{"id":1070,"featured":1,"modified":"2026-03-28 21:23:14","latitude":41.50249389999999749534254078753292560577392578125,"longitude":-81.6811033999999978050254867412149906158447265625,"title":"Hermit Club ","subtitle":"The Evolution of Cleveland's Oldest Private Club Dedicated to the Performing Arts","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/ca4a7f164a9b812e223d53fcf1c3bdfc.jpg","address":"1629 Dodge Ct, Cleveland, OH ","zoom":11,"creator":["Jordan Gallegos "],"description":"The Hermit Club was founded in 1904 by Cleveland architect Frank B. Meade, who was inspired by a visit to New York City's Lambs Club, a private social club devoted to the performing arts. After returning to Cleveland, Meade envisioned a similar space to serve the city's musicians and actors. He designed a clubhouse in a British pub style modeled after the Lambs Club.
Meade and his associates recruited members from all over Cleveland, notably from the Gatling Gun Company, which employed many musicians and performers. A budget of $10,000 was set for constructing a clubhouse on Hickox Alley (now East 3rd Street), near the Euclid Avenue Opera House, then the center of Cleveland's theater district. The building's brickwork, leaded windows, and floral wood engravings evoked its English inspiration.
From its beginning, the Hermit Club was both ambitious and exclusive. By 1909 it had grown large enough to need a bookkeeper, and its annual dues increased from $20 to $60, a substantial sum at the time. This high membership fee ensured that members were affluent and dedicated to musicianship and performance. The Club formed house and finance committees by 1910 to organize events and collaborations.
The Hermit Club quickly became a center for musical performance. Under the leadership of Meade, himself a trained musician, the Club featured musical concerts by the Original Fadette Jazz Orchestra, which included five violinists, a cellist, a bass violist, a clarinetist, a cornetist, and two pianists. The Club's first production, Hermits in Holland, set the tone for other musical \"pilgrimages,\" including performances set in Spain, Austria, Mexico, Africa, California, the American South, and so forth. These location-specific shows involved elaborate costumes, makeup, and acting as the Hermits tried to embody the cultures they portrayed on stage. By the mid-1920s, the Hermit Club hired an orchestra conductor and began composing original music.
The Hermit Club also played a notable role in Cleveland's civic and charitable life. Proceeds from early productions supported causes such as the Cleveland Day-Nurse Premature-Babies Dispensary and the Hospital of Cleveland. The Club shared costumes and resources with other organizations, hosted “ladies' nights,” fielded its own baseball team, and even branded tobacco and cigarette boxes. In 1911, the Club began accepting junior members between the ages of 21 and 23, offering them reduced dues and training from senior members, all in an effort to connect with colleges and engage younger performers.
The Club also adapted to legal and social change. When Ohio adopted prohibition in 1912, the Club halted its alcohol sales, resuming only after repeal in 1933. Membership held steady at around 100 members, but it then dropped during World War II when 40 members left for military service. After the war, membership rebounded. In 1971, the Hermits voted to permit women to attend meetings and participate formally, though women had long been present at some social events and galas.
A major physical change came in 1928, when the Hermit Club sold its original clubhouse as demand for office and retail space intensified on lower Euclid Avenue. The Club followed the eastward drift of Cleveland's entertainment district to Playhouse Square, building its new clubhouse at 1628 Dodge Court in a similar Tudor style to that of the original. Although Meade stepped down as the Club's president in 1938, the organization he founded continued to thrive.
In more recent decades, the Hermit Club maintained its status as a private institution with roughly 100 dues-paying members. Its biggest modern transformation came in 2016, when a 50-seat public restaurant serving German cuisine opened inside the building. While most of the clubhouse remains private, the restaurant allows non-members to experience the space and learn about Cleveland's cultural legacy. The Club has also maintained its musical tradition, contributing performances honoring figures such as Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra.
More than a century after its founding, the Hermit Club remains a living testament to Cleveland's artistic heritage. Like Playhouse Square, it nurtures a performance culture interwoven with civic engagement while providing a place for people to enjoy food and music.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":null,"website":"www.hofbrauhauscleveland.com/hermit-club","related_resources":["Crea, Joe. “Landmark Opens Up to Public for Dining; Hermit Club Serves Menu of German Cuisine.” The Plain Dealer. January 27, 2016.","Elwell, Herbert. “Cleveland String Quartet Opens 3-Week Festival of Chamber Music Tomorrow.” Cleveland Plain Dealer. May 11, 1941.","“Meade, Frank B.” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.","Gresmer, Olive. “The Lively Hermits.” Cleveland Plain Dealer. February 16, 1964.","Gresmer, Olive. “500 Live It Up at Gala Party of Hermit Club.” Cleveland Plain Dealer. June 6, 1966.","Wyman, John A. Ye’ve shared the best… A History of the Hermit Club. Cleveland: Hermit Club, 1993.","“Hermit Club.” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.","“The Hermit Club Is Considered One of the Biggest Secrets in Cleveland.” News 5 Cleveland (WEWS). December 26, 2019.","“Hermits Sing on Olden Days Note.” Cleveland Plain Dealer. May 16, 1953.","McLaughlin, Mary. “Served Up New Orleans Style.” Cleveland Plain Dealer. October 20, 1969.","Salisbury, Wilma. “Shy Hermit Club May Come Out of Hiding.” The Plain Dealer. July 3, 1983.","Snajdr, Robert I. “Time Is at Hand Now to Select Gift Books.” Cleveland Plain Dealer. November 7, 1954.","Strassmeyer, Mary. “Hermit’s Club’s Not in Hiding.” The Plain Dealer. November 13, 1972."],"factoids":["The slogan for The Hermit Club is ‘Ye’ve Shared Your Best,’ a phrase meaning you've come together and you've shared all the best moments."],"files":{"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/ca4a7f164a9b812e223d53fcf1c3bdfc.jpg":{"id":12847,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Second Hermit Club","description":"This photo, which appeared in William A. Barnhill's guidebook Byways of Cleveland in 1939, is a view of the northeast corner of the second, and current, Hermit Club building on 1629 Dodge Court. | Cleveland Public Library | 1939 | William A. Barnhill","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/ca4a7f164a9b812e223d53fcf1c3bdfc.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/69e845fd41fb2a203842cc31be07c0a7.jpg":{"id":12848,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Alley and Rear Entrance","description":"This is a photo of the alley and back entrance of the Hermit Club on 1629 Dodge Court. The photo appeared in William A. Barnhill's Byways of Cleveland. | Cleveland Public Library | 1939 | William A. Barnhill","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/69e845fd41fb2a203842cc31be07c0a7.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/279b9514ec11a688dde45f3207fe678b.jpg":{"id":12849,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Modern View of Clubhouse Entrance","description":"The photograph is an exterior view of the entrance to the Hermit Club, 1629 Dodge Court. The Cleveland 20/20 Project was a joint endeavor between Cleveland Public Library and the Cleveland Print Room that tasked local photographers with documenting Cleveland’s people and places. | Cleveland Public Library, Photograph Collection | September 19, 2019 | Adam Jaenke ","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/279b9514ec11a688dde45f3207fe678b.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/c9eda624dc80dce0a13b725e987be1c9.jpg":{"id":12850,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Front Door of Clubhouse","description":"The photograph is a close-up exterior view of the entrance to the Hermit Club, 1629 Dodge Court. The Cleveland 20/20 Project was a joint endeavor between Cleveland Public Library and the Cleveland Print Room that tasked local photographers with documenting Cleveland’s people and places. The golden plaque reads 'The Hermit Club, Founded in 1904, Dedicated to the Performing Arts'. | Cleveland Public Library, Photograph Collection | September 19, 2019 | Adam Jaenke","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/c9eda624dc80dce0a13b725e987be1c9.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/23edda4ca1e4f83b6c7be66c08f902c8.jpg":{"id":12921,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Original Hermit Club","description":"This sketch of the first Hermit Club building on E. 3rd St. appeared in a book by William H. Thomas. | Thomas, William H. The Pit, the Footlights, and the Wings: The Dramatic Record of the Hermit Club, 1904-1954 (1954). | William H. Thomas","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/23edda4ca1e4f83b6c7be66c08f902c8.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/25bcb6fdbb130a3033e1afacdd52bca5.jpg":{"id":12929,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Dancing at the Hermit Club","description":"This is a black and white photograph of young adults dancing inside the Hermit Club at an event in 1944. There is a band playing in the back of the crowded photo. | Cleveland Press Collection, Michael Schwartz Library Special Collections at Cleveland State University | January 3, 1944 | Unknown","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/25bcb6fdbb130a3033e1afacdd52bca5.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/f3260a6b02143c47356eac7c5a98a6f4.jpg":{"id":12930,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Interior View","description":"This black and white photograph captures an interior room in the Hermit Club building on 1629 Dodge Court. There are no people but the image shows the Tudor-influenced style of the club's interior, including wood-paneled walls and leaded windows. | Cleveland Press Collection, Michael Schwartz Library Special Collections at Cleveland State University | January 9, 1979 | Unknown","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/f3260a6b02143c47356eac7c5a98a6f4.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/0b8c810a0bb90db5af7c76680b55af37.jpg":{"id":12931,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Banquet at the Hermit Club","description":"This black and white image shows a banquet hosted by the Hermit Club. There are long tables filling the room and those photographed are in suites and dresses. | Cleveland Press Collection, Michael Schwartz Library Special Collections at Cleveland State University | January 15, 1970","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/0b8c810a0bb90db5af7c76680b55af37.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/ef9b98fb2fd6f6511d8f617d3f8f186c.jpg":{"id":12932,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Dining at the Hermit Club","description":"This black and white photo shows, from left to right, W. W. Spangal, Mrs. W. W. Spangal, H. C. Windsor, and John Hines being served a meal in the Hermit Club during the World War II era. | Cleveland Press Collection, Michael Schwartz Library Special Collections at Cleveland State University | July 24, 1942","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/ef9b98fb2fd6f6511d8f617d3f8f186c.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/40c2e73addb1d3c45b82ccfd73a13c47.jpg":{"id":12933,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Choral Group at the Club","description":"This black and white photo shows Jacob Hines conducting a choral group inside the Hermit Club building. | Cleveland Press Collection, Michael Schwartz Library Special Collections at Cleveland State University | May 12, 1942","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/40c2e73addb1d3c45b82ccfd73a13c47.jpg"}}}