Skrtic's Pic: Erin Elisabeth Western, Cleveland Trust Building and Downtown Heinen's

John Skrtic has been with the Cleveland Public Library for over 30 years. He now serves as the chief of special projects and collections, which makes him responsible for overseeing the 11 million items in the Library Collection. He holds a master's of library and information science from Kent State University and a master's of public administration from Cleveland State University. Skrtic grew up on East 41st Street in Downtown Cleveland and has lived in the city his entire life. He is father of two children and spends his free time archiving the people and places of Cleveland.

Some Cleveland stories have a way of finding each other across generations. A few years ago, Erin Elisabeth Western shared one with me that I have never forgotten. Her great-grandfather, Paul B. Edgar, spent more than four decades working inside the downtown Cleveland Trust Company, beginning in 1920 and continuing into the early 1960s. He helped serve Clevelanders through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, and the incredible growth that followed. Erin proudly shared the 25-year service watch he received, a reminder of his dedication and the important role he played in our city’s history.

When the Cleveland Trust Building opened in 1908, it represented the confidence, ambition, and promise of a growing Cleveland. Designed by renowned architect George B. Post, the building became one of the city's greatest landmarks. The magnificent rotunda, reminiscent of Rome's Pantheon, with its stained-glass dome and murals celebrating Ohio's settlement and growth, was more than a beautiful space. It was where Clevelanders opened accounts, built businesses, bought homes, and planned for their futures. Generations of Clevelanders walked through those doors. More than a century later, when Heinen's transformed this historic space, Clevelanders celebrated what many called the most beautiful grocery store in America. It became a place where history, architecture, food, and community came together beneath one incredible dome.

More than a century after her great-grandfather worked there, Erin chose to work at Heinen’s because of her family connection. She walked beneath the same dome and across the same floors where Paul spent so much of his life. The building changed, but the stories remained. This week, I had the chance to see Erin one last time before downtown Heinen’s closes. Like so many Clevelanders, we are collectively sad to see Heinen’s leave downtown. It became much more than a grocery store. It was a gathering place, a place where friendships were made, and a place that continued the long tradition of this building serving the people of Cleveland.

At the same time, we are thankful for the years we had Heinen’s downtown and look forward to the next chapter for this remarkable landmark. Not long afterward, Erin and her mother, Linda, stopped by Cleveland Public Library’s Main Library, where I was able to photograph them together. It reminded me how many family stories are woven into the streets, buildings, and neighborhoods of Cleveland. A bank becomes a grocery store. A library preserves the photographs, newspapers, and memories that help us understand why these places mattered.

That is what I love most about Cleveland. The past is never really behind us. It appears in an old service watch, a familiar face, a family photograph preserved at the Main Library, and stories passed from one generation to the next. Places like the Cleveland Trust Building are more than bricks, steel, and glass. They become part of our families, our memories, and our identity as Clevelanders. When we take the time to preserve those stories, we give a gift to generations we may never meet.

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