Old Brooklyn
Encyclopedia
Old 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 hamlet of Brighton, centered at the present-day intersection of Pearl and Broadview Roads. The Brighton area was incorporated as South Brooklyn Village in 1889 and then annexed with other surrounding villages by the City of Cleveland during the years of 1905-1927.
The first instance of European habitation, here, may have occurred prior to Brighton's founding, when fur trader Joseph Du Shattar established a trading post
on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River, across from Newburgh, in about 1790.
During the late 1880s, farmers in the Schaaf Road area (now known as South Hills) were among the first in the Midwest to use greenhouses to cultivate vegetables. By the 1920s the neighborhood was one of the nation's leading producers of greenhouse vegetables, with more than 100 acre (0.404686 km²) under glass. Most of the greenhouses were displaced during the past three decades by new housing and the construction of Ohio Rt. 176 (Jennings Freeway).
Old Brooklyn's most notable landmark, the Cleveland Zoo
, was created in 1907 when Cleveland's Park Board relocated the Zoo from University Circle
on Cleveland's east side to Brookside Park. The 145-acre park lies entirely within Old Brooklyn and is one of the 16 nature preserve reservations of the Cleveland Metroparks
system.
Brookside Park also has a place in sporting lore, having hosted the reputedly largest baseball
crowd in Cleveland's history, when the White Autos of Cleveland met Omaha in the World Amateur Baseball Championship. On October 10, 1915, a reported crowd of 115,000 sprawled along and below the park's northern bluff, directly west of today's Fulton Road Bridge
, and cheered as the home team seized the day.
Commercial development in Old Brooklyn reached its apex during the period of 1920-1960. Shopping districts spread along Pearl, Broadview, and State Roads and were followed, after World War II
, by the development of shopping plaza
s at the intersections of Memphis-Fulton, Broadview-Brookpark, and Pearl-Brookpark. The original Honey Hut ice cream shop, a favorite of many West-siders, can be found on State Road near the south end of the community.
The most ambitious period of residential construction extended from the early 20th century to the 1950s. During the 1980s and 1990s, residential development experienced a resurgence, particularly in the South Hills and Jennings Road areas. Housing values in Old Brooklyn, today, are among the highest within Cleveland proper.
The neighborhood's secondary students generally attend James Ford Rhodes High School
, whose most recognizable graduate is Drew Carey
of television fame. The Carey program
's "Warsaw Tavern" was patterned after a bar near the Memphis-Fulton intersection, which hosts one of the highest concentrations of bars and restaurants in Greater Cleveland. Another Old Brooklyn native, the late Mary Strassmeyer, was the gossip columnist for the Cleveland News and The Plain Dealer.
The Jeremiah Gates Home, built in 1820 and located at 3506 Memphis Avenue, is believed to be the oldest residence in Old Brooklyn. Other notable landmarks include the Brooklyn-Brighton Bridge, the Estabrook Recreation Center, and the Italian Gothic
-style Our Lady of Good Counsel Church (now called Mary Queen of Peace) atop Pearl Road Hill.
Future developments include the Treadway Creek Greenway Restoration project, which is intended to restore and preserve 208 acre (0.84174688 km²) of riparian corridor as well as to open space along Treadway Creek. The project includes a trail connecting the neighborhood to the Ohio and Erie Canal
National Heritage Corridor's Towpath Trail. Additionally, plans also include a possible connection in the trial that would link the Big Creek reservation
with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
.
Old Brooklyn encompasses all of Cleveland's Ward 13, the southwestern portion of Ward 12, and the southern tip of Ward 3. Its population, according to the 2000 census, was 34,169.
Ohio
Ohio 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...
, extending east-to-west from the Cuyahoga River
Cuyahoga River
The 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...
to the City of Brooklyn
Brooklyn, Ohio
Brooklyn is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,169 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Brooklyn is located at ....
and north-to-south from the Brookside Park Valley to the City of Parma
Parma, Ohio
Parma 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...
. Originally a portion of Brooklyn Township, the area was settled permanently in 1814 as the hamlet of Brighton, centered at the present-day intersection of Pearl and Broadview Roads. The Brighton area was incorporated as South Brooklyn Village in 1889 and then annexed with other surrounding villages by the City of Cleveland during the years of 1905-1927.
The first instance of European habitation, here, may have occurred prior to Brighton's founding, when fur trader Joseph Du Shattar established a trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River, across from Newburgh, in about 1790.
During the late 1880s, farmers in the Schaaf Road area (now known as South Hills) were among the first in the Midwest to use greenhouses to cultivate vegetables. By the 1920s the neighborhood was one of the nation's leading producers of greenhouse vegetables, with more than 100 acre (0.404686 km²) under glass. Most of the greenhouses were displaced during the past three decades by new housing and the construction of Ohio Rt. 176 (Jennings Freeway).
Old Brooklyn's most notable landmark, the Cleveland Zoo
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
The 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...
, was created in 1907 when Cleveland's Park Board relocated the Zoo from University Circle
University Circle
University 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...
on Cleveland's east side to Brookside Park. The 145-acre park lies entirely within Old Brooklyn and is one of the 16 nature preserve reservations of the Cleveland Metroparks
Cleveland Metroparks
Cleveland 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.
Brookside Park also has a place in sporting lore, having hosted the reputedly largest baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
crowd in Cleveland's history, when the White Autos of Cleveland met Omaha in the World Amateur Baseball Championship. On October 10, 1915, a reported crowd of 115,000 sprawled along and below the park's northern bluff, directly west of today's Fulton Road Bridge
Fulton Road Bridge
The Fulton Road Bridge is the name of two bridges in Cleveland, Ohio, the original and its replacement. The bridge in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood spans the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Big Creek , John Nagy Boulevard, and Norfolk Southern and CSX railroad tracks.-The original Fulton Road...
, and cheered as the home team seized the day.
Commercial development in Old Brooklyn reached its apex during the period of 1920-1960. Shopping districts spread along Pearl, Broadview, and State Roads and were followed, after World War II
World War II
World 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...
, by the development of shopping plaza
Strip mall
A strip mall is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front...
s at the intersections of Memphis-Fulton, Broadview-Brookpark, and Pearl-Brookpark. The original Honey Hut ice cream shop, a favorite of many West-siders, can be found on State Road near the south end of the community.
The most ambitious period of residential construction extended from the early 20th century to the 1950s. During the 1980s and 1990s, residential development experienced a resurgence, particularly in the South Hills and Jennings Road areas. Housing values in Old Brooklyn, today, are among the highest within Cleveland proper.
The neighborhood's secondary students generally attend James Ford Rhodes High School
James Ford Rhodes High School
James Ford Rhodes High School is located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, in the west-side neighborhood known as Old Brooklyn. It is part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and is commonly referred to as "Rhodes High School."...
, whose most recognizable graduate is Drew Carey
Drew Carey
Drew 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...
of television fame. The Carey program
The Drew Carey Show
The 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....
's "Warsaw Tavern" was patterned after a bar near the Memphis-Fulton intersection, which hosts one of the highest concentrations of bars and restaurants in Greater Cleveland. Another Old Brooklyn native, the late Mary Strassmeyer, was the gossip columnist for the Cleveland News and The Plain Dealer.
Italian Gothic architecture
The Gothic architecture appeared in Italy in the 12th century. Italian Gothic always maintained peculiar characteristic which differentiated its evolution from that in France, where it had originated, and in other European countries...
-style Our Lady of Good Counsel Church (now called Mary Queen of Peace) atop Pearl Road Hill.
Future developments include the Treadway Creek Greenway Restoration project, which is intended to restore and preserve 208 acre (0.84174688 km²) of riparian corridor as well as to open space along Treadway Creek. The project includes a trail connecting the neighborhood to the Ohio and Erie Canal
Ohio and Erie Canal
The 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...
National Heritage Corridor's Towpath Trail. Additionally, plans also include a possible connection in the trial that would link the Big Creek reservation
Cleveland Metroparks
Cleveland 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...
with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
The 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...
.
Old Brooklyn encompasses all of Cleveland's Ward 13, the southwestern portion of Ward 12, and the southern tip of Ward 3. Its population, according to the 2000 census, was 34,169.
Boundaries
Old Brooklyn is bounded on the north by Interstate 71 and by Denison Ave. The western boundary is Ridge Road, the southern is Brookpark Road, and the eastern is State Route 176 (the Jennings Freeway).External links
- City Planning Commission (of Cleveland)
- Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition
- Cleveland State University's "Neighborhood Link"
- Cuyahoga County Natural Resources Assistance Council
- Ohio and Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor
- Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation
- Old Brooklyn Blogs
- The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History