Lakewood

By Thea Gallo Becker

Named for its natural setting on the south shore of Lake Erie, Lakewood, Ohio was one of Cleveland's original suburbs. Incorporated as a city in 1911, Lakewood experienced tremendous growth during the early 20th century, and became known as "Cleveland's Fashionable Suburb," and a "City of Beautiful Homes," as it boasted some of the finest Victorian residences in the area. Using a wonderful collection of historic photographs, many from the Lakewood Historical Society, the pages of this book take you on a tour of Lakewood's history, chronicling the people, places, and events that have made the suburb one of the area's best places to live.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Aug 6, 2003
• ISBN: 9781439613832

Thea Gallo Becker

Native Clevelander Thea Gallo Becker earned her masters degree in History from Cleveland State University and is the author of two other books in Arcadia's Images of America series: Lakewood and the predecessor to this book, Cleveland: 1796-1929. The photographs presented here come from Cleveland State University Library's Special Collections area.

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INTRODUCTION

The City of Lakewood is an inner-ring suburb located on the western border of Cleveland in northeast Ohio. It occupies 5.6 square miles on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The name Lakewood came from its natural setting along the lake. It was originally designated as Township 7, Range 14 of Rockport Township of the Western Reserve. Included in Rockport Township was the suburb of Rocky River, located to the west of Lakewood. The Hamlet of Lakewood was founded on August 31, 1889, when the population reached 400. It became the Village of Lakewood on May 4, 1903, with a population of over 3,300. When Lakewood was finally incorporated as a city on February 17, 1911, the population had surpassed 15,000, and a building-boom was underway.

Lakewood’s development has been historically linked with that of Cleveland and Rocky River. Many of the early settlers who came to the Western Reserve and Cleveland traveled no further west since the area beyond seemed uninhabitable and hostile. Those that did venture westward along the old Indian path that was to become Detroit Avenue, such as James Nicholson, the first permanent settler in what would become Lakewood, found the Rockport area suitable for development. Along with other early pioneers like Dr. Jared P. Kirtland and Mars Wagar, the area along Detroit Avenue was gradually settled with homes made of clay bricks and stone, two of Lakewood’s natural resources. From the 1830s through the 1850s as more settlers arrived the area gained distinction for its rich soil, and soon fruit growing emerged along with brick making as its earliest leading industries.

As the fruit farms, orchards, and vineyards grew so, too, did the need to transport them easily to Cleveland. The old Indian path was covered by wooden planks creating a plank road for easier travel. Taverns sprang up alongside Detroit Avenue offering weary travelers a place to rest and refresh. To pay for road improvements Detroit Avenue became a toll road and would not be free until 1901. Travelers began using the road for more than commerce as resorts opened on both sides of the Rocky River Valley. For those who wished to travel faster a small Dummy or Dinky Railroad was built to take vacationers from Cleveland to these lakeside resorts.

The area around the intersection of Detroit Avenue and Warren Road gradually became the center of town and gave rise to a thriving commercial district. It was on Warren Road that Lucius Dean, the area’s first Postmaster, ran a small general store where he would collect residents’ mail for distribution. In 1871 voters approved creating a separate school district east of Rocky River called East Rockport. One of the first schools was opened on Warren Road. Lakewood would build an outstanding school district of 14 public schools enhanced by an outstanding library system providing both community and educational needs.

By the 1870s families with names like Andrews, Hall, and Hird had purchased large tracts of farmland that extended north from Detroit Avenue to Lake Erie and had built large homes along Detroit Avenue. Realizing the richness of the soil to support sprawling vineyards and orchards these families built their farms into prosperous enterprises, which added to their personal wealth and contributed to Lakewood’s reputation as a major fruit grower and supplier.

The discovery of natural gas deposits in Rockport stimulated Lakewood’s transition from a farming community to one of business and industry. Wells were drilled as early as 1883, with one yielding almost 22,000 cubic feet of natural gas daily. Additional natural gas reserves were discovered in 1911, but were exhausted within a few years. The construction of a municipal light plant in 1896, the opening of a streetcar line in 1903, and the development of the automobile facilitated Lakewood’s growth.

The opening of the Detroit-Superior High Level Bridge in 1917 made travel from downtown Cleveland to the west side easier and sparked a real estate boom in Lakewood. Community boosters advertised Lakewood as the City of Beautiful Homes because of the magnificent private estates built along the lakefront and especially the Clifton Park area in western Lakewood. By 1920, the City’s population had surpassed 40,000, and it continued to attract more residents.

The post-World War I era saw a rise in multi-family and apartment dwellings as the City tried to keep up with the housing demands of returning veterans. The growth of neighborhoods brought with it an increase in the number of small businesses, many of them family-owned, along Detroit Avenue and Madison Avenue. Soon commercial blocks with ground-level store fronts and second-floor apartments lined the streets. Major retailers like The Bailey Company opened in Lakewood. By 1930 Lakewood reached a population peak of over 70,000, a figure the City would see steadily decline.

By the end of the 1940s Lakewood had developed nearly all available land and had no place to build—except up. During the 1950s and 1960s Lakewood experienced a marked increase in the construction of multi-family units. The most dramatic impact occurred along the Gold Coast area in northeast Lakewood where the landscape assumed a new look as developers demolished older and once beautiful lakefront estates to make room for new lavish high-rise apartment buildings, condominiums, and townhouses.

With a present population of just over 56,500 residents Lakewood continues to build and refine itself into a community eagerly anticipating the future as much as the early pioneers who contributed to Lakewood’s diverse history.

Thea Gallo Becker

One

FARMING, BUSINESS, AND INDUSTRY

THE JAMES NICHOLSON HOUSE. The oldest wooden frame house in Lakewood was built in 1835 by James Nicholson, the area’s first permanent settler. Located at 13335 Detroit Avenue, this simple two-story white colonial is typical of the New England architectural style to which Nicholson was accustomed before he came to Rockport Township from Massachusetts in 1818. In 1979 the Nicholson house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.