Cleveland is aport city, connected to the Atlantic Ocean via theSt. Lawrence Seaway.Its economy relies on diverse sectors that include higher education, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and biomedicals.[13] The city serves as the headquarters of theFederal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, as well as several major companies. The GDP for Greater Cleveland was US$138.3 billion in 2022.[8] Combined with theAkron metropolitan area, the eight-county Cleveland–Akron metropolitan economy was $176 billion in 2022, the largest in Ohio.[14]
Cleveland was established on July 22, 1796, by surveyors of theConnecticut Land Company when they laid outConnecticut'sWestern Reserve into townships and a capital city. They named the settlement "Cleaveland" after their leader, GeneralMoses Cleaveland, a veteran of theAmerican Revolutionary War.[16] Cleaveland oversaw theNew England–style design of the plan for what would become the modern downtown area, centered onPublic Square, before returning to Connecticut, never again to visit Ohio.[16] The town's name was often shortened to "Cleveland", even by Cleaveland's original surveyors. A common myth emerged that the spelling was altered byThe Cleveland Advertiser in order to fit the name on the newspaper'smasthead.[17][18]
The first permanent European settler in Cleveland wasLorenzo Carter, who arrived in May 1797 and built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River.[19] The emerging community served as an important supply post for the U.S. during theBattle of Lake Erie in theWar of 1812.[20] Locals adopted war hero CommodoreOliver Hazard Perry as a civic icon and erected amonument in his honor decades later.[21] Largely through the efforts of the settlement's first lawyer,Alfred Kelley, the village of Cleveland was incorporated on December 23, 1814.[22]
Despite the nearby swampy lowlands and harsh winters, the town's waterfront onLake Erie proved advantageous, giving it access toGreat Lakes trade. It grew rapidly after the 1832 completion of theOhio and Erie Canal,[23] which linked theOhio River and theGreat Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via theErie Canal andHudson River, and later via theSaint Lawrence Seaway.[13] The town's growth continued with addedrailroad links.[24] In 1836, Cleveland, then only on the eastern banks of the Cuyahoga, was officially incorporated as a city, andJohn W. Willey was elected its first mayor.[25] That same year, it nearly erupted into open warfare with neighboringOhio City over a bridge connecting the two communities.[26] Ohio City remained an independent municipality until itsannexation by Cleveland in 1854.[25]
The Civil War vaulted Cleveland into the first rank of American manufacturing cities and fueled unprecedented growth.[33] Its prime geographic location as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes played an important role in its development as an industrial and commercial center. In 1870,John D. Rockefeller foundedStandard Oil in Cleveland,[34] and in 1885, he moved its headquarters to New York City, which had become a center of finance and business.[35]
Cleveland's economic growth and industrial jobs attracted large waves of immigrants fromSouthern andEastern Europe, as well asIreland.[11] Urban growth was accompanied by significant strikes and labor unrest, as workers demandedbetter wages and working conditions.[36] Between 1881 and 1886, 70 to 80% of strikes were successful in improving labor conditions in Cleveland.[37] TheCleveland Streetcar Strike of 1899 was one of the more violent instances of labor strife in the city during this period.[38]
By 1910, Cleveland had become known as the "Sixth City" due to its status at the time as the sixth-largest U.S. city.[39] Its automotive companies includedPeerless,Chandler, andWinton, maker of the first car driven across the U.S. Other manufacturing industries in Cleveland includedsteam cars produced byWhite andelectric cars produced byBaker.[40] The city counted majorProgressive Era politicians among its leaders, most prominently thepopulist MayorTom L. Johnson, who was responsible for the development of theCleveland Mall Plan.[41] The era of theCity Beautiful movement in Cleveland architecture saw wealthy patrons support the establishment of the city's major cultural institutions. The most prominent among them were theCleveland Museum of Art, which opened in 1916,[42] and theCleveland Orchestra, established in 1918.[43]
1917 multilingual poster in English, Italian,Hungarian,Slovene,Polish, andYiddish, advertising English classes for immigrants in Cleveland
In addition to the large immigrant population, African American migrants from the ruralSouth arrived in Cleveland (among other Northeastern and Midwestern cities) as part of theGreat Migration for jobs, constitutional rights, and relief fromracial discrimination.[44] By 1920, the year in which theCleveland Indians won theirfirst World Series championship, Cleveland had grown into a densely populated metropolis of 796,841, making it the fifth-largest city in the nation,[12] with a foreign-born population of 30%.[45]
At this time, Cleveland saw the rise of radical labor movements, most prominently theIndustrial Workers of the World (IWW), in response to the conditions of the largely immigrant and migrant workers. In 1919, the city attracted national attention amid theFirst Red Scare for theCleveland May Day Riots, in which localsocialist and IWW demonstrators clashed with anti-socialists.[46][47] The riots occurred during the broaderstrike wave that swept the U.S. that year.[48]
Cleveland's population continued to grow throughout theRoaring Twenties.[49] The decade saw the establishment of the city'sPlayhouse Square,[50] and the rise of the risquéShort Vincent.[51][52] The Bal-Masque balls of the avant-gardeKokoon Arts Club scandalized the city.[53][54]Jazz came to prominence in Cleveland during this period.[55][56]Prohibition first took effect in Ohio in May 1919 (although it was not well-enforced in Cleveland), became law with theVolstead Act in 1920, and was eventuallyrepealed nationally byCongress in 1933.[57] The ban on alcohol led to the rise ofspeakeasies throughout the city and organized crime gangs, such as theMayfield Road Mob, who smuggled bootleg liquor acrossLake Erie from Canada into Cleveland.[57][58]
Euclid Avenue and East 9th Street with the Hickox Building in 1918
Cleveland was hit hard by theWall Street Crash of 1929 and the subsequentGreat Depression.[63] A center ofunion activity, the city saw significantlabor struggles in this period, including strikes by workers againstFisher Body in 1936 and againstRepublic Steel in 1937.[37] The city was also aided by major federal works projects sponsored by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt'sNew Deal.[64] In commemoration of the centennial of Cleveland's incorporation as a city, theGreat Lakes Exposition debuted in June 1936 at the city'sNorth Coast Harbor, along the Lake Erie shore north of downtown.[65] Conceived by Cleveland's business leaders as a way to revitalize the city during the Depression, it drew four million visitors in its first season, and seven million by the end of its second and final season in September 1937.[66]
After the war, Cleveland initially experienced aneconomic boom, and businesses declared the city to be the "best location in the nation".[39][70] In 1949, the city was named anAll-America City for the first time, and in 1950, its population reached 914,808.[25] In sports, the Indians won the1948 World Series, the hockey team, theBarons, became champions of the American Hockey League, and theBrowns dominated professionalfootball in the 1950s. As a result, along with track and boxing champions produced, Cleveland was declared the "City of Champions" in sports at this time.[71] Additionally, the 1950s saw the rising popularity of a new music genre that localWJW (AM) disc jockeyAlan Freed dubbed "rock and roll".[72]
However, by the 1960s, Cleveland's economy began to slow down, and residents increasingly sought new housing in the suburbs, reflecting the national trends of suburban growth following federally subsidized highways.[73]Industrial restructuring, particularly in the steel and automotive industries, resulted in the loss of numerous jobs in Cleveland and the region, and the city suffered economically.[74] Theburning of the Cuyahoga River in June 1969 brought national attention to the issue ofindustrial pollution in Cleveland and served as a catalyst for theAmerican environmental movement.[75]
Housing discrimination andredlining against African Americans led to racial unrest in Cleveland and numerous other Northern U.S. cities.[76][77] In Cleveland, theHough riots erupted from July 18 to 24, 1966,[78] and theGlenville Shootout took place on July 23, 1968.[79] In November 1967, Cleveland became the first major American city to elect an African American mayor,Carl B. Stokes, who served from 1968 to 1971 and played an instrumental role in restoring the Cuyahoga River.[80][81]
During the 1970s, Cleveland became known as "Bomb City U.S.A." due to several bombings that shook the city, mostly due to organized crime rivalries.[82] In December 1978, during the turbulent tenure ofDennis Kucinich as mayor, Cleveland became the first major American city since the Great Depression to enter into afinancial default on federal loans.[83] Thenational recession of the early 1980s "further eroded the city's traditional economic base."[74] While unemployment during the period peaked in 1983, Cleveland's rate of 13.8% was higher than the national average due to the closure of several steel production centers.[84][85]
Nevertheless, by the turn of the 21st century, Cleveland succeeded in developing a more diversified economy and gained a national reputation as a center for healthcare and the arts.[88] The city's downtown and several neighborhoods have experienced significant population growth since 2010, while overall population decline has slowed.[89] Challenges remain for the city, with improvement of city schools,[90] economic development of neighborhoods, and continued efforts to tackle poverty,homelessness, and urban blight being top municipal priorities.[91][92]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 82.47 square miles (213.60 km2), of which 77.70 square miles (201.24 km2) is land and 4.77 square miles (12.35 km2) is water.[93] The shore of Lake Erie is 569 feet (173 m) abovesea level; however, the city lies on a series of irregular bluffs lying roughly parallel to the lake. In Cleveland these bluffs are cut principally by theCuyahoga River, Big Creek, andEuclid Creek.
The land rises quickly from the lake shore elevation of 569 feet. Public Square, less than one mile (1.6 km) inland, sits at an elevation of 650 feet (198 m), and Hopkins Airport, 5 miles (8 km) inland from the lake, is at an elevation of 791 feet (241 m).[94]
Cleveland's downtown architecture is diverse. Many of the city's government and civic buildings, includingCity Hall, theCuyahoga County Courthouse, theCleveland Public Library, andPublic Auditorium, are clustered around the open Cleveland Mall and share a commonneoclassical architecture. They were built in the early 20th century as the result of the 1903 Group Plan. They constitute one of the most complete examples of City Beautiful design in the U.S.[95][96]
Completed in 1927 and dedicated in 1930 as part of theCleveland Union Terminal complex, the Terminal Tower is a prototypicalBeaux-Arts skyscraper. It was the tallest building in North America outside New York City until 1964 and the tallest in the city until 1991.[97] Key Tower (the tallest building in Ohio) and 200 Public Square combine elements ofArt Deco architecture withpostmodern designs.[98][99] The city's latest major skyscraper – theSherwin-Williams Headquarters – was completed in 2024.[100]
Running east from Public Square through University Circle isEuclid Avenue, which was known as "Millionaires' Row" for its prestige and elegance as a residential street.[101][102] In the late 1880s, writerBayard Taylor described it as "the most beautiful street in the world."[103]
Several neighborhoods have begun to attract the return of the middle class that left the city for the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s. These neighborhoods are on both the West Side (Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit–Shoreway, and Edgewater) and the East Side (Collinwood, Hough, Fairfax, and Little Italy). Much of the growth has been spurred on by attractingcreative class members, which has facilitated new residential development and the transformation of old industrial buildings into loft spaces for artists.[88][117]
Typical of theGreat Lakes Region, Cleveland exhibits acontinental climate with four distinct seasons, which lies in thehumid continental (KöppenDfa)[118] zone. The climate is transitional with theCfahumid subtropical climate. Summers are hot and humid, while winters are cold and snowy. Due to its proximity to Lake Erie, Cleveland experiences milder temperatures than much of Ohio, with relatively cooler summers and warmer winters.[119] East of the mouth of the Cuyahoga, the land elevation rises rapidly in the south. Together with the prevailing winds off Lake Erie, this feature is the principal contributor to thelake-effect snow that is typical in Cleveland (especially on the city's East Side) from mid-November until the surface of the lake freezes, usually in late January or early February. The lake effect causes a relative differential in geographical snowfall totals across the city. On the city's far West Side, the Hopkins neighborhood only reached 100 inches (254 cm) of snowfall in a season three times since record-keeping for snow began in 1893.[120] By contrast, seasonal totals approaching or exceeding 100 inches (254 cm) are not uncommon as the city ascends into the Heights on the east, where the region known as the "Snow Belt" begins. Extending from the city's East Side and its suburbs, the Snow Belt reaches up the Lake Erie shore as far asBuffalo.[121]
The all-time record high in Cleveland of 104 °F (40 °C) was established on June 25, 1988,[122] and the all-time record low of −20 °F (−29 °C) was set on January 19, 1994.[123] On average, July is the warmest month with a mean temperature of 74.5 °F (23.6 °C), and January, with a mean temperature of 29.1 °F (−1.6 °C), is the coldest. Normal yearlyprecipitation based on the 30-year average from 1991 to 2020 is 41.03 inches (1,042 mm).[124] The least precipitation occurs on the western side and directly along the lake, and the most occurs in the eastern suburbs. Parts ofGeauga County to the east receive over 44 inches (1,100 mm) of liquid precipitation annually.[125]
Climate data for Cleveland (Hopkins Airport), 1991–2020 normals,[b] extremes 1871–present[c]
With its extensive cleanup of its Lake Erie shore and the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland has been recognized by national media as an environmental success story and a national leader in environmental protection.[75] Since the city's industrialization, the Cuyahoga River had become so affected by industrial pollution that it "caught fire" a total of 13 times beginning in 1868.[130] It was the river fire of June 1969 that spurred the city to action under Mayor Carl B. Stokes, and played a key role in the passage of theClean Water Act in 1972 and theNational Environmental Policy Act later that year.[81][130] Since that time, the Cuyahoga has been extensively cleaned up through the efforts of the city and theOhio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA).[75][131]
In addition to continued efforts to improve freshwater and air quality, Cleveland is now exploring renewable energy. The city's two main electrical utilities areFirstEnergy andCleveland Public Power. Itsclimate action plan, updated in December 2018, has a 2050 target of 100%renewable power, along with reduction ofgreenhouse gases to 80% below the 2010 level.[132] In recent decades, Cleveland has been working to address the issue ofharmful algal blooms on Lake Erie, fed primarily by agricultural runoff, which have presented new environmental challenges for the city and for northern Ohio.[133]
At the 2020 census, there were 372,624 people and 170,549 households in Cleveland. The population density was 4,901.51 inhabitants per square mile (1,892.5/km2). The median household income was $30,907 and the per capita income was $21,223. 32.7% of the population was living below the poverty line. Of the city's population over the age of 25, 17.5% held a bachelor's degree or higher, and 80.8% had a high school diploma or equivalent.[6] The median age was 36.6 years.[136]
Originally built in 1905 as the Jewish Temple B'nai Jeshurun, this building on Cleveland's East Side, today known as theShiloh Baptist Church, now serves an African American congregation.
The influx of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries drastically transformed Cleveland's religious landscape. From a homogeneous settlement of New EnglandProtestants, it evolved into a city with a diverse religious composition. The predominant faith among Clevelanders today is Christianity, withJewish,Muslim,Hindu, andBuddhist minorities.[151]
Within Cleveland, the neighborhoods with the highest foreign-born populations are Asiatown/Goodrich–Kirtland Park (32.7%), Clark–Fulton (26.7%), West Boulevard (18.5%), Brooklyn Centre (17.3%), Downtown (17.2%), University Circle (15.9%, with 20% in Little Italy), and Jefferson (14.3%).[152] Recent waves of immigration have brought new groups to Cleveland, includingEthiopians andSouth Asians,[153][154] as well as immigrants from Russia and theformer USSR,[155][156] Southeast Europe (especiallyAlbania),[143] the Middle East, East Asia, and Latin America.[11] In the 2010s, the immigrant population of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County began to see significant growth.[157] A 2019 study found Cleveland to be the city with the shortest average processing time in the nation for immigrants to becomeU.S. citizens.[158] The city's annual One World Day in Rockefeller Park includes a naturalization ceremony of new immigrants.[159]
Cleveland's location on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie has been key to its growth as a major commercial center.[13] Steel and many other manufactured goods emerged as leading industries.[160][37] The city has since diversified its economy in addition to its manufacturing sector.[13]
Healthcare plays a major role in Cleveland's economy. The city's "Big Three" hospital systems are theCleveland Clinic,University Hospitals, andMetroHealth.[165] The Cleveland Clinic is the largest private employer in the state of Ohio, with a workforce of over 55,000 as of 2022[update].[166] It carries the distinction of being one of the best hospital systems in the world.[167] The clinic is led by Croatian-born president and CEO Tomislav Mihaljevic and it is affiliated withCase Western Reserve University School of Medicine.[168]
University Hospitals includes the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and itsRainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. Cliff Megerian serves as that system's CEO.[169] MetroHealth on the city's west side is led by president and CEO Christine Alexander-Rager.[170] Formerly known as City Hospital, it operates one of two Level I trauma centers in the city, and has various locations throughout Greater Cleveland.[171][172]
In 2013, Cleveland'sGlobal Center for Health Innovation opened with 235,000 square feet (21,800 m2) of display space for healthcare companies across the world.[173] To take advantage of the proximity of universities and other medical centers in Cleveland, theVeterans Administration moved the region's VA hospital from suburbanBrecksville to a new facility in University Circle.[174]
One Playhouse Square, now the headquarters for Cleveland'spublic broadcasters, was initially used as the broadcast studios of WJW (AM), where disc jockey Alan Freed first popularized the term "rock and roll".[72] Beginning in the 1950s, Cleveland gained a strong reputation as a key breakout market for rock music.[184] Its popularity in the city was so great that Billy Bass, the program director at theWMMS radio station, referred to Cleveland as "The Rock and Roll Capital of the World".[184] TheCleveland Agora Theatre and Ballroom has served as a major venue for rock concerts in the city since the 1960s.[185] From 1974 through 1980, the city hosted theWorld Series of Rock atCleveland Municipal Stadium.[186]
The city has a history ofpolka music being popular both past and present and is the location of thePolka Hall of Fame. There is even a subgenre calledCleveland-style polka, named after the city. The music's popularity is due in part to the success ofFrankie Yankovic, a Cleveland native who was considered "America's Polka King".[191]
Cleveland Fire Department (1900) by theEdison Company, one of the first films made in Cleveland
The first film shot in Cleveland was in 1897 by thecompany of OhioanThomas Edison.[193] BeforeHollywood became the center forAmerican cinema, filmmaker Samuel Brodsky and playwright Robert McLaughlin operated a film studio at theAndrews mansion on Euclid Avenue (now theWEWS-TV studio).[194] There they produced majorsilent-era features, such asDangerous Toys (1921), which are now consideredlost. Brodsky also directed the weeklyPlain Dealer Screen Magazine that ran in theaters in Cleveland and Ohio from 1917 to 1924.[193] In addition, Cleveland hosted over a dozensponsored film studios, includingCinécraft Productions, which still operates in Ohio City.[193][195]
Langston Hughes, preeminent poet of theHarlem Renaissance and child of an itinerant couple, lived in Cleveland as a teenager and attended Central High School in Cleveland in the 1910s.[204] At Central High, the young writer was taught byHelen Maria Chesnutt, daughter of Cleveland-born African American novelistCharles W. Chesnutt.[205] Hughes authored some of his earliest poems, plays, and short stories in Cleveland and contributed to the school newspaper.[206] The African American avant-garde poetRussell Atkins lived in the city as well.[207]
The American modernist poetHart Crane was born in nearbyGarrettsville, Ohio in 1899. His adolescence was divided between Cleveland and Akron before he moved to New York City in 1916.[208] Cleveland was the home ofJoe Shuster andJerry Siegel, who created the comic book characterSuperman in 1933.[209][210]Harlan Ellison, noted author ofspeculative fiction, was born in Cleveland in 1934. As a young man, he published a series of short stories appearing in theCleveland News, and performed in a number of productions for the Cleveland Play House.[211]
Cleveland is the site of theAnisfield-Wolf Book Award, which recognizes books that have contributed to the understanding of racism and human diversity.[212] Presented by theCleveland Foundation, it remains the only American book prize focusing on works that address racism and diversity.[213]
Cleveland has two mainart museums. TheCleveland Museum of Art is a major American art museum, with a collection that includes more than 60,000 works of art.[214] TheMuseum of Contemporary Art Cleveland showcases established and emerging artists, particularly from the Cleveland area, through hosting and producing temporary exhibitions.[215] Both museums offer free admission to visitors.[216][215]
Cleveland hosts the WinterLand holiday display lighting festival annually at Public Square.[222] TheCleveland International Film Festival has been held in the city since 1977,[223] and the Cleveland Silent Film Festival has been held since 2022.[224] TheCleveland National Air Show, an indirect successor to the National Air Races, has been held at the city'sBurke Lakefront Airport since 1964.[225] The Great Lakes Burning River Fest, a two-night music and beer festival at Whiskey Island, has been sponsored by the Great Lakes Brewing Company since 2001.[226]
Many ethnic festivals are held in Cleveland throughout the year. These include the annualFeast of the Assumption in Little Italy,[227] RussianMaslenitsa in Rockefeller Park,[228] the Puerto Rican Parade and Cultural Festival in Clark–Fulton,[229] the Cleveland Asian Festival in Asiatown,[230] the Tremont Greek Fest,[231] and the St. Mary Romanian Festival in West Park.[232] Cleveland also hosts annual PolishDyngus Day and SloveneKurentovanje celebrations.[233][234] The city's annualSaint Patrick's Day parade brings hundreds of thousands to the streets of Downtown.[235] TheCleveland Thyagaraja Festival held each spring at Cleveland State University is the largest Indian classical music and dance festival in the world outside of India.[236] Since 1946, the city has annually marked One World Day in theCleveland Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park, celebrating all of its ethnic communities.[159]
With itsblue-collar roots well intact, and plenty of Lake Erieperch andwalleye available, the tradition of Friday nightfish fries remains alive and thriving in Cleveland, particularly in ethnic parish-based settings, especially during the season ofLent.[244]Clambakes are likewise embedded into the city's culinary culture.[245][246] For dessert, the ClevelandCassata Cake is a unique treat invented in the local Italian community and served in Italian establishments throughout the city.[247] Another popular dessert, the locally crafted Russian Tea Biscuit, is common in many Jewish bakeries in Cleveland.[248]
Cleveland is noted in the world of celebrity food culture. Famous local figures include chefMichael Symon and food writerMichael Ruhlman, both of whom achieved local and national attention for their contributions to the culinary world. In 2007, Symon helped gain the spotlight when he was named "The Next Iron Chef" on theFood Network. That same year, Ruhlman collaborated withAnthony Bourdain, to do an episode of hisAnthony Bourdain: No Reservations focusing on Cleveland's restaurant scene.[249]
Ohio produces the fifth most beer in the U.S., with its largest brewery being Cleveland'sGreat Lakes Brewing Company.[250] Cleveland has had a long history of brewing, tied to many of its ethnic immigrants, and has reemerged as a regional leader in production.[251] Dozens of breweries exist within city limits, including large producers such asMarket Garden Brewery andPlatform Beer Company. Although breweries can be found throughout the city, the highest concentration is in the Ohio City neighborhood.[252] Cleveland hosts expansions from other countries as well, including the ScottishBrewDog and GermanHofbrauhaus.[253][254]
The Cleveland Guardians – known as the Indians from 1915 to 2021 – won theWorld Series in1920 and1948. They also won theAmerican League pennant, making the World Series in the1954,1995,1997, and2016 seasons. Between1995 and2001, the team sold out 455 consecutive games, a Major League Baseball record that stood until 2008.[255]
Cleveland andLake Erie in winter from Edgewater Park
Known locally as the "Emerald Necklace", theOlmsted-inspiredCleveland Metroparks encircle Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. The city proper encompasses the Metroparks' Brookside and Lakefront Reservations, as well as significant parts of the Rocky River, Washington, and Euclid Creek Reservations. The Lakefront Reservation, which provides public access to Lake Erie, consists of four parks: Edgewater Park, Whiskey Island–Wendy Park, East 55th Street Marina, andGordon Park.[273]
Three more parks fall under the jurisdiction of the Euclid Creek Reservation: Euclid Beach, Villa Angela, and Wildwood Marina.[274] Further south, bike and hiking trails in theBrecksville and Bedford Reservations, along with Garfield Park, provide access to trails in theCuyahoga Valley National Park.[275] Also included in the Metroparks system is theCleveland Metroparks Zoo, established in 1882. Located in Big Creek Valley, the zoo has one of the largest collections ofprimates in North America.[276]
In addition to the Metroparks, theCleveland Public Parks District oversees the city's neighborhood parks, the largest of which is the historicRockefeller Park. The latter is notable for its late 19th century landmark bridges, the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse, and theCleveland Cultural Gardens, which celebrate the city's ethnic diversity.[277][159] Just outside of Rockefeller Park, theCleveland Botanical Garden in University Circle, established in 1930, is the oldest civic garden center in the nation.[278] In addition, theGreater Cleveland Aquarium, located in the historic FirstEnergy Powerhouse in the Flats, is the only independent, free-standing aquarium in the state of Ohio.[279]
Historically, from the Civil War era to the 1940s, Cleveland had been dominated by theRepublican Party, with the notable exceptions of the Johnson and Baker mayoral administrations.[280] Businessman and SenatorMark Hanna was among Cleveland's most influential Republican figures, both locally and nationally.[289] Another nationally prominent Ohio Republican, former U.S. PresidentJames A. Garfield, was born in Cuyahoga County'sOrange Township (today the Cleveland suburb ofMoreland Hills). His resting place is theJames A. Garfield Memorial in Cleveland'sLake View Cemetery.[290]
Today Cleveland is a major stronghold for theDemocratic Party in Ohio. Although local elections are nonpartisan, Democrats still dominate every level of government.[280] Politically, Cleveland and several of its neighboring suburbs compriseOhio's11th congressional district. The district is represented byShontel Brown, one of five Democrats representing the state of Ohio in theU.S. House of Representatives.[291]
Like in other major American cities, crime in Cleveland is concentrated in areas with higher rates of poverty and lower access to jobs.[297][298] In recent decades, the rate of crime in the city, although higher than the national average, experienced a significant decline, following a nationwide trend in falling crime rates.[297][299] However, as in other major U.S. cities, crime in Cleveland saw an abrupt rise in 2020–21.[300]
Cleveland is served by thefirefighters of the Cleveland Division of Fire, established in 1863.[306] The fire department operates out of 22 active fire stations throughout the city in five battalions. Each Battalion is commanded by a Battalion Chief, who reports to an on-duty Assistant Chief.[307][308]
The Division of Fire operates afire apparatus fleet of twenty-two engine companies, eight ladder companies, three tower companies, two task forcerescue squad companies, hazardous materials ("haz-mat") unit, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units. TheChief of Department is Anthony Luke.[309]
Cleveland EMS is operated by the city as its own municipal third-service EMS division. Cleveland EMS is the primary provider ofAdvanced Life Support and ambulance transport within the city of Cleveland, while Cleveland Fire assists by providing fire response medical care.[310] Although a merger between the fire and EMS departments was proposed in the past, the idea was subsequently abandoned.[311]
Cleveland serves as headquarters toCoast Guard District 9 and is responsible for allU.S. Coast Guard operations on the five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and surrounding states accumulating 6,700 miles of shoreline and 1,500 miles of international shoreline with Canada. It reports up through theU.S. Department of Homeland Security. Station Cleveland Harbor, located in North Coast Harbor, has a responsibility covering about 550 square miles of the federally navigable waters of Lake Erie, including the Cuyahoga andRocky rivers, as well as a number of their tributaries.[312]
Cleveland is served by theCleveland Metropolitan School District. It is the onlyK–12 district in Ohio under the direct control of the mayor, who appoints aschool board.[313] Approximately 1 square mile (2.6 km2) of Cleveland's Buckeye–Shaker neighborhood is part of theShaker Heights City School District. The area, which has been a part of the Shaker school district since the 1920s, permits these Cleveland residents to pay the same school taxes as the Shaker residents, as well as vote in the Shaker school board elections.[314]
Cleveland is home to a number of colleges and universities. Most prominent among them isCase Western Reserve University (CWRU), a widely recognized research and teaching institution based inUniversity Circle with several major graduate programs.[316]
Established in 1869,[318] the Cleveland Public Library is one of thelargest public libraries in the nation with a collection of over 13 million materials in 2023.[319] It holds the Northeast Ohio Broadcast Archives,[320] and theJohn G. White Special Collection, with the largestchess library in the world and a rare collection offolklore and books on the Middle East andEurasia.[321][322] The library's main building was designed byWalker and Weeks and dedicated in 1925,[323] under head librarianLinda Eastman, the first woman to lead a major library system in the U.S.[324] Between 1904 and 1920, 15libraries built with funds fromAndrew Carnegie were opened in the city.[325] Known as the "People's University", the library presently maintains 27 branches.[326] It serves as the headquarters for theCLEVNET library consortium, which includes 47 public library systems in Northeast Ohio.[327]
Several ethnic publications are based in Cleveland. These include theCall and Post, a weekly newspaper that primarily serves the city's African American community;[336] theCleveland Jewish News, a weeklyJewish newspaper;[337] the bi-weeklyRussian-languageCleveland Russian Magazine;[338] theMandarinErie Chinese Journal;[339]La Gazzetta Italiana in English and Italian;[340] theOhio Irish American News;[341] and the Spanish languageVocero Latino News.[342]
The Mike Douglas Show, a nationallysyndicated daytime talk show, began in Cleveland in 1961 on KYW-TV (now WKYC),[344] whileThe Morning Exchange on WEWS-TV served as the model forGood Morning America.[345]Tim Conway andErnie Anderson first established themselves in Cleveland while working together at KYW-TV and later WJW-TV (now WJW). Anderson both created and performed as the immensely popular Cleveland horror hostGhoulardi on WJW-TV'sShock Theater, and was later succeeded by the long-runninglate night duoBig Chuck and Lil' John.[346] Another Anderson protégé –Ron Sweed – would become a popular Cleveland late night movie host in his own right as "The Ghoul".[347]
News/talk stations includeWHK,WTAM, andWERE. During theGolden Age of Radio, WHK was the first radio station to broadcast in Ohio, and one of the first in the country.[351][352] WTAM is the AMflagship for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Guardians.[353][354] Sports stations includeWKNR (ESPN),WARF (Fox) andWKRK-FM (Infinity), with WKNR and WKRK-FM serving as co-flagship stations for the Cleveland Browns, and WARF airing the Cleveland Monsters and – though primarily an English language station – Spanish broadcasts of Cleveland Guardians home games.[355][356][357]Religious stations includeWHKW,WCCR, andWCRF.
Cleveland has a bus and railmass transit system operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA). Therail portion is officially called theRTA Rapid Transit, but local residents refer to it asThe Rapid. It consists of threelight rail lines, known as theBlue,Green, andWaterfront Lines, and aheavy rail line, theRed Line. In 2008, RTA completed theHealthLine, abus rapid transit line, for which naming rights were purchased by the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. It runs along Euclid Avenue from downtown through University Circle, ending at theLouis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland.[359] In 1968, Cleveland became the first city in the nation to have a direct rail transit connection linking the city's downtown to its major airport.[69]
In 2021,Walk Score ranked Cleveland the 17th most walkable of the 50 largest cities in the U.S., with a Walk Score of 57, a Transit Score of 45, and a Bike Score of 55 (out of a maximum of 100). Cleveland's most walkable areas can be found in the Downtown, Ohio City, Detroit–Shoreway, University Circle, and Buckeye–Shaker neighborhoods.[360] Like other major cities, the urban density of Cleveland reduces the need for private vehicle ownership. In 2016, 23.7% of Cleveland households lacked a car, while the national average was 8.7%. Cleveland averaged 1.19 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.[361]
Cleveland's road system consists of numbered streets running roughly north–south, and named avenues, which run roughly east–west. The numbered streets are designated "east" or "west", depending on where they lie in relation to Ontario Street, which bisects Public Square.[362] The two downtown avenues which span the Cuyahoga change names on the west side of the river. Superior Avenue becomes Detroit Avenue on the West Side, and Carnegie Avenue becomes Lorain Avenue. The bridges that make these connections are theHope Memorial (Lorain–Carnegie) Bridge and theVeterans Memorial (Detroit–Superior) Bridge.[363][364]
Cleveland is served by three two-digitinterstate highways –I-71,I-77, andI-90 – and by two three-digit interstates –I-480 andI-490. Running due east–west through the West Side suburbs, I-90 turns northeast at the junction with I-490, and is known as the Cleveland Inner Belt.[365] TheCleveland Memorial Shoreway carriesSR 2 along its length, and at varying points carriesUS 6,US 20 and I-90.[366] At the junction with the Shoreway, I-90 makes a 90-degree turn in the area known asDead Man's Curve, then continues northeast.[367] The Jennings Freeway (SR 176) connects I-71 just south of I-90 to I-480.[365] A third highway, the Berea Freeway (SR 237 in part), connects I-71 to the airport and forms part of the boundary between Brook Park and Cleveland's Hopkins neighborhood.[368]
Cleveland is a major North American air market, serving 4.93 million people.[369]Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is the city's primary major airport and aninternational airport that serves the broader region. Originally known as Cleveland Municipal Airport, it was the first municipally owned airport in the country.[370] Cleveland Hopkins is a significant regional air freight hub hostingFedEx Express,UPS Airlines,U.S. Postal Service, and major commercial freight carriers. In addition to Hopkins, Cleveland is served byBurke Lakefront Airport, on the north shore of downtown between Lake Erie and the Shoreway. Burke is primarily a commuter and business airport.[371]
ThePort of Cleveland, at the Cuyahoga River's mouth, is a major bulk freight and container terminal on Lake Erie, receiving much of the raw materials used by the region's manufacturing industries.[372] The Port of Cleveland is the only container port on the Great Lakes with bi-weekly container service between Cleveland and thePort of Antwerp in Belgium on a Dutch service called the Cleveland-Europe Express.[373] In addition to freight, the Port of Cleveland welcomes regional and international tourists who pass through the city onGreat Lakes cruises.[374]
Cleveland has a longhistory as a major railroad hub in North America. Today,Amtrak provides service to Cleveland, via theCapitol Limited andLake Shore Limited routes, which stop atCleveland Lakefront Station. Additionally, Cleveland hosts several inter-modal freight railroad terminals, for Norfolk Southern, CSX and several smaller companies.[375][376]
Cleveland maintains cultural, economic, and educational ties with 27sister cities around the world. It concluded its first sister city partnership withLima, Peru, in 1964.[379] In addition, Cleveland hosts theConsulate General of theRepublic of Slovenia, which, until Slovene independence in 1991, served as an official consulate forTito'sYugoslavia.[380] The Cleveland Clinic operates theCleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi hospital, two outpatient clinics inToronto, and a hospital campus in London.[381] The Cleveland Council on World Affairs was established in 1923.[382]
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
^Official records for Cleveland kept at downtown from January 1871 to May 1941, and at Hopkins Airport since June 1941. For more information, seeThreadEx.
^Bourne, Henry E. (1896)."The Story of Cleveland".New England Magazine. Vol. 14, no. 6. p. 744.It was agreeable to the wishes of many of our oldest and most intelligent citizens, who are of the opinion that the 'a' is superfluous.
^ab"Prohibition Amendment".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. June 18, 2018. RetrievedJuly 15, 2019.
^Kelly, Ralph (December 28, 1933). "Murder in Cleveland: The Prohibition Toll. Chapter 3—Rise of the Rum Kings; the 'Bloody Corner".The Plain Dealer. pp. 1, 5.
^Miller & Wheeler 1997, p. 146, "IndustrialistCyrus Eaton would later say that Cleveland was hurt more by the Depression than any other city in the United States".
^"Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. April 4, 2019. RetrievedJuly 22, 2019.
^Schneider, Russell (November 3, 1991). "Those Championship Seasons: Cleveland's Rich Sports History".The Plain Dealer. p. 206.Once upon a time, Cleveland was known as the 'City of Champions.'
^ab"Freed, Alan".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. May 11, 2018. RetrievedMay 19, 2023.
^ab"Suburbs".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. June 14, 2018. RetrievedMay 19, 2023.
^Condon 1967, p. 9, "For all practical purposes, though – and hang the technicalities – everything east of the [Cuyahoga] river constitutes the East Side. Everything west of the river can be considered the West Side. That is the realistic view taken by Clevelanders. When two Clevelanders meet for the first time, they fence conversationally until the vital question of East or West is answered. Knowing which side of town a new acquaintance comes from makes a subtle difference".
^Smith, Susan (June 26, 1988). "Akron, State Blanketed in 3-Digit Heat".Akron Beacon Journal. p. A1.The high of 104 degrees at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport was the highest recorded in Cleveland since official weather record -keeping began in 1871, weather service officials said.
^Mio, Lou (January 20, 1994). "Stopped Cold: All-Time Lows Shiver Ohio, But Forecast's for 'Warming'".The Plain Dealer. p. 1A.It was 20 below Tuesday night, breaking Cleveland's all-time record of 19 below set Jan. 24, 1963, a few weeks after Browns owner Art Modell fired head coach Paul Brown during a newspaper strike.
^"Playhouse Square".Cleveland Historical. Cleveland State University. RetrievedJuly 1, 2023.By the turn of the twenty-first century, all of the original theaters were again hosting performances, constituting the nation's second largest performing arts complex after New York's Lincoln Center.
^Gibans, Nina; Shelley, James (May 11, 2018)."Literature".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. RetrievedJune 7, 2023.
^"Crane, Hart".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. March 3, 2023. RetrievedJune 7, 2023.
^"Superman".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. May 12, 2018. RetrievedAugust 5, 2019.
^Eng, Monica (January 29, 2008)."Hot new dining city: Cleveland?!".Chicago Tribune. RetrievedJuly 7, 2023.By the time I hit Cleveland for the grand culinary tour, Ruhlman had the routine down. Earlier in the year, his chef/writer pal Anthony Bourdain had filmed a whole episode of his Travel Channel show "No Reservations" in Cleveland.
^Roy, Christopher (March 12, 2022)."Hopkins Neighborhood".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. RetrievedJuly 21, 2023.
^"Cleveland". The Center for Cleveland. RetrievedMay 19, 2023.
^ab"Cleveland Sister City Partnerships".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. December 14, 2023. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2024.
^"Slovenes".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. May 11, 2018. RetrievedMay 24, 2020.
^"Eaton, Cyrus Stephen".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. July 30, 2019. RetrievedNovember 10, 2019.
^Burik, Paul (October 3, 2020)."Cleveland Agreement of 1915".The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. RetrievedJune 7, 2023.
Dutka, Alan F. (2012).Cleveland's Short Vincent: The Theatrical Grill and Its Notorious Neighbors. Cleveland: Cleveland Landmarks Press.ISBN978-0936760322.
Feran, Tom; Heldenfels, R. D. (1997).Ghoulardi: Inside Cleveland TV's Wildest Ride. Cleveland: Gray & Co.ISBN978-1886228184.
Harwood, Herbert H. Jr. (2003).Invisible Giants: The Empires of Cleveland's Van Sweringen Brothers. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.ISBN0-253-34163-9.
Horner, William T. (2010).Ohio's Kingmaker: Mark Hanna, Man and Myth. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press.ISBN978-0-8214-1894-9.
Johannesen, Eric (1999).A Cleveland Legacy: The Architecture of Walker and Weeks. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press.ISBN0-87338-589-6.
Keating, W. Dennis (2022).Cleveland and the Civil War. Charleston: The History Press (Arcadia).ISBN978-1467147736.
Mosbrook, Joe (2013) [Originally published in 2003 by Northeast Ohio Jazz Society].Cleveland Jazz History (2nd ed.). Cleveland: MSL Academic Endeavors (Cleveland State University).ISBN978-1-936323-41-8.
Condon, George E. (2006).West of the Cuyahoga. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press.ISBN978-0873388542.
Chapman, Edmund H. (1981).Cleveland: Village to Metropolis. Cleveland: Western Reserve Historical Society.ISBN978-091170429-7.
Johannesen, Eric (1979).Cleveland Architecture, 1876–1976. Cleveland: Western Reserve Historical Society.ISBN978-091170421-1.
Grabowski, John J. (2019).Cleveland A to Z: An Essential Compendium for Visitors and Residents Alike. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press.ISBN978-1606353905.
Grabowski, John J.; Grabowski, Diane Ewart (2000).Cleveland: A History in Motion. Carlsbad, CA: Heritage Media.ISBN978-1886483385.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_-_exterior_photographed_from_A_Christmas_Story_House_property.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
