Katherine Natasha

Urban Studies I

University: The Humanist Neighborhood

When Moses Cleaveland founded the city of Cleveland in 1796, he established what would later become downtown, naturally the hotspot of present-day Cleveland. A year after Moses, another surveyor set up shop and home in the Cleveland area and established what would become Cleveland’s second downtown, University Circle.

Stearns Road, in front of my high school, Cleveland School of the Arts, using alternative printing methods... freaky alternative printing methods:

Case, from the view of Wade Lagoon:

In 1797 Nathaniel Doan built a log hotel and tavern in a woodland four miles east from the city of Cleveland. Many of Cleveland’s wealthy families moved on to Euclid Avenue in the area and the street earned the name Millionaire’s Row. For decades the neighborhoods from downtown to “Doan’s Corners” thrived. Then, in the late-1800’s families began to move out of the city, to the suburbs now known as Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights to escape the growing population of middle class neighbors.

Some of these families demolished their mansions rather than let them be used by the middle class, but there were other families who donated their homes and thousands of dollars to the city upon leaving it. One of those millionaires, Jeptha H. Wade, donated 75 acres of his old estate to the city of Cleveland for a public park and an art gallery. Amasa Stone donated $500,000 and 43 acres of land for Western Reserve University to move from rural Hudson, Ohio. In 1885 the Case School of Applied Sciences relocated to Doan's Corners from downtown Cleveland. Later on in 1967 these two schools combined into Case Western Reserve University and grew exponentially. As the middle class moved in, a streetcar line was built to serve Euclid Avenue. The circular trolley turnaround at East 107th Street became known as the University Circle stop. As more cultural institutions moved into the area, the University neighborhood was given its distinctive name.

There are four sections of the University neighborhood: University Circle, Little Italy, the historical residential area and the modern residential area. In 1957 the University neighborhood’s largest institutions formed a federation to work on behalf of the best interests of University Circle. This group, University Circle Inc., avidly promotes the Circle’s institutions and manages housing and real estate. University Circle Inc. also collects statistics about the Circle. Currently, more than 75 not-for-profit institutions are in the University neighborhood and half of them are concentrated in University Circle. Little Italy is a concentration of fine ethnic eateries and shops along Mayfield Road and Murry Hill, adjacent to Euclid Avenue. Little Italy is mostly southeast of the RTA Red Line. The historical residential area is north of University Circle and includes Magnolia, Rockefeller Park, Wade Park and Bellflower communities. The modern residential area in southern University is often neglected for not being closer to Euclid Avenue, yet in this area you will find the Cleveland NAACP chapter and the Uqbah Mosque Foundation. The borders of the University neighborhood are Wade Park Avenue to the north, Quincy Avenue and Mount Overlook Avenue to the south, East 105th Street to the west, and Woodland Avenue to the east.
According to University Circle, Inc. more than 30,000 people work in the University neighborhood, making it second only to downtown as an employment center. More than 13,000 students attend CWRU, The Cleveland Institute of Music, The Cleveland Institute of Art, and the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine. And including patients who come to our important medical facilities, 2.5 million people visit the Circle annually. Besides the students, there live only about 9,500 people. Unfortunately, like most of Northeast Ohio, University is facing an economic downfall as every year more people move away or invest someplace else. In the neighborhood there are 400 vacant properties and 2700 residents living in poverty.

University Circle Incorporated and other community development organizations such as Little Italy 2000 Redevelopment Association are working to improve the economy of University. Charter One Bank recently committed $150 million for economic and community development in the University Circle area via housing loans, grants, and small business loans. It is collaborating with University Circle Inc. and other foundations in this effort.

University is, like most of Cleveland, a remarkable yet unappreciated place that will only grow when people recognize its potential, and better yet, its existence. If University’s communication were to focus on reaching Greater Cleveland citizens, the neighborhood will grow. Case Western Reserve’s The Observer sums up University’s problem in this way: “On one hand Cleveland has a cultural gem and on the other hand it has what seems to be an underused and poorly organized stretch of land.” University will always flaunt Cleveland aesthetics, no matter the era, no matter the regression.