Buckeye

Scofield Mansion

2438 Mapleside Rd, Cleveland, OH 44104

The Scofield Mansion was designed by and belonged to sculptor and architect Levi T. Scofield, best known for his design of the County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Public Square. (The monument includes a controversial depiction of a formerly enslaved man kneeling at the feet of Abraham Lincoln). Overlooking downtown Cleveland, the house offers scenic views of Lake Erie. Over the years, the house served as a chapel, a convent, a nursing home, and was then abandoned in 1990. Since then, the Mansion has been in a state of disrepair and was scheduled to be demolished until the Cleveland Restoration Society, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, and the Cuyahoga County Land Bank have teamed up to restore the house as a gem of the Buckeye neighborhood.

Buckeye

99th and Buckeye

99th and Buckeye, Cleveland, OH 44104

The intersection of Buckeye, South Woodland, and Woodhill is part of a larger plan of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) to encourage more street and foot traffic in the area. In 2012, the station was completed with universal accessibility, high visibility, and free parking as part of the RTA’s “Park and Ride” program. The intersection, with views of downtown Cleveland, is also part of Project Clean Lake, a green infrastructure program to reduce the volume of sewer overflow into Lake Erie.

Central

Goodwill Building

2295 E55th, Cleveland, OH 44103

On the plot of the now-vacant Goodwill Industries Rehabilitation Center lies the shadow of Cleveland’s primary African American hotel. Opened in 1907, the Majestic Hotel provided a place for Black folks to stay, eat, relax, and enjoy musical entertainment free from discrimination. Its jazz club served as an interracial point of interest across Cleveland and was enjoyed by people of all races alike. The Majestic lost its purpose as integration eased the need for hotels catering primarily to a Black clientele. On May 27, 1967 the Call and Post, Cleveland's leading Black newspaper, reported on the impending demolition of the Majestic to build the Goodwill Industries Rehabilitation Center, "with the Majestic goes the sounds of music, the voices of the great, and a bright era of Negro community life."

Central

Woodland Cemetery

6901 Woodland Ave, Cleveland, OH 44104

Cleveland’s Woodland Cemetery, dedicated in 1853, was the main public cemetery for over fifty of the city’s most dynamic years. Buried here are War of 1812 and Civil War veterans, as well as John Brown, the wealthiest African-American man in Cleveland in the mid nineteenth century and a vital part of the Underground Railroad, as well as Sarah Lucy Bagby, the last fugitive slave returned to slavery under the Fugitive Slave Act. As the pride of the city’s public cemeteries, Woodland was adorned with a Gothic-style stone gateway. By the early 20th century, Woodland had lost public favor. The distinguished gatehouse was recently restored using the original stones. In 2015 the Woodland Cemetery became an official site under the National Parks Historic Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

East Cleveland

Creative Arts Complex

13240 Euclid Ave, East Cleveland, OH 44112

The East Cleveland Clinic Nursing Home for Wealthy Alcoholics sat vacant and dilapidated for seventeen years until artist and entrepreneur Ed Parker purchased and rehabilitated it to house the Edward E. Parker Creative Arts Complex. The Complex includes the Snickerfritz Cultural Workshop for the Arts, Inc., which Parker founded in 1984, gallery and classroom space, meeting rooms, and a number of small businesses. Parker designed and installed the two white columns that stand on Rosalind Ave outside of the facility. His intent for the columns was to symbolize the gateway from Cleveland to East Cleveland, demonstrating the fluid yet dependant nature of the relationship between the two cities.

East Cleveland

Forest Hill Footbridge

1900-1948 Forest Hills Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44118

John D. Rockefeller purchased the Forest Hill neighborhood in what would eventually become East Cleveland. Constructed in 1940, the footbridge stands in Forest Hill Park, connecting East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. Despite their proximity to each other, there is a stark difference in wealth between the two neighborhoods. Today, the footbridge is still in use, though its condition has declined due to vandalism. Tucked away in the trees, the stone footbridge serves as a tangible memory of East Cleveland’s past.

Glenville

Glenville High School and Glenville Recreation Center

650-680 E 113th St, Cleveland, OH 44108

The present day Glenville High School was built in 1964 to accommodate the large African American population in the community. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at the school in 1967 to promote the importance of education. Today the school is renowned for its athletics programs, especially the track and field and football programs. With famous alumni including former Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White and actor Steve Harvey, the high school is a well-established pillar of the community. Adjacent to the High School is, fittingly, another vital resource in the neighborhood, the Glenville Recreation Center.

Glenville

Cory Methodist Church

117 E 105 St, Cleveland, OH 44108

Cory United Methodist Church was once the city’s largest synagogue, aptly named the “Jewish Center.” Glenville’s largely predominant Jewish population moved East during the Second Wave of the Great Migration. As African Americans moved into Glenville, the members of Cory Methodist Church took ownership and Cory became one of the country’s largest Black-owned churches. Cory’s prominence made it a nationally important stop for civil rights luminaries, including Martin Luther King, Jr. who spoke at Cory in 1963 and Malcolm X, who gave his famous “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech in 1964. Today, its ongoing tradition of community outreach continues to make Cory a beacon in the Glenville neighborhood.

Kinsman

BoxSpot

3032 East 81st Street, Cleveland, OH, 44104 on Kinsman

Opened in 2019 near permanent retail space along the corridors of Kinsman Road, the Box Spot is a business incubator for entry-level entrepreneurs. Consisting of a series of recycled shipping containers arranged as an open-air market within a community space, the Box Spot is revitalizing underutilized land by providing low-cost space to small businesses and bringing shopping and services to the community.

Kinsman

Rid-All Green Partnership

8129 Otter Ave, Cleveland, OH 44104

Founded in 2011, Rid-All Green Partnership turned an urban dumping ground in Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood into an agricultural center to combat the food desert around it. Located in an area deemed the “Forgotten Triangle” because of its abandoned industrial past, Rid-All is an internationally acclaimed permacultural enterprise. In addition to providing healthy, fresh food to area residents and institutions, Rid-All trains area youth and residents on environmental sustainability.

Slavic Village

5619 Broadway Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44127
Badgley Nichols Bldg, E55th bw Broadway and Portage

The intersection of Broadway and East 55th Street was once the second largest commercial district outside of Cleveland’s downtown. Steps away from it stands the Badgley Nichols building, which has been vacant for 40 years. What once housed two storefronts and “luxury” apartments on the second floor, the building is just one example of the neighborhood-wide devastation that occurred throughout Slavic Village after WWII. When the neighborhood demographics shifted to predominantly African-American, white residents quickly abandoned the area for the surrounding suburbs. Today with over $100 million in re-investment to the area, the intersection is now an official Historical District.

Slavic Village

Elizabeth Baptist Church

6114 Francis Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44127

The frame of the Sidaway Bridge is a living reminder of the racial tensions that existed in the 1960s. The Bridge was built in 1909 to unite the Hungarian and Polish populations of Kinsman Road and the Jackowo neighborhoods, respectively. Shortly after Black families began moving to Kinsman in the 1960's the Sidaway Bridge became a flash point when, in 1966, someone removed planking from the bridge and set it on fire. Rather than repair the bridge, the City of Cleveland elected to close it. A decade later, in 1976, the federal district court cited the closing of the Sidaway Bridge as evidence that city and school officials had worked in concert to segregate the schools on the basis of race. The neighboring Elizabeth Baptist Church, known for its ministry to connect the Slavic Village community at many different levels, is serving as the location to view this work of art.