The Shaker Historical Society and Shaker Heights Public Library are proud to sponsor the launch of Empire Builders: An Illustrated History of the Rise and Fall of Cleveland’s Van Sweringen Brothers (Indiana University Press, 2024), the latest book from architectural photographer and local history author Lauren R. Pacini. The first biography of the Van Sweringen brothers in more than twenty years, Empire Builders shares the remarkable rise and fall of Oris P. and Mantis J. Sweringen, brothers born into poverty with a vision that holds a lasting legacy in Shaker Heights and Cleveland.

Join us on Thursday, June 6 from 8-9pm at the Shaker Historical Society for a public reception to meet author Lauren Pacini, purchase a copy of Empire Builders, and tour a new Lissauer Gallery exhibition featuring Pacini’s architectural photographs of Van Sweringen properties.

The public reception and exhibit opening are free and open to all. Please email education@shakerhistory.org to be added to the waitlist for the Empire Builders book talk prior to the reception.

This event will be held at the Shaker Historical Society Museum, 16740 South Park Blvd., Shaker Heights, OH 44120.

Limited parking is available behind the museum with overflow parking along South Park Boulevard. Please note that access to the exhibition in the second floor Lissauer Gallery requires navigation of stairs.