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144-18 Wings Over Jordan Choir / Wings Over Jordan Choir
“…on Sunday morning, especially in the African American community, you could go down the street and hear The Wings Over Jordan just coming from everybody’s house….” Glenn Brackens, 2017. Upholding the sanctity of traditional African American spirituals, believing in the power of radio to uplift listeners, and recognizing his choir’s rich talent, Rev. Glenn T. […]
143-18 A Modern-Day Exodus / A Modern-Day Exodus
Here in 1963 congregants of Beth Israel-The West Temple, led by Louis Rosenblum, Herb Caron, and Rabbi Daniel Litt, founded the Cleveland Committee (later Council) on Soviet Anti-Semitism, the first American organization created to advocate for freedom for Soviet Jews. In 1970 this work led to the formation of the Union of Councils for Soviet […]
142-18 St. Clair Avenue Public Baths Edward J. Kovacic Recreation Center / Public Bath House Movement in Cleveland
City architect Frederic H. Betz designed the St. Clair Avenue Public Bath House and it was constructed in 1919-1920 at a cost of $320,000. The facility included a large gymnasium, swimming pool, and laundry, in addition to showers. City Council dedicated the newly completed building to the late, beloved Cleveland Indians shortstop Raymond Chapman in […]
141-18 Parma Heights Cemetery
The cemetery has been the final resting place of area residents since the 1820s. Settlers from New York and New England migrated here in the 1810s and 1820s. First called “Greenbrier,” the area took the name Parma after the township was organized in 1826. A log building at the cemetery’s north end stood from 1826 […]
140-18 St. Christopher’s by the River Episcopal Church
Described as “one of the region’s great examples of Greek Revival church architecture,” the building was erected in 1853. Holsey Gates, founder of Gates Mills in 1826, financed most of the construction of the church, which served Methodist Episcopal congregants until 1926. With the decline in that denomination’s attendance, an Episcopal mission acquired the building […]
139-18 The Green Heart of North Royalton
Bounded by Ridge, Royalton, and Bennett Roads, the Green has been the heart of North Royalton even before it was incorporated. Once part of Brecksville Township, Royalton became its own township in 1818. Local lore says that settlers David and Knight Sprague paid a gallon of whiskey to name the community after their hometown of […]
138-18 Forest Hill Estate / Forest Hill Park
Beginning in 1873, oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller purchased 700 acres of land in East Cleveland Township, now located in East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. A failed hotel built in 1874-1875 served as the family’s summer home until it was destroyed by fire in 1917, although Rockefeller’s son, John, Jr., continued to visit […]
137-18 Lakewood Women Get The Vote
Women’s suffrage–the right for women to vote–was part of the women’s rights movement in the United States from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s. In 1912 and 1914, women’s suffrage was on the state ballot in Ohio. Both times, the issue failed statewide but passed in Lakewood. Led by Bernice Pyke, Lakewood women participated in […]
136-18 Greenwood Farm
Greenwood Farm straddles the East Branch of Euclid Creek where a waterfall and gorge expose outcroppings of Euclid bluestone. George and Maude Maynard Phypers acquired the property in 1908. Four generations of the Phypers family lived here until the City of Richmond Heights purchased it in 2004. Called Cleveland’s “Insurance Dean” for his leadership in […]
135-18 Dover Lake Shore Methodist Episcopal Church
Elizabeth Tyron Sadler started the Methodist Episcopal Church in North Dover Township in June 1827, on land owned by her father-in-law Christopher Sadler. Charter members were the Rev. Eliphalet and Mrs. Margaret Johnson and their daughter Rebecca, along with niece Catherine Porter Foote. Elizabeth and William Sadler donated the land and much of the material […]