Downtown

DOWNTOWN

Bounded on the North by Lake Erie

Bounded on the South by Canal Rd.

Bounded on the West by the Cuyahoga River

Bounded on the East by E. 30th St. (called Sterling Ave. before 1906)

This neighborhood was originally part of Cleveland Township.

Click on Map to Enlarge

Downtown Cleveland was home to various ethnic areas. Located in downtown Cleveland was Big Italy, the Flats, the Haymarket area, and the Warehouse District.

Big Italy was home to the first major Italian settlement. This area contained numerous produce markets. By 1900 the population was 93% Sicilians. One of the early settlers was Frank Catalano. He formed an Italian products import business and also a produce stand. Catalano brought oranges, bananas, olive oil and garlic to Cleveland. St. Anthony's Church was established in 1887 to serve the Italian community. The parish merged with St. Bridget's at E. 22nd and Scovill. St. Bridget's eventually moved to Parma in 1956. When Big Italy deteriorated, the residents there moved to Collinwood, Little Italy, the Kinsman area and also Fulton Road.

The Flats are also located in Downtown Cleveland. This area is at the base of the Cuyahoga River. Cleveland's first settlers chose these lowlands to settle on. But, because it was a swamp and because it was ridden with disease, they moved to higher ground. The flats were home to docks and warehouses after the opening of the Ohio and Erie Canal in 1827. The flats contained iron furnaces, steel mills, foundries, lumberyards, shipyards, flour mills, oil refineries and other industries. In the 1970's, the Flats saw new development as restaurants and nightclubs were built.

The Haymarket area was south and west of Public Square. It began as a market and later became a residential and commercial area. It was bounded on the north by Race Avenue and on the south by Harrison Street. On the east was Ontario Street and on the west was the Cuyahoga River. In 1839 a wooden building was erected and was the first municipal marketplace at the corner of Michigan and Ontario. Farmers would bring their goods to the market and sell produce and hay. In 1874, the YMCA opened the Central Friendly Inn. The Salvation Army opened a barracks. In 1878, Myra Merrick opened the Children's Free Medical and Surgical Dispensary. The majority of the area was torn down in order to build the Cleveland Union Terminal in the 1920s. This area also became home to the Gateway complex.

The Warehouse District is located north and west of Superior Avenue and West Third St. Before 1850, this was the original residential area of Cleveland. By the mid 1850s commercial building became popular and dominated the area. This commercial area held wholesale grocers and dry goods suppliers. There were also a few hotels and the earliest theater, The Academy of Music. Since the 1950's, much of this area had been torn down to install parking lots. Today, this area is populated with condominiums, restaurants, nightclubs and various businesses.

MAJOR ETHNIC GROUPS:

Irish, Jews, Syrians, Lebanese.

NEARBY CEMETERIES: For a Spreadsheet showing where records can be found for the cemeteries mentioned below, see this site: http://usgenwebsites.org/OHCuyahoga/Cemeteries/index.html

Erie Street Cemetery - 2291 E. 9th

Erie Street Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Cleveland and is a City owned cemetery. Its records are located at Highland Park Cemetery. Many who are buried here were Cleveland's earliest settlers. Phone number for Highland Park Cemetery is: 216-348-7210

Monroe Cemetery

Scranton Cemetery

Woodland Cemetery

Lakeview Cemetery

St. Joseph Cemetery

St. John Cemetery

Willet Cemetery

CHURCHES: Click here to see church histories and possibly pictures of the churches below

https://sites.google.com/site/faqcuyahogactyresearch/cleveland-pastors-and-their-churches/cleveland-individual-church-histories

First Presbyterian - Old Stone Church

Plymouth Congregatinal

Schifflein Christi Evangelical Independent