Cleveland (Ohio)

I

Introduction

Cleveland (Ohio), the second largest city in Ohio and seat of Cuyahoga County, located where the Cuyahoga River enters Lake Erie. A major manufacturing and commercial center, it ranks as one of the chief ports on the Great Lakes, and the city has long functioned as a collecting point for highway and railroad traffic from the Midwest. In the 1990s Cleveland developed new cultural, sports, and entertainment attractions in the downtown area and increased its vitality.

The eastern part of the Cleveland metropolitan area lies on the Appalachian Plateau at an elevation of about 330 m (about 1,100 ft), while the western part sits upon the Lake Plain and associated terraces at about 180 m (about 600 ft). The eastern area’s higher elevation results in significantly greater snowfalls in winter. Annual precipitation, measured at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport in the west, is 930 mm (36.6 in) and falls evenly throughout the year. Temperatures in the city are moderated by its location on Lake Erie. The average high in January is -0° C (32° F) and the average low is -8° C (18° F); average high in July is 28° C (82° F) and the average low is 16° C (61° F).

Cleveland is named for Moses Cleaveland, who laid out the city as part of a survey in 1796. The spelling of the name was later shortened; one story holds that it was done by a newspaper editor in order to fit the name in the newspaper’s masthead.

II

Cleveland and its Metropolitan Area

Most of the northern and downtown sections of Cleveland lie on terraces between 18 and 24 m (60 and 80 ft) above Lake Erie. These terraces are divided by the valley of the Cuyahoga River, which flows northward through Cleveland. The valley, called the Flats, was once the city’s main industrial section but has since been converted into an entertainment district, with numerous restaurants and nightclubs in renovated warehouses on both banks of the river. High bridges across the Flats link the commercial and residential areas to its east and west.

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The heart of the central business district is Public Square, on a lake terrace east of the Flats. The square contains a large monument to participants in the American Civil War (1861-1865) and statues of city founder Moses Cleaveland and of one of America’s greatest reform mayors, Tom L. Johnson, who served from 1901 to 1909. Public Square is the focal point of several main thoroughfares and is dominated by the 52-story Terminal Tower (1929), which for several decades was the tallest building in the United States west of New York. Terminal Tower’s lower concourse, originally the station for the New York Central Railroad, was renovated in 1990 into an open three-level development of retail stores and restaurants known as Tower City. Other important retail complexes in the downtown are The Galleria, a collection of stores in a mall-like, ultra-modern building; and the Arcade, a magnificently restored late 19th century three-story shopping and office arcade listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Euclid Avenue, which runs eastward from Public Square, formerly was the main retail concentration, but its shopping influence is today greatly reduced. Eastward along Euclid Avenue is the University Circle area, a neighborhood of educational, medical, and cultural facilities.

In 1895 the Cleveland Architectural Club challenged its members to produce a “grouping of Cleveland’s Public Buildings.” Out of this idea emerged the Group Plan, patterned on the “city beautiful” concept expressed in the redevelopment of the Chicago waterfront for the Chicago World’s Fair. Both Daniel H. Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted, architects of the Chicago plan, played key roles in developing a mall in downtown Cleveland where an impressive concentration of public buildings was erected in the first third of the 20th century. Structures include the Federal Building, the County Court House, the Cleveland Public Library, City Hall, the Cleveland Board of Education Building, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and Public Hall (a combination auditorium, convention center, and exposition hall).

The land area of the city of Cleveland is 199.4 sq km (77.0 sq mi). But this represents only a small fraction of the city’s metropolitan region, which spreads over Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lake, Medina, Ashtabula, and Geauga counties, with a land area of 7,012.4 sq km (2,707.5 sq mi). The Cleveland metropolitan area includes the communities of Parma, Lorain, Lakewood, Elyria, Euclid, Cleveland Heights, Mentor, East Cleveland, Strongsville, Garfield Heights, Shaker Heights, and many smaller communities.

III

Population

According to the national census, the population of Cleveland was 505,616 in 1990, a decline of 11.9 percent from the 1980 population of 573,822. The decrease continued into the 1990s, falling a further 5.4 percent between 1990 and 2000. The population was 478,403 in 2000. By 2005, Cleveland's population was estimated at 452,208. The decrease was attributed to a continuing flight to the suburbs, begun before 1970 and fueled by racial polarization and public school problems.

In 2000 blacks were 51 percent of the population, whites 41.5 percent, Asians 1.3 percent, Native Americans 0.3 percent, and people of mixed heritage or not reporting race 5.8 percent. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders numbered 178 at the time of the census. Hispanics, who may be of any race, were 7.3 percent of the people.

The city of Cleveland has long been stereotyped as a community of two halves: a black eastern half and a white western half. Although a gross over-simplification, this perception has been widely accepted and has governed many community attitudes and actions. In reality, the city of Cleveland and much of the larger metropolitan area consists of distinct ethnic neighborhoods or communities. In large part this is a heritage of the employment opportunities available to blacks from the southern United States, whites from the Appalachian hill country, and immigrants from eastern and southern Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The population of the metropolitan area in 1980 was 2,278,000, but by 1990 it totaled 2,202,000, or a decrease of 3.3 percent. The trend reversed in the 1990s. In 2005 the population was 2,126,000. Accurately characterizing the population of the metropolitan area is difficult because the fastest growing regions in 1990 actually were outside the officially designated area. For example, northern Summit County, while in Cleveland’s economic and cultural orbit, is counted as part of the Akron metropolitan area.

IV

Education and Culture

Cleveland’s principal universities include Case Western Reserve University (1826), an internationally known school, especially for engineering; Cleveland State University (1964), particularly known for its urban-oriented curriculum; and David N. Myers College (1848). The Cleveland Institute of Art was founded in 1882, and the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1920. John Carroll University (1886) is in suburban University Heights and Baldwin-Wallace College (1845) is in Berea. Cleveland is famous for medical research and treatment, led by the Cleveland Clinic and its outstanding heart surgery program. The University Hospitals, affiliated with Case Western Reserve University, also enjoys an international reputation for high quality medical services.

Most of Cleveland’s cultural, educational, and medical institutions are located in the University Circle area, 6 km (4 mi) east of downtown. Leading cultural institutions include the Cleveland Museum of Art, with one of America’s best collections of Asian art; the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, with fossils of dinosaurs and human ancestors; and the Western Reserve Historical Society Museum, containing exhibits on the Western Reserve from the late 18th to early 20th centuries, and the adjacent Crawford Auto and Aviation Museum, including an exhibit on automobiles built in Cleveland. Of particular interest to families are the Health Museum of Cleveland and the Cleveland Children’s Museum. Also located in University Circle is Severance Hall, the home of the world-acclaimed Cleveland Orchestra. Nearby is the Cleveland Play House, with three large, restored theaters and one of the largest non-profit professional theaters in the country. Downtown is Playhouse Square Center, with four recently restored theaters, home to the Cleveland Opera and the Great Lakes Theater Festival. On the waterfront is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, opened in 1995 and exploring the rich history of rock music. Next door is the Great Lakes Science Center, an interactive science museum. A popular cultural event in the city each spring is the Cleveland International Film Festival.