It is a date burned in architect and community historian Alan Fodor's memory.

"March 30. It was a Tuesday."

That was the day this spring that one wall of the historically significant gatehouse at Ohio City's Monroe Street Cemetery partially collapsed . . . with a loud boom. "I'm told by neighbors that it sounded like a car crashing," said Fodor, who has worked for nearly a decade with the Monroe Street Cemetery Foundation.



The foundation and the city of Cleveland are working to preserve and restore the 200-year-old cemetery and its distinctive architectural treasures.

The 1876 gatehouse, located steps away from the grand, blackened sandstone arch etched with the cemetery's name, had been out of use for years and locked up ever since a worker was almost seriously injured when the wood floor gave out.

Originally, said Fodor, the two-room building was used for grieving families and cemetery records. The collapse in the structure -- previously thought to be sound because of a strong foundation -- was a blow to those working to restore the cemetery's dignity and beauty through an ambitious ("All the bells and whistles," said Fodor) $350,000 renovation. Most of those ideas have been shelved, but the work on estimating the cost to bring the gatehouse back to life, so to speak, is under way.

The Monroe Street group is getting help from Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, who has started the process of obtaining city funds for the restoration.

Cimperman has issued a request for proposal for assessment services, said Fodor. This is the first step in getting capital improvement funding for assessment and repair of the gatehouse. The request includes money for the renovation of the archway and gatehouse at Erie Street Cemetery across the street from Progressive Field.

Monroe Street Cemetery "is such a gem in the middle of our community," said Cimperman, standing next to the damaged building late last week in the steamy early afternoon heat. He was alongside Fodor and Linda Litto, president of the Monroe Street Cemetery Foundation, to talk about restoration of the scarred and visually fragile structure.

The partial collapse "is a tragedy," said Cimperman, adding that he is also waiting to see at the end of this year if there is any unused money from the parks and recreation division budget that can be funneled to gatehouse reconstruction.

"I can't wait until Jan. 2," responded Fodor, smiling at the thought.

Not content to wait on money from city sources, the Monroe Street association is holding several fundraisers, the first of which is an "Archi-Treasure Hunt" at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, at the Franklin Circle Christian Church, 1688 Fulton Ave.

Participants will walk through Ohio City searching for a list of "architectural treasures" from the past two centuries. Hunters finding them all will be entered into a drawing to win an original piece of artwork. There will also be refreshments, a silent auction, and a guided tour of the Franklin Circle Christian Church. Cost is $35, a portion of which is tax deductible.

So why exactly did the western wall collapse? More than likely it was the result of a clogged "hidden" gutter, said Fodor. The gatehouse, like many 19th-century structures, had a metal decorative band encircling it just below the roofline. That band hid a gutter.

During the building's early days, all rainwater was funneled off the roof through this hidden gutter. As time when on, the gutter became clogged, and moisture started seeping under the roofline. Fodor said the moisture likely damaged roof support, causing it to sag. That sagging put pressure on the walls. Inevitably, the stone exterior wall couldn't handle it and blew out.

The internal brick wall remains, although damaged.

The fragile structure poses a danger to anyone walking nearby, so its entire circumference is blocked by a temporary orange plastic fence. This includes the nearby archway entry to the cemetery. A temporary entrance at the far eastern end on Monroe Street allows entry to the cemetery.

All the fallen stones and bricks were picked up and are now in storage, said Fodor.

Fodor is pretty sure the structure -- braced with wooden boards and slats -- is stabilized. He also has an idea to repurpose the building into a columbarium, a building to hold cremated remains. There could be 250 to 350 niches, which could be sold for several thousand dollars each, giving the city possibly as much as $600,000.

Also, a computer could be installed in the building for people to research grave sites, said Fodor.

"This would make it [the gatehouse] useful again," he said.

All this effort is in acknowledgment of Monroe Street Cemetery's place in Cleveland history. It is the oldest cemetery on the West Side, with the first burial taking place in 1818, before the land was officially a cemetery. In 1836, the land between West 25th Street and Fulton Avenue was sold to Brooklyn Township, and in 1854 it was annexed along with Ohio City to the city of Cleveland. It is still an active cemetery with sporadic burials.

Many famous early Clevelanders --- including many involved in the founding of the city -- are among the more than 31,400 people buried in the land taken care of by the parks and recreation division.

Its nearly 14 acres are shaded by old oaks and maples. Well-worn paths snake past worn markers and obelisks.

"People care about this cemetery," said Cimperman.

For that reason, "we aren't giving up," added Fodor.

For more information, call 216-961-6945.