The Little-Known History Behind Cleveland’s Guardians of Traffic


The Guardians, in large part, were carved by Italian immigrant stone masons who lived in Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood.

The mammoth Guardians of Traffic, sculpted with an Art Deco flair on four Berea sandstone pylons, have been overseeing the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge, otherwise known as the Hope Memorial Bridge, since 1932.

They’re locally iconic, but this past week the statues were cast in a national spotlight as sports pundits and MLB fans weighed in when Cleveland Indians’ front office renamed the team to the Cleveland Guardians.

But what no one is discussing is the little known fact that the giant statues were carved, in large part, by Italian immigrant stone masons — many of whom lived in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood.

In fact, the statues were carved in Little Italy at the Ohio Cut Stone Company which was, at the time, located on Random Road in what is currently known as the Singer Steel Building, according to Pamela Dorazio Dean, the director of the Italian American Museum of Cleveland and curator of Italian American history at the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Specifically, many of the stone carvers and other workers came from Oratino, Italy, a small paese (village) in the Province of Campobasso.

Here’s a list of those who worked on the Guardians in some capacity (some of whom appear in the photo above):

-Bill Anslow

-Antonio Chiocchio, Lead

-Carmen Chiocchio

-Gennaro Chiocchio

-Anthony Cipullo

-Frank Cipullo

-Louis Cirelli

-Anthony Fatica

-Celestino Fatica

-Fiorangelo Fatica

-Gennaro Fatica

-Pasquale Fatica

-Sam Gentile

-William Henry Hope

-Charles Iafelice

-Frank Leonardi

-Domenicantonio Mastrangelo

-Jack O’Brien

-Cosimo Palante

-Celestino Petti

-Loreto Petti

-Peter Salvatore

-Albert Tirabasso

-Henry Tirabasso.

The Italian American Museum of Cleveland (IAMCLE), located next to Presti’s on Mayfield Road, opened its doors last month and is focused on highlighting the contributions of Italian Americans throughout Northeast Ohio.

It was funded, in part, by Italian Sons and Daughters of America, and the Museum will celebrate its grand opening during Italian American Heritage Month in October.

 

Make a Pledge and join Italian Sons and Daughters of America today. 

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