| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Burke, Thomas A. |
| Title: | Thomas A. Burke Papers |
| Dates: | 1930-1972 |
| Extent: | 3.91 linear feet (6 containers and 1 oversize folder) |
| Abstract: | Thomas A. Burke was the Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio (1945-1953) and United States Senator from Ohio (1953-1954). Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland is named in his honor. The collection consists of correspondence, interoffice memos and reports from his mayoral years (1945-1953), and miscellaneous items from his senatorial and private life. |
| MS Number | MS 4035 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
Thomas Aloysius Burke, Jr. (1898-1971) was a politician who, served a year in the U.S. Senate, and nearly nine years as Cleveland's mayor. Born October 30, 1898, and raised in Cleveland's Hough area, he went to Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, before returning to Cleveland to study law at Western Reserve University. In 1928 he ran unsuccessfully for the state legislature. He served as assistant prosecutor from 1930 to 1936, when he was appointed special assistant prosecutor. In 1941 Frank J. Lausche became mayor of Cleveland and appointed Burke to the post of law director. When Lausche became governor of Ohio in 1945, Burke succeeded him as mayor. In an election later that year, he won the office in his own right. He decisively won in the 1947 and 1949 elections, but the margin of victory narrowed considerably in 1951 and Burke chose not to run in 1953. Upon Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft's death later that year, Governor Lausche appointed Burke to the vacant Senate seat. In 1954 Burke lost the position in one of the closest elections in Ohio history. He returned to a private law practice but continued working with various civic groups. During his mayoral administration, Burke sold $35 million in bonds for civic improvements, including the Lakefront Airport which now bears his name and he dealt with numerous labor problems, including a transit strike in 1949.
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Thomas A. Burke
The Thomas A. Burke, Jr. Papers, 1930-1972, consist primarily of correspondence, interoffice memos, and reports from his mayoral years, 1945-1953. Items from his senatorial and private life make up a small portion of the collection. Some papers from Mayors Frank J. Lausche and Anthony J. Celebreeze are included here.
The collection will be useful for local history topics such as the East Ohio Gas Disaster, lakefront planning, development of Hopkins airport, the 1949 transit strike, and municipal government functions, as well as local treatment concerning national topics from the period such as fluoridation, air pollution, Communist activity, Gerald L.K. Smith, and race issues.
None.
Related Material Separated MaterialAll photographs have been removed to PG 338 Thomas A. Burke Photographs.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4035 Thomas A. Burke Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Mrs. Stanley Orr III, 1973 and Mrs. Thomas A. Burke, 1975; Mayoral Papers Mayor Ralph Perk, 1976.
Processed by Daniel J. Linke in 1987
Series I: Mayoral Papers 1937-1956 and undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Air Pollution, including interoffice memos concerning the Air Pollution Commission, letters of complaint from city residents, and an analysis of Cuyahoga County's air quality done by outside consultants (Some Frank J. Lausche papers are included in this file) 1943-1949 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Air Pollution, including interoffice memos, annual reports of the Division of Air Pollution Control, and constituent letters 1950-1951 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Air Pollution, including interoffice memos, federal government letters, and correspondence with local businesses (Some Anthony J. Celebreeze papers are included in this file) 1952-1954 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Airport Landing Rights, consisting of a letter from Burke to Robert Feller giving him free landing rights at Lakefront Airport forever 1951 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Army Advisory Committee, consisting of member lists, and letters to one of its members describing duties 1948 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Association of Ohio Municipalities, consisting of a constitution, bylaws, members list, correspondence, and committee lists 1949-1950 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Auditorium and Stadium Commission, consisting of meeting minutes and correspondence 1946-1947 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Board of Building Standards and Appeals, including interoffice memos concerning building codes and board members' appointments 1948-1949 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Board of Building Standards and Appeals, including members list, annual reports, interoffice memos, and some Celebreeze papers 1950-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Board of County Commissioners, consisting of correspondence between Burke and the board concerning conflicting and complimentary interests; Board of Control, consisting of correspondence concerning contract awards 1947-1953 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Boxing Commission, consisting of annual reports, correspondence and some Lausche papers 1941-1951 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Case Institute of Technology, consisting of correspondence concerning a land exchange between the city and the school 1945-1946 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | City Council, including proposed legislation, veto messages, pay raises, consituent correspondence, and some Lausche papers 1941-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | City Planning Commission, including letters of appointment, memos, and correspondence and a map 1946-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | City Planning Advisory Commission, consisting of only Lausche papers including members lists, correspondence and resolutions 1942-1944 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | City Planning Advisory Commission, consisting of letters of appointment; City Planning Applications, consisting of letters requesting various positions on the commission 1945-1951 1949-1951 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Civil Service Commission, including appointment letters, correspondence, and some Lausche papers; Cleveland Builders Supply, including memos and correspondence concerning business between the city and this company 1942-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, consisting of three documents discussing rate increases, and including Lausche papers; Cleveland Foundation, consisting of letters of appointment and resignation, and bylaws; Cleveland Home Brewery, including letters concerning a zoning controversy over a a brewery's construction 1943-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, including interoffice memos, letters of appointment, a map, and some Lausche papers 1944-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Cleveland Municipal Band, including correspondence between Milton Foy, his supporters and Burke, projected costs and composition of the proposed band, and some Lausche papers 1942-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Communist Party, including correspondence between party members and the mayor, interoffice memos, and some Lausche papers; Community Relations Board, containing letters of appointment and personnel applications 1941-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 22 | Community Relations Board correspondence, including minutes and reports 1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Concessions, including investigation into the Cleveland Concession Company practices, correspondence and some Lausche papers 1942-1949 | |||||||||
| 1 | 24 | Concessions, including bids for stadium contract and transcript of bidder interviews with city officials 1950-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 25 | Conveyor Belt, including correspondence concerning proposed construction of a coal and iron ore conveyor with a terminus in Lorain 1950-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | Correspondence Journal, consisting of a listing of correspondence received by the Mayor's office and detailing sender, topic, and who replied 1946-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 27 | Directors, consisting of a listing of directors and acting directors and chain of succession (Contains Lausche and Harold H. Burton papers) 1935-1949 | |||||||||
| 1 | 28 | East Ohio Gas Company, including correspondence concerning rate increases, with some Lausche and Celebreeze papers 1942-1954 | |||||||||
| 1 | 29 | East Ohio Gas Disaster, including interoffice memos and correspondence (All are Lausche papers) October 1944 | |||||||||
| 1 | 30 | East Ohio Gas Disaster, including correspondence, accounts of the incident and memorial committee papers 1944-1950 | |||||||||
| 1 | 31 | Electrical Board of Review, including ordinances, recommendations, correspondence, board appointments, and some Lausche papers 1942-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 32 | Employ the Physically Handicapped, containing correspondence of the mayor's committee 1950-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 33 | Erie Street Cemetery Committee, containing correspondence with some Burton and Lausche papers 1937-1946 | |||||||||
| 1 | 34 | Erosion, containing correspondence of a special committee, interoffice memos, and some Lausche papers 1943-1952 | |||||||||
| 1 | 35 | Fair Employment Practices Committee, including a member list, meeting agendas, correspondence, reports, and some Celebreeze papers 1948-1954 | |||||||||
| 1 | 36 | Fire Department, containing memos and correspondence 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 37 | Flood Control - Mill Creek, Maple Heights, containing a report on the project and correspondence 1952 | |||||||||
| 1 | 38 | Fluoride, includes correspondence, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings concerning the controversy of fluoridating the city's water supply 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 39 | Forty-hour work week initiation, including correspondence and cost analysis of the plan's implementation 1947-1949 | |||||||||
| 1 | 40 | Fun for Funds Foundation, consisting of correspondence with a charitable non-profit corporation 1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 41 | Gas Case, correspondence, interoffice memos, newspaper clippings, and legal documents concerning the issue of gas distribution 1948 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 42 | Gas - Natural gas, including correspondence and reports concerning the conversion from manufactured to natural gas; Gas - Lake Avenue Leak, containing correspondence, interoffice memos, and a map 1947-1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 43 | Griffenhagen, containing correspondence concerning Griffenhagen and Associates, consultants in public adminstration and finance, and their work in other cities (Comprised of Burton and Lausche papers only) 1938-1943 | |||||||||
| 2 | 44 | Griffenhagen Reports - General file, containing correspondence and interoffice memos about Griffenhagen's work in Cleveland 1947-1950 | |||||||||
| 2 | 45 | Griffenhagen Reports, containing correspondence, recommendations, and reaction to the Griffenhagen reports 1947-1948 | |||||||||
| 2 | 46 | Griffenhagen Reports, containing correspondence, recommendations, and reaction to the Griffenhagen reports 1949-1951 | |||||||||
| 2 | 47 | Griffenhagen-Hobart Correspondence, including memos, and correspondence between Harry Hobart, executive assistant to Burke, Griffenhagen, and city agencies 1949-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 48 | Health and Hospitals, Mayor's Committee on the study of, consisting of members list, correspondence and Lausche papers 1940-1948 | |||||||||
| 2 | 49 | Hermit Club (American-Korean Foundation), consisting of a press release and a report 1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 50 | Highway - Chester Avenue Improvement, consisting of interoffice memos and preliminary engineering reports; Highway - Euclid Avenue Property, consisting of correspondence and interoffice memos concerning planting of trees and other capital improvements 1949-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 51 | Highway - Innerbelt Freeway, consisting of interoffice memos, correspondence, engineers' initial report and design, and a map 1951 and 1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 52 | Highway - Main Avenue Bridge, including correspondence, a federal order to alter the bridge, and some Lausche papers; Highway - New Memorial Shoreway, consisting of correspondence and interoffice memos 1944-1945 and 1951 | |||||||||
| 2 | 53 | Highway - New Memorial Shoreway, consisting of minutes, memos, and correspondence; Highway - Ohio Turnpike, consisting of a letter and reports from the Elyria mayor 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 54 | Highway - State Highway, including letters, minutes, memos, and reports about expansion, along with Lausche papers and a map 1944-1951 | |||||||||
| 2 | 55 | Highways - Streets and Sidewalks, consisting of memos, letters, and a petition about neighborhood streets 1949-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 56 | Hopkins Airport, including correspondence, and interoffice memos about its development and construction 1947-1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 57 | Hopkins Airport, including a contract, lease and correspondence about construction and development 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 58 | Hospital, Joint Committee on, including letters, nomination acceptances, and some Lausche papers 1943-1951 | |||||||||
| 2 | 59 | Housing - Advisory Committee, including members list, interoffice memos, and correspondence; Housing - Rent Control, consisting of correspondence 1950-1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 60 | Hudson Boy's Farm, including a 1947 report, correspondence, and interoffice memos 1947-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 61 | Incinerator, consisting of correspondence about possible incinerating facility locations 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 62 | Irishtown Bend, consisting of correspondence and maps concerning the widening of the Cuyahoga River 1950-1951 | |||||||||
| 2 | 63 | Labor Relations Bureau, consisting of police reports describing labor disturbances or complaints 1945-1947 | |||||||||
| 2 | 64 | Lakefront Planning, including a report, correspondence, interoffice memos, and some Lausche papers 1943-1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 65 | Lakefront Planning, including correspondence and legislative bills 1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 66 | Lakefront Planning - Agricultural Center, including committee members list, correspondence and a report on the project 1945-1946 | |||||||||
| 2 | 67 | Law Department, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos and some Lausche papers 1944-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 68 | Mayor's Reception Committee, consisting of a list of City Key recipients and correspondence 1948-1949 | |||||||||
| 2 | 69 | Motor Vehicles, a report on per vehicle costs to the city 1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 70 | Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, including reports, correspondence, and proposed legislation concerning future mineral rights 1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 71 | Ohio Association of Cities, including members list, interoffice memos, correspondence, constitution and by- laws, plus a proposed amendment to establish a unicameral legislature in Ohio 1947-1950 | |||||||||
| 2 | 72 | Ohio Bell Telephone Company, consisting of correspondence and interoffice memos concerning various rate increase requests 1947-1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 73 | Parking, consisting of interoffice memos, correspondence, a report, a petition on parking issues, and a map 1948-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 74 | Plumbing Department, consisting of board of Plumbing Examiners appointments and correspondence 1946-1950 and 1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 75 | Police Department, consisting of correspondence and interoffice memos 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 2 | 76 | Police Reports, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, reports, and a report by the National Board of Fire Underwriters on Fire Prevention and Engineering Standards November 1945-May 1947 | |||||||||
| 2 | 77 | Police Reports, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, a fire safety report, and a map June 1947-1948 | |||||||||
| 2 | 78 | Police Reports, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, and reports 1949-1950 | |||||||||
| 2 | 79 | Police Reports, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, and reports 1951-1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 80 | Port and Harbor Commission, consisting of correspondence and interoffice memos 1945-1953 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 81 | Public Housing, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, maps, and contracts 1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 82 | Purchasing Department, consisting of a report and budget 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 83 | Racial issues, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, with much covering the integration of the Lee-Harvard neighborhood 1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 84 | Railroad bridges, consisting of correspondence, and maps concerning construction of, or alteration to, several local bridges 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 85 | Regional Planning Commission, consisting of one letter detailing membership contribution 1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 86 | Relief Committees and Organizations, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, and member lists 1950-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 87 | Safety Department, consisting of a list of persons who should be prohibited from purchasing liquor 1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 88 | St. Lawrence Seaway, consisting of correspondence and pamphlets discussing the Seaway's construction and some Lausche papers 1942-1950 | |||||||||
| 3 | 89 | St. Lawrence Seaway, consisting of correspondence, and pamphlets discussing the Seaway's construction 1951-1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 90 | Schools, including a bid for elementary school construction in West Lake 1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 91 | Sequicentennial - Ohio's, consisting of correspondence and reports 1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 92 | Service Department - Miscellaneous, including correspondence, interoffice memos, and reports 1951-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 93 | Sewage Disposal, Division of-, including correspondence, interoffice memos, reports and a petition 1948-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 94 | Sex Deviate Committee, including letters of appointment and correspondence 1951-1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 95 | Smith, Gerald L.K., consisting of police reports, interoffice memos, and other items relating to his August 19 visit (All materials from Lausche administration) 1943 | |||||||||
| 3 | 96 | Subway, including reports, speeches, correspondence, a map, and other items relating to proposed subway construction 1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 97 | Swimming Pools, including correspondence and interoffice memos about possible pool construction on the West Side 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 98 | Tornado Disaster, including correspondence and reports, along with Celebreeze's 1956 disaster proclamation 1953 and 1956 | |||||||||
| 3 | 99 | Traffic, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, pamphlets, and members lists of the Mayor's Safety Education Committee 1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 100 | Transit, consisting of correspondence, letters of appointment to the Transit Board, and some Lausche papers 1943-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 101 | Transit Strike, including correspondence, interoffice memos, and reports 1949-1950 | |||||||||
| 3 | 102 | UNESCO Civic Committee, consisting of a list of members undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 103 | Union Properties, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, and maps 1950-1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 104 | Urban Redevelopment, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, reports, and maps 1950-1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 105 | Urban Redevelopment, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, reports and maps 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 106 | Urban-Rural Conflict, consisting of a report to the mayor 1948 | |||||||||
| 3 | 107 | Utilities, consisting of correspondence and interoffice memos about light and power issues, and some Lausche papers 1943-1947 | |||||||||
| 3 | 108 | Utilities, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, and a map 1949-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 109 | Veterans' Administration, consisting of correspondence, a map, and some Lausche papers 1943-1950 | |||||||||
| 3 | 110 | Veterans' Administration Hospital, consisting of correspondence, maps, clippings, and Lausche papers 1944-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 111 | Warrensville, consisting of correspondence and interoffice memos 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 112 | War Memorial Foundation, including correspondence, interoffice memos, list of members, reports, and Lausche papers 1943-1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 113 | Water Complaints, including correspondence and interoffice memos 1950-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 114 | Water Consumption, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, and reports 1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 115 | Water Issues, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, and some Lausche papers 1944-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 116 | Water Rates, consisting of correspondence, interoffice memos, and reports 1950-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 117 | Waterlines, consisting of correspondence and interoffice memos 1951-1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 118 | YMCA 100th Anniversary, consisting of three letters 1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 119 | Zoning Board of Appeals, including correspondence, interoffice memos, a map, and some Lausche papers 1941-1953 | |||||||||
| 3 | 120 | Zoo, consisting of annual reports 1943-1944 | |||||||||
| 3 | 121 | Zoo, consisting of annual reports 1944-1952 | |||||||||
Series II: Non-Mayoral Papers 1930-1972 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 122 | Honors, including degrees, memorial proclamations and awards 1948-1972 | |||||||||
| 4 | 123 | Newspaper clippings 1930-1952 | |||||||||
| 4 | 124 | Newspaper clippings 1953-1971 | |||||||||
| 4 | 125 | Newspaper clippings, full pages 1947-1971 | |||||||||
| 4 | 126 | Senatorial mementos, including invitations 1954 | |||||||||
Series III: Oversize Materials 1945-1947 and undated |
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| Box | |||||||||||
| 5 | Two clipping scrapbooks, of Cleveland Press and Plain Dealer articles concerning Burke's mayoral races 1945-1947 | ||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 6 | One newspaper clipping scrapbook, concerning Burke's rise to mayor 1945 | ||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | A blueprint of the W. 3rd St. Concrete Plant; a map of charity hospital; and two honorary certificates undated | ||||||||||