52-story Beaux-Arts skyscraper completed in 1927 on Cleveland's Public Square; ghost stories tied to two workmen, Patrick Toolis and Patrick Cleary, who were buried alive in concrete during a 1928 foundation collapse.
50 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44113
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Building lobby and Tower City Center mall are free. Observation Deck on the 42nd floor requires advance ticketing on dates when it is open to the public.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Modern lobby and elevators; ADA accessible. The Observation Deck is reached by elevator.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1927 · Cleveland Union Terminal · Beaux-Arts Skyscraper · Van Sweringen Brothers · Second-Tallest Building in the World (1928-1930)
The Van Sweringen brothers, Cleveland's interurban-rail magnates, conceived Terminal Tower as the centerpiece of an enormous mixed-use complex anchored on the city's Public Square. The Cleveland Union Terminal complex would consolidate the city's rail traffic underground while siting offices, retail, hotels, and the Hotel Cleveland above. Chicago firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White produced the Beaux-Arts design.
Foundation work began in 1923. Engineers excavated dozens of deep caisson pits to bedrock — each approximately 103 feet below grade — and filled them with concrete to form load-bearing pillars. The work was dangerous: shafts were narrow, walls between shafts were often less than a few feet thick, and concrete was poured while crews worked in adjacent pits.
On October 16, 1928, the wall between two of those shafts failed. Workers Patrick Toolis, age 29, and Patrick Cleary, age 27, were at the bottom of one pit when freshly-poured concrete from the adjoining shaft rushed in. Both were buried alive. Recovery efforts ran for hours. According to multiple accounts, Toolis was found blown against the side of the shaft, while Cleary was found upright with his hands reaching toward the hoist that would have carried him out.
The tower opened in 1928 and was dedicated formally on June 28, 1930. At 708 feet (originally 723 feet including the original spire), it was the second-tallest building in the world at completion — surpassed at the time only by the Woolworth Building in New York — and remained the tallest building outside New York City until 1953. Today, Terminal Tower is part of Tower City Center, with the lower floors converted to retail and the upper floors housing offices and residential units. The 42nd-floor Observation Deck reopened to the public on a scheduled basis after extensive 21st-century renovations.
Sources
Terminal Tower's haunting reputation is anchored to one of the best-documented construction tragedies in Cleveland history. According to WKYC's reporting and the Tours of Cleveland 'Terminal Death Pit' feature, on October 16, 1928, workers Patrick Toolis (age 29) and Patrick Cleary (age 27) were at the bottom of a 103-foot caisson pit when the thin wall between their shaft and an adjacent pit filled with fresh concrete gave way. The concrete rushed in and buried both men. Rescue crews labored for hours to recover the bodies. The story is preserved in period news coverage and has been retold by Cleveland history writers ever since.
The paranormal lore that has grown around the building draws on this anchor. WKYC's 'The ghost of the Terminal Tower is around to stay' feature describes reports of a figure in 1920s-style workman's overalls hanging in the rafters above the building's lobby — visible briefly, then gone. Tours of Cleveland's writeup adds disembodied footsteps in upper hallways and laughter heard in spaces that are empty when investigated.
Other named lore figures include a cigar-smoking man in older dress, sometimes interpreted as one of the foremen or executives associated with the seven-year construction era. Multiple worker deaths are believed to have occurred across the 1923-1929 construction window in addition to the Toolis-Cleary incident, although a definitive total has not been compiled in the sources used here.
The ghost stories are anchored in real, documented deaths, but specific apparition encounters are sourced primarily from ghost-tour operators and local journalism — the building itself does not promote or acknowledge them.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
On scheduled dates, the Terminal Tower 42nd-floor Observation Deck is opened to the public with timed-entry tickets. The deck offers 360-degree views of Cleveland, Lake Erie, and — on clear days — into Canada. Ghost-tour operators in Cleveland include the lobby and tower in walking-tour routes.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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