THE 1930s
Signs of the Times
![black and white image of a diner and a convenient store next to a hospital](https://magazine.clevelandclinic.org/hs-fs/hubfs/CC%20Magazine/Centennial/1930s/Sign%20of%20the%20Times/Centennial-SignTimes-Wide.jpg?width=1030&height=540&name=Centennial-SignTimes-Wide.jpg)
Photo: Cleveland Clinic Archives
During the Great Depression, when nearly one-third of the workforce in Cleveland Clinic’s hometown was unemployed, a diner and a convenience store did business next door to the Clinic Building. A lunch of cubed steak, sliced tomatoes and rolls at the diner would set you back 20 cents. The convenience store stocked everything from long-stemmed roses to Sunrise Beer, a local German-style lager whose ads promised a “mellow and smooth” brew that “aids digestion.”