, OH
Japanese-American Buddhists, who resettled in the Cleveland area in 1943-44 after being released from World War II internment camps, established the oldest continually meeting Buddhist organization in Ohio. The organization was originally known as the Cleveland Young Buddhist Association and is now known as the Cleveland Buddhist Temple. Services were held in members’ homes until a building on East 81st Street was purchased in 1955. After extensive damage to the building during the Hough riots in 1966, the Temple’s current residence was acquired in 1968. Affiliated with the Buddhist Churches of America, the Temple serves the Jodo Shinshu Tradition of Buddhism. In 1979, the Temple under the direction of Sensei Koshin Ogui introduced the Zen Shin meditation practice in response to public wishes. The Temple welcomes all those wishing to study the teachings of the Buddha.
, OH
The 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings made history not only as the most dominant baseball club of its time, but also as the first band of professional ballplayers. Cincinnati’s decision to pay players proved to be a success, and other cities soon began establishing their own professional clubs throughout America. In 1876, the Reds joined the newly formed National League. Baseball soon became one of Cincinnati’s most popular entertainment venues, aided in part by the team’s World Series titles in 1919 and 1940. Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine,” featuring players such as Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Pete Rose, dominated baseball in the 1970s, picking up additional titles in 1975 and 1976. A surprise wire-to-wire title again in 1990 strengthened the Reds’ legacy and helped ensure future generations of Reds fans.
, OH
ʻAbdu’l-Bahá (1844-1921) visited Cleveland on His historic journeys to Europe and North America to proclaim the message of His Father, Baháʼu’lláh, Prophet-Founder of the Baháʼí Faith. Together they suffered 40 years of imprisonment and exile, which began in Persia with their support of the Báb, Baháʼu’lláh’s forerunner. In 1912, following His release from prison in Palestine, ʻAbdu’l-Bahá toured many American cities as Baháʼu’lláh’s designated successor. He spoke in Cleveland on May 6th and 7th, at the former Hotel Euclid and other sites, sharing this message: “The oneness of humankind will be a fact. The various religions shall be united, and the various races shall be known as one kind. The Orient and the Occident shall be united and the banner of international peace shall be unfurled. The world shall find peace and the equality and rights of men shall be established.” Since His visit, the Baháʼí Faith has gained millions of followers, and it has been established in most countries and territories of the world.
, OH
On July 25, 1965, nearly 10,000 spectators traveled to the Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field to witness the first-ever North American horse show jumping grand prix-the Cleveland Grand Prix. The event gave birth to the multi-million-dollar sport of grand prix horse show jumping in the United States. Held on the final day of the Chagrin Valley PHA Horse Show, the Cleveland Grand Prix was defined by the 844-yard course of 16 obstacles designed by Laddie Andahazy and D. Jerry Baker. Twenty riders from six countries–the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Great Britain, and Germany–competed over the course. Mary Mairs Chapot won the event on her horse Tomboy and her husband Frank, an Olympic veteran, finished second aboard Manon.
, OH
Karamu House, Incorporated was established in 1915 as the Playhouse Settlement, one of Cleveland’s many settlement houses for migrant and immigrant communities. Initiated by the Men’s Club of the Second Presbyterian Church, in 1915 Oberlin College and University of Chicago social work graduates, Russell and Rowena Woodham Jellliffe were hired as the founding directors. Originally located at 2239 East 38th Street, the Playhouse Settlement offered children’s theater and other social, recreational, and educational activities. It soon developed a partnership with the Dumas Dramatic Club, a local African American theater company that later became known as the Gilpin Players. (continued on other side)
, OH
John Malvin (1795-1880) was an operative on the Underground Railroad and an ardent member of anti-slavery and abolitionist causes. Born in Dumfries, Virginia of a free mother and enslaved father, Malvin was apprenticed at an early age to learn carpentry and taught himself to read and write. In 1827, he moved to Cincinnati where he became an ordained preacher and an activist in the cause of freedom. In 1831, with his wife Harriet, he moved to Cleveland where he became a charter member of the First Baptist Church, a sawmill operator, and captain and owner of the canal boat Auburn. (continued on other side)
, OH
Garrett Augustus Morgan was an African American businessman and prolific inventor of devices that made people’s lives safer and more convenient. Born on March 4, 1877 in Claysville, the Black segregated section of Paris, Kentucky, Morgan migrated north first to Cincinnati and then Cleveland in 1895. He lived and worked in this house at 5204 Harlem Avenue. In 1906, Morgan started the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company to market the hair straightener he had invented. The following year he opened a sewing machine repair shop. In 1908, he and his wife Mary opened Morgan’s Cut Rate Ladies Clothing Store. (continued on other side)
, OH
The first women’s college chartered in the state of Ohio, Ursuline College opened in 1871 in downtown Cleveland as part of the educational mission of the Order of St. Ursula (O.S.U.). Founded in Italy in 1535 with an early presence in North America, this order established its first religious teaching community in Cleveland in 1850, led by foundress Mother Mary of the Annunciation Beaumont, O.S.U. The college’s growth prompted four moves in Cleveland and subsequently to the Pepper Pike campus in 1966. Ursuline holds the distinction as one of the first catholic women’s colleges in the United States organized and chartered explicitly for college education.