Category: NE Ohio Neighborhoods and Their History

Cleveland’s Chinese from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

CHINESE. Cleveland’s Chinese population began to grow only after the 1860s. However, their numbers were small; in 1880 they were counted in the census with the Japanese, totaling 23. The 1890 census showed 38 Chinese, and by 1900 their number exceeded 100. The settlers were all Cantonese–from China’s southern province of Guangdong (Kwangtung), of which Canton, now Guangzhou, is the capital. The southerners among the Chinese were more ready to venture out of the country, and had migrated to all the countries in Southeast Asia and to Australia and New Zealand. The Chinese who settled in Cleveland did not come directly from China but moved here eastward from the West Coast. Their first settlement was on the street west of Ontario St., now W. 3rd St.; then they occupied a row of brick buildings on Ontario St. between PUBLIC SQUARE and St. Clair Ave. Wong Kee, who moved here from Chicago, opened the first Chinese restaurant at 1253 Ontario St., and later a second restaurant, the Golden Dragon, on the west side of Public Square. Most of the Chinese were proprietors of restaurants, waiters and cooks, or operators of laundries. Chinatown was a society of single men, as the 1882 Chinese Act barred them from bringing wives and children from China.

Even though they were a small colony, the Chinese established 2 merchant associations, the ON LEONG TONG and the Hip Sing Assn. Affiliates of national associations, these were societies of merchants engaged in mutual aid, self-discipline, matching funds and investment opportunities, and dispute reconciliation. The two associations were competitive, and at times their rivalry took violent forms. The associations were called tongs in Chinese, so their fights and killings were referred to as “TONG WARS.” In the late 1920s, as merchants needed the central sites around Public Square for major buildings, some of the Chinese moved east around E. 55th St. at Cedar Ave. and Euclid Ave. Eventually, in the early 1930s, the Chinese colony settled around Rockwell Ave. and E. 21st St. By then the Chinese population had grown to 800. In 1930 the On Leong Tong, the larger of the 2 associations, moved into new headquarters at 2150 Rockwell Ave. Since 1930, the block on the south side of Rockwell Ave. between E. 21st St. and E. 24th St. has been Cleveland’s Chinatown. Among Chinatowns of American cities, Cleveland’s is very small. By 1980 2,000-2,500 Chinese were living there. In the 1980s there were 3 Chinese restaurants and 2 Chinese grocery stores on this block. Next to one of the restaurants, the Shanghai, stands the On Leong Assn. Bldg. On the 3rd floor is the On Leong Temple, which is used for (Buddhist) worship a few hours a week, but more often serves as a meeting hall. The Sam Wah Yick Kee Co., the larger of the grocery stores, in its heyday delivered merchandise to 50 Chinese restaurants in Greater Cleveland and about 30 more downstate and around Pittsburgh.

From its beginning, the Chinese community maintained many Chinese values and traditions. They celebrated festivals on the Chinese calendar, most prominently the Chinese New Year in February. The Chinese were attached to their country of origin. Early in 1911 Dr. Sun Yat-sen stopped at Cleveland on one of his worldwide tours and spoke at Old Stone Church. Meetings were held at the Golden Dragon Restaurant on Public Square to rally support and to raise funds for his revolutionary movement to overthrow the rulers of the Qing (Ching) Dynasty. On 11 Feb. 1912, 4 months after the founding of the Republic of China, a celebration was held at Old Stone Church and a telegram of congratulations was sent in the name of the Chinese residents of Ohio to Dr. Sun, president of the Chinese Republic. Twenty-six years later, the Chinese were again active in fundraising to support the war effort and civilian relief in the Sino-Japanese War. They rallied behind the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn., the Cleveland Chinese Student Club, and later the Chinese Relief Assn. About 500 Chinese residents pledged $3,000 a month. From 1937-43 $180,000 was donated for food, clothing, and medicine. In July 1938 the Cleveland Chinese Student Club published a quarterly, the Voice of China. Its editorials and articles strongly criticized the U.S. policy of selling scrap iron and oil to Japan; pointed out the weakness of the Neutrality Act; and urged the public to boycott Japanese silk. Three Caucasian Clevelanders served along with 4 Chinese on the editorial board. Sentiments toward the Chinese among segments of Americans had been changing, and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was repealed in 1943.

The Chinese population increased by about 100 between 1930-60. The 1960 census reported 905. After 1960 there was an influx of Chinese from Taiwan and Hong Kong. Some of the young Chinese who came to the U.S. in the late 1940s and early 1950s for university studies chose to stay permanently and were now establishing families in all parts of Cleveland and the suburbs. Beginning in the late 1970s, a small number of engineers and scientists from the People’s Republic of China came to Cleveland for graduate study, and these increased to over 100 at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY after 1980. In 1990 the census estimated that 985 Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong immigrants resided in Cleveland proper. The new residents came from central and northern China and diluted the Cantonese concentration of the earlier settlers. Together with the offspring of the Chinatown residents, mostly college-educated, they advanced into the professions of engineering, medicine, and the sciences. The faculties of BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE, Western Reserve Univ., Case Institute of Technology, and other colleges in Cleveland had increasing numbers of Chinese in their ranks. In the 1950s the active mainstream of the Chinese population in Cleveland was the membership of the Chinese Students’ Assn. of Cleveland. As the students completed their studies and advanced in their professions, they changed their organization in the 1960s to the Chinese Student & Professional Assn. of Cleveland, and in 1977 adopted the name Chinese Assn. of Greater Cleveland.

One institution in Cleveland that worked with the Chinese from the time of their early settlement was the Christian church, specifically Old Stone Church. For 50 years, starting from 1892, the church conducted a Sunday school for the Chinese, teaching them English and the Gospel. The church viewed its work as a mission comparable to that carried out by the missionaries it sent to China. Instrumental in this work were 2 members of the church, Marian M. and Mary F. Trapp, sisters and public-school teachers who worked for 30 years among the Chinese residents living near the church. The sisters obtained a working knowledge of Chinese (Cantonese) and assisted the Chinese in business problems and other matters. In Dec. 1941, with the support of the Cleveland Church Fed., Old Stone Church, and First Methodist Church, a Chinese Christian Ctr. was established in EUCLID AVE. BAPTIST CHURCH. Language classes, worship services, and youth activities were transferred from Old Stone Church to the center. Dr. Wm. Fung came to Cleveland to serve as director, and his wife, Shao-ying Fung, assisted in teaching classes. In 1948 Dr. Fung was succeeded by Rev. In Pan Wan, a Baptist minister. The center’s activities were continued until 1953, when Rev. Wan left. Language classes were conducted periodically at Euclid Ave. Baptist Church in the late 1950s, and Bible studies were held in homes.

In the early 1960s the Protestants among the Chinese were meeting in homes for prayers and Bible study. In 1965 their representatives appealed to Rev. Lewis Raymond, pastor of Old Stone Church, and obtained the free use of the church’s facilities. Sunday worship services in Chinese and Bible classes began at Old Stone on 12 June 1966 and the Cleveland Chinese Christian Fellowship was born. The Fellowship became the Cleveland Chinese Christian Church in 1975, having called Rev. Peter Wong to be its pastor. The average number of worshippers on Sundays rose to 110 by the end of the decade. In 1983 the church moved to its own sanctuary building at 474 Trebisky Rd. in RICHMOND HEIGHTS With membership grown to 200, the church added an annex housing classrooms and a gym in 1994. Outside of the Chinese Christian Church, Chinese Protestants worshipped at various denominational churches in Greater Cleveland. The number of Roman Catholics among the Chinese is estimated to be about 20-25% of that of Protestants.

With the growth of the Chinese community in the 1960s, the movement to preserve Chinese cultural values became strong. In 1966 the Chinese Academy was formed on the east side to give Chinese children instructions in the Chinese language and history on Saturday mornings. After using the facilities of two churches in CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, the academy settled at Noble Rd. Presbyterian Church in 1973. In 1980 Chinese residents in the west and south sides started the Academy of Chinese Culture, and since 1981 it had made use of rooms in schools and churches in STRONGSVILLE during weekends to conduct classes for children. Peter C. Wang, founder of the Chinese-American Cultural Assn. in 1961, offered tuition-free classes in Chinese in public libraries to those interested throughout the 1960s. In 1975 Laurence Chang wrote and produced 2 1-hour TV programs on “Values and Institutions of Chinese Culture,” which were broadcast over WVIZ (Channel 25). Through these activities Clevelanders gained broader views of China and Chinese culture. A symbol of the Chinese presence in Cleveland is the marble garden with a bronze statue of Confucius in the center, a gift to Cleveland from the City of Taipei, Taiwan, which was dedicated as part of the CULTURAL GARDENS in Wade Park on 21 Sept. 1985. The China Music Project, started in 1980, continued to bring to Cleveland musicians from Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong and present them in concerts of traditional Chinese music.

K. Laurence Chang

Case Western Reserve Univ.

Fugita, Stephen, et al. Asian Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland (1977).

Last Modified: 11 Jul 1997 01:30:56 PM

Parma from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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PARMA, originally part of Parma Twp. (created in 1826), incorporated as a village in 1924 and as a city in 1931. The 9th-largest city in the state, it lies southwest of Cleveland. Occupying 19.7 sq. mi., it is bounded by Cleveland and BROOKLYN on the north, BROOKLYN HEIGHTS and SEVEN HILLS on the east, NORTH ROYALTON and BROADVIEW HEIGHTS on the south, and BROOK PARK,MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, and PARMA HEIGHTS on the west. The first white settlers were the Benajah Fay family from New York State, who settled along the Cleveland-Columbus Road in 1816. The name was taken from Parma, NY. During the 19th century, Parma residents mostly worked in AGRICULTURE, with Dudley and William Humphrey’s clock shop representing the sole manufacturer. In 1911 a portion of the township seceded to form the village of Parma Hts. In 1926 Parma adopted the mayor-council form of government. In 1931, after a proposition to annex it to the City of Cleveland was defeated, Parma became a city. Its tremendous growth came after World War II with the movement into the SUBURBS. Between 1950-80, its population soared from less than 20,000 to more than 110,000. The growth of area business and INDUSTRY paralleled the population increase. Parma has been home both to small businesses and industries and to major industries such as General Motors, Modern Tool & Die, the Union Carbide Research Center, and Cox Cable Television.

Parma, Seven Hills, and Parma Hts. make up the Parma City School District. The system was the county’s second largest, with 14 elementary, 4 junior high, and 3 high schools and 12,700 students enrolled in 1992. Parma also has 10 Roman Catholic elementary and 2 Catholic high schools, with 8,253 students, PARMADALE CHILDREN’S VILLAGE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, and CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE‘s Western Campus. Parma is also home to one of the four regional libraries of the CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM (CCPL), the system’s headquarters, and its Parma-Snow branch library. Recreational facilities include parks, lakes, a senior citizen center, and the Gibbs Farm of the Parma Historical Society. The PARMA COMMUNITY GENERAL HOSPITAL, the KAISER PERMANENTE MEDICAL CARE PROGRAM Medical Center, Parmatown Mall, and almost 90 acres of the Big Creek Reservation of theCLEVELAND METROPARKS are also located in Parma. The five largest ethnic groups in Parma were GERMANS, POLES, ITALIANS,SLOVAKS, and IRISH, according to the 1990 census.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, like other suburbs, Parma suffered financial problems, including plant layoffs and defeats of school levies. Population had declined to 88,000 by 1990 and to 85,655 by 2000.

Kubasek, Ernest R. The History of Parma (1976).

Parma Chamber of Commerce. Parma (1984).

Parma Sesquicentennial, 1826-1976 (1976).

Last Modified: 29 Jun 2003 01:56:12 PM

Collinwood from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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The COLLINWOOD neighborhood of Cleveland is located about 7 mi. northeast of PUBLIC SQUARE. Originally part of E. Cleveland Twp., initially called COLLAMER, Collinwood was a village separate from Cleveland until 1910. By 1860 an omnibus line operated between Cleveland and Collamer via St. Clair Ave. The main axis of the village was Collamer (E. 152nd) St. By 1890 Collinwood was a major switching point of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern (later New York Central) Railroad and the location of its vast freightyards. The COLLINWOOD RAILROAD YARDS eventually included over 120 mi. of track and extensive repair shops, providing the basis for the area’s early growth. In the late 1800s Collinwood was also the site of lakefront vineyards, whose grapes were used in wine production. Disaster struck the Collinwood community on 4 Mar. 1908, when the COLLINWOOD SCHOOL FIRE claimed 174 lives. Collinwood was annexed to Cleveland on 21 Jan. 1910. The neighborhood became home to large Irish, Italian, and Slovenian populations. FIVE POINTS–the intersection of E. 152nd St. and St. Clair and Ivanhoe avenues–was the commercial hub of the neighborhood. Collinwood was also home to EUCLID BEACH PARK.

During World War II, Collinwood encompassed one of the heaviest industrial areas in the world. Within its boundaries, in addition to the New York Central yards, were FISHER BODY DIVISION OF GENERAL MOTORS CORP., Thompson Prods. (see TRW, INC.), GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., LINCOLN ELECTRIC CO., Eaton Axle (see EATON CORP.), Natl. Acme (see ACME-CLEVELAND CORP.), Bailey Meter (see BABCOCK & WILCOX), and a dozen other firms. During the 1950s Collinwood experienced the beginning of social problems, including high delinquency and crime rates, followed by racial turbulence in the 1960s and 1970s as AFRICAN AMERICANS moved into the formerly white neighborhood. The neighborhood was further buffeted by the departure of such industries as Fisher Body and Eaton and the closing of the Collinwood shops by CONRAIL in 1981. In the face of such reverses, organizations such as the Collinwood Village Development Corp. (est. 1987) have been working to upgrade the neighborhood’s residential and commercial property.

Since the late 1990s, Collinwood experienced revitalization through the arts, particularly along the neighborhood’s Waterloo Road. Arts Collinwood formed in 2003; within the next few years eleven new arts-related businesses opened in the neighborhood. Collinwood gained national and international recognition for its arts-centered rehabilitation efforts. In 2009 the Wall Street Journal featured the neighborhood in a story about the use of the arts to fight blight. The arts initiative in Collinwood was also featured on German National Television.

Last Modified: 22 Feb 2010 12:59:39 AM

Slavic Village/Broadway from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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SLAVIC VILLAGE/BROADWAY is a predominantly East European neighborhood on the southeast side of Cleveland. Extending from KINGSBURY RUN southward to Grant Ave., it is bounded on the west by I-77 and on the east by E. 79th St. and Broadway Ave. It encompasses 2 ethnic subneighborhoods, the largely Czech KARLIN to the west and the old Polish “Warszawa” to the east. Warszawa was the primary area of settlement for Cleveland’s POLES, who came in the 1880s to work in such neighborhood industries as the Cleveland Rolling Mills (see CLEVELAND ROLLING MILL STRIKES). Their lives were focused around their parish church of ST. STANISLAUS CHURCH at E. 65th St. and Forman Ave. and the prosperous Polish commercial district along Fleet Ave. and E. 71st St. Another commercial hub for the neighborhood, more cosmopolitan in nature, flourished from 1920-40 at E. 55th St. and Broadway, which was regarded, along with DOAN’S CORNERS, as a “second downtown” for Cleveland. Polish and other ethnic settlements in the neighborhood peaked during the same period and then began the long postwar decline, due to suburban out-migration. An attempt to revitalize the community was begun with the organization of Neighborhood Ventures, Inc., in Oct. 1977 by Teddy and Donna Sliwinski, along with architect Kaszimier Wieclaw. Choosing the name Slavic Village to attract other ethnic groups, they began transforming many of the deteriorated buildings along Fleet Ave. into a uniform Polish “Hylander” style. The nonprofit Slavic Village Assn. was organized in 1978 to preserve residential and commercial buildings through its sponsorship of the annual Slavic Village Harvest Festival, which in its 17th year (1993) was drawing 100,000 people. In 1990 the Slavic Village Assn. merged with the Broadway Development Corp. as the Slavic Village Broadway Development Corp. to coordinate community-based revitalization activities in the Broadway neighborhood.

Last Modified: 30 Jun 1997 10:58:17 AM

Buckeye-Woodland from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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BUCKEYE-WOODLAND was an east side Hungarian community, est. after 1880, which once held the largest concentration of HUNGARIANS in the U.S. Earlier Hungarian settlements at E. 79th and Holton eventually expanded to E. 72nd on the west, Woodland on the north, E. 140th on the east, and Kinsman on the south, with Buckeye Rd. being the prime location for homes and businesses. Population in the area grew from 1,500 in 1900 to more than 40,000 in 1940. The new residents were able to set up old-country institutions, speak their native language, and do most of their business with former countrymen. They established 10 churches and synagogues, businesses, and nationality organizations that reenacted native celebrations. The Hungarian population of Buckeye was bolstered by the Hungarians displaced by World War II and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, but these groups did not develop the intense loyalty to maintaining “Little Hungary” held by the old-timers. Younger Hungarian-Americans also abandoned the old neighborhood, leaving a Hungarian population of which over one-third was over 55 years old. Blacks (see AFRICAN AMERICANS) with different cultural traditions moved into the area and composed 43% of the population by 1972. Housing stock aged and deteriorated, and racial violence directed toward blacks as well as whites further threatened the neighborhood. During the late 1970s and 1980s, several neighborhood groups attempted to reverse the blight and restore stability to the neighborhood. The Buckeye Area Development Corp., est. in 1970, was set up to attract federal, state, and local funds to refurbish homes and businesses, while agencies such as the EAST END NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE attempted to meet the needs of community residents.

Chagrin Falls Village from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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CHAGRIN FALLS VILLAGE, incorporated 12 Mar. 1844, is a residential community located in Cuyahoga County at the “High Falls” of the Chagrin River; it occupies approx. 2.2 sq. mi., of which 57.5 acres are taken up by the river. The river drew people who, for the most part, came from England and New England. Seth Henderson of NEWBURGH purchased the land around the falls (his house, built in 1834, was later the site of the Church of Christ Scientist). Between 1837 and 1870, manufactories along its banks produced axes, iron goods, paper, and woodenware; mills turned out flour, wool and lumber. These were run by village pioneers such as Henderson, Noah Graves, and Charles Sears. Of these, only George Fenkell’s flour mill still ground grain in 1986.

The community resided at first in 2 counties and 3 townships, controlled by 5 different governmental entities. After incorporation, Curtiss Bullard was elected mayor. In March 1845 CHAGRIN FALLS TOWNSHIP was erected by the commissioners of Cuyahoga County on petition of “the inhabitants of parts of Solon and Orange Townships.” The town then lay within one county and one township. A narrow-gauge railroad from Chagrin Falls to SOLON was built in 1877 as a branch of the Painesville, Canton & Bridgeport Railroad. This and other roads failed. The Cleveland & Chagrin Falls Electric Railway Co. operated in the village beginning in 1896, and eventually extended to Hiram and Garretsville. Reorganized after 1910 as the Eastern Ohio Traction Co., it ceased to operate in April 1925 (see INTERURBANS).

Chagrin Falls contained a variety of Protestant churches in the 19th century, but a Catholic church was not built until 1948. (JAMES A. GARFIELD†, later U.S. president, worked as a carpenter on the local DISCIPLES OF CHRIST church in 1852.) Early educational institutions included: a schoolhouse on Main St. (date uncertain); the Chagrin Falls Commercial Institute; a “select school” conducted by Rev. Lorenzo D. Williams on Pearl (now W. Washington) St. (1836-39); and the ASBURY SEMINARY (1839-50). Increased population (from 2,505 in 1940 to 3,095 in 1950) and the annexation of South Russell’s school district (1927) led the Chagrin Falls Exempted School District Board of Education to purchase, on 29 March 1955, the Cuyahoga County fairgrounds (located in the village from 1874-1924). The property accommodated schools and a community recreational area. In the 1990s, tensions surfaced between real estate developers and residents desiring to maintain the community’s natural beauty. After the village blocked developer Roger J. Weiss from building houses on 21.7 acres along the Chagrin River owned by resident Karen Harmon, protracted legal battles culminated in the village seizing the property by eminent domain. In an agreement reached in July of 1998, the village agreed to pay $850,000 for the land, a sum significantly lower than the $1.4 million value set by the developer’s own appraiser.

The town maintains a branch of the CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM (CCPL) and the CHAGRIN FALLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Chagrin Falls has grown from 601 inhabitants in 1842, with 30 different businesses, to 4,024 inhabitants by 2000.

Elizabeth G. Rodgers, updated by Gregory B. Bodwell

Last Modified: 31 Mar 2003 01:25:46 PM

Cleveland Heights from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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he hamlet of CLEVELAND HEIGHTS was created in 1901, incorporated as a village in 1903, and as a city in 1921. Six miles east of downtown, it comprises 8 sq. mi., bounded on the north by EAST CLEVELAND, on the east by SOUTH EUCLID and UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, and on the south by SHAKER HEIGHTS The Cleveland Hts. area was originally farmland in East Cleveland and South Euclid townships. The oldest surviving house, built ca. 1820, stood on Superior Rd. near Euclid Hts. Blvd. in 1994. In 1895 developers Patrick Calhoun and John Hartness Brown created the Euclid Hts. subdivision as a “garden suburb,” north of Cedar Rd. and west of Coventry Rd. Other developments followed, including Euclid Golf, at the western end of Fairmount Rd., Mayfield Hts. east of Coventry, and AMBLER HEIGHTS between Cedar and North Park Blvd. From the 1890s until well into the 20th century, the city was a “streetcar suburb.”

The village of Cleveland Hts., with 1,500 residents at incorporation, established a volunteer fire department and a public school system, which began in the old East Cleveland district school (1882) on Superior Rd. at Euclid Hts. Blvd. The high school started in 1904. The town’s first public library opened in 1911 in Coventry School. The school and library systems later consolidated with those of Univ. Hts. The longest-serving mayor was FRANK C. CAIN† (1914-45). In 1921 Cleveland Hts. established the first ZONING ordinance in Ohio and, the next year adopted the council-city manager plan of government. A Georgian Revival city hall, built in 1924, was demolished in 1986 and a new hall built at SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER. Between 1910-40 Cleveland Hts. population grew from 3,000 to 55,000. Without a central downtown, major shopping areas developed at Cedar and Lee, Fairmount and Cedar, and Mayfield and COVENTRY VILLAGE BUSINESS DISTRICT roads in the 1910s and 1920s. Despite merchant turnover and a series of fires in the Coventry area, all 3 renovated areas continued to attract patrons in the 1990s. A strong Jewish community centered at the Cedar-Taylor area in the 1920s (see JEWS & JUDAISM). Cleveland Hts. passed a bond issue in 1916 to purchase parkland and had 135 acres of public parks by 1986. FOREST HILL PARK, formerly the summer home of JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER†, was donated by John D., Jr., in 1938 and is jointly administered by the cities of Cleveland Hts. and East Cleveland. The CAIN PARK THEATER opened in 1938.

Severance Center (Severance Town Center) was built in 1963, after much controversy, on the site of the JOHN L. SEVERANCE† estate. With no INDUSTRY, 76% of the city’s land is used for residential purposes. In 1970 the population was 60,767; there were roughly equal numbers of Catholics, Protestants, and Jews. In 1960 AFRICAN AMERICANS made up less than 1% of the population, but in the 1960s and 1970s a sizable immigration of black families occurred. The Real Estate Advisory Committee to the State and the Heights Community Congress organized to facilitate integration. Due to a dispersed pattern of homebuying, Cleveland Hts. developed a high percentage of racially integrated neighborhoods. In 1980 the population fell to 56,907, including 41,192 whites, 14,061 blacks, 59 Native Americans, 674 Asians, 469 Hispanics, and 452 others. In 1990 the population declined to 54,052. By 2000, near parity in numbers of blacks and whites was reached; among the total 2000 population of 49,958 residents, whites comprised 26,229 and blacks 20,873. In 1986 there were approx. 13,000 single-family residences, nearly 2,000 duplex and multifamily dwellings, and more than 200 commercial structures. In 1986 the Cleveland Hts.-Univ. Hts. School System included 10 elementary schools, 3 junior high and 1 senior high school. By 2003, the number of elementary schools declined to 8, but the district also included Taylor Academy as an alternate high school for students academically behind schedule, BELLEFAIRE School for those with serious emotional behavioral difficulties, and the Millikin Early Childhood Center. The Cleveland Hts.-Univ. Hts. Public Library System was comprised of 3 branches and a main library. Private and parochial schools included a Baptist school, Lutheran East High School, the HEBREW ACADEMY, BEAUMONT SCHOOL, and Ruffing MONTESSORI SCHOOL.

Last Modified: 23 Mar 2003 03:06:07 PM

Lakewood from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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LAKEWOOD is a city on the shore of Lake Erie adjacent to Cleveland on the east and ROCKY RIVER on the west, occupying 5.6 sq. mi. Originally part of Rockport Twp. (created in 1819), Lakewood became a village in 1903 and was incorporated as a city in 1911. Early pioneer settlers such as James Nicholson, Dr. JARED KIRTLAND†, and Mars Wagar transformed the area from a wilderness into a settled community. By 1871 the area’s population had reached 400, and voters created a separate school district east of Rocky River. The Detroit Rd. area became known as East Rockport. Continued population growth led to a movement for incorporation as the hamlet of Lakewood in 1885, but a legal dispute with the Rockport Plank Rd. Co. over ownership of Detroit Ave. delayed the formal use of the name Lakewood until 1889. The discovery of natural gas and oil wells in the area greatly aided development. Wells were drilled as early as 1883, with one yielding almost 22,000 cu. ft. of gas daily. Additional natural gas reserves, discovered in 1911, were exhausted within a few years.

The construction of a municipal light plant in 1896 and a streetcar line in 1903 facilitated the village’s growth. By 1910 the population was more than 15,000. In 1917 a real estate boom followed the opening of the DETROIT-SUPERIOR BRIDGE; the price of lakefront properties rose to $15,000 an acre. By 1920 the population exceeded 40,000. Calling itself a “city of homes,” in 1980 Lakewood was also a city of 1,100 small businesses. The largest INDUSTRY was then the Carbon Products Div. of the Union Carbide Corp., established in Lakewood as the NATIONAL CARBON CO. in 1892. In 1916 Lakewood created its independent public library system, which in 1980 had 2 buildings on Detroit Ave. and Madison Ave. In 1980 Lakewood School District had 8,000 students in 10 elementary and 3 middle schools and 1 high school. In addition, 7 parochial schools served the city. Lakewood’s facilities also included LAKEWOOD HOSPITAL (opened in 1907), parks and recreational facilities, and the Rocky River Reservation of the CLEVELAND METROPARKS. In the 1990s the city renovated shopping areas and the Lakewood City Center, and constructed a new lakefront pavilion and bandshell at Lakewood Park. Lakewood’s population in 1995 was 62,000 and in 2000 was 56,646.

Borchert, James and Susan. Lakewood: The First Hundred Years (1989).

Butler, Margaret. The Lakewood Story (1949).

Lindstrom, E. George. Story of Lakewood, Ohio (ca. 1935).

Last Modified: 22 Jun 2003 01:24:18 PM

Little Italy from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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LITTLE ITALY, one of 5 major Italian settlements in Cleveland (see ITALIANS), is located from E. 119th to E. 125th streets on Murray Hill and Mayfield roads. Established in 1885, this physically well-protected and well-defined ethnic enclave is bordered by the forested bluff ofLAKE VIEW CEMETERY to the north and east and the Regional Transit Authority’s Windermere-Airport Rapid Transit line and the CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY campus to the west.

Feast of the Assumption parade in Cleveland’s Little Italy, ca. 1950. WRHS.

Often referred to as “Murray Hill” because of the street by that name in the center of the neighborhood, the Italian hilltown has a reputation as a closed community whose assets are historic and original. By the late 1890s, many Italian immigrants had settled in the Mayfield-Murray Hill area and worked in the nearby marbleworks, one of which, the Lakeview Marble Works, was founded by skilled stonemason JOSEPH CARABELLI†. In 1911 it was estimated that 96% of the inhabitants were Italian-born, and another 2% were of Italian parents. Many of these Italians were Neapolitan and were engaged in skilled lacework, garmentmaking, and the embroidery trades. The largest group came from the towns of Ripamolisano, Madrice, and San Giovanni in Galdo, Campobasso Province, in the Abruzzi region. Little Italy in 1994 is one of the few city neighborhoods attracting thousands of suburban shoppers in a rush to capitalize on its historical charm. Relatively crime-free, Little Italy is a trendy, upscale center for art, dining, and gracious living. It is estimated, however, that in 1994 fewer than half of its 2,500 current residents were Italian, with numerous Asian and Middle Eastern graduate students from CWRU among the newcomers. In the community where the macaroni machine was invented in 1906, visitors will find the Little Italy Historical Museum, the ALTA HOUSE and Library, Murray Hill School, the HOLY ROSARY, numerous restaurants, and artists’ studios and shops. In 1993 the community dedicated Tony Brush Park, named for champion boxer and Little Italy resident Anthony Brescia, at Mayfield and Random roads.Last Modified: 27 Mar 1998 10:42:30 AM

Mount Pleasant from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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MOUNT PLEASANT is a section of southeast Cleveland bounded by Milverton and Griffing on the north, Martin Luther King Blvd. on the west, E. 155th St. on the east, and Harvard on the south, with Kinsman as the main thoroughfare. Settled by successive immigrant groups, the section eventually became a stable area of African American homeowners. The first residents of the area were Manx farmers who migrated there in 1826. It remained rural until 1921, when Joseph Krizek and his partners bought 20 acres southwest of Kinsman, where they mapped out streets and planted 248 maple trees along Bartlett St. The area received its name from its comely appearance. Among the immigrant groups who succeeded the Manx in Mt. Pleasant were GERMANS, CZECHS, RUSSIANS, JEWS & JUDAISM, and ITALIANS. Unlike other areas of the city where AFRICAN AMERICANS occupied housing first owned by whites, Mt. Pleasant counted blacks among its earliest citizens. Reportedly, in 1893 a contractor who employed a large number of black workers was unable to pay wages in cash, so he gave them title to lots in the section north of Kinsman between E. 126th and E. 130th. The title holders built homes there; by 1907 there were 100 black families, and 100 other lot owners. Advertised in African American newspapers as a suburban paradise, the section was noted for its high percentage of blacks who were homeowners. To prevent neighborhood deterioration, the Mt. Pleasant Community Council and block clubs in the 1950s fought delinquency, crime, and housing violations. With the aid of CLEVELAND: NOW! and the United Appeal, the community-services center was relocated, and eventually the Murtis H. Taylor Multiservice Ctr. was built at 13422 Kinsman to provide recreation and centralize social services for residents.

Last Modified: 27 Jun 1997 11:54:48 AM