Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Peter B. Lewis donates $5 million to the Cleveland Institute of Art, his biggest hometown donation in a decade

Peter B. Lewis, the iconoclastic insurance executive and philanthropist, has done an about-face on his hometown by making a $5 million donation to the Cleveland Institute of Art.

The gift, announced Tuesday, is the biggest from Lewis to any institution in Cleveland since he declared a temporary boycott on his local giving in 2002 to vent frustration with the city.

He ended the boycott in 2003, but has made local gifts only up to $1 million since then.

Lewis made the $5 million donation, he said Tuesday over lunch at Moxie in Beachwood, to recognize that the $150-million-plus Uptown development in University Circle, of which the art institute is part, has met the high hopes he articulated for the development in 2004.

“It’s the first time in a long time I’ve been impressed by Cleveland,” he said. “I’m impressed by the achievement and accomplishment, I’m impressed all around.”

Author: Steven Litt, Plain Dealer Reporter

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2012/07/peter_b_lewis_donates_5_millio.html