Inspired by mythology, literature, religion, and nature, Cowan Pottery played a significant role in the formative years of American ceramic art and gained a national following through products sold in fine department stores. Its design studio, factory, and showroom stood here from 1920 to 1931 after R. Guy Cowan moved the business to Rocky River from Lakewood, where it had begun in 1913. Although Cowan Pottery closed during the Depression, its work is still collected and is held by the Smithsonian, the Cleveland Museum of Art, other museums, and the Cowan Pottery Museum at the Rocky River Public Library.