The Ark

Cleveland’s first natural history collections were housed in a small building on Public Square. Built by Leonard Case, its two rooms were crowded with animal specimens, earning it the nickname “the Ark.” A group of civic leaders passionate about the natural science frequented the collection.

In the 1840s, when some of these nature enthusiasts—known as “the Arkites”—helped establish what became Case Western Reserve University, the Ark’s collections were transferred to a small campus gallery called the Cleveland Academy of Natural Sciences. The original Ark was demolished in 1875. Decades later, the legacy of the Arkites inspired a new group of civic leaders to found the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.