[9] In 1869, a group of Cleveland businessmen pooled their resources to create the 285-acre (1,150,000 m2) Lake View Cemetery straddling the Cleveland-Cleveland Heights border about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) northwest of Cedar Glen.

[11] In 1880, Dr. Nathan Hardy Ambler and his adopted son and business partner, Daniel O. Caswell, a water cure resort hotel and sanitarium at the foot of Cedar Glen.

[3] The resort proved so popular that in 1884 the Cleveland Railway Company built an electric streetcar line on Cedar Avenue.

[15] Calhoun and his business partner, John Hartness Brown, realized that their development would not be a success unless there was a way other than dirt roads to ascend the heights.

[19] Work began in 1897 to turn the rutted dirt road ascending Cedar Glen into a wide, modern parkway.

[6] Named Cedar Glen Parkway for the ravine through which it ran, the road (several hundred feet wide and 0.5 miles (0.8 km) long) neared completion at the end of 1898.

Located adjacent to and west of Cedar Heights,[21] the development was named for Dr. Nathan Hardy Ambler (who owned most of the land).

The first development here, Ambleside Apartments (now the University Manor skilled nursing facility), began construction in 1913 and was completed in 1914.

It was an inexpensive, $50,000 ($1,500,000 in 2023 dollars), four-story, 16-unit apartment building designed by local architect Theodore Conner.

[37] The structure's exterior and interior masonry walls were certified by the Cleveland Clay League as using locally sourced materials, fireproof, and attractive.

[35] As originally constructed, the Cedar Glen Apartments had 27 units ranging in size from four to eight rooms,[33][b] some with servants' quarters.

[37] Each apartment had a fireplace of molded concrete,[33] numerous closets,[35] and enclosed radiators,[33] and came equipped with the latest electronic work-saving appliances (such as a frost free refrigerator, dishwasher, and stove exhaust hood).

[43] It was widely considered a Cleveland landmark due to its location, the notability of its residents,[36] its very spacious apartments,[38] and its architectural design.

The two cities constructed high stone retaining walls on either side of the parkway to hold the hills in place.

[28] The Cedar Glen Apartments were sold in December 1931 to the George M. Forman Realty Trust of Chicago.

Although the fire was contained by 1 A.M., it continued to burn until daylight as firefighters had difficulty accessing the walls and ceilings due to the building's exceptionally strong design.

Otto and Vilma Psenicka (west side home builders) purchased the structure from Grogan and Hollington for $400,000 ($4,100,000 in 2023 dollars).

Residents of the Cedar Glen Apartments organized to oppose the demolition, proposing to buy the building themselves and renovate it.

In summer 1993, Judson Park agreed to sell the Cedar Glen Apartments to the local law firm of Climaco Seminatore Lefkowitz & Garofoli for $1.2 million ($2,500,000 in 2023 dollars) and title to the Trigve-Hoff Building at E. 107th Street and Chester Avenue.

Sale of the building required making several emergency repairs to shore it up, which were financed in part by a $200,000 ($400,000 in 2023 dollars) grant from the Cleveland Division of Economic Development.

To help the new owners secure historic tax credits to pay for the repairs, the city of Cleveland designated Cedar Glen Apartments a Cleveland Landmark, and the building owners sought and won designation of the structure as a National Historic site.

[38][37] The renovation and repair of the building, which topped $3.5 million ($7,400,000 in 2023 dollars), merged three apartments, leaving the structure with 27 condominium units[c] with one to four bedrooms each.

Cleveland Public Power designed and implemented the building's interior and exterior lighting schemes.

[37] In July 1995, the Cleveland Restoration Society honored Cedar Glen residents Michael and Debbie May for their campaign to save the historic structure, and in negotiating its sale to the Climaco law firm.