Darl Schaaff is a long-time events planner, art patron and art collector who lived most of his adult life in Alaska and ended up in Cleveland by chance. He first came to Cleveland looked for locations for events for the 2014 Gay Games, which were held here. Years later, he discovered an abandoned 1906 building in Slavic Village. built to house the Broadway Free Library and said, “This is the perfect place to house my collection.” He purchased the distinctive ten-sided building in 2022. After damage repair and extensive renovations to the building, which had been empty since 1987, Darl Center for the Arts opened a little over a year later, providing an art-stuffed facility for special events, such as parties, meetings, concerts and fundraisers in the multiple rooms fanning off the rotunda and grand staircase. Every nook and cranny features art and artifacts from Schaaff’s personal collection including folk art from around the world and costumes and masks from his theater days. While he has no regular “open” hours, he’s at the building almost every day eager to ashoe off what he’s done. A friendly phone call will get you in!
5437 Broadway
480-555-0103