The Arcade Cleveland

The Arcade in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the city’s most impressive historic interiors. Opened in 1890, the building links Superior Avenue and Euclid Avenue with a five-storey glass-roofed arcade between two nine-storey office towers. Often described as one of the earliest indoor shopping arcades in the United States, it has a grand Victorian character, with ironwork, balconies, shopfronts and a long skylit atrium that gives the space an almost European feel. Today it also contains the Hyatt Regency Cleveland at The Arcade, making it both a public landmark and a working hotel.

The Arcade is most strongly connected to Superman (2025), where Cleveland doubles for Metropolis. The film uses several Cleveland landmarks, including The Arcade, Public Square, Progressive Field and nearby downtown streets, but The Arcade is one of the most recognisable interior locations. Other superhero films such as “Spider-Man 3” (2007), “The Avengers” (2012) and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014) also used Cleveland as a stand-in for other cities.

In Superman (2025), The Arcade is used as Lacey’s Arcade in Metropolis. Superman and Lois Lane enter the grand glass-roofed space during the film’s final section, and the location becomes the setting for their airborne kiss beneath the historic skylight. The building’s long atrium, balconies and ornate structure give the moment a romantic, old-world grandeur, while still fitting into the film’s version of Metropolis as a city built from real American urban architecture.

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