Quay 55 is located in the hull of what was previously the Nicholson Cleveland Terminal building, a facility built and owned by the Nicholson Terminal & Dock Company of Ecorse, Michigan.

Constructed in 1929 the building was initially used as a clearinghouse for the newsprint and automobile industries, housing paper pulp, materials, finished goods and other products that arrived daily from Detroit on company-owned steamships that operated under such names as the Graham C. Woodruff, the Coralia, and the E.C. Pope.

As a result of industry price slashing, competition from the railroads and the introduction of larger ocean bound vessels that made the use of the Great Lakes seaway less efficient, the Cleveland operation was forced out of business in 1974, leaving behind a gutted 220,000 square foot memorial to the early days of Great Lakes shipping.

Automobiles are off-loaded at the western

end of the Nicholson Terminal Building

As a result of the Quay 55 renovation, a newly constructed 42,000 square foot penthouse now makes up the fifth floor offering spectacular views of Lake Erie and the Cleveland skyline.

Abandoned and standing relatively unscathed for nearly three decades, the Nicholson Cleveland Terminal Building serves as a tribute to the glory days of the Great Lakes. It's transformation into the multi-use Quay 55 complex exemplifies the commitment to the alteration of the city's lakefront and the ongoing beautification of Cleveland's shoreline.