Sunday, November 27, 2016
After a rainy Thanksgiving, we had good weather to explore Ohio City. Originally the City of Ohio when founded in 1818, it was annexed to the city of Cleveland in 1854. Historically it attracted migrants and immigrants from New England, Germany, Hungary, and Ireland. Now they may come from Appalachia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. There has been a major redevelopment effort since the 1970s that continues today, and the area is full of popular restaurants and breweries.
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St Emeric Church (1924, for the Hungarian Catholic Parish
established in 1904) |
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Market Garden Brewery (2016 production brewery)
is right next door to St Emeric Church! |
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Ohio City Farm (2010), one of the country’s largest
contiguous urban farms, with the skyline of downtown Cleveland |
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Glass Bubble Project mural (2008) on the studio
for glass blowing and metal work |
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The Interactive Art of Public Housing, a mural on a
Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) building,
depicting various housing projects in the city |
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Forest City Bank Building (1903-1904 by Searles & Hirsh in Classical
Revival style), listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 |
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| Forest City Bank Building former entrance |
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| Mural (2016, Creative Fusion project) by Erin Guido on W 26 Street |
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St John's Episcopal Church (1836-1838,
designed by Hezekiah Eldridge) is recognized
as "Station Hope" on the Underground Railroad,
but more likely it was that the bell tower was
used to watch for lantern signals from boats
that offered to take runaway slaves to Canada |
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| Mural (2016, Creative Fusion project) by Mike Sobeck on W 28 Street |
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| Mural (2016, Creative Fusion project) by Michela Picchi of Berlin via Italy |
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West 28th Street Murals designed by Emily Acita of AmeriCorps
and Lakeview Terrace children (note the swings) |
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Section of Kings and Queens of Lakeview Terrace mural (2016,
Creative Fusion project) by Ananda Nahú of Brazil |
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More of the Kings and Queens of Lakeview Terrace
featuring actual children from the neighborhood |
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Lakeview Terrace public housing was cut off from Ohio City by
what is now the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway connected to
the Main Avenue Viaduct seen here; this roadway resulted in the
100-foot long wall that is now covered by the mural of the kids |
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| Mural of Prince (2016, Creative Fusion project) by Glen Infante |
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| A mural viewing the community through the windows of St Malachi |
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St Malachi RC Church (1945-1947 for the Irish
immigrant parish established in 1865) |
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| Full Tilt (2016, Creative Fusion project) by Ryan Jaenke |
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| Mural (2016, Creative Fusion project) by David Shillinglaw |
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| Sidewalk of Buckeye Bricks at 1527 W 28 Street |
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| Former Fire Station Carriage House (c 1850) on Franklin Boulevard |
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Franklin Circle Christian Church (1874-1883,
designed by Cudell & Richardson) |
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| Masonic Temple (1932, designed by Charles Hopkinson) |
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| Robert Russell Rhodes Mansion (1874) |
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Two Victorians on Franklin Boulevard, one nicely
maintained and the other in need of paint (... the
two houses are connected, so one owner?) |
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| Stone Gables Bed & Breakfast (1883 as The Sarah Bousefield House) |
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| Former West Side YMCA (1911), now Franklin Lofts (condos) |
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Tiedemann House aka Franklin Castle (1881-1883, designed by
Cudell & Richardson in High Victorian Eclectic style);
one owner (1985-1999) of note was Michael DeVinko
aka Mickey Deans, the last husband of Judy Garland |
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| Courtyard of St Herman's Orthodox House of Hospitality |
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| Tree stump looks like an elk with a big rack of antlers |
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Kentucky Garden located on the site of the first reservoir (1856) of
Cleveland; when the reservoir became too small, it was filled in and became
Reservoir Park (1890), then renamed Fairview Park (1897) |
During the Depression, the Board of Education incorporated horticulture into the curriculum, and part of Fairview Park was used for this program. The area was used for World War II victory gardens. It continues as a community garden using the former name of W 38 Street.
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Beyond the high fence at 3059 Mabel Court is the site of the
birthplace of Rear Admiral Isaac C Kidd, who spent his boyhood
at nearby 1830 W 50 Street; he was tragically killed while standing
on the bridge of the USS Arizona when Pearl Harbor was bombed. |
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| Whimsical sculpture at 1718 Fulton Road |
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The alleged birthplace of John W Heisman at 2825 Bridge Street,
a two-family home built in 1890; since Heisman was born in 1869,
he was not born in this house; since house numbers had changed,
it has been determined that his actual birthplace is at 3928 Bridge Street |
John W Heisman, namesake of the coveted Heisman Memorial Trophy awarded annually to the most outstanding college football player in the nation. Heisman played football at the University of Pennsylvania after a stint at Brown University, and later made contributions to improving the football game as a coach. He conceived the center snap and snap count (originally the center rolled the ball to the quarterback), and the forward pass because running the ball was resulting in crippling injuries with too many players swarming the ball carrier. Heisman also requested that the game be played in quarters rather than halves.
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| Heil's Block (1874) at 1882 W 25 Street |
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| Metzner Building (1910) at 1899 W 25 Street |
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Regional Transit Authority (RTA) West 25th-Ohio City Rapid Station
(1992 - ADA compliant to replace 1955 station) |
We will have to wait for another sunny day to explore the rest of Ohio City.
