Lakewood from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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

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

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

West Park from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

West Park from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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WEST PARK, the west side neighborhood and the last large suburb to merge with Cleveland, occupies a 12.5 sq. mi. area between W. 117th St. to the Rocky River Valley and from LAKEWOOD‘s southern boundaries to Brookpark Rd. The Cleveland Planning Commission divides West Park into 4 subneighborhoods: Warren-Munn, the area’s “elite” suburban area; Riverside and Jefferson, areas of middle-class families; and Puritas-Bellaire-Longmead, with a fair-sized African American population and some lower-income areas. Originally part of ROCKPORT Twp., West Park was named for Benjamin West, an early settler. During the mid-19th century, the area was a community of isolated homes and rutted wagon paths. Lorain Ave., the only major thoroughfare, was a wooden plank toll road that ran past the Sherman House and the Old Lorain St. House, rest stops for travelers. Oswald Kamm opened his grocery ca. 1875, and later a post office on the southwest corner of Lorain and Rocky River Dr., inaugurating a commercial intersection thereafter known as KAMM’S CORNERS. In 1900 the county approved the formation of the Twp. of West Park. With unimproved roads covered by snow in the winter and lost in a sea of mud in the spring, isolated West Park was often referred to as the “lost city.” Before 1900 the area’s only public transportation was a horse-drawn omnibus operating between W. 98th St. and Kamm’s Corners. During the early 1900s, the Cleveland & Southwestern Interurban provided a connection with the WOODLAND AVE. AND WEST SIDE RAILWAY CO.. In 1913 the CLEVELAND RAILWAY CO. ran cars east to W. 117th St., extending the line to the airport in 1931. Elections on annexation were held in West Park and Cleveland in 1922. Annexation was approved by large majorities and occurred on 1 Jan. 1923.

Last Modified: 30 Jun 1997 04:25:38 PM

Tremont from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Tremont from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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TREMONT is an industrial/residential neighborhood on Cleveland’s near west side. Its boundaries include the CUYAHOGA RIVER to the east and north and Valentine Ave. to the south. Originally part of BROOKLYN (Old Brooklyn) Twp., the area was a section of OHIO CITY (CITY OF OHIO) from 1836-54. In 1851 a group of prominent citizens founded CLEVELAND UNIVERSITY in what was then called Cleveland Hts. The institution lasted only until 1853 but its buildings were later used by 3 other educational endeavors, including theHUMISTON INSTITUTE and Western Reserve Homeopathic Hospital, predecessor to HURON RD. HOSPITAL. Lincoln Hts. succeeded Cleveland Hts. and Univ. Hts. as the name for the neighborhood; only with the construction of Tremont School in 1910 did the neighborhood officially get its most recent name. Tremont’s industrial base began with the establishment of the LAMSON AND SESSIONS CO. in 1869 on Scranton Rd. It and numerous later enterprises provided employment to many new immigrants who settled in the area, including IRISH andGERMANS in the 1860s; POLES, 1890s; GREEKS and Syrians (see ARAB AMERICANS), 1900s; displaced UKRAINIANS, 1950s; and Puerto Ricans (see HISPANIC COMMUNITY) in the 1960s. A total of 30 nationalities have lived or were living in Tremont as of 1994.

Complementing the neighborhood’s ethnic variety is its architecture. Many churches are on state and/or national historic landmark registers, including ST. THEODOSIUS RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL (1912), Pilgrim Congregational (1893), St. Michael the Archangel (1888), and St. Augustine Roman Catholic (1896). By the 1980s, however, Tremont was a run-down, isolated neighborhood in which 68% of the housing had been built before 1900. The population shrank from 36,686 in 1920 to 10,304 in 1980. Closing of the Clark Ave. Bridge and construction of highways I-71 and I-490 cut the area off from the rest of Cleveland. MERRICK HOUSE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT, founded in 1919 as a neighborhood settlement, served as a community focal point for Tremont, and the Tremont West Development Corp. was organized in 1979 to revitalize the area through rehabilitation of housing and neighborhood economic development. Citizens also helped to renovate LINCOLN PARK in the 1980s. By the early 1990s, Tremont was also known for its diverse restaurants and a growing artists’ community.

Playhouse Square from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Playhouse Square from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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PLAYHOUSE SQUARE is a district at Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street comprising five theaters as well as office buildings, stores, and restaurants. The possibility of making the portion of Euclid east to 17th Street into a stretch of fine shops and vaudeville, movie, and legitimate theaters was envisioned by Joseph Laronge after World War I. Together with Marcus Loew of the New York theater syndicate, Laronge and others formed Loew’s Ohio Theatres, and as the concept developed, the planned entertainment district took shape between 1920 and 1922. The first two theaters to open were the STATE THEATER and OHIO THEATER theaters, both in February 1921. The ALLEN THEATRE opened two months later in the Bulkley Building next door. The 8-story commercial and office building contained an innovative enclosed parking garage behind the theater. Compared to other exotic movie palaces of the 1920s, the relatively early Playhouse Square theaters were in a restrained classical style, with lavish use of marble, expensive woods, murals, tapestries, and gilded plaster relief. The PALACE THEATER, built to house the performances of the Keith vaudeville circuit, opened in November 1922 in front of Loew’s State on East 17th Street. Above the lobby and foyer rose the 21-story B. F. Keith Building. Connections between the four theaters made it possible to go from the Palace stage into Loew’s State, from there into the Ohio, and finally into the Bulkley Building and the Allen Theater. In March 1921 the HANNA THEATER opened in the annex of the Hanna Building across Euclid Avenue. Although the legitimate theater actually fronted on East 14th Street, it was regarded as part of the Playhouse Square district.

After more than 40 successful years of vaudeville, motion pictures, stage plays, and even Cinerama, the Allen, State, Ohio, and Palace were all closed in 1969. At that time a plan to save the theaters–which have a combined capacity and flexibility greater than that of Washington’s Kennedy Center–was conceived by Ray Shepardson, an employee of CLEVELAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS. In 1970 a nonprofit group, the Playhouse Square Association, was formed with support from the JUNIOR LEAGUE OF CLEVELAND, INC.. In 1973 the Playhouse Square Foundation was created to carry out the restoration, operation, and management of the theaters. By 1977 the foundation obtained long-term leases for the Palace and also the State and Ohio in the Loew’s Building, which was purchased by the Cuyahoga County Commissioners. A combination of funding from government, local foundations, and private corporations was committed to the project. By 1991 the Ohio, State, and Palace had been reopened and were playing to 750,000 patrons a year. In November 1994 the Allen Theater reopened as well, although its restoration lasted another four years. The acquisition of the Hanna Building and Theatre in 1999 completed the effort to rescue the district’s original venues. A 750-car connected parking garage was built on Chester Avenue to serve the complex, and Playhouse became involved in the co-financing of nationally touring shows as The Secret Garden and The Color Purple.

In 2005 the One Playhouse Square Building at 1375 Euclid Avenue, originally built by WALKER AND WEEKS in 1912, was refurbished and reopened as the Idea Center at Playhouse Square. The center housed two stories of expanded facilities for Foundation-led arts education and theatre programs as well as the new headquarters of Cleveland public broadcasters WVIZ (television) and 90.3 WCPN(radio), merged together as Ideastream. The same year, Playhouse Square Foundation reported over one million attendants to the 5-theater complex, although grants and annual donations continued to be the Foundation’s main source of funding.

Following the 1991 departure of Lawrence Wilker, the first president of Playhouse Square Foundation (1973-1991), to become manager of Kennedy Center, Art J. Falco became the Foundation’s President and CEO. As of 2007 Falco continued to hold this position.

Last Modified: 19 Mar 2008 10:16:07 PM

Shaker Heights from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Shaker Heights from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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SHAKER HEIGHTS, originally part of WARRENSVILLE TWP.., then CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, incorporated as a village in 1911 and as a city in 1931. It is located on the eastern edge of Cleveland, 8 miles southeast of downtown. It occupies 6.5 sq. mi., bounded on the north by CLEVELAND HEIGHTS and UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, on the east by BEACHWOOD, and on the south by WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS and Warrensville Twp. The name was derived from the NORTH UNION SHAKER COMMUNITY, located in the area from 1822-9. Speculators purchased the community’s lands, but development did not begin until 1905, when ORIS P. AND MANTIS J. VAN SWERINGEN† began creating a comprehensive “Garden City” suburb. The plan worked around the natural topography and lakes and designated specific locations for apartments, commercial areas, public schools, churches, and 3 private secondary schools. A large tract was transferred to the SHAKER HEIGHTS COUNTRY CLUB, opened in 1915. The development detached from Cleveland Hts. and incorporated as the village of Shaker Hts., with an estimated population of 250. Strict ZONING and building and deed restrictions, and architectural design guidelines managed and enforced by the Van Sweringen Co. resulted in a model residential suburb in the 1920s and 1930s. The Van Sweringens constructed the SHAKER HEIGHTS RAPID TRANSIT line to downtown Cleveland, opened in 1920, which aided local growth. The population was 1,700 by 1920; in 1931 it was 17,783. The city charter provided for a mayor-council form of government, with council members elected at large. The third mayor, WILLIAM J. VAN AKEN†, served from 1917-50.

In 1949 the population of Shaker Hts. was 23,393. The Van Sweringen Co. ceased to operate as a real-estate firm in 1959, but continued to oversee the deed restrictions for several years, after which the authority was vested in the city. Shaker Hts. has provided a city model in transportation, education, government, housing, recreation, and landscaping. The Shaker Hts. Public Library operates a main library and the Bertram Woods branch. The public Horseshoe Lake Park is situated on one of the 2 lakes of DOAN BROOK. In the 1990s a new shopping area, Shaker Towne Centre, was developed at Chagrin Blvd. and Lee Rd., while business at Shaker Square and in the Larchmere district continued to thrive (see BUSINESS, RETAIL). Groundbreaking began on October 17, 2002, for a new firehouse, 17000 Chagrin Boulevard, the first new City building constructed since 1973. The population declined from 36,306 in 1970 to 30,831 in 1990 and 29,405 in 2000; the city’s diverse housing stock varied from mansions to smaller homes. A landmarks commission, an architectural review board, design-standards publications, commercial revitalization, and community associations maintained the Garden City vision into the 1990s and beyond. Perhaps for this reason, Shaker Hts. tax rates have been the county’s highest and among the highest in the state. The original Van Sweringen Co. agreements had included racial and ethnic restrictions, but intensive efforts to achieve an integrated community succeeded in the 1970s and 1980s (see LOMOND ASSN. and LUDLOW COMMUNITY ASSN.). By the 1990s up through the 2000 Census, African Americans made up 30% of the population of Shaker Hts.

Last Modified: 05 Mar 2003 07:51:31 PM

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