[2] Riverside Cemetery opened on July 8, 1876, on a bluff overlooking the west bank of the Cuyahoga River in the unincorporated village of Brooklyn Centre (now a neighborhood which is part of Cleveland, but then an independent settlement).

[7] Noted local architect Charles W. Hopkinson was hired to develop the plans for the new building.

But granite was expensive, and the trustees asked the architect to re-estimate the cost using red brownstone (a building material popular at the time) instead.

[11] The building features a turret on the southwest corner that reaches beyond the roof, dormer windows on the second floor, and buttresses on all sides.

As originally constructed, the first floor contained a reception room,[9][10][13] office,[9][10] fireproof vault,[10] and a women's bathroom.

[11] The walls of the reception room were lined with 1.5-inch (3.8 cm) thick[5] enameled brick in a warm yellow color.

[11][13] The reception room also featured a gas-fired fireplace with a wide mantel, and an "art window" made of 2,955 pieces of clear and stained glass.

[9][10] A 10-foot (3.0 m) wide[13] veranda with a coffered roof[11] supported by arches[10] wrapped around the building on its north, west, and south sides.

[9][10] The building was originally lit by natural gas, but this was converted to electricity in the early 20th century.