The Alta House Social Settlement traces its origin to August 5, 1895, when residents of the Little Italy neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, encouraged by Miss Alta Rockefeller and many prominent Clevelanders, opened a day nursery for the many working women in the area. John D. Rockefeller pledged $1,200 for the institution's first year. The need the nursery filled was demonstrated when two hundred eighteen children attended the nursery during its first three weeks. Only a month later, this same group opened a kindergarten. Soon the building which housed the nursery and the kindergarten became the center for a variety of community activities as boys' clubs, sewing and cooking classes, and neighborhood social gatherings used the building's facilities. So many groups used the nursery building that a larger structure soon became necessary. In 1898, John D. Rockefeller agreed to finance the construction of a new building. This structure was completed in 1900 and officially dedicated on February 20, 1900. This building still stands today at 12515 Mayfield Road in Cleveland.
Alta House was successful as a community center offering an increased number of services to the community, including a day nursery; two kindergartens; boys' clubs; girls' classes in sewing, millinery, and cooking; a school for eighteen physically handicapped children; a gymnasium; a medical dispensary; a resident visiting nurse; public baths; a public laundry; and a playground.
Supervising and coordinating these many activities proved a time-consuming task for the nursery association. A board of trustees, separate from the nursery association, was organized to supervise these activities; the board of trustees of Alta House held its first meeting on October 15, 1900.
In 1910, John D. Rockefeller purchased a tract of land for the enlargement of the Alta House playground. In 1913, Rockefeller donated a building to Alta House. One half of this building was converted into a library while the other half became the swimming pool and a new gymnasium. Rockefeller's assistance was not restricted to financial contributions for he often took an active role in assisting the Alta House board in the decision making process.
In 1921, John D. Rockefeller, reminding the Alta House board that Alta House was never intended as a permanent memorial to his family, asked the board to relieve him of the financial burden of the settlement house as soon as alternate funding could be obtained. In 1922 the Cleveland Community Fund undertook the financial support of Alta House. The Rockefeller family's interest in Alta House continued, however, for in 1940 Alta Rockefeller Prentice paid off a $14,000 mortgage owed by the settlement. In 1954 the Beaumont and Cleveland Foundations and Mrs. Prentice were instrumental in providing funds for the expansion of the swimming pool and the physical education facilities. It is estimated that the Rockefeller family gave more than $300,000 to Alta House.
A large part of the settlement's service to the community involves the multiplicity of small group activities offered. Activities range from bridge games to basketball and from classes in Italian for the descendents of immigrants to classes in English for immigrants themselves.
A particular concern of Alta House in the past has been population shifts in the Little Italy neighborhood. As early as 1957, a report on the population of Little Italy stated, "The Italian population is showing signs of moving away and is being replaced by white immigrants from the South." Alta House has attempted to stabilize the neighborhood and offer a variety of programs to a broad community of interests.
The Alta House Records, 1963-1974, consist of board minutes, correspondence, financial records, and papers relating to their programs.
This collection reveals the normal workings of an Italian-American neighborhood center. The records were the possession of the House's president, Frank Borchert, and include materials relating to the Little Italy Development Commission and the Little Italy Redevelopment Project.
The collection is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
The researcher should also consult MS 3401 Alta House Records.
Processed by Daniel J. Linke in 1987
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4086 Alta House Records, Series II, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Frank Borchert, 1980
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.