Cleveland (ˈkliːvlənd) is a
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in the U.S. state of
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and is the
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of
Cuyahoga CountyCuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It is the most populous county in Ohio; as of the 2010 census, the population was 1,280,122. Its county seat is Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is part of Greater Cleveland, a metropolitan area, and Northeast Ohio, a...
, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
, approximately 60 miles (96.6 km) west of the
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
border. It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the
Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
, and became a
manufacturingManufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
center owing to its location on the lake shore, as well as being connected to numerous
canalCanals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s and
railroadPresently, most rail transport in the United States is based on freight train shipments. The U.S. rail industry has experienced repeated convulsions due to changing U.S. economic needs and the rise of automobile, bus, and air transport....
lines. Cleveland's economy has diversified sectors that include manufacturing, financial services,
healthcareHealth care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector...
, and biomedical. Cleveland is home to the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
.
As of the 2010 Census, the city proper had a total population of 396,815 and was the 45th
largest city in the United States. and the second largest
city in Ohio. It is the center of
Greater ClevelandGreater Cleveland is a nickname for the metropolitan area surrounding Cleveland, Ohio and is part of what used to be the Connecticut Western Reserve.Northeast Ohio refers to a similar but substantially larger area as described below...
, the largest
metropolitan areaThe term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
in Ohio. The Cleveland-
Elyria-Community:Elyria has an extensive, although financially burdened, community food pantry and "Hot Meals" program administered through the Second Harvest Food Bank and several churches Elyria is served by Elyria Memorial Hospital.-Recreation and parks:...
-
MentorAs of the census of 2000, there were 50,278 people, 18,797 households, and 14,229 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,878.2 people per square mile . There were 19,301 housing units at an average density of 721.0 per square mile...
Metropolitan Statistical AreaIn the United States a metropolitan statistical area is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are not legally incorporated as a city or town would be, nor are they legal administrative divisions like...
which in 2000 ranked as the 23rd largest in the United States with 2,250,871 people. Cleveland is part of the larger Cleveland-
AkronAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
-Elyria
Combined Statistical AreaThe United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
, which in 2000 had a population of 2,945,831, and ranked as the country's 14th largest.
Residents of Cleveland are called "
Clevelanders". Nicknames for the city include "
The Forest CityThe Forest City is a nickname or alternate toponym for Cleveland, Ohio; Portland, Maine; and Rockford, Illinois in the United States and London, Ontario, in Canada.-Cleveland:...
", "Metropolis of the
Western ReserveThe Connecticut Western Reserve was land claimed by Connecticut from 1662 to 1800 in the Northwest Territory in what is now northeastern Ohio.-History:...
", "Sixth City", "The Rock 'n' Roll Capital of the World", and "C-Town".
Due to
Lake Erie'sLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
close proximity to the city, the Cleveland area is sometimes locally referred to as "The North Coast".
History
Cleveland obtained its name on July 22, 1796 when surveyors of the
Connecticut Land CompanyThe Connecticut Land Company was formed in the late eighteenth century to survey and encourage settlement in the Connecticut Western Reserve, part of the Old Northwest Territory. The Western Reserve is located in Northeast Ohio with its hub being Cleveland. In 1795, the Connecticut Land Company...
laid out
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
's
Western ReserveThe Connecticut Western Reserve was land claimed by Connecticut from 1662 to 1800 in the Northwest Territory in what is now northeastern Ohio.-History:...
into townships and a capital city they named "Cleaveland" after their leader, General
Moses CleavelandMoses Cleaveland was a lawyer, politician, soldier, and surveyor from Connecticut who founded the U.S. city of Cleveland, Ohio, while surveying the Western Reserve in 1796.-Early life:...
. Cleaveland oversaw the plan for what would become the modern downtown area, centered on
Public SquarePublic Square is the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It takes up four city blocks; Superior Avenue and Ontario Street cross through it. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square...
, before returning home, never again to visit Ohio. The first settler in Cleaveland was
Lorenzo CarterMajor Lorenzo Carter was the first permanent settler in Cleveland, Ohio.Born in 1767 Lorenzo Carter spent his early years in Warren, Connecticut. Where he visited the local library frequently and developed an appreciation of books. His father, Lieut...
, who built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The Village of Cleaveland was incorporated on December 23, 1814.
In spite of the nearby swampy lowlands and harsh winters, its waterfront location proved to be an advantage. The area began rapid growth after the 1832 completion of the
Ohio and Erie CanalThe Ohio Canal or Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed in the 1820s and early 1830s. It connected Akron, Summit County, with the Cuyahoga River near its mouth on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Scioto County, and then...
. This key link between the
Ohio RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and the
Great LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
connected the city to the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
via the
Erie CanalThe Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
and later via the St. Lawrence Seaway; and the
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
via the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Growth continued with added railroad links. Cleveland incorporated as a city in 1836.
In 1836, the city, then located only on the eastern banks of the Cuyahoga River, nearly erupted into open warfare with neighboring
Ohio City over a bridge connecting the two. Ohio City remained an independent municipality until its
annexationMunicipal annexation is a process whereby a city government expands the city limits into adjacent areas not already incorporated into cities, villages or other municipalities, and sometimes when they were...
by Cleveland in 1854.
The city's prime geographic location as transportation hub on the Great Lakes has played a role in its development as a commercial center. Cleveland serves as a destination point for
iron ore shipped from
MinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, as well as
coalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
transported by rail. In 1870,
John D. RockefellerJohn Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
founded
Standard OilStandard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
in Cleveland, and moved its headquarters to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1885. Cleveland emerged in the early 20th Century as an important American manufacturing center, which included automotive companies such as
PeerlessPeerless was a United States automobile produced by the Peerless Motor Company of Cleveland, Ohio from 1900 to 1931. The company was known for building high-quality, precision luxury automobiles. Peerless' factory was located at 9400 Quincy Avenue in Cleveland...
, People's,
JordanThe Jordan Motor Car Company was founded in 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio by Edward S. "Ned" Jordan, a former advertising executive from Thomas B. Jeffery Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin. The factory produced what were known as "assembled cars" until 1931, using components from other manufacturers...
, and
WintonThe Winton Motor Carriage Company was a pioneer United States automobile manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. Winton was one of the first American companies to sell a motor car.-1896:...
, maker of the first car driven across the U.S. Other manufacturers located in Cleveland produced
steam-poweredA steam car is a light car powered by a steam engine.Steam locomotives, steam engines capable of propelling themselves along either road or rails, developed around one hundred years earlier than internal combustion engine cars although their weight restricted them to agricultural and heavy haulage...
cars, which included
WhiteWhite Motor Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the company was based in Cleveland, Ohio.-History:...
and
GaethGaeth was an American steam automobile manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio from 1902 until 1911.Bicycle maker Paul Gaeth added stationary engines to his business, and made an experimental steam car in 1898. His gasoline cars were unusual in using a large 3-cylinder horizontal engine of 25/30 hp...
, as well as the
electric carAn electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
company
BakerBaker Motor Vehicle Company was a manufacturer of Brass Era electric automobiles in Cleveland, Ohio from 1899 to 1914.-History:The first Baker vehicle was a two seater with a selling price of US$850. One was sold to Thomas Edison as his first car. Edison also designed the nickel-iron batteries used...
. By 1920, due in large part to the city's economic prosperity, Cleveland became the nation's fifth
largest city]This entry tracks and ranks the population of the largest cities in the United States by decade, starting with the 1790 Census. For 1790 through 1990, tables are taken from "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990." For year 2000 rankings,...
. The city counted
Progressive EraThe Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. One main goal of the Progressive movement was purification of government, as Progressives tried to eliminate corruption by exposing and undercutting political...
politicians such as the
populistPopulism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
Mayor
Tom L. JohnsonThomas Loftin Johnson , better known as Tom L. Johnson, was an American politician of the Democratic Party from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He headed relief efforts after the Johnstown, Pennsylvania floods of 1889, was a U.S. Representative from 1891–1895 and the 35th mayor of...
among its leaders. Many prominent Clevelanders from this era are buried in the historic
Lake View CemeteryLake View Cemetery is located on the east side of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders. There are over 104,000 people buried at Lake View, with more than 700 burials each year. There are remaining for future development. Known locally as "Cleveland's...
, including
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
James A. Garfield, and John D. Rockefeller.
In commemoration of the centennial of Cleveland's incorporation as a city, the
Great Lakes ExpositionThe Great Lakes Exposition was held in Cleveland, Ohio, in the summers of 1936 and 1937, along the Lake Erie shore north of downtown. The fair commemorated of the centennial of Cleveland's incorporation as a city...
debuted in June 1936 along the
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
shore north of downtown. Conceived as a way to energize a city after the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, it drew four million visitors in its first season, and seven million by the end of its second and final season in September 1937. The exposition was housed on grounds that are now used by the
Great Lakes Science CenterThe Great Lakes Science Center is a museum and educational facility in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States.The center's exhibits focus on helping visitors to understand science, technology, and their interdependence with the environment. Many of the exhibits document the features of the natural...
, the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
and Burke Lakefront Airport, among others.
Following
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the city experienced a prosperous economy. In sports, the
IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
won the
1948 World SeriesThe 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. The Braves had won the National League pennant for the first time since the "Miracle Braves" team of . The Indians spoiled a chance for the only all-Boston World Series by winning a one-game playoff against the Boston...
and the
BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
dominated professional
footballThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
in the 1950s. Businesses proclaimed that Cleveland was the "best location in the nation". The city's population reached its peak of 914,808, and in 1949 Cleveland was named an
All-America CityThe All-America City Award is given by the National Civic League annually to ten cities in the United States.The oldest community recognition program in the nation, the award recognizes communities whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon...
for the first time. By the 1960s, the economy slowed, and residents sought new housing in the suburbs, reflecting the national trends of urban flight and suburban growth.
During the African-American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, Cleveland witnessed social unrest, culminating in the
Hough RiotsThe Hough Riots were race riots in the predominantly African American community of Hough in Cleveland, Ohio that took place over a six-night period from July 18 to July 23, 1966. During the riots, four African Americans were killed and 30 people were critically injured. In addition, there were 275...
from July 18, 1966 – July 23, 1966 and the
Glenville ShootoutThe Glenville Shootout was a series of events of violent acts that occurred in the Glenville section of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, from the dates of July 23–28, 1968...
from July 23, 1968 – July 25, 1968. In December 1978, Cleveland became the first major American city to enter into a
financial defaultIn finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the debtor is either...
on federal loans since the Great Depression. Suburbanization changed the city in the late 1960s and 1970s, when financial difficulties and a notorious 1969 fire on the Cuyahoga River challenged the city. This, along with the city's struggling professional sports teams, drew negative national press; as a result, Cleveland was often derided as "The Mistake on the Lake".
By the beginning of the 1980s, several factors, including changes in international
free tradeUnder a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
policies,
inflationIn economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
and the
Savings and Loans CrisisThe savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
contributed to
the recessionThe early 1980s recession describes the severe global economic recession affecting much of the developed world in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The United States and Japan exited recession relatively early, but high unemployment would continue to affect other OECD nations through at least 1985...
that impacted cities like Cleveland. 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 production centers.
The metropolitan area began a gradual economic recovery under Mayors
George VoinovichGeorge Victor Voinovich is a former United States Senator from the state of Ohio, and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served as the 65th Governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998, and as the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989.-Personal life:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, his father was...
and
Michael R. WhiteMichael Reed White is an American politician of the Democratic party and was the 55th and longest-serving mayor of Cleveland, Ohio encompassing three four-year terms, from 1990 to 2002...
. Redevelopment within the city limits has been strongest in the downtown area near the
Gateway complexThe Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex is a multipurpose campus located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It comprises two sports facilities, a transitional space known as Gateway Plaza, and two parking garages...
—consisting of Progressive Field and
Quicken Loans ArenaQuicken Loans Arena , is a multi-purpose arena, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States....
, and near
North Coast HarborNorth Coast Harbor is a district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie. It includes the Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Steamship William G...
—including the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
,
Cleveland Browns Stadium-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...
, and the
Great Lakes Science CenterThe Great Lakes Science Center is a museum and educational facility in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States.The center's exhibits focus on helping visitors to understand science, technology, and their interdependence with the environment. Many of the exhibits document the features of the natural...
. Cleveland has been hailed by the media as the "Comeback City," while economic development of the inner-city neighborhoods and improvement of the school systems are municipal priorities. In 1999, Cleveland was identified as an emerging
global cityA global city is a city that is deemed to be an important node in the global economic system...
.
In the 21st century, the city has improved
infrastructureInfrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, a more diversified economy, and has invested in the arts. Cleveland is generally considered an example of revitalization. In studies conducted by
The EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
in 2005 Cleveland was ranked as one of the most
livableThe term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...
cities in the United States, and the city was ranked as the best city for business meetings in the continental U.S. The city's goals include additional neighborhood revitalization and increased funding for
public educationState schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
.
Topography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 82.4 square miles (213.4 km²), of which, 77.6 square miles (201 km²) is land and 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²) is water. The total area is 5.87% water.
The shore of
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
is 569 feet (173.4 m) above
sea levelThe term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
; however, the city lies on a series of irregular bluffs lying roughly parallel to the lake. In Cleveland these bluffs are cut principally by the
Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
, Big Creek, and Euclid Creek. The land rises quickly from the lakeshore.
Public SquarePublic Square is the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It takes up four city blocks; Superior Avenue and Ontario Street cross through it. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square...
, less than a mile (2 km) inland, sits at an elevation of 650 feet (198 m), and Hopkins Airport, only 5 miles (8 km) inland from the lake, is at an elevation of 791 feet (241 m).
Climate
Cleveland possesses a
humid continental climateA humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(
Köppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfa), typical of much of the central United States, with very warm, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. The Lake Erie shoreline is very close to due east-west from the mouth of the Cuyahoga west to
SanduskySandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
, but at the mouth of the Cuyahoga it turns sharply northeast. This feature is the principal contributor to the
lake effect snowLake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when cold winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, providing energy and picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the leeward shores...
that is typical in Cleveland (especially on the city's East Side) from mid-November until the surface of Lake Erie freezes, usually in late January or early February. The lake effect also causes a relative differential in geographical snowfall totals across the city: while Hopkins Airport, on the city's far West Side, has only reached 100 inches (254 cm) of snowfall in a season three times since 1968, 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 BeltSnowbelt is a term describing of a number of regions near the Great Lakes in North America where heavy snowfall in the form of lake-effect snow is particularly common. Snowbelts are typically found downwind of the lakes, principally off the eastern and southern shores...
' begins. Extending from the city's East Side and its suburbs, the Snow Belt up the Lake Erie shore as far as
BuffaloBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
.
The all-time record high in Cleveland of 104 °F (40 °C) was established on June 25, 1988, and the all-time record low of -20 F was set on January 19, 1994. On average, July is the warmest month with a mean temperature of 73.5 °F (23.1 °C), and January, with a mean temperature of 28.1 °F (-2.2 °C), is the coldest. Normal yearly
precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
based on the 30-year average from 1981 to 2010 is 39.14 inches (994 mm). The least precipitation occurs on the western side and directly along the lake, and the most occurs in the eastern suburbs. Parts of
Geauga CountyGeauga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 93,389. It is named for a Native American word meaning "raccoon". The county seat is Chardon...
receive over 44 inches of liquid precipitation annually.
Occasionally, severe thunderstorms strike Cleveland bringing with them the threat of large
hailHail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
, damaging winds and tornadoes. The threat is greatest during spring and early summer.
Cityscape
Architecture
Cleveland's downtown architecture is diverse. Many of the city's government and civic buildings, including City Hall, the
Cuyahoga County CourthouseThe Cuyahoga County Courthouse stretches along Lakeside Boulevard at the north end of the Cleveland Mall in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The building was listed on the National Register along with the mall district in 1975. Other notable buildings of the Group Plan are the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S...
, the
Cleveland Public LibraryThe Cleveland Public Library was founded in 1869 and is located in Cleveland, Ohio. It operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 28 branches throughout the city, a mobile library, a Public Administration Library in City Hall, and a library for the blind and physically...
, and
Public AuditoriumPublic Auditorium is located in the central business district of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Since it was opened in 1922, it has served as a concert hall, sports arena and convention center. Although it was planned and funded prior to World War I, construction did not begin until 1920. Designed by...
, are clustered around an open
mallThe Cleveland Mall is a long public park in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was conceived as part of the 1903 Group Plan by Daniel Burnham, John Carrère, and Arnold Brunner as a vast public space flanked by the city's major civic and governmental buildings, all built in the neoclassical style...
and share a common
neoclassical architectureNeoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
. Built in the early 20th century, they are the result of the 1903 Group Plan, and constitute one of the most complete examples of
City BeautifulThe City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...
design in the United States. The
Terminal TowerThe Terminal Tower is a landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was built during the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 1930s, and was the second-tallest building in the world when it was completed. The Terminal Tower stood as the tallest building in North America...
, dedicated in 1930, was the tallest building in North America outside
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
until 1964 and the tallest in the city until 1991. It is a prototypical
Beaux-Arts skyscraperA skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
. The two newer skyscrapers on Public Square,
Key TowerKey Tower is a skyscraper on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio designed by architect César Pelli. It is the tallest building in both the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio, the 18th tallest building in the United States, and the 70th tallest building in the world...
(currently the tallest building in Ohio) and the BP Building, combine elements of
Art DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
architecture with
postmodernPostmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
designs. Another of Cleveland's architectural treasures is
The ArcadeThe Arcade in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, is a Victorian-era structure of two nine-story buildings, joined by a five-story arcade with a glass skylight spanning over 300 feet , along the four balconies....
(sometimes called the Old Arcade), a five-story
arcadeAn arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
built in 1890 and renovated in 2001 as a
HyattHyatt Hotels Corporation , is an international operator of hotels.Hyatt Center is the headquarters for Hyatt corporation...
Regency Hotel. Cleveland's landmark ecclesiastical architecture includes the historic Old Stone Church in downtown Cleveland and the
onion domeAn onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles the onion, after which they are named. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the drum upon which they are set, and their height usually exceeds their width...
d
St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox CathedralSt. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox parish located on Starkweather Avenue in the Tremont neighborhood, on the near West Side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.St...
in
TremontTremont is a neighborhood in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Tremont is one of the oldest parts of Cleveland, and is home to restaurants and art galleries. The district sits just west of the Cuyahoga River and south of the Ohio City neighborhood. Tremont is home to numerous historic churches...
.
Running east from Public Square through University Circle is Euclid Avenue, which was known for its prestige and elegance. In the late 1880s, writer
Bayard TaylorBayard Taylor was an American poet, literary critic, translator, and travel author.-Life and work:...
described it as "the most beautiful street in the world." Known as "Millionaire's Row", Euclid Avenue was world-renowned as the home of such internationally known names as
RockefellerJohn Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
, Hanna, and
HayJohn Milton Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
.
Parks and gardens
Cleveland is home to four of the
parkA park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s in the countywide
Cleveland MetroparksCleveland Metroparks is an extensive system of nature preserves in Greater Cleveland, Ohio. The various reservations, which largely encircle the city of Cleveland, tend to follow the rivers and creeks that flow through the region...
system, as well as the: Washington Park, Brookside Park and parts of the Rocky River and Washington Reservations. Known locally as the "Emerald Necklace", the
OlmstedFrederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
-inspired Metroparks encircle Cuyahoga county. Included in the system is the
Cleveland Metroparks ZooThe Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is a zoo in Cleveland, Ohio. The zoo is divided into several areas: the RainForest, the African Savanna, Northern Trek, the Australian Adventure, and the Primates, Cats, and Aquatics House. The Metroparks Zoo has one of the largest collections of primates in North...
. Located in Big Creek valley, the zoo contains one of the largest collection of
primateA primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
s in North America. In addition to the Metroparks system, the Cleveland Lakefront State Park district provides public access to Lake Erie. This cooperative between the City of Cleveland and the State of Ohio contains six parks: Edgewater Park, located on the city's near west side between the
ShorewayThe Cleveland Memorial Shoreway is a limited-access freeway in Cleveland, Ohio. It closely follows the shore of Lake Erie and connects the east and west sides of Cleveland via the Main Avenue Bridge. The Shoreway carries State Route 2 along its length, and also carries U.S. 6, U.S. 20 and I-90...
and the lake; East 55th Street Marina,
Euclid Beach ParkEuclid Beach Park was a popular amusement park located on the shores of Lake Erie in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio....
and
Gordon ParkGordon Park is a public park located in Cleveland, Ohio. A part of the Cleveland Public Parks District,The park opened in 1893 and is situated on 122 acres of land adjacent Lake Erie on the city's East Side. It is named in honor of philanthropist and industrialist, William J. Gordon, who originally...
. The
Cleveland Public Parks DistrictThe Cleveland Public Parks District is a division of the city's Department of Public Works, which is responsible for park maintenance in the City of Cleveland, Ohio. The following is a comprehensive list of the city's more than 150 public parks....
is the municipal body that oversees the city's neighborhood parks, the largest of which is the historic
Rockefeller ParkRockefeller Park is a city park named in honor of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller Sr., located in Cleveland, Ohio. Part of the Cleveland Public Parks District, Rockefeller Park is immediately adjacent Wade Park on its the southeastern, and across Euclid Ave on its northwestern border...
, notable for its late-19th century historical landmark bridges and
Cultural GardensThe Cleveland Cultural Gardens are a collection of public gardens located in Rockefeller Park in Cleveland, Ohio. The gardens are situated along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive within the 276 acre of wooded parkland on the city's East Side...
.
Neighborhoods
Downtown ClevelandDowntown Cleveland is the central business district of the City of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Reinvestment in the area in the mid-1990s spurred a rebirth that continues to this day, with over $2 billion in residential and commercial developments slated for the area over the next few years...
is centered around
Public SquarePublic Square is the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It takes up four city blocks; Superior Avenue and Ontario Street cross through it. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square...
and includes a wide range of diversified districts. Downtown Cleveland is home to the traditional Financial District and Civic Center, as well as the distinct Theater District, which is home to
Playhouse Square CenterThe Playhouse Square Center, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, is the second-largest theater complex in the United States . Constructed in a span of nineteen months in the early 1920s, the theaters were subsequently closed down, but were revived through a grass-roots effort...
. Mixed-use neighborhoods such as the
FlatsThe Flats is a mixed-use industrial, entertainment, and increasingly residential area of Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The name reflects its low-lying topography on the banks of the Cuyahoga River.-History:...
and the Warehouse District are occupied by industrial and office buildings as well as restaurants and bars. The number of downtown housing units in the form of
condominiumA condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s, lofts, and
apartmentAn apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s has been on the increase since 2000. Recent developments include the revival of the Flats, the
Euclid Corridor ProjectThe HealthLine is a bus rapid transit line run by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The line runs along Euclid Avenue from Public Square in downtown Cleveland to the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland...
, and the developments along East 4th Street.
Cleveland residents geographically define themselves in terms of whether they live on the east or west side of the
Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
. The east side includes the neighborhoods of Buckeye-Shaker, Central,
Collinwood, Corlett, Euclid-Green, Fairfax, Forest Hills,
GlenvilleGlenville is a neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is roughly bounded between Rockefeller Park between on the west and Lakeview Road on the east, and by the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway on its the north and Wade Park Avenue to the south....
, Payne/Goodrich-Kirtland Park,
HoughHough is a neighborhood situated along the midtown corridor on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. During the American Civil Rights era in the mid-20th century, the neighborhood received national attention as a flashpoint of racial tensions, when the...
, Kinsman, Lee Harvard/Seville-Miles, Mount Pleasant, Nottingham, St. Clair-Superior, Union-Miles Park,
University CircleUniversity Circle, is a neighborhood located on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is best known for its world-class cultural, educational and medical institutions, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Museum of Art, Lakeview Cemetery, and University...
, Little Italy, and Woodland Hills. The west side includes the neighborhoods of Brooklyn Centre, Clark-Fulton, Detroit-Shoreway, Cudell, Edgewater,
Ohio City,
TremontTremont is a neighborhood in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Tremont is one of the oldest parts of Cleveland, and is home to restaurants and art galleries. The district sits just west of the Cuyahoga River and south of the Ohio City neighborhood. Tremont is home to numerous historic churches...
,
Old BrooklynOld Brooklyn is a west side neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, extending east-to-west from the Cuyahoga River to the City of Brooklyn and north-to-south from the Brookside Park Valley to the City of Parma. Originally a portion of Brooklyn Township, the area was settled permanently in 1814 as the...
, Stockyards, West Boulevard, and the four neighborhoods colloquially known as
West ParkKamm's Corners is a neighborhood on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is roughly bounded by the Rocky River on the west, I-90 and the city of Lakewood to the north, the New York Central Railroad tracks Kamm's Corners is a neighborhood on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is roughly bounded by...
: Kamm's Corners, Jefferson, Puritas-Longmead, and Riverside. Three neighborhoods in the Cuyahoga Valley are sometimes referred to as the south side: Industrial Valley/Duck Island,
Slavic VillageSouth Broadway is a neighborhood on the southeast side of Cleveland, Ohio. One of the city's oldest neighborhoods, much of the area has historically served as home to Cleveland's original Czech and Polish immigrants...
(North and South Broadway), and
TremontTremont is a neighborhood in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Tremont is one of the oldest parts of Cleveland, and is home to restaurants and art galleries. The district sits just west of the Cuyahoga River and south of the Ohio City neighborhood. Tremont is home to numerous historic churches...
.
Several inner-city neighborhoods have begun to
gentrifyGentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
in recent years. Areas on both the west side (Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway, and Edgewater) and the east side (Collinwood, Hough, Fairfax, and Little Italy) have been successful in attracting increasing numbers of
creative classThe Creative Class is a socioeconomic class that economist and social scientist Richard Florida, a professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, identifies as a key driving force for economic development of post-industrial...
members, which in turn is spurring new residential development. Furthermore, a live-work
zoningZoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
overlay for the city's near east side has facilitated the transformation of old industrial buildings into loft spaces for artists.
Metropolitan area
Cleveland's older, inner-ring suburbs include
BedfordBedford is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,074 at the 2010 census. It is an eastern suburb of Cleveland.-Geography:Bedford is located at ....
,
Bedford Heights-External links:*...
,
Brook Park-External links:*...
,
BrooklynBrooklyn is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,169 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Brooklyn is located at ....
,
Brooklyn HeightsBrooklyn Heights is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,543 at the 2010 census.-Government:Brooklyn Heights employs a standard council-based municipal government, which as of 2007 consisted of the following positions and occupants:* Mayor: Michael S...
,
Cleveland HeightsCleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cleveland. The city's population was 46,121 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Cleveland Heights is located at ....
,
Cuyahoga HeightsCuyahoga Heights is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 638 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Cuyahoga Heights is located at ....
,
East ClevelandEast Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is the first suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 17,843 at the 2010 census....
,
EuclidEuclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area, and borders Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 48,920...
,
Fairview Park-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 420,690 people, 7,856 households, and 4,713 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,742.2 people per square mile . There were 8,152 housing units at an average density of 1,736.1 per square mile...
,
Garfield HeightsGarfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 28,849 at the time of the 2010 census.-Geography:Garfield Heights is located at ....
,
LakewoodLakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area, and borders the city of Cleveland. The population was 52,131 at the 2010 making it the third largest city in Cuyahoga County, behind Cleveland and Parma .Lakewood, one of Cleveland's...
,
LinndaleLinndale is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It borders the cities of Cleveland and Brooklyn. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 179.-Geography:Linndale is located at ....
,
Maple HeightsAs of the census of 2000, there were 26,156 people, 10,489 households, and 6,964 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,039.1 people per square mile . There were 10,935 housing units at an average density of 2,106.7 per square mile...
,
Newburgh HeightsNewburgh Heights is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,167 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Newburgh Heights is located at ....
,
ParmaParma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is the largest suburb of Cleveland and the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio...
,
Parma HeightsThere are seven council members serving at large. Every two years there is an election. Four positions are open. The top three candidates are each elected for a four-year term. The fourth candidate is awarded a two-year term.[Effective January 2008]...
,
Shaker HeightsShaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 28,448. It is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland that abuts the city on its eastern side.-Topography:Shaker Heights is located at...
,
South EuclidSouth Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb of Cleveland.-Geography:Acting almost as a central point for the east side of Cleveland, South Euclid is bordered by Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, University Heights, Beachwood, Lyndhurst, Richmond Heights,...
,
University HeightsUniversity Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It borders Beachwood to the east, Cleveland Heights to the west, South Euclid to the north and Shaker Heights to the south. The population was 13,539 as of the 2010 Census...
, and
Warrensville HeightsWarrensville Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,542 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Warrensville Heights is located at ....
. Many are members of the Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium.
Performing arts
Cleveland is home to
Playhouse Square CenterThe Playhouse Square Center, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, is the second-largest theater complex in the United States . Constructed in a span of nineteen months in the early 1920s, the theaters were subsequently closed down, but were revived through a grass-roots effort...
, the second largest performing arts center in the United States behind
New York'sNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Lincoln CenterLincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
. Playhouse Square includes the
StateThe State Theatre is a theater on Euclid Avenue, Cleveland in downtown Cleveland, Ohio that is part of Playhouse Square. It was designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb to be the flagship of Marcus Loew's Loew's Ohio Theatres company....
,
PalaceThe Palace Theatre is a theater on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, part of Playhouse Square. The theater was originally named Keith’s Palace Theater after B. F. Keith, founder of the Keith-Albee chain of vaudeville and movie theaters...
,
AllenThe Allen Theatre is a theater, on Euclid Avenue, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, part of Playhouse Square. The largest of the four primary theaters in the Playhouse Square complex, it primarily hosts touring musicals and other larger productions....
, Hanna, and
OhioThe Ohio Theatre is a theater on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, part of Playhouse Square. The theater was built by Marcus Loew's Loew's Ohio Theatres company. It was designed by Thomas W. Lamb in the Italian Renaissance style, and was intended to present legitimate plays. The...
theaters within what is known as the Theater District of Downtown Cleveland. Playhouse Square's resident performing arts companies include Opera Cleveland and the
Great Lakes Theater FestivalGreat Lakes Theater Festival is Cleveland, Ohio's professional classic theater company. Founded in 1962, the Festival is the second-largest regional theater in Northeast Ohio. It specializes in large-cast classic plays with a strong foundation in the works of Shakespeare and features an...
. The center also hosts various
Broadway musicalsMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, special concerts, speaking engagements, and other events throughout the year. One Playhouse Square, now the headquarters for Cleveland's
public broadcastersPublic broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
, was originally used as the broadcast studios of WJW Radio, where
disc jockeyA disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Alan FreedAlbert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
first popularized the term "
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
". Located between Playhouse Square and University Circle are the
Cleveland Play HouseThe Cleveland Play House is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, OH. As of 2005, the artistic director is Michael Bloom, the eighth artistic director since its inception. In 2011 they moved operations to the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square Center.Founded in 1915,...
and
Karamu HouseKaramu House in the Fairfax neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, is the oldest African-American theater in the United States. Many of Langston Hughes's plays were developed and premièred at the theater.-History:...
, a well-known African American performing and fine arts center, both founded in the 1920s.
Cleveland is also home to the
Cleveland OrchestraThe Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
, widely considered one of the finest
orchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s in the world, and often referred to as the finest in the United States. It is one of the "
Big FiveIn the context of classical music in the United States, the Big Five refers to five symphony orchestras that were considered to be the most prominent and accomplished ensembles when the term gained widespread use by music critics in the late 1950s...
" major orchestras in the United States. The Orchestra plays in
Severance HallSeverance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. The hall has been the home of the Cleveland Orchestra since its opening on February 5, 1931...
during the winter and at
Blossom Music CenterBlossom Music Center is an amphitheatre located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The pavilion seats 5,700 people, with space for about 13,500 more on the lawn. It is the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra, which performs its annual Blossom Festival there. The venue is also host to a full summer...
in
Cuyahoga FallsAs of the census of 2000, there were 49,374 people, 21,655 households, and 13,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,932.9 people per square mile . There were 22,727 housing units at an average density of 889.7 per square mile...
during the summer. The city is also home to the
Cleveland Pops OrchestraThe Cleveland Pops Orchestra is a non-profit professional American pops orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. As is typical of pops orchestras, the ensemble performs popular music , cinematic music, jazz, and show tunes as well as well-known classical works. The orchestra was founded in 1995 and...
.
There are two main art museums in Cleveland. The
Cleveland Museum of ArtThe Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum situated in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000...
is a major American art museum, with a collection that includes more than 40,000 works of art ranging over 6,000 years, from
ancient masterpiecesArts of the ancient world refer to the many types of art that were in the cultures of ancient societies, such as those of ancient China, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.-Egypt:...
to
contemporary piecesContemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
.
Museum of Contemporary Art ClevelandThe Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, better known by its acronym, MOCA, is a contemporary art museum located in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1968 by Marjorie Talalay, Agnes Gund, and Nina Castelli Sundell as The New Gallery, the museum was renamed the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art in...
showcases established and emerging artists, particularly from the Cleveland area, through hosting and producing temporary exhibitions.
The Gordon Square Arts District on Detroit Road, in the
Detroit-ShorewayDetroit-Shoreway is a neighborhood on Cleveland's West Side. Detroit-Shoreway consists of the streets between Lake Erie and Interstate 90, from West 85th to West 45th streets.-Gordon Square:...
neighborhood, features a movie theater called the Capitol Theatre and an
off-off-BroadwayOff-Off-Broadway theatrical productions in New York City are those in theatres that are smaller than Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres. Off-Off-Broadway theaters are often defined as theaters that have fewer than 100 seats, though the term can be used for any show in the New York City area that...
playhouse, the Cleveland Public Theatre.
Film and television
Cleveland has served as the setting for several major studio and
independentAn independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
films. Players from the
Cleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team won a one-game playoff against the Boston Red Sox and would then go onto win their second World Series in franchise history, its first in 28 years.-Off-season:...
, winners of the
1948 World SeriesThe 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. The Braves had won the National League pennant for the first time since the "Miracle Braves" team of . The Indians spoiled a chance for the only all-Boston World Series by winning a one-game playoff against the Boston...
, appear in
The Kid from ClevelandThe Kid from Cleveland is a 1949 sports drama film starring George Brent, Lynn Bari and Russ Tamblyn. Directed by Herbert Kline, the film was released by Republic Pictures.-Plot:...
(1949).
Cleveland Municipal StadiumCleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
features prominently in both that film and
The Fortune CookieThe Fortune Cookie is a 1966 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their first on-screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder.- Plot :...
(1966) — written and directed by
Billy WilderBilly Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
, the picture marked
Walter MatthauWalter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
and
Jack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
's first on-screen collaboration.
DirectorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Jules DassinJulius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
's first American film in nearly twenty years,
Up Tight!Up Tight! is a 1968 American drama film directed by Jules Dassin. It was intended as an updated version of John Ford's 1935 film, The Informer, but the setting was transposed from Dublin, Ireland to Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The soundtrack was performed by Booker T...
(1968) is set in Cleveland of April 1968 immediately following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Set in 1930s Cleveland,
Sylvester StalloneMichael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
stars as a warehouse worker who leads the local
labor unionA trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
in
F.I.S.T.F.I.S.T. is a 1978 movie directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sylvester Stallone. In this film, Stallone plays a Cleveland warehouse worker named Johnny Kovak who becomes involved in the labor union leadership of the fictional "Federation of Inter State Truckers", and finds that he must...
(1978).
Paul SimonPaul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
chose Cleveland as the setting for his first (and to date, only) venture into filmmaking,
One-Trick Pony (1980); Simon spent six weeks filming concert scenes in Cleveland's
AgoraThe Agora Theatre and Ballroom is a concert club located in Cleveland, Ohio. The Agora name was previously used by two other Cleveland venues in succession, the latter of which was destroyed by fire in 1984...
venue. The
boxing-matchBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
-turned-
riotA riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
near the start of
Raging Bull (1980) takes place at the
Cleveland ArenaCleveland Arena was an arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It was built and privately financed by local businessman Albert C. Sutphin during the height of the Great Depression in 1937 as a playing site for Sutphin's AHL team, the Cleveland Barons. Later it hosted Sutphin's BAA's Cleveland Rebels and Nick...
in 1941, and Cleveland of the 1950s was portrayed in the real-life Cleveland of the late 1970s in
Those Lips, Those EyesThose Lips, Those Eyes is a 1980 romantic comedy film directed by Michael Pressman, starring Frank Langella, Glynnis O'Connor, and Tom Hulce.-Plot:...
(1980). Clevelander
Jim JarmuschJames R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
's critically acclaimed and independently-produced
Stranger Than ParadiseStranger Than Paradise is a 1984 American absurdist/deadpan comedy film. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint...
(1984) — a
deadpanDeadpan is a form of comic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or body language, usually speaking in a casual, monotone, solemn, blunt, disgusted or matter-of-fact voice and expressing an unflappably calm, archly insincere or artificially grave demeanor...
comedy about two
New YorkersNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
who travel to
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
by way of Cleveland — was a favorite of the
Cannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, winning the
Caméra d'OrThe Caméra d'Or is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections ....
. The
cult-classicA cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
mockumentaryA mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
This Is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
(1984) includes a memorable scene where
the fictional bandSpinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
gets lost backstage just before performing at a Cleveland
rock concertThe term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...
.
Howard the DuckHoward the Duck is a 1986 American science fiction comedy film directed by Willard Huyck and produced by George Lucas. It is loosely based on the Marvel comic book of the same name, created by Steve Gerber and quoting scripts by Bill Mantlo, the film focuses on Howard, an alien from a planet...
(1986),
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
' attempt at adapting the
MarvelMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
comic of the same nameHoward the Duck is a comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. The character first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 and several subsequent series have chronicled the misadventures of the ill-tempered, anthropomorphic, "funny...
, begins with the title character crashing into Cleveland after drifting in
outer spaceOuter space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
.
Michael J. FoxMichael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
and
Joan JettJoan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
play the brother/sister leads of a Cleveland rock group in
Light of DayThe soundtrack to the film was released in 1987. As a single, "Light of Day" reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received additional album-oriented rock airplay due to the connection of Joan Jett and Bruce Springsteen....
(1987); directed by
Paul SchraderPaul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
, much of the film was shot in the city. Both
Major LeagueMajor League is a 1989 American satire comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, and Corbin Bernsen. Made for US$11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release...
(1989) and its sequel,
Major League IIMajor League II is a 1994 sequel to the 1989 film Major League. Major League II stars most of the same cast from the original, including Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Corbin Bernsen. Absent from this film is Wesley Snipes, who played Willie Mays Hayes in the first film and who by 1994 had become...
(1994), reflected the actual perennial struggles of the
Cleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
.
Kevin BaconKevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
stars in
Telling Lies in America (1997), the semi-autobiographical tale of Clevelander
Joe EszterhasJózsef A. "Joe" Eszterhas is a Hungarian-American writer, best known for his work on the pulp erotic films Basic Instinct and Showgirls. He has also written several non-fiction books, including an autobiography entitled Hollywood Animal.-Early life:Eszterhas was born in Csákánydoroszló, Hungary,...
, a former reporter for
The Plain Dealer. Cleveland serves as the setting for fictitious insurance giant Great Benefit in
The RainmakerThe Rainmaker is a 1997 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon. Coppola wrote the script, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by John Grisham....
(1997); in the film,
Key TowerKey Tower is a skyscraper on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio designed by architect César Pelli. It is the tallest building in both the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio, the 18th tallest building in the United States, and the 70th tallest building in the world...
doubles as the firm's main headquarters. A group of Cleveland teenagers try to scam their way into a
KissKiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
concert in
Detroit Rock CityDetroit Rock City is a 1999 film about four teenagers in a Kiss cover band who try to see their idols in Detroit in 1978. Comparable to Rock 'n' Roll High School, Dazed and Confused, The Stöned Age, and I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Detroit Rock City tells a coming of age story through a filter of 1970s...
(1999), and several key scenes from director
Cameron CroweCameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
's
Almost FamousAlmost Famous is a 2000 musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while covering the fictitious rock band Stillwater , and his efforts to get his first cover story published...
(2000) are set in Cleveland.
Antwone FisherAntwone Fisher is a 2002 American drama film directed by Denzel Washington, marking his directorial debut. He also stars in the film as the psychiatrist Jerome Davenport, alongside Hollywood newcomer Derek Luke, who plays the title role , and ex-model Joy Bryant, as Fisher's girlfriend.The film is...
(2002) recounts the real-life story of
the Cleveland nativeAntwone Quenton Fisher is an American director, screenwriter, author and film producer. His 2001 autobiographical book Finding Fish is a New York Times Best Seller...
. Brother/writer/director pair Joe and Anthony Russo — native Clevelanders and alumni of
Case Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
— filmed their comedy
Welcome to CollinwoodWelcome to Collinwood is a 2002 American crime comedy film about five small-time criminals, from the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland, who try to organize one last big job...
(2002) entirely
on locationA filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
in the city.
American SplendorAmerican Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life...
(2003) — the
biopicA biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
of
Harvey PekarHarvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name.Pekar described American Splendor as "an...
, author of the
autobiographical comic of the same nameAmerican Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books written by the late Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the most recent in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular intervals...
— was also filmed on location throughout Cleveland, as was
The Oh in OhioThe Oh in Ohio is a 2006 comedy film directed byBilly Kent. It was screened at several US film festivals from March to May 2006 and was released theatrically by Cyan Pictures on July 14, 2006...
(2006). Much of
The RockerThe Rocker is a 2008 American comedy directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Rainn Wilson, Josh Gad, Teddy Geiger, Emma Stone, Christina Applegate and Jason Sudeikis...
(2008) is set in the city, and Cleveland native
Nathaniel AyersNathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr. is an American musician. He is the subject of numerous newspaper columns, a book, and a 2009 film adaptation based on the columns. A foundation bearing his name was started in 2008 with an aim to support artistically gifted people with mental illness.-School and...
' life story is told in
The SoloistThe Soloist is a 2009 American/French/British drama film directed by Joe Wright, and starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. The screenplay by Susannah Grant is based on the book, The Soloist by Steve Lopez...
(2009).
Kill the Irishman (2011) follows the real-life turf war in
1970sFile:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
Cleveland between Irish mobster
Danny GreeneDaniel "Danny" J. Patrick Greene was an Irish American mobster and associate of Cleveland mobster John Nardi during the gang war for the city's criminal operations during the 1970s. Competing gangsters set off more than 35 bombs, most attached to cars in murder attempts, many successful...
and the Italian mafia.
Cleveland has doubled for several other locations in film. The wedding and reception scenes in
The Deer HunterThe Deer Hunter is a 1978 drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steel worker friends and their infantry service in the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, John Cazale, and George Dzundza...
(1978), while set in the small Pittsburgh
suburbThe word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of
ClairtonClairton is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area. The population was 6,796 at the 2010 census. Under Pennsylvania legal classifications for local governments, Clairton is considered a third-class city...
, were actually shot in the Cleveland neighborhood of
TremontTremont is a neighborhood in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Tremont is one of the oldest parts of Cleveland, and is home to restaurants and art galleries. The district sits just west of the Cuyahoga River and south of the Ohio City neighborhood. Tremont is home to numerous historic churches...
;
U.S. SteelThe United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
also permitted the production to film in one of its Cleveland mills.
Francis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
produced
The Escape ArtistThe Escape Artist is a 1982 film starring Griffin O'Neal and Raúl Juliá. It was based on a book by David Wagoner, and was the directorial debut of Caleb Deschanel.-Plot:...
(1982), much of which was shot
downtownDowntown Cleveland is the central business district of the City of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Reinvestment in the area in the mid-1990s spurred a rebirth that continues to this day, with over $2 billion in residential and commercial developments slated for the area over the next few years...
near City Hall and the
Cuyahoga County CourthouseThe Cuyahoga County Courthouse stretches along Lakeside Boulevard at the north end of the Cleveland Mall in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The building was listed on the National Register along with the mall district in 1975. Other notable buildings of the Group Plan are the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S...
, as well as
the FlatsThe Flats is a mixed-use industrial, entertainment, and increasingly residential area of Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The name reflects its low-lying topography on the banks of the Cuyahoga River.-History:...
.
A Christmas StoryA Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd, including material from his books In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories. It was directed by Bob Clark...
(1983) was set in
IndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, but drew many of its external shots — including the Parker family home — from Cleveland.
Double DragonDouble Dragon is a 1994 live-action film loosely based on the Double Dragon video game series. This film was directed by James Yukich and stars Mark Dacascos and Scott Wolf as brothers Jimmy and Billy Lee, along with Alyssa Milano as Marian Delario and Robert Patrick as antagonist Koga Shuko...
(1994) filmed in an abandoned warehouse along Cleveland's Lake Erie shoreline, the Flats along the
Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
and
Tower City CenterTower City Center is a large mixed-use facility located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including the landmark Terminal Tower, a shopping mall, two hotels, and the main hub of Cleveland's three rapid transit lines...
. Much of
Happy GilmoreHappy Gilmore is a 1996 sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds for Universal Studios. It stars Adam Sandler as the title character, an unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a talent for golf. The screenplay was written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy...
(1996) was also shot in Cleveland, and the opening shots of
Air Force OneAir Force One is a 1997 American action-thriller film written by Andrew W. Marlowe and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It stars Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Glenn Close, and also features Xander Berkeley, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell and Paul Guilfoyle...
(1997) were filmed in and above
Severance HallSeverance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. The hall has been the home of the Cleveland Orchestra since its opening on February 5, 1931...
. More recently, a complex chase and battle scene in
Spider-Man 3Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
(2007), though set in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, was actually filmed along Cleveland's Euclid Avenue. On March 3, 2011, it was announced that
The Avengers (2012) will film in Cleveland. The Greater Cleveland Film Commission works to bring future productions to the Cleveland area.
Cleveland was the setting for the popular television sitcom
The Drew Carey ShowThe Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
which starred Cleveland native
Drew CareyDrew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...
.
Hot in ClevelandHot in Cleveland is an American sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White. The series, which is TV Land's first original scripted series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's highest rated telecast in the cable network's 14-year history. The...
, a new comedy airing on
TV LandTV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
, premiered on June 16, 2010.
Literature
The American modernist poet
Hart Crane-Career:Throughout the early 1920s, small but well-respected literary magazines published some of Crane’s lyrics, gaining him, among the avant-garde, a respect that White Buildings , his first volume, ratified and strengthened...
was born in nearby
Garrettsville, OhioGarrettsville is a village in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It was formed from portions of Hiram, Nelson, and Freedom townships in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 2,262 at the 2000 census. On July 1, 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 2,203 people resided in the...
in 1899. His adolescence was divided between Cleveland and Akron before moving to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, finally in 1916. Aside from factory work during the first world war, he served as reporter to
The Plain Dealer for a short period, before achieving recognition in the Modernist literary scene. A diminutive memorial park is dedicated to Crane along the left bank of the Cuyahoga in Cleveland.
Langston HughesJames Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
, preeminent poet of the
Harlem RenaissanceThe Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
and child of an itinerant couple, attended high school in Cleveland in the 1910s.
Cleveland was the home of
Joe ShusterJoseph "Joe" Shuster was a Canadian-born American comic book artist. He was best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, first published in Action Comics #1...
and
Jerry SiegelJerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
, who created the comic book character
SupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
in 1932. Both attended
Glenville High SchoolGlenville Academic Campus is a public high school in the Glenville neighborhood on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. The school is part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Founded in 1905, the school's original campus was located at Everton and Parkwood. The current campus was built in...
, and their early collaborations resulted in the creation of "The Man of Steel".
D. A. Levyd.a. levy , born Darryl Alfred Levy , was an American poet, artist, and alternative publisher active during the 1960s, based in Cleveland, Ohio.- Biography :...
wrote : "Cleveland: The Rectal Eye Visions". Mystery author
Richard MontanariRichard Montanari is an American crime writer who debuted with his novel Deviant Way, published by Simon & Schuster, in 1995. It won the Online Mystery Award for Best First Mystery...
's first three novels,
Deviant Way,
The Violet Hour, and
Kiss of Evil are set in Cleveland. Mystery writer,
Les RobertsLes Roberts is also the name of the primary author of two studies in the Lancet reporting nearly 100,000 civilian casualties in the Iraq War in 2004 and 2006...
's
Milan Jacovich series is also set in Cleveland.
Harlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
, noted author of
speculative fictionSpeculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
, was born in Cleveland in 1934; his family subsequently moved to the nearby suburb of
PainesvilleAs of the 2010 Census, there were 19,563 people. As of the census of 2000, there were 17,503 people, 6,525 households, and 4,032 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,928.6 people per square mile . There were 6,933 housing units at an average density of 1,160.0 per square mile...
, though Ellison moved back to Cleveland in 1949. As a youngster, he published a series of short stories appearing in the
Cleveland NewsThe Cleveland Press was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis Seltzer....
; he also performed in a number of productions for the
Cleveland Play HouseThe Cleveland Play House is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, OH. As of 2005, the artistic director is Michael Bloom, the eighth artistic director since its inception. In 2011 they moved operations to the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square Center.Founded in 1915,...
.
Cuisine
Cleveland's melting pot of immigrant groups and their various culinary traditions have long played an important role in defining the local cuisine. Examples of these can particularly be found in neighborhoods such as Little Italy,
Slavic VillageSouth Broadway is a neighborhood on the southeast side of Cleveland, Ohio. One of the city's oldest neighborhoods, much of the area has historically served as home to Cleveland's original Czech and Polish immigrants...
, and
TremontTremont is a neighborhood in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Tremont is one of the oldest parts of Cleveland, and is home to restaurants and art galleries. The district sits just west of the Cuyahoga River and south of the Ohio City neighborhood. Tremont is home to numerous historic churches...
.
Local mainstays of Cleveland's cuisine include an abundance of Central and Eastern European contributions, such as
kielbasaKielbasa, kołbasa, kobasa, kovbasa, kobasa, kobasi, and kubasa are common North American anglicizations for a type of Eastern European sausage. Synonyms include Polish sausage, Ukrainian sausage, etc...
, stuffed cabbage and
pierogiPierogi are dumplings of unleavened dough - first boiled, then they are baked or fried usually in butter with onions - traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit...
es. Cleveland also has plenty of
corned beefCorned beef is a type of salt-cured beef products present in many beef-eating cultures. The English term is used interchangeably in modernity to refer to three distinct types of cured beef:...
, with nationally renowned Slyman's, on the near East Side, a perennial winner of various accolades from Esquire Magazine, including the being named the best corned beef sandwich in America in 2008. Other famed sandwiches include the Cleveland original,
Polish BoyThe Polish Boy is a sausage sandwich native to Cleveland, Ohio. It consists of a link of kielbasa placed in a bun, and covered with a layer of french fries, a layer of barbecue sauce or hot sauce, and a layer of coleslaw. While the sausage is typically grilled, some establishments will quickly deep...
, a local favorite found at many BBQ and Soul food restaurants. With its
blue-collarA blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
roots well intact, and plenty of Lake Erie
perchThe yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...
available, the tradition of Friday night
fish friesA fish fry is a meal containing battered or breaded fried fish. It typically also includes french fries, coleslaw, hushpuppies, lemon slices, tartar sauce, malt vinegar and dessert. Some Indian versions are cooked by coating fish with semolina and egg yolk...
remains alive and thriving in Cleveland, particularly in the church-based settings. The award-winning
Great Lakes Brewing CompanyGreat Lakes Brewing Company is a Cleveland, Ohio-based regional brewery and brewpub, which has been in operation since 1988. The brewery has been cited as important to Cleveland's local identity. As of 2010, it is the 22nd largest craft brewery and 31st largest overall brewery in the United States...
(located across the street from the historic
West Side MarketThe West Side Market is the oldest operating indoor/outdoor market space in Cleveland, Ohio. It is located at the corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Ohio City district. On December 18, 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.-History:The market began...
), offers several locally styled beers and ales.
Cleveland is noted in the world of haute cuisine. Famous local figures include chef
Michael SymonMichael D. Symon is a James Beard Foundation Award-winning American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author. He is seen regularly on Food Network on shows such as Iron Chef America, Food Feuds, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate, as well as Cook Like an Iron Chef on the Cooking Channel...
and
food writerThe terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used interchangeably, at least in some circumstances...
Michael RuhlmanMichael Carl Ruhlman is an American author. He has written 12 books of mostly nonfiction, the best known of which have been in collaboration with American chefs.-Personal:...
, both of whom achieved local and national attentions for their contributions in the culinary world. On November 11, 2007, Symon helped gain the spotlight when he was named "
The Next Iron ChefThe Next Iron Chef, is a limited-run series on the Food Network now in its fourth season. Each season is a stand-alone competition to select a chef to be designated an Iron Chef, who will appear on the Food Network program Iron Chef America....
" on the
Food NetworkFood Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
. In 2007, Ruhlman collaborated with
Anthony BourdainAnthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.A...
, to do an entire episode of his
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations focusing on Cleveland's restaurant scene.
The national food press — including publications
Gourmet,
Food & Wine,
Esquire and
Playboy — has heaped praise on several Cleveland spots for awards including 'best new restaurant', 'best steakhouse', 'best farm-to-table programs' and 'great new neighborhood eateries'. In early 2008, the
Chicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
ran a feature article in its 'Travel' section proclaiming Cleveland, America's "hot new dining city".
Tourism
Five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland is
University CircleUniversity Circle, is a neighborhood located on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is best known for its world-class cultural, educational and medical institutions, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Museum of Art, Lakeview Cemetery, and University...
, a 550 acres (2.2 km²) concentration of cultural, educational, and medical institutions, including the
Cleveland Botanical GardenCleveland Botanical Garden, located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States, was founded in 1930 as the Garden Center of Greater Cleveland. It was the first such organization in an American city...
,
Case Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
,
University HospitalsUniversity Hospitals is a major not-for-profit medical center in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Case Medical Center is the primary affiliate hospital of Case Western Reserve University - a relationship that was first established in 1896...
,
Severance HallSeverance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. The hall has been the home of the Cleveland Orchestra since its opening on February 5, 1931...
, the
Cleveland Museum of ArtThe Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum situated in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000...
, the
Cleveland Museum of Natural HistoryThe Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum located approximately five miles east of downtown Cleveland, Ohio in University Circle, a 550-acre concentration of educational, cultural and medical institutions...
, and the
Western Reserve Historical SocietyThe Western Reserve Historical Society was founded in 1867, making it the oldest cultural institution in Northeast Ohio. WRHS is located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.-About:...
. A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Cleveland 17th most walkable of fifty largest U.S. cities. Cleveland is home to the
I. M. PeiIeoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
-designed
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
, located on the Lake Erie waterfront at
North Coast HarborNorth Coast Harbor is a district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie. It includes the Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Steamship William G...
downtown. Neighboring attractions include
Cleveland Browns Stadium-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...
, the
Great Lakes Science CenterThe Great Lakes Science Center is a museum and educational facility in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States.The center's exhibits focus on helping visitors to understand science, technology, and their interdependence with the environment. Many of the exhibits document the features of the natural...
, the
Steamship Mather MuseumThe Steamship William G. Mather is a retired Great Lakes bulk freighter now restored as a museum ship in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four in the Great Lakes region...
, and the
USS Cod, a
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
submarineThe United States Navy Gato class submarine formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II...
.
Cleveland has an attraction for visitors and fans of
A Christmas StoryA Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd, including material from his books In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories. It was directed by Bob Clark...
,
A Christmas Story HouseA Christmas Story House is the house used as the Parker family's house in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. It is located in Cleveland, Ohio's Tremont neighborhood, and has been restored to appear as it did in the film...
and Museum to see props, costumes, rooms, photos and everything referenced to a yuletide film classic from the mind of
Jean ShepherdJean Parker Shepherd was an American raconteur, radio and TV personality, writer and actor who was often referred to by the nickname Shep....
.
Cleveland is home to many
festivalA festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s throughout the year. Cultural festivals such as the annual
Feast of the AssumptionThe annual Feast of the Assumption Festival takes place each year in Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood. The festival is held each year on the Catholic holiday of the Feast of the Assumption , commemorating the Virgin Mary's assumption into heaven...
in the Little Italy neighborhood, the Harvest Festival in the Slavic Village neighborhood, and the more recent Cleveland Asian Festival in the Asia Town neighborhood are popular events. Vendors at the
West Side MarketThe West Side Market is the oldest operating indoor/outdoor market space in Cleveland, Ohio. It is located at the corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Ohio City district. On December 18, 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.-History:The market began...
in Ohio City offer many different ethnic foods for sale. Cleveland hosts an annual
paradeA parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
on
Saint Patrick's DaySaint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
that brings hundreds of thousands to the streets of downtown.
Fashion Week ClevelandFashion Week Cleveland is an annual fashion industry event held in Cleveland, Ohio which began in 2002. It is one of fourteen internationally-recognized fashion week events in North America...
, the city's annual fashion event, is one of the few internationally recognized fashion industry happenings in North America. The show is considered by many to be the best in the
MidwestThe Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
—perhaps second only to
New YorkThe semi-annual New York Fashion Week, branded Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek in 2009, is held in February and September of each year in New York City. It is one of four major fashion weeks held around the world .-History:The first New York Fashion Week, then called Press Week, was the world's first...
for fashion weeks in the US.
In addition to the cultural festivals, Cleveland hosted the
CMJ Rock Hall Music FestThe CMJ Rock Hall Music Fest was an annual music festival that took place in venues across Cleveland, Ohio. The festival was sponsored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located on the shores of Lake Erie downtown, as well as by CMJ, or College Music Journal, a weekly magazine for the music...
, which featured national and local acts, including both established artists and up-and-coming acts, but the festival was discontinued in 2007 due to financial and manpower costs to the Rock Hall. The annual Ingenuity Fest,
NotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
and TEDxCLE conference focus on the combination of art and technology. The
Cleveland International Film FestivalThe Cleveland International Film Festival, first held in 1977, is the largest film festival in Ohio. The 2010 festival featured over 300 films. Since 1991 the festival has been held at Tower City Cinemas in downtown Cleveland.-Roxanne T...
has been held annually since 1977, and it drew a record 66,476 people in March 2009. Cleveland also hosts an annual holiday display lighting and celebration, dubbed Winterfest, which is held downtown at the city's historic hub, Public Square.
Sports
Cleveland's
professional sportsProfessional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
teams include the
Cleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
(
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
),
Cleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
),
Cleveland CavaliersThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
(
National Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
),
Lake Erie MonstersThe Lake Erie Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They began play in the 2007–08 AHL season at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio...
(
American Hockey LeagueThe American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
), the Cleveland Gladiators (Arena Football League), and the
Cleveland CrushThe Cleveland Crush is an expansion team in the Lingerie Football League set to begin play for the 2011-12 season. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the Crush is scheduled to play their home games at Quicken Loans Arena....
(
Lingerie Football LeagueThe Lingerie Football League is a women's 7-on-7 tackle American football league, created in 2009, with games played in the fall and winter at NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS arenas and stadiums. The league was founded by Mitch Mortaza...
). Local sporting facilities include Progressive Field,
Cleveland Browns Stadium-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...
,
Quicken Loans ArenaQuicken Loans Arena , is a multi-purpose arena, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States....
and the
Wolstein CenterThe Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Convocation Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It replaced the Woodling Gym...
.
The Indians last reached the
World SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
in
1997-Game 1:Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, FloridaThe first World Series game in the state of Florida, Game 1 featured a youngster and a veteran facing each other on the mound...
, losing to the
Florida MarlinsThe Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
, and have not won the series since
1948The 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. The Braves had won the National League pennant for the first time since the "Miracle Braves" team of . The Indians spoiled a chance for the only all-Boston World Series by winning a one-game playoff against the Boston...
. Between 1995 and 2001, Progressive Field (then known as Jacobs Field) sold out 455 consecutive games, a Major League Baseball record until it was broken in 2008. The Cavs won the
Eastern ConferenceThe Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association is made up of fifteen teams, organized in three divisions of five teams each.The three division winners and the non-division winner with the best record are seeded 1 through 4 for the playoffs in order of their records, with all...
in 2007, but were defeated in the
NBA FinalsThe 2007 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2006-07 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland...
by the
San Antonio SpursThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
. Although the Browns are historically among the winningest franchises in the NFL, the team has not won a championship since
1964The 1964 National Football League championship game was the 32nd annual championship game. The NFL title game was held on December 27, 1964 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio before a crowd of 79,544...
.
The city's
failure to win a trophyIn sports, a drought refers to instances in which a team has gone a lengthy period of time without accomplishing some goal . Droughts occur for a variety of reasons, from chronic mismanagement to bad luck. Some fans believe that their team's drought is the result of a curse...
in any major professional sport since 1964 has earned it a reputation of being a
cursed sportsA sports-related curse is a superstitious belief in the effective action of some power or evil, that is used to explain the failures or misfortunes of specific sports teams, players, or even cities...
city, which
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
validated by proclaiming Cleveland as its "most tortured sports city" in 2004. In addition, changes in the Cleveland sports landscape have led to further heartbreak and resentment among local fans, the most notable instances being
Art ModellArthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
's
relocation of the BrownsThe Cleveland Browns relocation controversy was the decision by then Browns owner Art Modell to move the National Football League team from its longtime home of Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland for the 1996 NFL season...
to
BaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
after the 1995 season (that franchise became the
RavensThe Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
, with the current Browns team starting play in 1999), and
AkronAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
native
LeBron JamesLeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
' decision to leave the Cavaliers in 2010 for the
Miami HeatThe Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
.
A notable Cleveland athlete is
Jesse OwensJames Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
, who grew up in the city after moving from
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
when he was nine. He participated in the
1936 Summer OlympicsThe 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he achieved international fame by winning four
gold medalA gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the
long jumpThe long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
, and as part of the 4 x 100 meter relay team.
Cleveland facilities have hosted the
Major League Baseball All-Star GameThe Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
five times, the NBA All-Star Game twice, and the
United States Figure Skating ChampionshipsThe United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
four times. The city hosted the
Gravity GamesThe Gravity Games were a multi-sport competition originating from Providence, Rhode Island that is broken down into Winter and Summer adaptations...
, an
extreme sportAn extreme sport is a popular term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger...
s series, from 2002 to 2004, and the Dew Action Sports Tour Right Guard Open in 2007. Cleveland will host the
2014 Gay GamesAccording to the FGG, fourteen cities expressed interest in hosting the 2014 Gay Games . During its annual meeting in Cape Town on 28 October 2008, the FGG announced that four cities made the deadline and were thus in the running to host the games: Boston, Cleveland, Miami, and Washington, DC...
.
Past teams
The city has been home to several additional professional sports franchises, including a
women's basketballWomen's basketball is one of the few women's sports that developed in tandem with its men's counterpart. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast , in large part via women's colleges...
team and multiple soccer teams. Cleveland has also been home to several
ice hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
franchises, beginning in 1937 with the
AHLThe American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
member Cleveland Barons. The original Barons, although having been the most successful team in AHL history at that point, moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where they subsequently folded after one season. The salient cause of the Baron's move came from
Nick MiletiNick James Mileti was, during the 1970s, the owner of the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Crusaders hockey team, the Coliseum at Richfield and radio station "3WE" WWWE AM/1100 ....
's short-lived
WHAThe World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
franchise, the
Cleveland CrusadersThe Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland, Ohio. The Crusaders were founded by Nick Mileti, and played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976...
, which shared the old
Cleveland ArenaCleveland Arena was an arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It was built and privately financed by local businessman Albert C. Sutphin during the height of the Great Depression in 1937 as a playing site for Sutphin's AHL team, the Cleveland Barons. Later it hosted Sutphin's BAA's Cleveland Rebels and Nick...
with the Barons in beginning in 1972. The new league ultimately created a financial disparity that the Barons could not compete with. Local philanthropist George Gund III facilitated the relocation of the
NHLThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's
California Golden SealsThe California Golden Seals were a team in the National Hockey League from 1967–76. Initially named California Seals, the team was renamed Oakland Seals part-way through the 1967–68 season, and then to California Golden Seals in 1970. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of...
to Cleveland in 1976 and renamed them the
BaronsThe Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1976–78. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise, which had played in Oakland since 1967...
. However, this latest incarnation was short lived, with the team merging with the
Minnesota North StarsThe Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
following the 1977–78 season. In 1992 the
Cleveland LumberjacksThe Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League team based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Facts:The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League team based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Facts:...
of the (also now-defunct) IHL began play, lasting until 2001. Later in 2001, a third incarnation of the Barons was established, this time having returned to the AHL. The Barons moved to
Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
following the 2006 season.
In 1997 Cleveland was awarded one of the original eight franchises in the
WNBAThe Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
, the
Cleveland RockersThis article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...
. Although the Rockers finished first in the WNBA
Eastern ConferenceThe Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Eastern Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Western Conference...
on two occasions, they never made an appearance in the
WNBA FinalsThe WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002....
. The team folded in 2003 after the league was unable to find a new owner. Previous owner
Gordon GundGordon Gund is an United States businessman and professional sports owner. He is the CEO of Gund Investment Corporation. He is the former co-owner of the San Jose Sharks and former principal owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and is currently a minority owner of the Cavaliers...
had dropped the team from operation, citing financial losses and poor attendance.
From 1978 to 1988, Cleveland was home to the Cleveland Force of the MISL. After the Force folded in 1988 they were replaced by the
Cleveland CrunchThe Cleveland Crunch was formed in 1989 as an expansion team in the Major Soccer League to replace the Cleveland Force, which had folded on July 22, 1988. Akron businessmen George S. Hoffman and Stuart Lichter formed an ownership group, named Al Miller general manager and former Force star Kai...
of the NPSL and
MISLThe Major Indoor Soccer League was the top professional indoor soccer league in the USA. The league was a member of both the United States Soccer Federation and FIFA. The MISL had replaced the NPSL which folded in 2001. According to MISL.net, the league has ceased operations as of May 31, 2008...
, who played from 1989 to 2005. The Crunch won three league championships in the 1990s, being the first Cleveland sports team to win a championship since the 1964 Cleveland Browns. They re-adopted the Force name in 2002 before ceasing operations in 2005.
Outdoor soccer has also been represented in Cleveland via the
Cleveland CobrasThe Cleveland Stars were an American soccer club based in Cleveland, Ohio and a member of the American Soccer League in 1972-73. Before the 1974 season, the name was changed to the Cleveland Cobras. The Stars' colors were blue and white...
(1972-Cleveland Stars, 1973–1981 Cobras) of the
ASLThe American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...
and the
Cleveland StokersThe Cleveland Stokers were a soccer team based out of Cleveland, Ohio that played in the United Soccer Association during 1967 and the North American Soccer League in 1968. Their home field was Cleveland Stadium....
(1967–1968) of the
North American Soccer LeagueNorth American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
The
Cleveland City StarsCleveland City Stars was an American professional soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL First Division , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid until 2009...
played in the
United Soccer LeaguesThe United Soccer Leagues is the organizer of several soccer leagues with teams in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It includes men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Leagues currently organized are the USL Pro, the USL Premier Development League, the W-League, and...
from 2006 to 2009, winning the
USL Second DivisionThe United Soccer Leagues Second Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, part of the United Soccer Leagues league pyramid...
championship in 2008 before folding after the 2009 season.
College sports
The headquarters of the
Mid-American ConferenceThe Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
(MAC) are located in Cleveland. The conference also stages both its men's and
women'sThe Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament is the postseason single-elimination tournament for the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference . The winner of the tournament receives the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship...
basketball tournaments at Quicken Loans Arena.
The
Cleveland State VikingsThe Cleveland State Vikings, or Vikes, are the athletic teams of Cleveland State University. Before as Fenn College they were known as the Fenn College Foxes or Fenn Foxes. Cleveland State competes in NCAA Division I. They have been a member of the NCAA Division I since 1972. They were previously...
men'sCleveland State Vikings men's basketball started in 1929. Before as Fenn College they were known as the Fenn College Foxes. Cleveland State has been in Division I since 1972. They are a member of the Horizon League Cleveland State was formerly in the Mid-Continent Conference...
and
women'sCleveland State Vikings women's basketball started in 1973. They are a member of the Horizon League .The Cleveland State women's basketball team was formerly in the North Star Conference and Mid-Continent Conference...
basketball teams play their home games at the
Wolstein CenterThe Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Convocation Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It replaced the Woodling Gym...
. The university is considering forming a non-scholarship Division I FCS football program.
Media
Cleveland's sole remaining daily
newspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
is
The Plain Dealer. Previous major newspapers in Cleveland include the afternoon newspaper, the
Cleveland PressThe Cleveland Press was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis Seltzer....
, which printed its last edition on June 17, 1982, and the
Cleveland News, which ceased publication in 1960. Additional newspaper coverage includes the Thursdays-only
Sun HeraldSun Newspapers is a chain of 11 weekly newspapers serving 49 different communities in Greater Cleveland. The papers are focused on suburbs and exurbs in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lorain and Medina counties...
and
Sun Herald-Post, which serve a few neighborhoods on the city's west side. The city is also served by
Cleveland MagazineCleveland Magazine is the largest monthly magazine focused on Northeastern Ohio, with a circulation of 45,000. It was founded in 1972. The inaugural April 1972 issue featured a young Dennis Kucinich, a frequent profile subject of the magazine...
, a regional culture
magazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
published monthly;
Crain's Cleveland Business, a weekly business newspaper;
Cleveland Jewish NewsThe Cleveland Jewish News is a weekly Jewish newspaper headquartered in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The newspaper contains local, national, and international news of Jewish interest.It was formed in 1964...
, a weekly
Jewish newspaperA Jewish newspaper refers to a newspaper created by or for Jews. They include daily or weekly titles published in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, or other languages, of a variety of political and religious orientations...
; and
Cleveland SceneThe Cleveland Scene is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Cleveland, Ohio. The newspaper includes highlights of Cleveland-area arts, music, dining, and films, as well as classified advertising...
, a free alternative weekly paper which absorbed its competitor, the
Cleveland Free Times, in 2008. In addition, nationally-distributed
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
magazineA music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with recorded music.-Notable music magazines:...
Alternative Press was founded in Cleveland in 1985, and the publication's headquarters remain based in the city.
Combined with nearby
AkronAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
and
CantonCanton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Cleveland is ranked for 2009–10 as the 18th-largest television market by
Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
. The market is served by 10 stations affiliated with major American networks including:
WEWS-TVWEWS-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio. WEWS has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception, and is an affiliate of the ABC television network...
(
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
), WJW (
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
), WKYC (
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
),
WOIOWOIO, virtual channel 19 , is the CBS affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio. It is licensed to the nearby suburb of Shaker Heights. WOIO is owned by Raycom Media and its sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate WUAB . The two stations share a studio facility in Cleveland and WOIO's transmitter is located in...
(
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
),
WVIZWVIZ is a public television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was the 100th public television station to sign on in America. Its founder was Betty Cope, a former producer at Cleveland's ABC affiliate, WEWS, who recognized the value of non-commercial educational television for the schools...
(
PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
),
WBNX-TVWBNX-TV, virtual channel 55 , is the CW television affiliate serving the Cleveland/Akron/Canton, Ohio television market; it brands itself as "WBNX, The CW". The studios are located in Cuyahoga Falls and the transmitter is in Parma, although it is licensed to Akron...
(
The CWThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
),
WUABWUAB, identified on-air as "My43 The Block, WUAB", is the MyNetworkTV affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio. The station is licensed to the suburb of Lorain, and it shares a studio in downtown Cleveland with sister station WOIO, Cleveland's CBS affiliate. Its transmitter is located in Parma, Ohio...
(MNTV), WVPX-TV (ION), WQHS-DT (
UnivisionUnivision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
), and
WDLI-TVWDLI-TV is a religious television station licensed to Canton, Ohio, serving the Cleveland market on channel 17...
(
TBNThe Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
).
The Mike Douglas ShowThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
, a nationally-syndicated
daytimeDaytime television is the general term for television shows produced that are intended to air during the daytime hours on weekdays. This article is about American daytime television, for information about international daytime television see Daytime television....
talk showA talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
, began in Cleveland in 1961 on KYW-TV (now WKYC), while
The Morning ExchangeThe Morning Exchange was a daily morning TV show that aired on WEWS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio from 1972 to 1999. The program is widely regarded as one of the most successful local programs in the history of U.S. television. On a typical day in the 1970s, over 2/3 of all TV sets in the Cleveland...
on WEWS-TV served as the model for
Good Morning AmericaGood Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
.
Tim ConwayThomas Daniel "Tim" Conway is an American comedian and actor, primarily known for his roles in sitcoms, films and television. Conway is best known for his role as the inept second-in-command officer, Ensign Charles Parker, to Lt...
and
Ernie AndersonErnie Anderson was an American disc jockey, and television and radio announcer/voiceover artist...
first established themselves in Cleveland while working together at KYW-TV (WKYC) and later WJW. Anderson, the father of
directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Paul Thomas AndersonPaul Thomas Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has written and directed five feature films: Hard Eight , Boogie Nights , Magnolia , Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood...
, both created and performed as the immensely popular Cleveland
horror hostHorror hosts are a particular type of television presenter, often tasked with presenting low-grade films to television audiences. This tradition is primarily American, though there have been a few international hosts over the years.-Film Packages:...
GhoulardiGhoulardi was a fictional character invented and portrayed by disc jockey, voice announcer, and actor Ernie Anderson as the horror host of late night Shock Theater at WJW-TV, Channel 8, in Cleveland, Ohio from January 13, 1963 through December 16, 1966....
on WJW's
Shock Theater.
Cleveland is served directly by 31
AMAM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
and
FMFM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio stations; numerous other stations are heard from elsewhere in Northeast Ohio.
NewsAll-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
/
talkTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
station
WTAMWTAM — branded Newsradio WTAM 1100 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Owned by Clear Channel Communications, the station broadcasts primarily a news/talk format...
serves as the
AMAM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
flagship of Cleveland's 3 major sports teams (the
BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
,
CavaliersThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
and
IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
), and as such, is frequently among the highest rated stations. Commercial
FMFM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
music stations consistently round out the rest of
ArbitronArbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
's top-ten:
WDOKWDOK — branded Soft Rock 102.1 WDOK — is a commercial adult contemporary radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Studios are located at One Radio Lane along with CBS Radio sister station WQAL, and its transmitter is located in Parma on a tower that it shares with WQHS-TV channel 61...
,
WQALWQAL — branded Q104 — is a commercial Adult Top 40 radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Studios are located at One Radio Lane along with CBS Radio sister station WDOK.-History:...
(
adult contemporaryAdult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
);
WMJIWMJI — branded Majic 105.7 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio broadcasting a classic hits format. The station serves Cleveland, Akron and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio....
(
classic hitsClassic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
);
WGAR-FMWGAR-FM — branded 99.5 WGAR — is a commercial radio station in Cleveland, Ohio with a country music format. Studios are located at 6200 Oak Tree Boulevard off of Rockside Road in Independence, Ohio along with other local Clear Channel stations, and its transmitter is located in Parma.- WGAR:The...
(
countryCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
);
WENZWENZ —branded Z 107.9—is a mainstream urban commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio serving surrounding Northeast Ohio...
,
WZAKWZAK is a commercial FM radio station in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, broadcasting at 93.1 MHz with an Urban Adult Contemporary format. WZAK is Cleveland FM affiliate for Tom Joyner's syndicated morning show and Michael Baisden's Love Lust and Lies afternoon show.WZAK began as an ethnic radio station,...
(
hip-hopHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
/
R&BRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
);
WAKSWAKS — branded 96.5 KISS-FM — is a commercial radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio broadcasting a pop/contemporary hit radio format. The station serves Cleveland, Akron and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio....
(
popPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
);
WMMSWMMS — branded 100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, widely recognized as one of the most influential rock stations in America throughout much of the history of FM broadcasting...
,
WNCXWNCX — branded 98.5 WNCX — is commercial radio station in Cleveland, Ohio, broadcasting a classic rock format. The station's studios are currently located in Cleveland's historic Halle Building, in the Playhouse Square District...
(
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
); and
WHLKWJQM is a radio station serving Madison, Wisconsin and surrounding areas. The station is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting and launched a Rhythmic Contemporary format as "106.7 Jamz" in January 2007 before the move to 93.1 FM in October 2008....
(
variety hitsAdult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist...
).
WCPNWCPN — branded 90.3 WCPN — is a public radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, and serving the serving Greater Cleveland area....
public radio functions as the local NPR
affiliateIn the broadcasting industry , a network affiliate is a local broadcaster which carries some or all of the television program or radio program line-up of a television or radio network, but is owned by a company other than the owner of the network...
, and
WCLVWCLV — branded WCLV 104.9 — is the classical radio station licensed to Lorain, Ohio serving Greater Cleveland and western parts of surrounding Northeast Ohio; WCLV is one of the few remaining classical music stations in the United States....
is one of the few remaining commercial
classicalClassical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
stations in the country.
WKRK-FMWKRK-FM — branded Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, WKRK-FM is owned by CBS Radio and broadcasts a sports format...
is Cleveland's first FM
sportsSports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
station.
WKNRWKNR — branded ESPN 850 WKNR — is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Owned by Good Karma Broadcasting, WKNR is the primary Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio; together with sister station WWGK, WKNR is often referred to as ESPN Cleveland.WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate...
covers sports via
ESPN RadioESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
, and functions as the flagship for both the
Lake Erie MonstersThe Lake Erie Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They began play in the 2007–08 AHL season at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio...
and Cleveland Gladiators; as
WJW (AM)WKNR — branded ESPN 850 WKNR — is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Owned by Good Karma Broadcasting, WKNR is the primary Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio; together with sister station WWGK, WKNR is often referred to as ESPN Cleveland.WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate...
, the station was once the home of
Alan FreedAlbert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
— the Cleveland
disc-jockeyA disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, who, along with Cleveland
record storeA record shop or record store is an outlet that sells recorded music. Although vinyl records and audio cassettes are no longer sold in the majority of music stores, in favour of compact discs and home video recordings products, people in some countries, like the UK, still use the term "record...
owner
Leo Mintz, is credited with first using and popularizing the term "
Rock 'n' RollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
" to describe the music genre. News/talk station WHK was the 15th radio station in the United States and the first in Ohio; its former
sister stationIn broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
, rock station
WMMSWMMS — branded 100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, widely recognized as one of the most influential rock stations in America throughout much of the history of FM broadcasting...
(originally WHK-FM), dominated Cleveland radio in the 1970s and 80s and was at that time one of the highest rated radio stations in the country. In 1972, WMMS Program Director Billy Bass coined the phrase "The Rock 'n' Roll Capital of the World" to describe Cleveland. In 1987,
PlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
named WMMS DJ
Kid LeoLawrence J. Travagliante — better known by his on-air personality Kid Leo — serves as both program director and afternoon disc jockey on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM Radio...
(Lawrence Travagliante) "The Best Disc Jockey in the Country."
Economy
Cleveland's geographic location on the
Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
and
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
has been key to its growth. The
Ohio and Erie CanalThe Ohio Canal or Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed in the 1820s and early 1830s. It connected Akron, Summit County, with the Cuyahoga River near its mouth on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Scioto County, and then...
coupled with rail links helped establish the city as an important business center.
SteelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and many other manufactured goods emerged as leading industries.
The city diversified its economy in addition to its
manufacturingManufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
sector. Cleveland is home to the corporate headquarters of many large companies such as
Applied Industrial TechnologiesWith fiscal 2010 sales of $1.89 billion, Applied Industrial Technologies is one of North America's largest independent distributors of bearings, power transmission components, hydraulic components and systems, pneumatic components and systems, industrial rubber products, linear components, tools,...
,
EatonEaton Corporation is a global diversified power management company with 2010 sales of $13.7 billion. The company is a leading provider of electrical components and systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment;...
,
Forest City EnterprisesForest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
,
Sherwin-Williams CompanyThe Sherwin-Williams Company is an American Fortune 500 company in the general building materials industry. The company primarily engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers primarily in...
and
KeyCorpKeyBank is a regional bank headquartered in Key Tower within Cleveland, Ohio's Public Square. , it is the 19th largest bank in the United States based on total deposits...
.
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
maintains a facility in Cleveland, the
Glenn Research CenterNASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center, located within the cities of Brook Park, Cleveland and Fairview Park, Ohio between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Cleveland Metroparks's Rocky River Reservation, and has other subsidiary facilities in Ohio...
.
Jones DayJones Day is an international law firm founded in Cleveland, Ohio on March 1, 1893, by Judge Edwin J. Blandin and William Lowe Rice. Jones Day is the eighth largest law firm in the world by revenue, and the fourth highest grossing firm in the US with annual revenues of US$1.4 billion...
, one of the largest law firms in the U.S, began in Cleveland.
The Duke Realty Corp. is one of the area's largest landlords and holds a large office building portfolio in the southern suburbs. In 2007, Cleveland's commercial real estate market experienced rebound with a record pace of purchases, with a housing vacancy of ten percent.
The
Cleveland ClinicThe Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The Cleveland Clinic is currently regarded as one of the top 4 hospitals in the United States as rated by U.S. News & World Report...
is the city's largest private employer with a workforce of over 37,000. It carries the distinction as being among America's best hospitals with top ratings published in
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
Cleveland's healthcare sector includes
University Hospitals of ClevelandUniversity Hospitals is a major not-for-profit medical center in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Case Medical Center is the primary affiliate hospital of Case Western Reserve University - a relationship that was first established in 1896...
, a renowned center for cancer treatment, and
MetroHealthThe MetroHealth System is a non-profit, county operated, health care system located in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1837 as City Hospital, The MetroHealth system is the safety net hospital for the residents of the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County...
medical center.
Cleveland is also noted in the fields of
biotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
and
fuel cellA fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...
research, led by
Case Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
, the Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals of Cleveland. Cleveland is among the top recipients of investment for biotech start-ups and research. Case Western Reserve, the Clinic, and University Hospitals have recently announced plans to build a large biotechnology research center and
incubatorBusiness incubators are programs designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts...
on the site of the former Mt. Sinai Medical Center, creating a research campus to stimulate biotech
startup companiesA startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
that can be spun off from research conducted in the city.
City leaders stepped up efforts to grow the technology sector in the first decade of the 21st century. Former Mayor
Jane L. CampbellJane Louise Campbell, is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 56th and first female mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from January 1, 2002 to January 1, 2006.-Personal details:...
appointed a "tech czar" whose job is to actively recruit tech companies to the downtown office market, offering connections to the high-speed fiber networks that run underneath downtown streets in several "high-tech offices" focused on the Euclid Avenue area.
Cleveland State UniversityCleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969...
hired a Technology Transfer Officer to work full time on cultivating technology transfers from CSU research to marketable ideas and companies in the Cleveland area, and appointed a Vice President for Economic Development to leverage the university's assets in expanding the city's economy. Case Western Reserve University participates in technology initiatives such as the OneCommunity project, a high-speed fiber optic network linking the area's major research centers intended to stimulate growth. OneCommunity's work attracted the attention of Intel and in mid-2005, Cleveland was named an Intel "Worldwide Digital Community" along with
Corpus Christi, TexasCorpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, Philadelphia,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and
Taipei, TaiwanTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
. This distinction added about $12 million for marketing to expand regional technology partnerships, create a city-wide
WiFiWIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
network, and develop a tech economy. In addition to this Intel initiative, in January 2006 a New York–based think tank, the Intelligent Community Forum, selected Cleveland as the sole American city among its seven finalists for the "Intelligent Community of the Year" award. The group announced that it nominated the city for its OneCommunity network with potential broadband applications. The OneCommunity Network is collaborating with
Cisco SystemsCisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
to deploy a cutting-edge wireless network that could provide widespread access to the region. Cisco is testing new technologies in wireless "mesh" networking. OneCommunity and Cisco officially launched the first phase in September 2006, blanketing several square miles of University Circle with wireless connectivity.
Law and government
Cleveland's position as a center of manufacturing established it as a hotbed of
union activityLabor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police...
early in its history. This contributed to a political
progressivismProgressivism in the United States is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century and is generally considered to be middle class and reformist in nature. It arose as a response to the vast changes brought by modernization, such as the growth of large...
that has influenced Cleveland politics to the present. While other parts of Ohio, particularly Cincinnati and the southern portion of the state, have historically supported the
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, Cleveland commonly breeds the strongest support in the state for the
DemocratsThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
; At the local level, elections are nonpartisan. However, Democrats still dominate every level of government.
Cleveland is split between two
congressional districtA congressional district is “a geographical division of a state from which one member of the House of Representatives is elected.”Congressional Districts are made up of three main components, a representative, constituents, and the specific land area that both the representative and the...
s. Most of the western part of the city is in the
10th DistrictOhio's 10th congressional district is currently represented by Representative Dennis J. Kucinich . The district is based in the western part of Cleveland and surrounding suburbs in Cuyahoga County. Cook PVI rates this district as D+8....
, represented by
Dennis KucinichDennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
. Most of the eastern part of the city, as well as most of downtown, is in the
11th DistrictOhio's 11th congressional district is represented by Representative Marcia Fudge, a Democrat, having been elected after the death of Stephanie Tubbs Jones. This district includes the East Side of Cleveland and much of the eastern suburbs in Cuyahoga County, and borders Lake Erie.Ohio has had at...
, represented by
Marcia Fudge. Both are Democrats.
During the
2004 Presidential electionThe United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
, although
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
carried Ohio by 2.1%,
John KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
carried Cuyahoga County 66.6%–32.9%, his largest margin in any Ohio county. The city of Cleveland supported Kerry over Bush by the even larger margin of 83.3%–15.8%.
The city of Cleveland operates on the mayor-council (strong mayor) form of government. The mayor is the
chief executiveExecutive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
of the city, and the office is held in 2010 by
Frank G. JacksonFrank George Jackson is an American attorney and politician. He is currently the Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. He was elected on November 8, 2005, unseating incumbent Jane Campbell and re-elected in 2009...
. Previous mayors of Cleveland include progressive Democrat
Tom L. JohnsonThomas Loftin Johnson , better known as Tom L. Johnson, was an American politician of the Democratic Party from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He headed relief efforts after the Johnstown, Pennsylvania floods of 1889, was a U.S. Representative from 1891–1895 and the 35th mayor of...
, World War I era War Secretary and founder of
Baker HostetlerBaker Hostetler is an American law firm based in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1916. One of the firm's founders, Newton D. Baker, was U.S. Secretary of War during World War I and former Mayor of Cleveland....
law firm
Newton D. BakerNewton Diehl Baker, Jr. was an American politician who belonged to the Democratic Party. He served as the 37th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1912 to 1915 and as U.S. Secretary of War from 1916 to 1921.-Early years:...
, United States Supreme Court Justice
Harold Hitz BurtonHarold Hitz Burton was an American politician and lawyer.He served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was known as a dispassionate jurist who prized equal justice under the law.-Biography:He...
, Republican
SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
George V. VoinovichGeorge Victor Voinovich is a former United States Senator from the state of Ohio, and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served as the 65th Governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998, and as the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989.-Personal life:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, his father was...
, two-term Ohio Governor and Senator, current Representative
Dennis KucinichDennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
of Ohio's 10th district,
Frank J. LauscheFrank John Lausche was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 47th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as the 55th and 57th Governor of Ohio, and as a United States Senator from Ohio for two terms .-Biography:His family originates from Slovenia. After serving in the U.S...
, and
Carl B. StokesCarl Burton Stokes was an American politician of the Democratic party who served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. Elected on November 7, 1967, but took office on Jan 1, 1968, he was the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city. Fellow Ohioan Robert C. Henry was the first African...
, the first African American mayor of a major American city. The state of Ohio lost two Congressional seats as a result of the 2010 Census which effects Cleveland's districts in the northeast part of the state.
Crime
Based on the
Morgan QuitnoMorgan Quitno Press is a research and publishing company based in Lawrence, Kansas, which compiles books with statistics of crime rates, health care, education, and other categories, ranking cities and states in the United States...
Press 2008 national crime rankings, Cleveland ranked as the 7th most dangerous city in the nation among US cities with a population of 100,000 to 500,000 and the 11th most dangerous overall.
Violent crime from 2005 to 2006 was mostly unchanged nationwide, but increased more than 10% in Cleveland. The murder rate dropped 30% in Cleveland, but was still far above the national average. Property crime from 2005 to 2006 was virtually unchanged across the country and in Cleveland, with larceny-theft down by 7% but burglaries up almost 14%.
In October 2010, Cleveland had two neighborhoods appear on
ABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
's list of 'America's 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods': both in sections just blocks apart in the city's Central neighborhood on the East Side. Ranked 21st was in the vicinty of Quincy Avenue and E.40th Streets, while an area near E. 55th and Scovill Avenue ranked 2nd in the nation, just behind a section of the
East Garfield ParkEast Garfield Park is a community area located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is part of the Chicago West Side area. Located directly in the path of gentrification heading westward from the Loop, East Garfield Park was named one of America's most "up and coming neighborhoods" in the...
neighborhood in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, which ranked 1st.
A study in 1971–72 found that although Cleveland's crime rate was significantly lower than other large urban areas, most Cleveland residents feared crime. In the 1980s,
gangA gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
activity was on the rise, associated with
crack cocaineCrack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
. A task force was formed and was partially successful at reducing gang activity by a combination of removing gang-related graffiti and educating news sources to not name gangs in news reporting.
The distribution of crime in Cleveland is highly heterogeneous. Relatively few crimes take place in downtown Cleveland's business district, but the perception of crime in the downtown has been pointed to by the Greater Cleveland Growth Association as damaging to the city's economy. Neighborhoods of higher socioeconomic status in Cleveland and its suburbs have lower rates of violent crime than areas of lower status, and even controlling for this factor, areas with higher populations of African Americans have higher violent crime rates. A study of the relationship between
employmentEmployment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
access and crime in Cleveland found a strong inverse relationship, with the highest crime rates in areas of the city that had the lowest access to jobs. Furthermore, this relationship was found to be strongest with respect to economic crimes. A study of
public housingPublic housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
in Cleveland found that criminals tend to live in areas of higher affluence and move into areas of lower affluence to commit crimes.
Demographics
According to the 2010 Census, Cleveland had 53.3%
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 37.3%
WhiteWhite Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
(33.4%
Non-Hispanic WhitesNon-Hispanic Whites or White, Not Hispanic or Latino are people in the United States, as defined by the Census Bureau, who are of the White race and are not of Hispanic or Latino origin/ethnicity. Hence the designation is exclusive in the sense that it defines who is not included as opposed to who is...
), 0.3%
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, 1.8%
Asian AmericanAsian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 0.0%
Native HawaiianNative Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
and other
Pacific IslanderPacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
, 4.5% of some other race, and 2.8% from
two or more racesMultiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...
.
Hispanic and Latino AmericansHispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
of any race accounted for 10.0% of its population, with Puerto Ricans being the majority of the group.
As of the 2000 Census, there were 478,403 people, 190,638
householdThe household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s, and 111,904 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 6,166.5 people per square mile (2,380.9/km²). There were 215,856 housing units at an average density of 2,782.4 per square mile (1,074.3/km²). Ethnic groups include
GermansGerman Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
(9.2%),
IrishIrish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
(8.2%),
PolesA Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...
(4.8%),
ItaliansAn Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
(4.6%), and
EnglishEnglish Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
(2.8%). There are also substantial communities of
SlovaksSlovak Americans are Americans of Slovak descent. In the 1990 Census Slovak Americans made up the second-largest portion of Slavic ethnic groups. There are currently about 790,000 people of Slovak descent living in the United States. -Eighteenth century:...
,
HungariansThe Hungarian Ohioans are Hungarian Americans living in Ohio. Their number was 193,951 in 2006. Fairport Harbor, Ohio is 11.8 % Hungarian American. In Cleveland and its neighboring areas there live more than 130,000 Hungarians. Some resources stated that there was time when Cleveland was the second...
,
FrenchFrench Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French or French Canadian descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of this descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.An additional 450,000 U.S...
, Slovenes,
CzechsCzech Americans are citizens of the United States who were born in, or who descended from, the territory of the historic Czech lands, , or succession states, now known as the Czech Republic...
, Ukrainians,
ArabsAn Arab American is a United States citizen or resident of Arab ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage or identity, who identifies themselves as Arab. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World...
, Dutch,
ScottishScottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scots-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster Scots, and communities emphasize and celebrate a common heritage...
,
RussianRussian Americans are primarily Americans who traces their ancestry to Russia. The definition can be applied to recent Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as to settlers of 19th century Russian settlements in northwestern America which includes today's California, Alaska and...
, Scotch Irish, Croats,
Puerto RicansStateside Puerto Ricans are American citizens of Puerto Rican origin, including those who migrated from Puerto Rico to the United States and those who were born outside of Puerto Rico in the United States...
, West Indians,
RomaniansA Romanian American is a citizen of the United States who has significant Romanian heritage. For the 2000 US Census, 367,310 Americans indicated Romanian as their first ancestry, while 462,526 persons declared to have Romanian ancestry...
, Lithuanians, and
GreeksGreek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...
. The presence of Hungarians within Cleveland proper was, at one time, so great that the city boasted the highest concentration of Hungarians in the world outside of
BudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the South. Between 1920 and 1960, the black population of Cleveland increased from 35,000 to 251,000.
Out of 190,638 households, 29.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.5% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 24.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were nonfamilies. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.19. The population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The
median incomeThe median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
for a household in the city was
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
25,928, and the median income for a family was $30,286. Males had a median income of $30,610 versus $24,214 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $14,291. 26.3% of the population and 22.9% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 37.6% of those under the age of 18 and 16.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
|Demographic profile of Cleveland
Year
|
Total
|
African American
|
Percent
|
Caucasian
|
Percent
|
Hispanic non white or Latino
|
Percent
|
Asian
|
Percent
|
American Indian or Alaskan Native
|
Percent
|
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
|
Percent
|
2008 Estimate |
433,748 |
216,421 |
% |
155,575 |
% |
33,038 |
% |
6,942 |
% |
1,132 |
% |
0 |
% |
2000 Actual |
467,702 |
243,939 |
% |
198,510 |
% |
34,728 |
% |
6,444 |
% |
1,458 |
% |
178 |
% |
1990 Actual |
505,616
|
235,405
|
% |
250,234
|
% |
23,197
|
% |
|
% |
|
% |
|
% |
Public schools
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District is the largest K–12 district in the state of Ohio, with 127 schools and an enrollment of 55,567 students during the 2006–2007 academic year. It is the only district in Ohio that is under direct control of the mayor, who appoints a
school boardA board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
.
Approximately 1 square mile of Cleveland, adjacent the
Shaker SquareBuckeye-Shaker is a neighborhood on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. It encompasses the old Buckeye neighborhood and Shaker Square neighborhood, the latter of which is centered around an historic shopping district and an eponymous rapid transit station, located at the intersection of Shaker and...
neighborhood, is part of the Shaker 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.
Private schools
- Benedictine High School
- Cleveland Central Catholic High School
Cleveland Central Catholic High School is a private co-educational high school located in Cleveland, Ohio. It is run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland...
- Eleanor Gerson School
The Gerson High School, with a history dating back to 1970, offers an alternative educational experience for adolescents in grades 9 - 12 who, for various personal, behavioral and/or relationship reasons, have not been successful in standard school settings...
- Montessori High School at University Circle
- St. Ignatius High School
- St. Joseph Academy
Saint Joseph Academy is the only all-female Catholic high school located in Cleveland, Ohio. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. The academic environment provides a 12 to 1 student to faculty ratio with an average of 23 students per class. Over 96% of Academy students are...
- Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School
Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School is a private Roman Catholic high school located in Cleveland, Ohio. It is commonly abbreviated VASJ. It was formed by the 1990 merger of Villa Angela Academy and St. Joseph High School . It is run by the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. The two religious orders...
- Urban Community School
- Saint Martin de Porres
Saint Martin de Porres High School is a private high school in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio.-Background:Saint Martin de Porres High School was established in 2004...
- The Bridge Avenue School
Colleges and universities
Cleveland is home to a number of colleges and universities. Most prominent among these is
Case Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
, a world-renowned research and teaching institution located in University Circle. A private university with several prominent graduate programs, Case was ranked 38th in the nation in 2007 by
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
. University Circle also contains
Cleveland Institute of ArtThe Cleveland Institute of Art is a private college of art and design located in University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women. From 1891 until 1948 it was named Cleveland School of Art. During the Great Depression the school...
, and the
Cleveland Institute of MusicThe Cleveland Institute of Music is an independent music conservatory located in the University Circle district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States and is overseen by president Joel Smirnoff and Adrian Daly, dean....
.
Cleveland State UniversityCleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969...
(CSU), based in downtown Cleveland, is the city's public four-year university. In addition to CSU, downtown hosts the metropolitan campus of
Cuyahoga Community CollegeCuyahoga Community College is a two-year college in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Founded in 1962, Cuyahoga Community College is the oldest, and largest community college in Ohio with a Fall 2009 enrollment of 31,024. * http://www.tri-c.edu/news/Pages/20100823a.aspxIn August of 2010, the college reported...
, the county's two-year higher education institution, as well as Chancellor University, a private four-year school that focuses on business education.
Ohio Technical College is based in Cleveland.
Transportation
Airports
Cleveland Hopkins International AirportCleveland Hopkins International Airport is a public airport located nine miles southwest of the central business district of Cleveland, a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The airport lies just within the city limits of Cleveland...
is the city's major airport and an
international airportAn international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...
that serves as one of three main
hubsAn airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
for
Continental AirlinesContinental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
. It holds the distinction of having the first airport-to-downtown rapid transit connection in North America, established in 1968. In 1930, the airport was the site of the first airfield lighting system and the first air traffic
control towerA control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
. Originally known as Cleveland Municipal Airport, it was the first municipally owned airport in the country. Cleveland Hopkins is a significant regional air freight hub hosting FedEx Express,
UPS AirlinesUPS Airlines is an American cargo airline owned by United Parcel Service Inc. . The company is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Its home airport is located at Louisville International Airport...
,
United States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
, and major commercial freight carriers.
In addition to Hopkins, Cleveland is served by Burke Lakefront Airport, on the north shore of downtown between Lake Erie and the
ShorewayThe Cleveland Memorial Shoreway is a limited-access freeway in Cleveland, Ohio. It closely follows the shore of Lake Erie and connects the east and west sides of Cleveland via the Main Avenue Bridge. The Shoreway carries State Route 2 along its length, and also carries U.S. 6, U.S. 20 and I-90...
. Burke is primarily a commuter and business airport.
Seaport
The
Port of ClevelandThe Port of Cleveland is a bulk freight shipping port at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on Lake Erie and adjacent to the United States of America city of Cleveland, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio....
, located at the
Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
's mouth, is a major bulk freight terminal on
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
, receiving much of the raw materials used by the region's manufacturing industries.
Railroads
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Cleveland, via the
Capitol LimitedAmtrak's Capitol Limited is one of the railroad's two routes connecting Washington, D.C. to Chicago, running via Cleveland, Ohio . Service began in 1981 and was named after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Capitol Limited which ended in 1971 upon the formation of Amtrak...
and
Lake Shore LimitedThe Lake Shore Limited is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. The train runs between Chicago and Albany, NY, where it divides into two sections that provide thru-service to New York and Boston...
routes, which stop at
Cleveland Lakefront StationCleveland Lakefront Station is Amtrak's station in Cleveland, Ohio. The station was built in 1976 to provide service to the Lake Shore Limited route, which was reinstated by Amtrak via Cleveland and Toledo in 1975...
. Cleveland has also been identified as a hub for the proposed
Ohio HubThe Ohio Hub is a high-speed railway project proposed by the Ohio Department of Transportation aimed at revitalizing passenger rail service in the Ohio region. Upon completion, the transit system will be composed of of track serving 32 stations. It will connect four states along with southern...
project, which would bring
high-speed railHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
to Ohio.
Cleveland hosts several inter-modal freight railroad terminals. There have been several proposals for
commuter rail in ClevelandCommuter rail in Cleveland, Ohio was operated until 1976 on a single route. Since then, there have been several studies into the prospect of new commuter trains in the area, though none have progressed beyond the proposal phase.-Historical:...
, including an ongoing (as of January 2011) study into a
SanduskySandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
–Cleveland line.
Transit systems
Cleveland has a
busA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
and
railUrban rail transit is an all-encompassing term for various types of local rail systems providing passenger service within and around urban or suburban areas...
mass transitPublic transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
system operated by the
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit AuthorityThe Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is the public transit agency for Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and the surrounding suburbs of Cuyahoga County. RTA is the largest transit agency in Ohio, providing over 44 million trips to residents and visitors of the Cleveland area in 2010...
(RTA). The rail portion is officially called the
RTA Rapid TransitRTA Rapid Transit is a rapid transit and light rail system in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County owned by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority...
, but local residents refer to it as
The Rapid. It consists of two
light railA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
lines, known as the
Green and Blue LinesThe Blue Line, Green Line, and Waterfront Line are the interurban/light rail component of the RTA Rapid Transit, a rapid transit rail system in greater Cleveland and Shaker Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio...
, and a heavy rail line, the
Red LineThe Red Line is a rapid transit line of the RTA Rapid Transit in Cleveland, Ohio, running from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport northeast to Tower City in downtown Cleveland, then east and northeast to Windermere...
. In 2008, RTA completed the
HealthLineThe HealthLine is a bus rapid transit line run by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The line runs along Euclid Avenue from Public Square in downtown Cleveland to the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland...
, a
bus rapid transitBus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
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 the
Louis Stokes Station at WindermereLouis Stokes Station at Windermere is a rapid transit station on the RTA Red Line in East Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It is located on the northwest side of Euclid Avenue between Bryn Mawr and Doan Roads...
in
East ClevelandEast Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is the first suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 17,843 at the 2010 census....
. In 2007, the
American Public Transportation AssociationThe American Public Transportation Association is a non-profit organization which serves as an advocate for the advancement of public transportation programs and initiatives in the United States. Since its founding in 1882, APTA has educated the public about the benefits of public transportation...
named Cleveland's mass transit system the best in North America.
Inter-city bus lines
National
intercity busAn intercity bus is a bus that carries passengers significant distances between different cities, towns, or other populated areas. Unlike a municipal bus, which has frequent stops throughout a city or town, an intercity bus generally has a single stop at a centralized location within the city, and...
service is provided at a
GreyhoundGreyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
station, located just behind the Playhouse Square theater district. Megabus provides service to Cleveland and has a stop outside of
Tower City CenterTower City Center is a large mixed-use facility located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including the landmark Terminal Tower, a shopping mall, two hotels, and the main hub of Cleveland's three rapid transit lines...
in downtown Cleveland. Lakefront
TrailwaysThe Trailways Transportation System is an American group of 80 independent bus companies that have entered into a franchising agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.- History :...
provides regional inter-city bus service to popular destinations from their terminal south of Cleveland in
Brook Park-External links:*...
.
Akron MetroMETRO Regional Transit Authority , also known as Akron Metropolitan Regional Transit Authority, is the public transit agency serving Summit County, Ohio and the city of Akron...
,
Brunswick Transit AlternativeBrunswick Transit Alternative is the transit agency serving the city of Brunswick, Ohio. It operates two transit bus routes, the Red Line through the northern section of the city and the Blue Line through the southern section of the city....
,
LaketranLaketran is the transit agency servicing Lake County, Ohio, the county northeast of Cleveland. It is the third-largest transit system in Northeast Ohio, serving Mentor, Painesville, Willoughby, Wickliffe. Eastlake, Fairport Harbor, Madison and other Lake County destinations.Laketran was established...
,
Lorain County TransitLorain County Transit is the public transportation provider for Lorain County, Ohio. It is a division of the Lorain County Commissioners, and its offices are in Lorain. The current manager of LCT is Richard Enty...
, and
Medina County TransitMedina County Transit is the transit agency serving Medina County, Ohio and the city of Medina. It operates local routes, and specialized transit bus services....
provide connecting bus service to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.
Geauga County TransitGeauga County Transit is the transit bus agency serving Geauga County, Ohio. It operates demand-responsive transit buses, including out-of-county service....
and
Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA)The Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority, commonly referred to as PARTA is the transit agency serving Portage County, Ohio. It is headquartered in Franklin Township just outside the Kent city limits. PARTA was formed in 1975 from an agreement between the city of Kent and Franklin...
also offer connecting bus service in their neighboring areas.
Freeways
Three two-digit Interstate highways serve Cleveland directly.
Interstate 71Interstate 71 is an Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 and Interstate 65 in Louisville, Kentucky. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 90 in Cleveland,...
begins just southwest of downtown and is the major route from downtown Cleveland to the airport. I-71 runs through the southwestern suburbs and eventually connects Cleveland with
ColumbusColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and Cincinnati.
Interstate 77Interstate 77 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the old U.S...
begins in downtown Cleveland and runs almost due south through the southern suburbs. I-77 sees the least traffic of the three interstates, although it does connect Cleveland to
AkronAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
.
Interstate 90Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
connects the two sides of Cleveland, and is the northern terminus for both I-71 and I-77. Running due east–west through the west side suburbs, I-90 turns northeast at the junction with and I-490, and is known as the Innerbelt through downtown. At the junction with the Shoreway, I-90 makes a 90-degree turn known in the area as
Dead Man's Curve"Dead Man's Curve" is the unofficial but commonly used name given to hazardous curves on Interstate Highways and other roads in the United States that have claimed lives because of accidents.-Cleveland Innerbelt:...
, then continues northeast, entering
Lake CountyLake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 230,041. The county seat is Painesville, and the county name comes from its location on the southern shore of Lake Erie....
near the eastern split with Ohio State Route 2. Cleveland is also served by two three-digit interstates,
Interstate 480Interstate 480 is a loop highway that connects the Ohio Turnpike with suburban Cleveland, Ohio. The highway is officially designated the Outerbelt South Freeway, but it is rarely referred to by that name....
, which enters Cleveland briefly at a few points and
Interstate 490Interstate 490 is a Interstate Highway in Cleveland, Ohio. The western terminus is a junction with I-90 and I-71 on Cleveland's west side. After spanning the Cuyahoga River, the eastern terminus is a junction with East 55th Street, just east of I-77....
, which connects I-77 with the junction of I-90 and I-71 just south of downtown.
Two other limited-access highways serve Cleveland. The
Cleveland Memorial ShorewayThe Cleveland Memorial Shoreway is a limited-access freeway in Cleveland, Ohio. It closely follows the shore of Lake Erie and connects the east and west sides of Cleveland via the Main Avenue Bridge. The Shoreway carries State Route 2 along its length, and also carries U.S. 6, U.S. 20 and I-90...
carries State Route 2 along its length, and at varying points also carries
US 6U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...
,
US 20U.S. Route 20 is an east–west United States highway. As the "0" in its route number implies, US 20 is a coast-to-coast route. Spanning , it is the longest road in the United States, and the route sparsely parallels Interstate 90...
and I-90. The Jennings Freeway (State Route 176) connects I-71 just south of I-90 to I-480 near the suburbs of
ParmaParma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is the largest suburb of Cleveland and the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio...
and
Brooklyn HeightsBrooklyn Heights is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,543 at the 2010 census.-Government:Brooklyn Heights employs a standard council-based municipal government, which as of 2007 consisted of the following positions and occupants:* Mayor: Michael S...
. A third highway, the Berea Freeway (State Route 237 in part), connects I-71 to the airport, and forms part of the boundary between Cleveland and
Brook Park-External links:*...
.
Sister cities
Cleveland has twenty-two sister cities:
Achill IslandAchill Island in County Mayo is the largest island off the coast of Ireland, and is situated off the west coast. It has a population of 2,700. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Bridge, between the villages of Gob an Choire and Poll Raithní . A bridge was first... , IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,... AlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving... , EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... Bahir DarBahir Dar is a city in north western Ethiopia. It is the capital of the Amhara Region .Administratively, Bahir Dar is considered a Special Zone, placing it midway between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa which are organized as chartered cities , and cities like Debre Marqos and Dessie, which are... , EthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2... BangaloreBengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and... , IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... Beit She'an, IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... Since 1995 BraşovBrașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania.... , RomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... BratislavaBratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... , SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south... ClevelandCleveland is an area in the north east of England. Its name means literally "cliff-land", referring to its hilly southern areas, which rise to nearly... , EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... , United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... ConakryConakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500... , GuineaGuinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures... FierFieri is a city in southwest Albania, in the district and county of the same name. It is located at , and has a population of 82,297 . Fier is from the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Apollonia.-History :... , AlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea... GdańskGdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the... , PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... since 1990 |
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Guadalajara Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco... , MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... IbadanIbadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area... , NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... KlaipėdaKlaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County.... , LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... LimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima... , PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... LjubljanaLjubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants... , SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of... MiskolcMiskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located... , HungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... NettunoNettuno is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, 60 kilometers south of Rome. It is named in honour of the Roman god Neptune... , ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... RouenRouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages... , FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... Segundo MontesMeanguera is a municipality in the Morazán department of El Salvador.... , MorazánMorazán is a name shared by several places in Central America, all named in honour of 19th century regional statesman Francisco Morazán:*Morazán Department, El Salvador*Francisco Morazán Department, Honduras* Morazán, Yoro, municipality in Honduras... , El SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America... TaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean... , Republic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor... VolgogradVolgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River... , RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
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See also
- Greater Cleveland
Greater Cleveland is a nickname for the metropolitan area surrounding Cleveland, Ohio and is part of what used to be the Connecticut Western Reserve.Northeast Ohio refers to a similar but substantially larger area as described below...
- Cuyahoga County
Cuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It is the most populous county in Ohio; as of the 2010 census, the population was 1,280,122. Its county seat is Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is part of Greater Cleveland, a metropolitan area, and Northeast Ohio, a...
- List of people from Cleveland
External links
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GFDL.