Western Reserve Historical Society). With architectural historian Daniel Vieyra, he is currently working on a book about Cleveland’s automobile manufacturing era.
The private Hermit Club was built in 1928 as a meeting place for professionals and business people with talent and interest in the performing arts. The English Tudor-style building was designed by Cleveland architect Frank B. Meade, organizer of the club, who patterned it after New York’s Lambs Club. The Hermit Club is located off Chester Avenue in downtown Cleveland, between East 15th and East 17 Streets.