Founding
city in and county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States
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Cleveland ( KLEEV-lənd) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, located along the southern shore of Lake Erie. It is across the lake from the Canadian province of Ontario, and is approximately 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of the Ohio–Pennsylvania state line. Cleveland is the most populous city on Lake Erie, the 2nd-most populous city in Ohio (after Columbus), and the 53rd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 372,624 at the 2020 census. It also serves as the county seat of Cuyahoga County. The Greater Cleveland metropolitan area, with an estimated 2.17 million residents, is the 34th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S.
Cleveland was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve in modern-day Northeast Ohio by General Moses Cleaveland, after whom the city was named. The city's location on the river and the lake shore allowed it to grow into a major commercial and industrial metropolis by the late 19th century, attracting large numbers of immigrants and migrants. It was among the top 10 largest U.S. cities by population for much of the 20th century, a period that saw the development of the city's cultural institutions. By the 1960s, Cleveland's economy began to slow down as manufacturing declined and suburbanization occurred.
Cleveland is a port city, connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway. Its economy relies on diverse sectors that include higher education, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and biomedicals. The city serves as the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, as well as several major companies. The GDP for Greater Cleveland was US$138.3 billion in 2022. Combined with the Akron metropolitan area, the eight-county Cleveland–Akron metropolitan economy was $176 billion in 2022, the largest in Ohio.
Designated as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Cleveland is home to several major cultural institutions, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Public Library, Playhouse Square, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as Case Western Reserve University. Known as "The Forest City" among many other nicknames, Cleveland serves as the center of the Cleveland Metroparks nature reserve system. The city's major league professional sports teams include the Cleveland Browns (football; NFL), the Cleveland Cavaliers (basketball; NBA), and the Cleveland Guardians (baseball; MLB).
Cleveland was established on July 22, 1796, by surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company when they laid out Connecticut's Western Reserve into townships and a capital city. They named the settlement "Cleaveland" after their leader, General Moses Cleaveland, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. Cleaveland oversaw the New England–style design of the plan for what would become the modern downtown area, centered on Public Square. The town's name was often shortened to "Cleveland", including by Cleaveland's original surveyors. A myth emerged that the spelling was altered by The Cleveland Advertiser to fit the name on the newspaper's masthead.
The first permanent European settler in Cleveland was Lorenzo Carter, who arrived in May 1797 and built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The emerging community served as an important supply post for the U.S. during the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Largely through the efforts of the settlement's first lawyer, Alfred Kelley, the village of Cleveland was incorporated on December 23, 1814.
Despite the nearby swampy lowlands and harsh winters, the town's waterfront on Lake Erie was advantageous, giving it access to Great Lakes trade. It grew rapidly after the 1832 completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal, which linked the Ohio River and the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Erie Canal and Hudson River, and later via the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The town's growth continued with added railroad links. In 1836, Cleveland, then only on the eastern banks of the Cuyahoga, was incorporated as a city; John W. Willey was elected its first mayor. The neighboring municipality of Ohio City was a major rival to Cleveland until its annexation by the city in 1854.
A center of abolitionist activity, Cleveland (code-named "Station Hope") was a major stop on the Underground Railroad for escaped African American slaves en route to Canada. The city served as an important center for the Union during the American Civil War, creating a large manufacturing industry within the city and unprecedented growth. Its geographic location as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes contributed to its development as an industrial and commercial center. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in Cleveland; in 1885, he moved its headquarters to New York City.
Cleveland's economic growth and industrial jobs attracted large waves of immigrants from Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Ireland. Urban growth was accompanied by labor unrest as workers demanded better wages and working conditions. The Cleveland Streetcar Strike of 1899 was one of the more violent instances of labor strife in the city during this period.
By 1910, Cleveland had become known as the "Sixth City" due to its status at the time as the sixth-largest U.S. city. Its automotive companies included Peerless, Chandler, and Winton, maker of the first car driven across the U.S. Other manufacturing industries in Cleveland included steam cars produced by White and electric cars produced by Baker. Euclid Avenue became known as "Millionaires' Row" for its prestige and elegance. Major Progressive Era politicians were leaders in the city, including populist Mayor Tom L. Johnson, who was responsible for the development of the Cleveland Mall Plan. The era of the City Beautiful movement in Cleveland architecture saw wealthy patrons support the establishment of the city's major cultural institutions including the Cleveland Museum of Art, which opened in 1916, and the Cleveland Orchestra, established in 1918.
African American migrants from the rural South arrived in Cleveland as part of the Great Migration for jobs, constitutional rights, and relief from racial discrimination. By 1920 Cleveland had grown into a densely populated metropolis of 796,841, making it the fifth-largest city in the nation, with a foreign-born population of 30%. Radical labor movements gained popularity in the city, such as the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), in response to the conditions of the largely immigrant and migrant workers. In 1919, local socialist and IWW demonstrators clashed with anti-socialists in the May Day Riots, which occurred amid the First Red Scare and the strike wave that swept the U.S. that year.
Cleveland's population continued to grow throughout the Roaring Twenties. The decade saw the establishment of the city's Playhouse Square, and the rise of the risqué Short Vincent. The Bal-Masque balls of the avant-garde Kokoon Arts Club scandalized the city. Jazz came to prominence in Cleveland during this period. Prohibition was established in Ohio in May 1919 (although it was not well-enforced in Cleveland), became law with the Volstead Act in 1920, and was repealed nationally by Congress in 1933. The ban on alcohol led to the rise of speakeasies throughout the city and organized crime gangs, such as the Mayfield Road Mob, who smuggled bootleg liquor across Lake Erie from Canada into Cleveland.
The era of the flapper marked the beginning of the golden age in Downtown Cleveland retail, centered on major department stores Higbee's, Bailey's, the May Company, Taylor's, Halle's, and Sterling Lindner Davis, which collectively represented one of the largest and most fashionable shopping districts in the country. In 1929, Cleveland hosted the first of many National Air Races, and Amelia Earhart flew to the city from Santa Monica, California in the Women's Air Derby. The Van Sweringen brothers commenced construction of the Terminal Tower skyscraper in 1926 and oversaw its completion in 1927. When the building was dedicated as part of Cleveland Union Terminal in 1930, the city had a population of over 900,000.
Cleveland's economy was greatly impacted by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. A center of union activity, the city saw significant labor struggles in this period, including strikes by workers against Fisher Body in 1936 and against Republic Steel in 1937. The city was aided by major federal works projects sponsored by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. In commemoration of the centennial of Cleveland's incorporation as a city, the Great Lakes Exposition debuted in June 1936 at the city's North Coast Harbor, along the Lake Erie shore north of downtown. Conceived by Cleveland's business leaders as a way to revitalize the city during the Depression, it drew four million visitors in its first season, and seven million by the end of its second and final season in September 1937. During World War II, Cleveland was a major hub of the U.S. war effort as the fifth largest manufacturing center in the nation. During the war, the city established the Cleveland Transit System, the predecessor to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.
Cleveland experienced an economic boom after the war and businesses declared the city to be the "best location in the nation". In 1950, its population reached 914,808. By the 1960s, however, Cleveland's economy slowed and residents began seeking new housing in the suburbs, reflecting national trends of suburbanization following federally subsidized highways. Industrial restructuring, particularly in the steel and automotive industries, resulted in the loss of numerous jobs in Cleveland and the city suffered economically. The burning of the Cuyahoga River in June 1969 brought national attention to the issue of industrial pollution in Cleveland and catalyzed the American environmental movement.
Housing discrimination and redlining against African Americans led to racial unrest in Cleveland. The Hough riots erupted from July 18 to 24, 1966, and the Glenville Shootout took place on July 23, 1968. In November 1967, Cleveland became the first major American city to elect an African American mayor, Carl B. Stokes, who worked to restore the Cuyahoga River.
During the 1970s, Cleveland became known as "Bomb City U.S.A." due to several bombings that shook the city, mostly due to organized crime rivalries. In December 1978, Cleveland became the first major American city since the Great Depression to enter a financial default on federal loans. The national recession of the early 1980s saw the continued erosian of the city's traditional economic industries. Cleveland's unemployment rate of 13.8% was higher than the national average due to the closure of several steel production centers.
The city began an economic recovery in the 1980s. Downtown saw the construction of the Key Tower and 200 Public Square skyscrapers, as well as the development of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex – consisting of Progressive Field and Rocket Arena – and North Coast Harbor, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Browns Stadium, and the Great Lakes Science Center. Although the city emerged from default in 1987, it suffered from the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis and the Great Recession. By the 21st century, Cleveland had developed a more diversified economy and gained a national reputation as a center for healthcare and the arts. Downtown and several other neighborhoods experienced significant population growth since 2010, while overall population decline has slowed.
Cleveland has a total area of 82.47 square miles (213.6 km2), of which 77.70 square miles (201.2 km2) is land and 4.77 square miles (12.4 km2) is water. The shore of Lake Erie is 569 feet (173 m) above sea level; 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 River, Big Creek, and Euclid Creek.
The land rises quickly from the lake shore elevation of 569 feet. Public Square, less than one mile (1.6 km) inland, sits at an elevation of 650 feet (198 m), and Hopkins Airport, five miles (8.0 km) inland from the lake, is at an elevation of 791 feet (241 m).
Cleveland borders several inner-ring and streetcar suburbs. To the west, it borders Lakewood and Fairview Park, and to the east, it borders Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, South Euclid, and East Cleveland. To the southwest, it borders Linndale, Brooklyn, Parma, and Brook Park. To the south, the city borders Newburgh Heights, Cuyahoga Heights, and Brooklyn Heights and to the southeast, it borders Warrensville Heights, Maple Heights, and Garfield Heights. To the northeast, along the shore of Lake Erie, Cleveland borders Bratenahl and Euclid.
Many of Cleveland's government and civic buildings, including City Hall, the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, the Cleveland Public Library, and Public Auditorium, are clustered around the open Cleveland Mall and share a common neoclassical architecture. They were built in the early 20th century as the result of the 1903 Group Plan. They constitute one of the most complete examples of City Beautiful design. Completed in 1927 and dedicated in 1930 as part of the Cleveland Union Terminal complex, the Terminal Tower is a prototypical Beaux-Arts skyscraper. It was the tallest building in North America outside New York City until 1964 and the tallest in the city until 1991. Key Tower (the tallest building in Ohio) and 200 Public Square combine elements of Art Deco architecture with postmodern designs.
Nicknamed Cleveland's "Crystal Palace", the five-story Cleveland Arcade (also known as the Old Arcade) was built in 1890 and renovated in 2001 as a Hyatt Regency Hotel. Another major landmark, the Cleveland Trust Company Building, was completed in 1907 and renovated in 2015. Cleveland's historic ecclesiastical architecture includes the Presbyterian Old Stone Church, the onion-domed St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral, and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist along with several ethnically inspired Catholic churches.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Cleveland”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.