Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

Seeing the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument was a powerful moment during our time downtown. Standing in front of such a historic monument gave us a chance to reflect on the history and the people it honors. It’s one of those landmarks that reminds you how cities carry stories from the past into the present.

We got to experience the tunnel tour and absolutely loved it. Was so cool and well worth the small fee. Highly recommend.

My parents, my son, and I visited this monument during our stay in Cleveland. One of the gentlemen working there (thin, middle aged, with a sparkle in his eye and a great smile) was super cool. He showed me the underground tunnels and gave our group some interesting historical information. He was great. The other guy (young, dark hair) ruined the whole experience for me. My dad wanted to buy a fridge magnet. I wanted to buy an ornament. Dad gives the guy his money, tells him which magnet he wants, and the two chat for a moment while finalizing the sale. Meanwhile my son came over and grabbed the cash from me to hand to the man. I showed my son which ornament I was buying. The man comes over, takes the cash, and asks my son which ornament he wants. My son and I both point to the ornament of the monument and say "this one." The man points to the one we want and says "this one? Or this one?" pointing to the other one - the one I did not want. I again point to the one I want and say, "sir, this is the one we want." He completely ignores me and continues pointing to the other one, asking my son repeatedly, "this one? You want this one, right?" as I continue saying "no, this one" until my son finally says yes. The man takes that one and gleefully hands this delicate wooden ornament that I did not want to my five-year-old son. I should have advocated for myself better. I should have asked the other, nicer guy to swap them out. But I was so dumbfounded by the whole exchange that I left bewildered and frustrated - out $5 and without the ornament of the actual monument. A week later I'm still dumbfounded by the whole exchange.