Cleveland

Founding by James G. C. Hamilton 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. Ohio City remained an independent municipality until its annexation by Cleveland in 1854. 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. of Cleveland in 1877 Cleveland's economic growth and industrial jobs attracted large waves of immigrants from Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Ireland. Early to mid 1900s 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. 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. , Slovene, Polish, and Yiddish, advertising English classes for immigrants in Cleveland 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, 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 during the strike wave that occurred the U.S. that year. Cleveland's population grew 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. and East 9th Street with the Hickox Building in 1918 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. 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. Late 1900s to 2000s Cleveland experienced an economic boom after WWII and businesses declared the city to be the "best location in the nation". In 1950, its population reached 914,808. By the 1960s, Cleveland's economy slowed and residents sought new housing in the suburbs, reflecting national trends of suburban growth 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. and the Fountain of Eternal Life by Marshall Fredericks 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 was 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 eroded 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, By the 21st century, Cleveland had developed a more diversified economy and gained a national reputation as a center for healthcare and the arts. The city's downtown and several neighborhoods experienced significant population growth since 2010, while overall population decline has slowed. ==Geography==

satellite photograph of Cleveland at night The city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The shore of Lake Erie is 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 inland, sits at an elevation of , and Hopkins Airport, inland from the lake, is at an elevation of . Cleveland borders several inner-ring and streetcar suburbs. 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. The Cleveland Trust Company Building was completed in 1907 and renovated in 2015 as a downtown Heinen's supermarket. 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 other ethnically inspired Catholic churches. File:Arcade (48249762776).jpg|Cleveland Arcade, 1890 File:Cleveland Trust Company Building, Euclid Avenue and East 9th Street, Cleveland, OH.jpg|Cleveland Trust Company Building, 1907 File:Palace lobby.jpg|Connor Palace Theatre, 1922 File:Cleveland Public Square Fountain (29744768716).jpg|Tower City Center, 1929 File:Grand Foyer, Severance Hall, University Circle, Cleveland, OH - 52992001701.jpg|Grand foyer of Severance Hall, 1931 Neighborhoods neighborhood at night The Cleveland City Planning Commission has designated 34 neighborhoods in Cleveland. Centered on Public Square, Downtown Cleveland is the city's central business district, encompassing subdistricts such as the Nine-Twelve District, the Campus District, the Civic Center, East 4th Street, Playhouse Square, and the Short Vincent entertainment district. Mixed-use areas, such as the Warehouse District and the Superior Arts District, are occupied by industrial and office buildings as well as restaurants, cafes, and bars. Clevelanders geographically define themselves by whether they live on the east or west side of the Cuyahoga River. The East Side includes the neighborhoods of Buckeye–Shaker, Buckeye–Woodhill, Central, Collinwood (including Nottingham), Euclid–Green, Fairfax, Glenville, Goodrich–Kirtland Park (including Asiatown), Hough, Kinsman, Lee–Miles (including Lee–Harvard and Lee–Seville), Mount Pleasant, St. Clair–Superior, Union–Miles Park, and University Circle (including Little Italy). The West Side includes the neighborhoods of Brooklyn Centre, Clark–Fulton, Cudell, Detroit–Shoreway, Edgewater, Ohio City, Old Brooklyn, Stockyards, Tremont (including Duck Island), West Boulevard, and the four neighborhoods colloquially known as West Park: Kamm's Corners, Jefferson, Bellaire–Puritas, and Hopkins. The Cuyahoga Valley neighborhood (including Whiskey Island and the Flats) is situated between the East and West Sides, while Broadway–Slavic Village is sometimes referred to as the South Side. Several neighborhoods have seen the return of the middle class that left the city for the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s, including Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit–Shoreway, and Edgewater on the West side, and Collinwood, Hough, Fairfax, and Little Italy on the East Side. The growth was spurred by attracting creative class members, which has facilitated new residential development and the transformation of old industrial buildings into loft spaces for artists. Climate Cleveland exhibits a humid continental (Köppen: Dfa) or humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa) climate, depending on the isotherm used. Due to its proximity to Lake Erie, Cleveland experiences milder temperatures than much of Ohio, with relatively cooler summers and warmer winters. East of the mouth of the Cuyahoga, the land elevation rises rapidly in the south. Together with the prevailing winds off Lake Erie, this feature is the principal contributor to the lake-effect snow that is typical in Cleveland (especially on the city's East Side) from mid-November until the surface of the lake freezes, usually in late January or early February. The lake effect causes a relative differential in geographical snowfall totals across the city. On the city's far West Side, the Hopkins neighborhood only reached of snowfall in a season three times since record-keeping for snow began in 1893. By contrast, seasonal totals approaching or exceeding are not uncommon as the city ascends into the Heights on the east, where the region known as the "Snow Belt" begins. Extending from the city's East Side and its suburbs, the Snow Belt reaches up the Lake Erie shore as far as Buffalo. The all-time record high in Cleveland of was established on June 25, 1988, and the all-time record low of was set on January 19, 1994. On average, July is the warmest month with a mean temperature of , and January, with a mean temperature of , is the coldest. Normal yearly precipitation based on the 30-year average from 1991 to 2020 is . The least precipitation occurs on the western side and directly along the lake, and the most occurs in the eastern suburbs. Parts of Geauga County to the east receive over of liquid precipitation annually. Environment and the Cuyahoga River in Downtown Cleveland, with Jacobs Pavilion, Cleveland's amphitheater With its extensive cleanup of its Lake Erie shore and the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland has been recognized by national media as an environmental success story and a national leader in environmental protection. It was the river fire of June 1969 that spurred the city to action under Mayor Carl B. Stokes, and played a key role in the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 and the National Environmental Policy Act later that year. In addition to continued efforts to improve freshwater and air quality, Cleveland is now exploring renewable energy. The city's two main electrical utilities are FirstEnergy and Cleveland Public Power. Its climate action plan, updated in December 2018, has a 2050 target of 100% renewable power, along with reduction of greenhouse gases to 80% below the 2010 level. In recent decades, Cleveland has been working to address the issue of harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie, fed primarily by agricultural runoff, which have presented new environmental challenges for the city and for northern Ohio. ==Demographics==

Cleveland has seen a population decline over the past century. The city's population was 914,808 according to the 1950 Census. By 1980, this number had fallen to 573,822. According to the 2020 census, there were 372,624 people and 170,549 households in Cleveland. The population density was . The median household income was $30,907 and the per capita income was $21,223. 32.7% of the population was living below the poverty line. Of the city's population over the age of 25, 17.5% held a bachelor's degree or higher, and 80.8% had a high school diploma or equivalent. , the racial and ethnic composition of the city was 47.5% African American, 32.1% non-Hispanic white, 13.1% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.2% Native American, and 3.8% from two or more races. Ethnicity In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Cleveland saw a massive influx of immigrants from Ireland, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian, German, Russian, and Ottoman empires, most of whom were attracted by manufacturing jobs. Cleveland has a long-established Jewish community, historically centered on the East Side neighborhoods of Glenville and Kinsman, but now mostly concentrated in East Side suburbs such as Cleveland Heights and Beachwood, location of the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the South. Between 1910 and 1970, the black population of Cleveland, largely concentrated on the city's East Side, increased significantly as a result of the First and Second Great Migrations. The city's Asian community, centered on historical Asiatown, consists of Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, and other groups. Additionally, the city and the county have significant communities of Albanians, Arabs (especially Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians), Armenians, French, Greeks, Iranians, Scots, and West Indians. Religion The influx of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries drastically transformed Cleveland's religious landscape. From a homogeneous settlement of New England Protestants, it evolved into a city with a diverse religious composition. The predominant faith among Clevelanders today is Christianity, with Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist minorities. Immigration Within Cleveland, the neighborhoods with the highest foreign-born populations are Asiatown/Goodrich–Kirtland Park (32.7%), Clark–Fulton (26.7%), West Boulevard (18.5%), Brooklyn Centre (17.3%), Downtown (17.2%), University Circle (15.9%, with 20% in Little Italy), and Jefferson (14.3%). Recent waves of immigration have brought new groups to Cleveland, including Ethiopians and South Asians, as well as immigrants from Russia and the former USSR, Southeast Europe (especially Albania), A 2019 study found Cleveland to be the city with the shortest average processing time in the nation for immigrants to become U.S. citizens. The city's annual One World Day in Rockefeller Park includes a naturalization ceremony of new immigrants. ==Economy==

on East 6th Street Cleveland's location on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie has been key to its growth as a major commercial center. Its downtown building, located on East 6th Street and Superior Avenue, was completed in 1923 by the Cleveland architectural firm Walker and Weeks. The headquarters of the Federal Reserve System's Fourth District, the bank employs 1,000 people and maintains branch offices in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Healthcare Healthcare plays a major role in Cleveland's economy. The city's "Big Three" hospital systems are the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and MetroHealth. The Cleveland Clinic is the largest private employer in the state of Ohio, with a workforce of over 55,000 . It carries the distinction of being one of the best hospital systems in the world. The clinic is led by Croatian-born president and CEO Tomislav Mihaljevic and it is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. University Hospitals includes the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and its Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. Cliff Megerian serves as that system's CEO. MetroHealth on the city's west side is led by president and CEO Christine Alexander-Rager. Formerly known as City Hospital, it operates one of two Level I trauma centers in the city, and has various locations throughout Greater Cleveland. In 2013, Cleveland's Global Center for Health Innovation opened with of display space for healthcare companies across the world. To take advantage of the proximity of universities and other medical centers in Cleveland, the Veterans Administration moved the region's VA hospital from suburban Brecksville to a new facility in University Circle. ==Arts and culture==

Theater and performing arts Cleveland's Playhouse Square is the second largest performing arts center in the U.S. behind New York City's Lincoln Center. It includes the State, Palace, Allen, Hanna, and Ohio theaters. A city with strong traditions in theater and vaudeville, Cleveland has produced many renowned performers, most prominently comedian Bob Hope. Outside Playhouse Square is Karamu House, the oldest African American theater in the nation, established in 1915. On the West Side, the Gordon Square Arts District in the Detroit–Shoreway neighborhood is the location of the Capitol Theatre, the Near West Theatre, and an Off-Off-Broadway playhouse, the Cleveland Public Theatre. Music performing at Severance Hall The Cleveland Orchestra is widely considered one of the world's finest orchestras, and often referred to as the finest in the nation. It is one of the "Big Five" major orchestras in the U.S. The orchestra plays at Severance Hall in University Circle during the winter and at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls during the summer. The city is also home to the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra, the Cleveland Youth Orchestra, the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, and the biennial Cleveland International Piano Competition which has, in the past, often featured the Cleveland Orchestra. One Playhouse Square, now the headquarters for Cleveland's public broadcasters, was initially used as the broadcast studios of WJW (AM), where disc jockey Alan Freed first popularized the term "rock and roll". Its popularity in the city was so great that Billy Bass, the program director at the WMMS radio station, referred to Cleveland as "The Rock and Roll Capital of the World". Legendary pianist Art Tatum regularly played in Cleveland clubs in the 1930s, Prominent jazz artist Noble Sissle was a graduate of Cleveland Central High School, and Artie Shaw worked and performed in Cleveland early in his career. Film and television , one of the first films made in Cleveland The first film shot in Cleveland was in 1897 by the company of Ohioan Thomas Edison. Before Hollywood became the center for American cinema, filmmaker Samuel Brodsky and playwright Robert McLaughlin operated a film studio at the Andrews mansion on Euclid Avenue (now the WEWS-TV studio). There they produced major silent-era features, such as Dangerous Toys (1921), which are now considered lost. Brodsky also directed the weekly Plain Dealer Screen Magazine that ran in theaters in Cleveland and Ohio from 1917 to 1924. In the "talkie" era, Cleveland featured in several major studio films, such as Michael Curtiz's pre-Code classic Goodbye Again (1933) with Warren William and Joan Blondell. Players from the 1948 Cleveland Indians appeared in The Kid from Cleveland (1949). Billy Wilder's The Fortune Cookie (1966) was set and filmed in the city and marked the first onscreen pairing of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. Labor struggles in Cleveland were depicted in Native Land (1942), narrated by Paul Robeson, and in Norman Jewison's F.I.S.T. (1978) with Sylvester Stallone. Clevelander Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise (1984) – a deadpan comedy about two New Yorkers who travel to Florida by way of Cleveland – was a favorite of the Cannes Film Festival. Major League (1989) reflected the perennial struggles of the Cleveland Indians, while American Splendor (2003) reflected the life of Cleveland graphic novelist Harvey Pekar. Kill the Irishman (2011) depicted the 1970s turf war between Danny Greene and the Cleveland crime family. In television, the city is the setting for the popular network sitcom The Drew Carey Show, starring Cleveland native Drew Carey. Hot in Cleveland, a comedy that aired on TV Land, premiered on June 16, 2010, and ran for six seasons until its finale on June 3, 2015. Cleveland Hustles, the CNBC reality show co-created by LeBron James, was filmed in the city. In 1925, Russian Futurist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky came to Cleveland and gave a poetry recitation to the city's ethnic working class, as part of his trip to America. The Cleveland State University Poetry Center serves as an academic center for poetry in the city. Langston Hughes, preeminent poet of the Harlem Renaissance and child of an itinerant couple, lived in Cleveland as a teenager and attended Central High School in Cleveland in the 1910s. At Central High, the young writer was taught by Helen Maria Chesnutt, daughter of Cleveland-born African American novelist Charles W. Chesnutt. Hughes authored some of his earliest poems, plays, and short stories in Cleveland and contributed to the school newspaper. The African American avant-garde poet Russell Atkins lived in the city as well. The American modernist poet Hart Crane was born in nearby Garrettsville, Ohio in 1899. His adolescence was divided between Cleveland and Akron before he moved to New York City in 1916. Cleveland was the home of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, who created the comic book character Superman in 1933. Harlan Ellison, noted author of speculative fiction, was born in Cleveland in 1934. As a young man, he published a series of short stories appearing in the Cleveland News, and performed in a number of productions for the Cleveland Play House. Cleveland is the site of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, which recognizes books that have contributed to the understanding of racism and human diversity. Presented by the Cleveland Foundation, it remains the only American book prize focusing on works that address racism and diversity. Museums and galleries Cleveland has two main art museums. The Cleveland Museum of Art is a major American art museum, with a collection that includes more than 60,000 works of art. The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland showcases established and emerging artists, particularly from the Cleveland area, through hosting and producing temporary exhibitions. Both museums offer free admission to visitors. The I. M. Pei-designed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located on Cleveland's Lake Erie waterfront at North Coast Harbor downtown. Neighboring attractions include Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Steamship Mather Museum, the International Women's Air & Space Museum, and the , a World War II submarine. Designed by architect Levi T. Scofield, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at Public Square is Cleveland's major Civil War memorial and a major attraction in the city. Other city attractions include Grays Armory, the Cleveland Masonic Temple, and the Children's Museum of Cleveland. A Cleveland holiday attraction, especially for fans of Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story, is the Christmas Story House and Museum in Tremont. Annual events in Cleveland's Little Italy Cleveland hosts the WinterLand holiday display lighting festival annually at Public Square. The Cleveland International Film Festival has been held in the city since 1977, and the Cleveland Silent Film Festival has been held since 2022. The Cleveland National Air Show, an indirect successor to the National Air Races, has been held at the city's Burke Lakefront Airport since 1964. The Great Lakes Burning River Fest, a two-night music and beer festival at Whiskey Island, has been sponsored by the Great Lakes Brewing Company since 2001. Many ethnic festivals are held in Cleveland throughout the year. These include the annual Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy, Russian Maslenitsa in Rockefeller Park, the Puerto Rican Parade and Cultural Festival in Clark–Fulton, the Cleveland Asian Festival in Asiatown, the Tremont Greek Fest, and the St. Mary Romanian Festival in West Park. Cleveland also hosts annual Polish Dyngus Day and Slovene Kurentovanje celebrations. The city's annual Saint Patrick's Day parade brings hundreds of thousands to the streets of Downtown. The Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival held each spring at Cleveland State University is the largest Indian classical music and dance festival in the world outside of India. Since 1946, the city has annually marked One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park, celebrating all of its ethnic communities. In addition, the city boasts a vibrant barbecue and soul food scene. Slyman's Deli on Cleveland's near East Side is notable for its corned beef sandwich, with patrons including former US Presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden. Another celebrated sandwich, the Polish Boy, is a popular street food and Cleveland original frequently sold at downtown hot dog carts and stadium concession stands. Brown stadium mustard is synonymous with Cleveland, especially Bertman Original Ballpark Mustard. Another notable local food item with Depression-era roots is city chicken. With its blue-collar roots well intact, and plenty of Lake Erie perch and walleye available, the tradition of Friday night fish fries remains alive and thriving in Cleveland, particularly in ethnic parish-based settings, especially during the season of Lent. Clambakes are likewise embedded into the city's culinary culture. For dessert, the Cleveland Cassata Cake is a unique treat invented in the local Italian community and served in Italian establishments throughout the city. Another popular dessert, the locally crafted Russian Tea Biscuit, is common in many Jewish bakeries in Cleveland. Cleveland is noted in the world of celebrity food culture. Famous local figures include chef Michael Symon and food writer Michael Ruhlman, both of whom achieved local and national attention for their contributions to the culinary world. In 2007, Symon helped gain the spotlight when he was named "The Next Iron Chef" on the Food Network. That same year, Ruhlman collaborated with Anthony Bourdain, to do an episode of his Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations focusing on Cleveland's restaurant scene. Breweries Ohio produces the fifth most beer in the U.S., with its largest brewery being Cleveland's Great Lakes Brewing Company. Cleveland has had a long history of brewing, tied to many of its ethnic immigrants, and has reemerged as a regional leader in production. Dozens of breweries exist within city limits, including large producers such as Market Garden Brewery and Platform Beer Company. Although breweries can be found throughout the city, the highest concentration is in the Ohio City neighborhood. Cleveland hosts expansions from other countries as well, including the Scottish BrewDog and German Hofbrauhaus. ==Sports==

Cleveland's major professional sports teams are the Cleveland Guardians (Major League Baseball), the Cleveland Browns (National Football League), and the Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association). Other professional teams include the Cleveland Monsters (American Hockey League), the Cleveland Charge (NBA G League), the Cleveland Crunch (Major League Indoor Soccer), Cleveland SC (National Premier Soccer League), and the Cleveland Fusion (Women's Football Alliance). Local sporting venues include Progressive Field, Huntington Bank Field, Rocket Arena, the Wolstein Center, and Public Auditorium. Professional Major League Minor League The Cleveland Guardians – known as the Indians from 1915 to 2021 – won the World Series in 1920 and 1948. They also won the American League pennant, making the World Series in the 1954, 1995, 1997, and 2016 seasons. Between 1995 and 2001, the team sold out 455 consecutive games, a Major League Baseball record that stood until 2008. Historically, the Browns have been among the most successful franchises in American football history, winning eight titles during a short period of time – 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1955, and 1964. The Browns have never played in a Super Bowl, getting close five times by making it to the NFL/AFC Championship Game in 1968, 1969, 1986, 1987, and 1989. Former owner Art Modell's relocation of the Browns after the 1995 season caused tremendous heartbreak and resentment among local fans. After a series of lawsuits, a compromise was reached between Modell, Cleveland mayor Michael R. White, and NFL and Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to bring back the Browns beginning in the 1999 season, retaining all team history. In Cleveland's earlier football history, the Cleveland Bulldogs won the NFL Championship in 1924, and the Cleveland Rams won the NFL Championship in 1945 before relocating to Los Angeles. The Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference in 2007, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 but were defeated in the NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs and then by the Golden State Warriors, respectively. The Cavs won the Conference again in 2016 and won their first NBA Championship coming back from a 3–1 deficit, finally defeating the Golden State Warriors. Afterwards, over 1.3 million people attended a parade held in the Cavs' honor on June 22, 2016, in downtown Cleveland. Previously, the Cleveland Rosenblums dominated the original American Basketball League, and the Cleveland Pipers, owned by George Steinbrenner, won the American Basketball League championship in 1962. The Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League won the 2016 Calder Cup. They were the first Cleveland AHL team to do so since the 1964 Barons. College Collegiately, NCAA Division I Cleveland State Vikings have 19 varsity sports, nationally known for their Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team. NCAA Division III Case Western Reserve Spartans have 17 varsity sports, most known for their Case Western Reserve Spartans football team. The headquarters of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) are in Cleveland. The conference stages both its men's and women's basketball tournaments at Rocket Arena. Annual and special events The Cleveland Marathon has been hosted annually since 1978, and a monument commemorating one of Cleveland's most prominent track and field athletes, Jesse Owens, stands at the city's Fort Huntington Park. The second American Chess Congress, a predecessor to the U.S. Championship, was held in Cleveland in 1871, and won by George Henry Mackenzie. The 1921 and 1957 U.S. Open Chess Championships took place in the city, and were won by Edward Lasker and Bobby Fischer, respectively. The Cleveland Open is held annually. In 2014, Cleveland hosted the ninth official Gay Games ceremony. In July 2024, the city hosted the Pan American Masters Games. ==Parks and recreation==

in winter from Edgewater Park Known locally as the "Emerald Necklace", the Olmsted-inspired Cleveland Metroparks encircle Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. The city proper encompasses the Metroparks' Brookside and Lakefront Reservations, as well as significant parts of the Rocky River, Washington, and Euclid Creek Reservations. The Lakefront Reservation, which provides public access to Lake Erie, consists of four parks: Edgewater Park, Whiskey Island–Wendy Park, East 55th Street Marina, and Gordon Park. Three more parks fall under the jurisdiction of the Euclid Creek Reservation: Euclid Beach, Villa Angela, and Wildwood Marina. Further south, bike and hiking trails in the Brecksville and Bedford Reservations, along with Garfield Park, provide access to trails in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Also included in the Metroparks system is the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, established in 1882. Located in Big Creek Valley, the zoo has one of the largest collections of primates in North America. In addition to the Metroparks, the Cleveland Public Parks District oversees the city's neighborhood parks, the largest of which is the historic Rockefeller Park. The latter is notable for its late 19th century landmark bridges, the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse, and the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, which celebrate the city's ethnic diversity. In addition, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, located in the historic FirstEnergy Powerhouse in the Flats, is the only independent, free-standing aquarium in the state of Ohio. ==Government and politics==

Government and courts Cleveland operates on a mayor–council (strong mayor) form of government, in which the mayor is the chief executive and the city council serves as the legislative branch. City council members are elected from 17 wards to four-year terms. From 1924 to 1931, the city briefly experimented with a council–manager government under William R. Hopkins and Daniel E. Morgan before returning to the mayor–council system. Cleveland is served by Cleveland Municipal Court, the first municipal court in the state. The city also anchors the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, based at the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse and the historic Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse. The Chief Judge for the Northern District is Sara Elizabeth Lioi and the Clerk of Court is Sandy Opacich. The U.S. Attorney is Carol Skutnik and the U.S. Marshal is Peter Elliott. Politics The office of the mayor has been held by Justin Bibb since 2022. Previous mayors include progressive Democrat Tom L. Johnson, World War I-era War Secretary and BakerHostetler founder Newton D. Baker, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harold Hitz Burton, two-term Ohio Governor and Senator Frank J. Lausche, former U.S. Health, Education, and Welfare Secretary Anthony J. Celebrezze, two-term Ohio Governor and Senator George V. Voinovich, former U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and Carl B. Stokes, the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city. Frank G. Jackson was the city's longest-serving mayor. The President of Cleveland City Council is Blaine Griffin, the council Majority Leader is Kerry McCormack, and the Majority Whip is Jasmin Santana. Patricia Britt serves as the Clerk of Council. Historically, from the Civil War era to the 1940s, Cleveland had been dominated by the Republican Party, with the notable exceptions of the Johnson and Baker mayoral administrations. Today Cleveland is a major stronghold for the Democratic Party in Ohio. Although local elections are nonpartisan, Democrats still dominate every level of government. Cleveland has hosted three Republican national conventions, in 1924, 1936, and 2016. Additionally, the city hosted the 1864 Radical Democratic National Convention. Although Cleveland has not hosted a national convention for the Democrats, it has hosted several national election debates, including the second 1980 U.S. presidential debate, the 2004 U.S. vice presidential debate, one 2008 Democratic primary debate, and the first 2020 U.S. presidential debate. Founded in 1912, the City Club of Cleveland provides a platform for national and local debates and discussions. Known as Cleveland's "Citadel of Free Speech", it is one of the oldest continuous independent free speech and debate forums in the country. ==Public safety==

The current Safety Director for the city of Cleveland is Dornat "Wayne" Drummond. Police and law enforcement Like in other major American cities, crime in Cleveland is concentrated in areas with higher rates of poverty and lower access to jobs. In recent decades, the rate of crime in the city, although higher than the national average, experienced a significant decline, following a nationwide trend in falling crime rates. However, as in other major U.S. cities, crime in Cleveland saw an abrupt rise in 2020–21. Cleveland's law enforcement agency is the Cleveland Division of Police, established in 1866. The division had roughly 1,100 sworn officers as of 2024, covering five police districts. The district system was introduced in the 1930s by Cleveland Public Safety Director Eliot Ness (of the Untouchables), who later ran for mayor of Cleveland in 1947. The Chief of Police is Dorothy A. Todd. In addition, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office is based in Downtown Cleveland at the Justice Center Complex. Fire department Cleveland is served by the firefighters of the Cleveland Division of Fire, established in 1863. The fire department operates out of 22 active fire stations throughout the city in five battalions. Each Battalion is commanded by a Battalion Chief, who reports to an on-duty Assistant Chief. The Division of Fire operates a fire apparatus fleet of twenty-two engine companies, eight ladder companies, three tower companies, two task force rescue squad companies, hazardous materials ("haz-mat") unit, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units. The interim Chief of Department is Wayne Naida. Emergency medical services Cleveland EMS is operated by the city as its own municipal third-service EMS division. Cleveland EMS is the primary provider of Advanced Life Support and ambulance transport within the city of Cleveland, while Cleveland Fire assists by providing fire response medical care. Although a merger between the fire and EMS departments was proposed in the past, the idea was subsequently abandoned. The EMS Commissioner is Orlando Wheeler. Military Cleveland serves as headquarters to Coast Guard District 9 and is responsible for all U.S. Coast Guard operations on the five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and surrounding states accumulating 6,700 miles of shoreline and 1,500 miles of international shoreline with Canada. It reports up through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Station Cleveland Harbor, located in North Coast Harbor, has a responsibility covering about 550 square miles of the federally navigable waters of Lake Erie, including the Cuyahoga and Rocky rivers, as well as a number of their tributaries. ==Education==

Primary and secondary Cleveland is served by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. It is the only K–12 district in Ohio under the direct control of the mayor, who appoints a school board. Approximately of Cleveland's Buckeye–Shaker neighborhood is part of the Shaker Heights City School District. The area, which has been a part of the Shaker school district since the 1920s, permits these Cleveland residents to pay the same school taxes as the Shaker residents, as well as vote in the Shaker school board elections. There are several private and parochial schools in Cleveland. These include Benedictine High School, Cleveland Central Catholic High School, Eleanor Gerson School, St. Ignatius High School, St. Joseph Academy, Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, and St. Martin de Porres. Colleges and universities Cleveland is home to a number of colleges and universities. Most prominent among them is Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), a widely recognized research and teaching institution based in University Circle with several major graduate programs. University Circle also contains the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Downtown Cleveland is home to Cleveland State University, a public research university with eight constituent colleges, and the metropolitan campus of Cuyahoga Community College. Cleveland's suburban universities and colleges include Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, John Carroll University in University Heights, and Ursuline College in Pepper Pike. It holds the Northeast Ohio Broadcast Archives, and the John G. White Special Collection, with the largest chess library in the world and a rare collection of folklore and books on the Middle East and Eurasia. The library's main building was designed by Walker and Weeks and dedicated in 1925, under head librarian Linda Eastman, the first woman to lead a major library system in the U.S. Between 1904 and 1920, 15 libraries built with funds from Andrew Carnegie were opened in the city. Known as the "People's University", the library presently maintains 27 branches. It serves as the headquarters for the CLEVNET library consortium, which includes 47 public library systems in Northeast Ohio. ==Media==

Print Cleveland's primary daily newspaper is The Plain Dealer and its associated online publication, Cleveland.com. Defunct major newspapers include the Cleveland Press and the Cleveland News. Additional publications include Cleveland Magazine, a regional culture magazine published monthly; ''Crain's Cleveland Business, a weekly business newspaper; and Cleveland Scene, a free alternative weekly paper which absorbed its competitor, the Cleveland Free Times, in 2008. The digital Belt Magazine was founded in Cleveland in 2013. Time'' magazine was published in Cleveland from 1925 to 1927. Several ethnic publications are based in Cleveland. These include the Call and Post, a weekly newspaper that primarily serves the city's African American community; the Cleveland Jewish News, a weekly Jewish newspaper; the bi-weekly Russian-language Cleveland Russian Magazine; the Mandarin Erie Chinese Journal; La Gazzetta Italiana in English and Italian; the Ohio Irish American News; and the Spanish language Vocero Latino News. TV The Cleveland-area television market is served by 11 full power stations, including WKYC (NBC), WEWS-TV (ABC), WJW (Fox), WDLI-TV (Bounce), WOIO (CBS), WVPX-TV (Ion), WVIZ (PBS), WUAB (MyNetworkTV), WRLM (TCT), WBNX-TV (CW), and WQHS-DT (Univision). the market, which includes the Akron and Canton areas, was the 19th-largest in the country, as measured by Nielsen Media Research. The Mike Douglas Show, a nationally syndicated daytime talk show, began in Cleveland in 1961 on KYW-TV (now WKYC), while The Morning Exchange on WEWS-TV served as the model for Good Morning America. Tim Conway and Ernie Anderson first established themselves in Cleveland while working together at KYW-TV and later WJW-TV (now WJW). Anderson both created and performed as the immensely popular Cleveland horror host Ghoulardi on WJW-TV's Shock Theater, and was later succeeded by the long-running late night duo Big Chuck and Lil' John. Another Anderson protégé – Ron Sweed – would become a popular Cleveland late night movie host in his own right as "The Ghoul". Radio Cleveland is directly served by 29 full power AM and FM radio stations, 21 of which are licensed to the city. Music stations – which are frequently the highest-rated in the market – include WQAL (hot adult contemporary), WDOK (adult contemporary), WKLV-FM (Christian contemporary - K-Love), WAKS (contemporary hits), WHLK (adult hits), WMJI (classic hits), WMMS (active rock/hot talk), WNCX (classic rock), WNWV (alternative rock), WGAR-FM (country), WZAK (urban adult contemporary), WENZ (mainstream urban), WCSB (jazz), WCLV (classical), WABQ (urban gospel), and WJMO (Spanish/Tropical). WMMS also serves as the FM flagship for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Guardians, WNCX is an FM flagship for the Cleveland Browns, and WJMO is the Spanish flagship for the Browns and Cavaliers. News/talk stations include WHK, WTAM, and WERE. During the Golden Age of Radio, WHK was the first radio station to broadcast in Ohio, and one of the first in the country. WTAM is the AM flagship for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Guardians. Sports stations include WKNR (ESPN), WARF (Fox/VSiN) and WKRK-FM (WW1), with WKNR and WKRK-FM serving as co-flagship stations for the Cleveland Browns, and WARF – though primarily an English language station – airing Spanish broadcasts of Cleveland Guardians home games. Religious stations include WHKW, WCCR, and WCRF. As the regional NPR affiliate, WKSU serves all of Northeast Ohio (including both the Cleveland and Akron markets). College stations include WBWC (Baldwin Wallace), WJCU (John Carroll), and WRUW-FM (Case Western Reserve). ==Transportation==

Transit train approaches Settlers Landing station on the Waterfront Line Cleveland has a bus and rail mass transit system operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA). The rail portion is officially called the RTA Rapid Transit, but local residents refer to it as The Rapid. It consists of three light rail lines, known as the Blue, Green, and Waterfront Lines, and a heavy rail line, the Red Line. In 2008, RTA completed the HealthLine, a bus rapid transit line, for which naming rights were purchased by the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. It runs along Euclid Avenue from downtown through University Circle, ending at the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland. In 1968, Cleveland became the first city in the nation to have a direct rail transit connection linking the city's downtown to its major airport. Like other major cities, the urban density of Cleveland reduces the need for private vehicle ownership. In 2016, 23.7% of Cleveland households lacked a car, while the national average was 8.7%. Cleveland averaged 1.19 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8. Roads Cleveland's road system consists of numbered streets running roughly north–south, and named avenues, which run roughly east–west. The numbered streets are designated "east" or "west", depending on where they lie in relation to Ontario Street, which bisects Public Square. The two downtown avenues which span the Cuyahoga change names on the west side of the river. Superior Avenue becomes Detroit Avenue on the West Side, and Carnegie Avenue becomes Lorain Avenue. The bridges that make these connections are the Hope Memorial (Lorain–Carnegie) Bridge and the Veterans Memorial (Detroit–Superior) Bridge. Freeways Cleveland is served by three two-digit interstate highways – I-71, I-77, and I-90 – and by two three-digit interstates – I-480 and I-490. Running due east–west through the West Side suburbs, I-90 turns northeast at the junction with I-490, and is known as the Cleveland Inner Belt. The Cleveland Memorial Shoreway carries SR 2 along its length, and at varying points carries US 6, US 20 and I-90. At the junction with the Shoreway, I-90 makes a 90-degree turn in the area known as Dead Man's Curve, then continues northeast. The Jennings Freeway (SR 176) connects I-71 just south of I-90 to I-480. Airports Cleveland is a major North American air market, serving 4.93 million people. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is the city's primary major airport and an international airport that serves the broader region. Originally known as Cleveland Municipal Airport, it was the first municipally owned airport in the country. Cleveland Hopkins is a significant regional air freight hub hosting FedEx Express, UPS Airlines, U.S. Postal Service, and major commercial freight carriers. In addition to Hopkins, Cleveland is served by Burke Lakefront Airport, on the north shore of downtown between Lake Erie and the Shoreway. Burke is primarily a commuter and business airport. Seaport as seen from Lake Erie The Port of Cleveland, at the Cuyahoga River's mouth, is a major bulk freight and container terminal on Lake Erie, receiving much of the raw materials used by the region's manufacturing industries. The Port of Cleveland is the only container port on the Great Lakes with bi-weekly container service between Cleveland and the Port of Antwerp in Belgium on a Dutch service called the Cleveland-Europe Express. In addition to freight, the Port of Cleveland welcomes regional and international tourists who pass through the city on Great Lakes cruises. Intercity rail and bus Cleveland has a long history as a major railroad hub in North America. Today, Amtrak provides service to Cleveland, via the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited routes, which stop at Cleveland Lakefront Station. Additionally, Cleveland hosts several inter-modal freight railroad terminals, for Norfolk Southern, CSX and several smaller companies. National intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound from its downtown bus station. Akron Metro, Brunswick Transit Alternative, Laketran, Lorain County Transit, and Medina County Transit provide connecting bus service to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. Geauga County Transit and Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) also offer connecting bus service in their neighboring areas. ==International relations==

and his wife Anne in Leipzig, East Germany in 1960 Cleveland maintains cultural, economic, and educational ties with 27 sister cities around the world. It concluded its first sister city partnership with Lima, Peru, in 1964. In addition, Cleveland hosts the Consulate General of the Republic of Slovenia, which, until Slovene independence in 1991, served as an official consulate for Tito's Yugoslavia. The Cleveland Clinic operates the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi hospital, two outpatient clinics in Toronto, and a hospital campus in London. The Cleveland Council on World Affairs was established in 1923. Historically, Cleveland industrialist Cyrus S. Eaton, an apprentice of John D. Rockefeller, played a significant role in promoting dialogue between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In October 1915 at Cleveland's Bohemian National Hall, Czech American and Slovak American representatives signed the Cleveland Agreement, calling for the formation of a joint Czech and Slovak state. ==See also==

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