The House of Wills – Funeral Parlor Brochure, Circa 50s or 60s

The House of Wills – Funeral Parlor Brochure. Circa 50s or 60s. 8-page stapled, large format brochure. Very nice condition.

The House of Wills was an elaborate black-owned funeral home, established by J. Walter Wills in 1905, in Cleveland, IL. It was a family business that focused heavily on supporting the community. During the Great Depression, Wills converted his third floor into large food pantry to dispense canned goods, flour, sugar, and other staples to those in need. He also conducted many funerals for the indigent at no cost. During an era of Jim Crow laws, the House of Wills served as an important home for African American civic events, as well.

In 1941, the Cleveland housing authority forced the House of Wills to relocate in order for the city to build the Carver Park Homes. Wills acquired an even larger building located at 2491 East 55th Street, which gained distinction as the largest black funeral home in Ohio. It was a huge 42-room building, originally built in 1898 as a German singing club called the Gesangverein Hall. It later became the Hospital for Immigrants from Hungary and was the home to the Cleveland Hebrew Institute. When purchased the building, he remodeled it with strong Egyptian motifs.Thinking funeral homes were generally too dark and gloomy, he chose to make his as bright and colorful as possible. In addition to his decision to replace black with other colors in parlor furnishings, he also became the city’s first undertaker to forgo hanging black crepe in the doorway of the home of the deceased, in favor of using floral wreaths made by various local African American florists.

In its new location, the House of Wills continued to grow and prosper, employing as many as fifty people with the capacity for up to eight funerals in a single day. J. Walter Wills Jr. died in 1967 and his adopted son, Harry Allen Wills, kept the business going, eventually closing the East 55th Street funeral home in 2005. It was was one Cleveland's longest running African American businesses.

The abandoned building fell into disrepair until it was purchased by Eric Freeman in 2010, with the hope of restoring the 50,000-square-foot, 7-floor edifice. A known paranormal hotspot, the house now hosts various events, such as ghost and architectural tours.