CLEVELAND — Few Clevelanders carry such weight simply when you say their name. But Jesse Owens remains one of the most revered Olympic champions in U.S. history.
Now, the place he called home on East 100th Street in Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood could be receiving a makeover of Olympic proportions.
Margaret Lann and the Cleveland Restoration Society, along with the current property owner, John Cummings, are utilizing federal pandemic recovery dollars to establish a task force and explore the possibilities for this four-unit building.
"Originally, it was built as a two family home, so what if the museum and the other half was an Airbnb and you could stay in the home of Jesse Owens," Lann suggested.
From 1934 to 1936, this is where Olympian Jesse Owens called home and rented one of the units. At the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin, Germany, Owens won four gold medals for the United States, a clear rebuke of the Nazi regime and theories of white supremacy.
Owens won gold medals in the 100 meters, the long jump, the 200 meters and the 100-meter relay.
"Jesse Owens defeated Hitler's notion about race superiority," Cummings added. "Jesse Owens's journey was a victory for the country."
Cummings told News 5 he bought the property in 1996 and initially had no idea about its famous former tenant.
However, as development continues around the building and the neighboring Cleveland Clinic campus, he said he's ready to explore what is possible for honoring Owens in Cleveland.
"The neighborhood is changing, I think the time is now, it’s right," Cummings said. "People from all around the world walk up and down this street.
Last year, the Cleveland City Council declared this house, originally built in 1890, a Cleveland landmark.
Cummings said the four units are currently occupied by tenants, and he has been working to acquire neighboring vacant lots to help with the possibility of the building becoming a museum for Owens.
There is a Jesse Owens Museum in Alabama, but Lann said this is a chance to tell his Cleveland story.
"We can talk about those achievements in thought and the context of an African American family who migrated here from the south," she said.
After winning in Berlin, Owens was welcomed with a grand celebration in Cleveland and New York City. However, he still had a hard time finding a job after the Olympics, accepting a playground supervisor position with the city of Cleveland for $1,600 a year.
"There’s an opportunity to talk about the challenges he faced [and how he] struggled to be offered fair employment," Lann said.
One final monument to the man who went into a hostile environment and became the gold standard for excellence.
"The vision would be to do some exterior restoration to the house to bring it back to what it looked like at that point in time," Lann said.
Organizers say they’re still trying to figure out how much it would cost to transform this home. They’re also looking into installing a historical marker outside the house.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard, on Facebook Clay LePard News 5 or email him at Clay.LePard@WEWS.com.
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