The Graceful Gathering 2020 Location
The Lake Erie Building in Cleveland, Ohio
We loved chatting with Hannah from the Lake Erie Building this week! Here is a little more about this amazing building and the coordinator that we are so excited to work with, Hannah!
Photo Credit to Austin and Rachel Photography. Photo Credit to Austin and Rachel Photography. Photo Credit to Austin and Rachel Photography.
What is the History of The Lake Erie Building?
The Lake Erie Building is steeped in history, dating back to the early 1900s. The building was first utilized to manufacture Templar Cars beginning in 1917. Everything from the engine building to painting of the cars was done in this very building, and the elevators we have onsite are how the cars were transported from each floor of production. We even had a test track where the west parking lot is now located! Upon closure of Templar motors in 1924, Bramley Moving and Storage took up residence in the building and were followed shortly after by Wasmer and Tru-Fit Fasteners. In 1947, the Wasmer family started Lake Erie Screw Products, which continued at the Athens Avenue location until 2004. This is where our building got the nickname The Screw Factory.
Currently, the Lake Erie Building is owned and operated by Omni Lakewood LTD and we are home to over 100 business tenants from art studios to fitness studios to steel processing plants. We also have the Lake Erie Room, which is our second floor event space. The Lake Erie Room hosted its first wedding in 2013 and took off hosting events a couple years later! We’ve made many improvements to the event space including adding air conditioning, restrooms, and a large prep kitchen for caterers to use during events!
What is the best place to stay near The Lake Erie Building?
My personal favorite hotel is the Kimpton Schofield in downtown Cleveland! There are also some extremely adorable airbnb’s that are within walking distance to the Lake Erie Building as well!
What is your personal favorite detail about The Lake Erie Building?
The glow of our Edison lights in the Lake Erie Room at night. There is a ton of natural light in our space, which is gorgeous, but as soon as the sun starts setting and you have the sunset peeking through the hundred year old frosted glass windows coupled with the Edison lights that emit just the right hue of light – it transforms the space from another industrial building to this gorgeous, cozy, magical event space.
Does The Lake Erie Building offer design services? This is the first time I’m saying this publicly, but YES! We are going to be offering event design services AND floral design services beginning this year to any clients that want just a bit more assistance in that department. A lot of couples walk into my space and feel overwhelmed at the thought of decorating, but having someone to listen to their vision and tell them not only how but that we can make it happen – I think is going to be an invaluable feature moving forward in this industry! That said, I don’t want to take jobs or credit away from anyone else, so if our clients come in with a strong vision and a knowledge of how to make it happen, they can absolutely still DIY the space. And if they want to bring in another planner or designer or florist, that is wonderful too! We are happy to work with any vendor and will gladly show them around the space so they know the ins and outs of the building prior to the event day!
Design is one of the areas of the event planning process I love most, so being able to have the opportunity to work with clients on a deeper level is exciting!
What are you most excited about for The Graceful Gathering?
I’m looking forward to hosting a workshop in our space! It’s not common for me to get the opportunity to have workshops and networking events in the space since we usually book so far in advance, so I’m excited to show the room off to different vendors that maybe haven’t yet had the opportunity to work here! I’m also excited to be providing the florals for one of the styled shoots!
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