Cleveland Trip #11: Visited Home of Jerry Siegel - Superman Co-Creator / Lois Lane Model

In today's blog, I visited the boyhood home of Jerry Siegel, one of the two Superman co-creators. Although you can't go in the house because it's privately owned, they do have a Superman insignia and plaque outside of the house for fans. Today's blog is filled with photos and Superman history.

SPECIAL STREET NAME - Jerry Siegel was the writer and creator of Superman, while his friend Joe Shuster was the illustrator. Jerry grew up on Kimberely Street, and it has been given the additional name of "Jerry Siegel Lane." 

What happened to the Siegel home? 

Upon the sale of Jerry Siegel’s boyhood home on Kimberley Avenue in 1950, the family moved to University Heights. Over the decades, the house fell into disrepair and was sold again in 1983. When some dedicated comic aficionados and Clevelanders decided to recognize the achievements of Superman’s creators, they formed the Siegel & Shuster Society. As their first initiative, they raised funds to restore the Siegel home as the “Birthplace of Superman.” 

They also worked to create a permanent Superman display at Cleveland Hopkins Airport and campaigned to produce an Ohio license plate emblazed with the iconic “S” shield and the motto “Truth, Justice and the American Way.” These efforts helped promote Cleveland as Superman’s original home.

JERRY'S DESK & HIGH SCHOOL - The desk that Jerry Seigel used to write Superman stories is now on exhibit in the Cleveland Public Library. He purchased this desk in 1940 when he moved to University Heights, Ohio. He wrote hundreds of scripts on this desk for Superman comics and newspaper strips as well as his other character creations like the Spectre (another of my favorites), the Star Spangled Kid, Slam Bradley and Robotman. 

  His daughter, Laura Siegel Larson donated the desk to the Cleveland Public Library in 2017 where is on display. 

   At the Library, there's also a photo of the high school where he and his friend Joe Shushter went to high school. 

THE MODEL WHO BECAME "LOIS LANE"  - Jolan Kovacs was hired by Superman artist Joe Shuster to serve as a model for Lois Lane, Superman's girl friend (later wife). Joanne Siegel was an American model, who in the 1930s worked with Superman artist Joe Shuster as the model for Lois Lane, Superman's love interest. She later married Superman's co-creator Jerry Siegel and sued for restoration of her husband's authorship copyright in the Superman character.

  HOW IT HAPPENED -   In 1935, while still attending high school, she placed an advertisement in Cleveland's The Plain Dealer offering her services as a model.^[1] The ad stated: "Situation Wanted — Female ARTIST MODEL: No experience."^[2] Joe Shuster, who was working on a new comic character, Superman, responded to the ad. Prior to the modeling sessions, Shuster's co-creator, Jerry Siegel, had developed an idea for a journalist to be Superman's love interest, Lois Lane. Shuster hired her as a model for Lois, and his depiction of Lois was based on his drawings of her hairstyle and facial features. Interviewed in 1996 by The Plain Dealer, she recalled, "I remember the day I met Jerry in Joe's living room. Jerry was the model for Superman. He was standing there in a Superman-like pose. He said their character was going to fly through the air, and he leaped off the couch to demonstrate."