Buckeye–Shaker is a neighborhood on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio.[4] It encompasses two sub neighborhoods: in its south and west, the old Buckeye neighborhood; and in its northeast, the Shaker Square neighborhood, which is centered on a historic shopping district and an eponymous rapid transit station, located at the intersection of Shaker and Moreland Boulevards, on the light rail line that connects the city of Shaker Heights to downtown Cleveland. From the early to mid-20th century, the Buckeye Road neighborhood was known as "Little Hungary", serving as the historic heart of Cleveland's Hungarian community, which at one time was the largest in the world outside of Hungary and for years has been almost completely African-American.[5] Shaker Square, continues to be known as one of Cleveland's most notable neighborhoods, in terms of shopping, dining, architecture, the education of its residents, participation in civic life, diversity, and quality of living.[6][7]
Buckeye–Shaker | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 41°29′2″N 81°35′26″W / 41.48389°N 81.59056°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Ohio |
| County | Cuyahoga County |
| City | Cleveland |
| Population | |
• Total | 11,680 |
| Demographics[1] | |
| • White | 14.9% |
| • Black | 78.5% |
| • Hispanic (of any race) | 1.6% |
| • Asian and Pacific Islander | 4.9% |
| • Mixed and Other | 1.7% |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 44120 |
| Area code | 216 |
| Median income[1] | $30,448 |
| Source: 2020 U.S. Census, City Planning Commission of Cleveland [2] | |
Shaker Square Historic District | |
 Shops on the southeast corner of Shaker Square | |
    | |
| Location | Shaker and Moreland Blvds. Cleveland, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°29′2″N 81°35′26″W / 41.48389°N 81.59056°W |
| Built | 1927–1929 |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 83004367[3] |
| Added to NRHP | 1983 |
Buckeye–Shaker is bordered by the neighborhoods of Woodland Hills on its west, Mount Pleasant to the south, University Circle to the north, and the suburb of Shaker Heights to the east.
Shaker Square
editThe historic American Colonial-Georgian shopping center, which was largely influenced by European town squares, was built between 1927 and 1929 by the Van Sweringen brothers. Several pieces were added to the four quadrants, likely in the 1950s. Nearby, along Van Aken Boulevard but essentially an appendage to the Square, a commercial strip was built in 1939.[8] The two brothers, who also developed much of the land to the east of the neighborhood as the planned community of Shaker Heights, envisioned Shaker Square as its gateway between the urban and suburban living spaces represented in the early 20th century.[5][8] On either side of the train tracks are two lawn areas. A short distance east of the Shaker Square stop, the track splits into the Green Line (that heads east to Green Road), and the Blue Line (that runs southeast on Van Aken Boulevard, until it reaches Chagrin Boulevard).
Four large buildings around the perimeter of the grass lawns make up the second planned shopping center in the United States, after Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. They were designed in a Neo-Georgian style by Phillip Small and Charles Bacon Rowley, and together form an octagonal area that is said to have been inspired by the eight-sided plaza at the center of the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 2004, the Square has been owned by The Coral Company, whose offices are in Shaker Square.[9]
Today, Shaker Square is the heart of the neighborhood. Near the square are more than 4,000 units of rental and condominium apartments (the largest concentration of multi-family housing in Cleveland), townhouses, and many private homes.
Larchmere
editThe Larchmere district begins at North Moreland Boulevard, stretching west along Larchmere Boulevard to East 121st Street. The commercial and residential district is known for its dozens of storefronts and annual festivals, including PorchFest, Holiday Stroll, and Larchmere Festival.[10]
Buckeye Road
editThe Buckeye Road neighborhood was known as Little Hungary and developed as the heart of Cleveland's Hungarian community in the late 19th century.[11] By the 1920 United States Census, over 42,000 residents in Cleveland listed themselves as having been born in the Kingdom of Hungary, with a large portion of these residing in the Buckeye Road neighborhood.[12] Like many immigrant groups, the Hungarians came to the United States looking for a better life, and those who settled in Cleveland came at a time when the city was one of the nation's leading industrial cities. Working primarily in the heavy manufacturing sector, these immigrants settled in their tightly knit community due to its close proximity to the steel mills and day-labor jobs where they worked.[12] Between the end of World War II and 1970, the neighborhood represented one of the most powerful political blocs in Cleveland's Democratic Party.[11] By the end of the 1970s, many of the original inhabitants of Buckeye Road had migrated to the suburbs as they ascended the economic ladder, in large part due to the white flight which had produced similar migrations out of the inner city in many US metropolitan areas.[11] by the beginning of the 21st century, only a handful of the Hungarian residents remained in a neighborhood that today is predominately African-American.[12] Benedictine High School, a Catholic high school and perennial football- powerhouse that boasts Chuck Noll as an alumnus, is located just south of Buckeye on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Points of interest, all of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places include the closed St. Luke's Hospital, built in 1927, which is slated for re-development; St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church, built in 1892; and the Weizer Building, built in 1928.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 19,537 | — |
| 1950 | 20,684 | +5.9% |
| 1960 | 19,066 | −7.8% |
| 1970 | 18,496 | −3.0% |
| 1980 | 16,347 | −11.6% |
| 1990 | 15,676 | −4.1% |
| 2000 | 16,063 | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 12,470 | −22.4% |
| 2020 | 11,680 | −6.3% |
| Source:[13][1] | ||
Education
editIn September 1912, the Cleveland Board of Education ceded an area at the eastern end of Buckeye–Shaker, around what would later become Shaker Square, to the Shaker Heights Board of Education.[14] Currently, Moreland Boulevard serves as the dividing line, with homes and businesses along Moreland and to the east being within the Shaker Schools and Library District and thus paying taxes, including real estate taxes, and participating in elections for the Shaker Heights City School District and Shaker libraries. Households and businesses west of Moreland continue to be part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cleveland libraries. Because of the ability to send their children to Shaker Schools, there has historically been a large number of individuals who work in Cleveland, particularly in city government, who live in the Shaker Schools area, or Buckeye–Shaker. This anomaly also led to this area being the center of Cleveland's black middle class prior to the integration of Shaker Heights.
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Cleveland Neighborhoods and Wards: Buckeye–Shaker Square Neighborhood Factsheet (2021)" (PDF). The Center for Community Solutions (Cleveland). Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ "Buckeye–Shaker Neighborhood Fact Sheet" (PDF). Cleveland City Planning Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ^ "National Register of Historical Places – Ohio(OH), Cuyahoga County". National Register of Historic Places. Nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ "Buckeye Shaker". Connecting Cleveland 2020 Citywide Plan. Cleveland City Planning Commission. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ a b "Cleveland Information-SPA Info". NeighborhoodLink. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
- ^ "BUCKEYE-SHAKER SQUARE | Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University". Ech.case.edu. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
- ^ "Shaker Square | LiveCLEVELAND!". Archived from the original on 2013-12-22. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
- ^ a b "History of Shaker Square". Shakersquare.net. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ Guth, Douglas (30 September 2004). "Coral Co. purchases historic Shaker Square". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "About Larchmere — Larchmere". Larchmere.com. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
- ^ a b c Frigyes Fredricks, Dennis (1981). "Ethnicity and politics: the Hungarian experience in Cleveland". In Papp, Susan M (ed.). Hungarian Americans and their communities of Cleveland. Cleveland ethnic heritage studies. Cleveland, OH: MSL Academic Endeavors. pp. 292–297. LCCN 85621096. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2011-01-02 – via Cleveland Memory Project.
- ^ a b c Baranick, Alana (1997-10-04). "Cleveland's Hungarian story expands beyond Buckeye Rd. where immigrants paved the way for new arrivals". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, OH. p. 6B. Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2010-01-05 – via cleveland.com.
- ^ "Census data" (PDF). planning.city.cleveland.oh.us. 2010. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
- ^ Dawson, Virginia (December 2011). "Shaker Square and the Shaker Schools". Shaker Square. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
External links
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