10 Eerie Photos Of Cleveland's Abandoned Buildings From The 1900s That Are Downright Ghostly
By Nikki Rhoades|Published April 19, 2018
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Nikki Rhoades
Author
Nikki is a lifelong Ohioan with a love for literature. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Akron and has enjoyed publishing her written work since 2007. She has a love of travel and does so frequently, though she believes that home is where the heart is — she continues to work in and around Cleveland as a digital content specialist to this day, working on everything from commercial scripts and social media posts to grassroots marketing initiatives.
Cleveland has evolved over the years, struggling through rough times and celebrating good ones. Businesses have come and gone, neighborhoods have risen and fallen, but The Land has worked hard to restore many places that have fallen into disrepair. In 2016, leading up to the Republican National Convention, our cityscape underwent quite a change, especially in more derelict neighborhoods. Even Public Square received something of a facelift. Despite the positive changes that have altered Cleveland’s landscape, photos of hard times still exist. The 1900s were a tumultuous century, full of ups, downs, and incredible changes. Let’s take a look at the landscape that was once Cleveland:
This gas station, once located off of W. 110th, was a reflection of the hard times Clevelanders were facing in the 1930s. By 1932, 12 million people across the nation were unemployed. By 1933, Ohio saw 40 percent of its factory workforce fall victim to unemployment and a shocking 50 percent of industrial workers in Cleveland were jobless, leaving the local economy in ruins.
After World War II ended, the housing market exploded. Industrial and white-collar workers alike flooded into the suburbs between 1950 and 1970, leaving many homes in the heavily populated Cuyahoga County cities vacant.
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4. A store condemned by the health department, year unknown.
Cleveland has a long history of taking local health seriously. The Cleveland Board of Health reigned between 1832 and 1910, fighting infectious diseases and aiming to stop their spread. Around 1913, the Federation for Charity and Philanthropy began battling hunger, dementia, and other community issues. Public health has long been of concern to Cleveland officials, and the local health department has condemned many a building in an effort to keep our community safe.
Cedar Point found its start in 1870, beginning as a bathhouse and beer garden. It grew tremendously over the years, but the Great Depression took its toll on the site. In the 1940s, it actually tore down the last remaining roller coaster after financial struggles made repairs impossible. The 1950s were a time of economic revival, however, and a brand new bathhouse was unveiled in 1958. The old bathhouse sat abandoned for at least a year before management began redeveloping the park to become the "Disneyland of the Midwest."
You may recognize this site as Superior Avenue, but that's probably because the Immaculate Conception Church has changed very little over the years. Today, this busy little stretch, just a stone's throw from Downtown, is no longer residential.
1967 was an interesting year in Cleveland history. That football season, the Browns won the Century Division championship. Carl B. Stokes was campaigning to make history as the city's first black mayor, and local athletes rallied around Muhammad Ali as he refused to be drafted. Despite so much activity, parts of the city still fell into disrepair.
Between July 18 and 23 of 1966, rioting in the Hough (pronounced "Huff") neighborhood resulted in four deaths, injuries to 50 individuals, and 275 arrests. Much of the damage resulted from arson and firebombings. The community suffered for the following five decades, as damages resulted in a shocking $15 million (in modern currency) while destroying the area's economic strip.
Like many other metropolitan cities in the country, Cleveland focused its efforts on battling an era of civil unrest in the mid-1960s. However, as the decade drew to an end, the nation began taking note of the state of its communities. Discussions of change were spearheaded by the shocking Cuyahoga River fire of 1969, which served as a symbol for the sorry state our environment was in. Before community clean up efforts were taken more seriously in the 1970s, cities like Cleveland were crawling with pollution and abandoned places.
In 1894, Cleveland bought 180 acres to establish a public park that they hoped would be a beloved attraction for generations. Though originally named Newburgh Park, it was renamed to Garfield Park in 1897. Locals loved swimming here during the summer months and sledding at the park in the winter, but it fell into disrepair in the 1960s as the city faced financial hardships. It sat unused until 1986 when the Cleveland Metroparks began leasing it. Now known as Garfield Park Reservation, deterioration is a distant memory for this now-dreamy escape.
Cleveland has changed greatly over the years, particularly in recent years, but the ghosts of its past still linger in the forms of photographs and videos. Do you recognize any of the abandoned destinations that haunt these photos?
