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Cleveland

Cleveland [1] is a culturally diverse city on the shores of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA. Recreational, cultural and educational opportunities are abundant throughout Northeast Ohio. You'll find world-class museums and cultural events, exciting professional sports and amusement parks, and the most golf courses per capita in the United States. Places Rated Almanac ranks the area second in recreational options out of 354 US metro areas. Plus, this region ranks fifth in the nation in number of major cultural resources per one million residents. Cleveland is where the East Coast meets the Midwest, come see for yourself.

Districts

  • Downtown - The downtown district includes the area at the heart of the city around the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, including the Flats, Terminal Tower, the Warehouse District, Playhouse Square, the East 4th neighborhood, North Coast Harbor, and the sports arenas.
  • East Side - The East Side is the portion of the city to the east of the river, including the city's world-class cultural and arts complex, and contains the following neighborhoods: Buckeye-Shaker Square, Central, Collinwood, Corlett, Euclid-Green, Fairfax, Forest Hills, Glenville, Payne/Goodrich-Kirtland Park, Hough, Kinsman, Lee Harvard/Seville-Miles, Mount Pleasant, Nottingham, Slavic Village, St. Clair-Superior, Union-Miles Park, University Circle, Little Italy, and Woodland Hills.
  • West Side - The West Side is the portion of the city to the west of the river, including the West Side market and the airport, and contains the following neighborhoods: Brooklyn Centre, Clark-Fulton, Detroit-Shoreway, Cudell, Edgewater, Ohio City, Old Brooklyn, Stockyards, Tremont, West Boulevard, and the four neighborhoods colloquially known as West Park: Kamm's Corners, Jefferson, Puritas-Longmead, and Riverside.

Culture and History

Cleveland is the urban center of Northeast Ohio, the 14th largest combined metropolitan area in the United States. Throughout the twentieth century, the City of Cleveland proper was ranked as one of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. (from 1890 until 1970 per US Census Bureau statistics). Like most U.S. cities, Cleveland proper began to lose population to suburban areas in the 1960s and 1970s. However, in the mid-1980s, Cleveland earned the nickname the "Comeback City" as the urban core experienced a dramatic revitalization process that continues today. As its "comeback" has continued, the official moniker is now the New American City as Cleveland has rightfully earned the reputation as a model of effective public-private partnership for urban planning.

Despite the common perception that Cleveland is an industrial town, just beyond the automotive and steel plants, a clean and beautiful downtown rises at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on the southern shore of Lake Erie (often marvelled over by visitors who are surprised you can't see the other side, i.e., Canada). Like other cities in the so-called "rust belt", Cleveland has endured growing pains as it makes its transition from a manufacturing-based economy. While Cleveland continues to play a leading role in building the U.S. industrial base, it has also developed economic prowess in the fields of health care, law, finance, insurance, real estate development, and professional services.

Another thing non-locals don't often realize is that Cleveland's long history of industrial wealth has left it chock full of cultural riches as well as the beginnings of a "sustainable city" movement. Serving as a global model for urban rebirth, Cleveland has been named one of the top 10 international visitor hotspots by Travel and Leisure magazine. For decades, the city has boasted of:

  • a "Big Five" orchestra (The Cleveland Orchestra [2]),
  • the second largest performing arts center in the U.S. (Playhouse Square Center [3]),
  • a world-renowned art museum (The Cleveland Museum of Art [4]),
  • the nation's first health museum (HealthSpace Cleveland [5]),
  • R&D hub of the aerospace and aviation industry (the NASA Glenn Research & Visitors Center [6]) and
  • a number of other first-rate attractions (too many to mention here - read on).

During its "comeback" years, Cleveland has added:

  • the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum [7],
  • the Great Lakes Science Center [8] with Omnimax theatre, and
  • four new sports facilities in the downtown area - Progressive Field ("Still known as "The Jake" after a recent corporate name change) for the Major League Baseball Indians, QuickenLoans Arena ("The Q") for the NBA Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns Stadium for the NFL Browns and the Wolstein Center for the Cleveland State University Vikings basketball team.

Climate

Cleveland experiences four seasons, with vibrant spring blossoms, sun-filled steamy summers, breathtaking colorful autumns, and often frigid white winters.

  • July, on average, is the warmest month with a mean temperature of 71.9 °F (22.2 °C); however, Cleveland summers often experience temperatures in the high 80's to low 90's °F with relatively high humidity.
  • January, on average, is the coolest month with a mean temperature of 25.7 °F (−3.5 °C); however, Cleveland winters are often marked by short periods of heavy snowfall and occasionally experience windchill factors below 0 °F. Also, due to Cleveland's position on the southern shore of Lake Erie (at the point where the shoreline shifts from an east-west to a northeast-southwest orientation), the city (primarily the East Side) experiences Lake Effect snow from mid-November until the surface of Lake Erie freezes (typically by early February). The Snow Belt which receives substantially more snowfall than the West Side, begins on the East Side of Cleveland (spreading southward from the Lake for up to 10 miles in Greater Cleveland) and stretches northeast along the I-90 corridor past Buffalo, New York as far as Syracuse.
  • Due to its proximity to Lake Erie, Autumn in Cleveland has some of the best weather of the year. Some years, mid-70-degree weather can be enjoyed through Halloween, without the humidity of the summer months.

Books and Guides

If visiting Cleveland for the first time (or you've lived there your whole life), these are some 'must' reads:

  • Cleveland on Foot - 50 Hikes and Walks in Greater Cleveland and Beyond Cleveland on Foot (2nd Edition) - a guide to experiencing the Emerald Necklace (Cleveland Metroparks) and many of the city's other treasures.
  • Cleveland Ethnic Eats - a guide to experiencing the taste of this remarkably diverse melting pot.
  • Showplace of America: Cleveland's Euclid Avenue - once considered among the most beautiful and wealthy corridors in the world, read about the tightly knit community where Corporate America was born (including the likes of John D. Rockefeller).
  • The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History - the rich history of Cleveland includes the story of the industrial revolution (Ohio is where most world-wide modern technology was invented or innovated), the roots of a vibrant arts and cultural mecca, and description of the proto-typical 'melting pot' of America. This is a thick book, but answers just about any question that arises - perhaps plan a stop at a Cleveland or Cuyahoga County Public Library.

Newspapers

  • Cleveland Plain Dealer, [9]. Known locally as the "P.D.", the Plain Dealer is the largest local daily newspaper and Cleveland's paper of record.
  • Cleveland Scene, [10]. A free weekly paper containing a lot of entertainment information.
  • The Free Times, [11]. A free weekly paper.
  • Sun Newspapers, community papers with a ton of different versions providing local info on every part of town and throughout the suburbs.
  • Lakewood Observer, [12], a free paper from the suburb of Lakewood (west side).

Tourism Packages

  • Positively Cleveland - Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, 100 Public Square, The Higbee Building, Hotline +1 800-321-1004, +1 216 875-6600, +1 800 321-1001, Main fax: +1 216 621-5967, Tourism fax: +1 216 623-4499, Housing fax +1 216 623-4495, cvb@positivelycleveland.com, [13].

Travel to Cleveland & Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Cleveland