Category: Business and Industry

LEHMAN AND SCHMITT was a Cleveland architectural firm that designed many important public and institutional buildings between 1884-1935. ISRAEL J. LEHMAN (1859-1914) and Theodore Schmitt (1860-1935) formed a partnership in 1884. The first 2 buildings of which there is a record were large covered public halls, the Sheriff St. Market (1891) on E. 4th St.

The LEISY BREWING CO., at 3400 Vega Ave. on the near west side, was once Cleveland's largest independent brewery. It was established by Isaac Leisy (1838-92), an Iowa brewer who purchased Cleveland's Frederick Haltnorth Brewery in association with 2 brothers; together they established Isaac Leisy & Co. in 1873. Leisy soon gained a reputation for its Premium Lager and Budweiser beers (Budweiser was not then a brand name).

LEMPCO INDUSTRIES, INC. was the umbrella corporation for 5 companies operating in the fields of auto rebuilding and replacement parts, die sets and supplies, and specialized machines. Started in 1918 as the Lake Erie Metal Products Co., the company produced war material in the ebbing days of World War I. After the armistice, owners James F.

The LEONARD SCHLATHER BREWING CO. was begun in 1857 by Leonard Schlather and operated by him until 1902. Schlather, born in Ebenhausen, Wurttemburg, Germany in 1835, emigrated to America in 1852. After coming to Cleveland, Schlather began his own brewery in 1857 with the aid of a loan from his brother, Frederick. He built a brick building at Carroll Ave. and York (W. 28th) St.

LEOPOLD BROTHERS FURNITURE was established in 1859 by Henry Leopold and has been continuously operated by the family. Leopold came to the city from Germany in 1853 and worked as a cabinetmaker for 6 years before opening his own furniture shop at Lorain and Green streets in 1859. He made his own furniture in the store basement as well as caskets, which he sold to the immigrants in the neighborhood.

LERNER, ALFRED "AL"  (8 May 1933-23 October 2002) was a businessman, philanthropist and former owner of the CLEVELAND BROWNS.

LEVY AND STEARN, a company that specialized in women's apparel and toys, was established in 1862 when Isaac Levy and Abraham Stearn opened a toy and novelty store on Superior Ave. near W. 9th St. Business grew rapidly and it became the leading toy store in the region. When Levy left the firm in 1895, it became Stearn & Co. and moved to a new location on Euclid Ave. That year it introduced a line of women's clothing.

The LEZIUS HILES CO., a century-old commercial printing firm built by merger to regional prominence, began in 1888 as the Forest City Printing House with $600 in capital and was located on Champlain St. In 1914 it was incorporated as the Lezius Printing Co., and in 1919 the company bought out the Hiles & Coggshall Co., a small general printing firm started in 1883. The newly formed Lezius Hiles Co.

LIFE SAVERS, the brightly colored ring-shaped candies, were developed by Cleveland chocolate manufacturer Clarence A. Crane, father of poet HART CRANE. Clarence Crane began making and selling chocolate candy in Cleveland in Apr. 1891. The following year he introduced "Crane's Peppermint Life Savers" to bolster his slow chocolate sales during the summer.

LIGGETT-STASHOWER, INC., was formed from the merger of two of Cleveland's leading advertising agencies. Carr Liggett, formerly a vice-president of the Krichbaum-Liggett agency, established his own firm, Carr Liggett, Inc., in 1933 with offices in the Leader Bldg., 524 Superior. By 1937 Carr Liggett had moved to the NBC Bldg., 815 Superior.

The LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY has an international reputation as a pioneer in arc welding and for its innovative employee profit-sharing program.  It was founded by engineer John C. Lincoln in 1895 to manufacture an industrial motor of his own design.   Before opening his own shop, Lincoln worked with prominent figures in the growing field of electricity and electric manufacturing in Cleveland.

The LINDSAY WIRE WEAVING CO. became one of the country's leading manufacturers of papermill wire cloth. It was established when Hamilton L. Lindsay, a mechanic at the W. S. Tyler Co., invented an automatic power loom for weaving metal. Realizing the potential for his machine to revolutionize the papermaking process, Lindsay quickly secured a patent.

LINDSETH, ELMER L. (12 Feb. 1902 - 26 Jan. 1999), chairman of the CLEVELAND ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING COMPANY, directed advertising campaigns that promoted his company and boosted the image of the city. Lindesth was born in Chicago to Swedish born parents, Lena (Anderson) and Andrew Lindseth.

The LION KNITTING MILLS produced high quality knit goods for 78 years. Founded in 1912 by Louis and Harold Ensten at 1011 Power Ave., the knitting mill produced a variety of knit goods for the military and the private-label market. Lion's first product, the varsity or award-letter sweater, was knitted on hand-operated machines.

The LORAIN ST. BANK was formed at Lorain and Fulton in 1890 as the Lorain St. Savings and Trust with $100,000 capital. Over the years, the capital of the Lorain Bank was increased to $500,000 and its assets grew to $10 million; in 1929 the bank had over 20,000 depositors. As the economic pressures of the Depression mounted, the Lorain St. Bank and Trust worked with other local banks to limit foreclosures.

LTV CORP. See MITTAL STEEL USA.

LTV STEEL. See MITTAL STEEL USA.

LUBRIZOL CORP., a diversified chemical company ranked 344th among the Fortune 500 companies in 1985, was founded on 28 July 1928 as the Graphite Oil Prods. Corp. by Francis A. "Alex" Nason, Thos. W. James, and three brothers: KENT H. SMITH, Vincent K. Smith, and ALBERT K. SMITH.

M. A. HANNA CO., see POLYONE CORP.

MACHINE TOOL INDUSTRY. FRANK A. SCOTT, a Clevelander at the forefront of the machine tool industry during the early 1900s, once remarked that no metal could be available for modern uses until a machine tool has been applied to shape it.