By 1922, the Ambler Realty Company of Cleveland owned this site and 68 acres between Euclid Avenue and the Nickel Plate rail line. After learning of the company’s plans for industrial development, the Euclid Village Council enacted a zoning code based on New York City’s building restrictions. Represented by Newton D. Baker, former Cleveland mayor and U.S. Secretary of War under Woodrow Wilson, Ambler sued the village, claiming a loss of property value. In 1926, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Euclid and upheld the constitutionality of zoning and land-use regulations by local governments. During World War II, the federal government acquired the site to build a factory for aircraft engines and landing gear. From 1948 to 1992, the Fisher Body Division of General Motors used it as a production facility.
