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Cleveland-The Flats- We've got a
newly-renovated one bedroom unit that has a great layout for roommates who need
their privacy but also need a one-bedroom sized rent. In this apartment, we've
put a door on the living room, so it can be used as a second bedroom.
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The Flats Information
The Flats is a mixed-use industrial, entertainment, and increasingly
residential area of Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The area was given its name due to its
mostly flat appearance and is defined as being the lower lying areas that line
the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The Flats have had significant historical
influence on the city and greater region.
The banks of the Cuyahoga River were the landing spot of Moses Cleveland and his
survey party on their arrival from Connecticut in 1796. After completion of his
task, Cleveland went back to Connecticut, never to return. Early settlers
included Lorenzo Carter, whose land holdings included much of what makes up
today's East Bank entertainment district, including the area that is known as
Whiskey Island (which was created when the mouth of the river was straightened
by the Corps of Engineers). The log cabin located today on Merwin Road near
Center Street on the East Bank is a recreation of his home, although much
further downstream than where his was located.
Early residents found the Flats very inhospitable for living, especially in
summer months when humidity and airborne illness were at their peaks, and in
harsh winters with strong winds and snowfall generated by Lake Erie. Many of the
early settlers took to higher ground in current day Downtown. These settlers
often relied on local Native American residents who lived on the West Bank and
were more adept at living in the area.
Cleveland's early development and population growth was slow until the arrival
of the Ohio and Erie Canal, which brought a trade route from the Ohio River and
other southern Ohio cities. It also brought a heavily Irish immigrant workforce
to help construct the canal who took residence on the West Bank of the Flats and
neighboring Ohio City. As Cleveland was developing, so too was Ohio City, whose
prosperity was fueled by the West Side Market. Food taken from farms grown in
Medina County via US 42 was being sold at the Market to residents of both Ohio
City and Cleveland, and was quickly being seen as a threat to Cleveland's
development.
To thwart this threat, Cleveland destroyed their half of a floating bridge at
Main Street which was jointly owned by Cleveland and Ohio City and the only mode
of traveling between the two cities. Cleveland then constructed a new bridge
further downstream which connected then Cleveland Mayor John W. Willey and
developer/friend Jas Clark's "Willeyville" and "Cleveland Centre" developments
along the newly constructed Columbus Road. With the Main Street bridge unusable
commercial produce traffic had no choice but to use the new Columbus Road to
sell their produce at the new Central Market, bypassing the West Side Market
altogether. Infuriated Ohio City residents using the rallying cry of "two
bridges or none" marched on the new Columbus Road bridge with guns, axes, and
other tools in an effort to destroy the bridge. They were met by a mob of
Cleveland residents ready to fight and the ensuing "Bridge War" was put down by
county sheriff's officers.
While the courts made Cleveland reconstruct their half of the Main Street
Bridge, the damage had been done to Ohio City. It would soon be the first area
to be annexed by Cleveland as its growth continued. A recession on the middle
1800s caused Willey and Clark's Cleveland Centre mixed commercial and
residential plan to collapse, and the land was purchased by the growing
industrial presence helped by the canal and the arrival of the locomotive. By
this time the Flats had become known as an unsavory place. The cities' poor
Irish lived along the West Bank in the "Irish Ghetto" near the intersection of
Columbus, Carter, Franklin, and Riverbed Roads. Shipmen would find services at
establishments like the "Flat Iron", the oldest Irish Bar in the Flats, which
was originally a three story cafeteria and inn. Lumberyards lined the river with
freshly cut wood waiting to be shipped. John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil
Company, located on the East Bank, was putting Cleveland on the map as an
industrial power, and would later put Cleveland on the map for being the
pollution capital of the world. The company's oil often found its way into the
river from oil refineries located further downstream.
The Flats' industrial legacy, however, would be defined by its steel mills. This
would be the driving force in Cleveland's economy for producing jobs and city
resources. Mills have been historically Cleveland's biggest buyer of water and
electricity, two critical ingredients in the steel making process. The names
have changed over the years, from Republic and J&L, to LTV to ISG to current day
Mittal, but the location along the river south of the Tremont neighborhood and
west of the Slavic Village neighborhood has remained the same. Post-war
recessions and production being shifted from the states to competitors in China
and Europe hit the Cleveland steel industry hard. Layoffs in the late 1970s
forced many to find work elsewhere, or support from welfare programs. During
this time Cleveland, along with other industrial cities in the region like
Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Gary, had unaffectionate become known as the
Rust Belt. LTV's repeated bankruptcies finally led to the closing their plants
in 2000 (including Cleveland's plant), until investors formed ISG and resumed
operations, although they have been considerably scaled back.
Closer towards the river's mouth the story was much the same. Over the course of
the second half of the 20th century, much of the industry and manufacturing
located in the flats pulled out or closed shop all together, leaving its mark on
the landscape with abandoned, decaying buildings and seemingly irreversible
pollution. The Cuyahoga River actually caught fire multiple times due to the
amount of chemicals in the water. However, its most recent fire in 1969 was its
most famous. This fire brought unwanted national attention to the failures of
Cleveland and brought much needed national attention to environmental issues
leading to the formation of both the Ohio and U.S. Environmental Protection
Agencies just one year later.
It wasn't until the middle 1980s that the Flats saw a resurgence as an
entertainment destination. Attention was being given to Cleveland's decaying
downtown and the Flats was a focal point. While underground music venues existed
on the East Bank mainstream development first took place on the West Bank. "The
Powerhouse", which was constructed to power the city's cable car system, was
renovated to include multiple bars, restaurants, and an outdoor music venue used
during the summer. Other old warehouses and buildings were also renovated into
nightlife destinations. At its peak in the early 1990s, the Flats had the
highest concentration of bars in the Midwest with both locally owned bars and
national restaurant chains lining both sides of the river from the mouth down to
the area known as the Oxbow bend. The Flats and Cleveland had soon become an
entertainment mecca and destination for the region. The Flats Oxbow Association
was formed to help aid the redevelopment of the flats, and housing development
soon followed on both sides of the river, with new construction and warehouses
being converted into condominiums and apartments.
The Flats' heyday as an entertainment destination was short lived. Three
drowning deaths in a one month period in 2000, along with a city crackdown on
fire and health code violations led to multiple bars being shut down, and
patrons becoming scared off due to safety concerns led to a sharp decrease in
business. While this was a boon for the redevelopment for the Warehouse
District, the area just up the hill from the East Bank, it sent shock waves
through the Flats' redevelopment from which it has never fully recovered. Most
of the East Bank has gone "dark" due to the number of businesses that have
closed. Recent plans have been unveiled in the summer of 2005 includes leveling
most of these buildings and creating a new "neighborhood" that includes mixed
use live/work spaces, a movie theatre, shopping, a grocery store and riverwalk.
The West Bank has fared better than the East since 2000. While not anywhere near
its pre-2000 peaks, it still has many establishments open, and has been home to
the majority of housing developments in the Flats. New upscale condominiums have
been constructed along the old Irishtown Bend and at the remains of the Superior
Viaduct, which was the first high rise bridge to span the river. New shopping
destinations are also in development, like the Steelyard Commons, which is
currently under construction on lands previously occupied by the steel mills.
The canal's towpath trail, part of the Ohio & Erie Canal Corridor, is also being
restored to provide jogging and bike trails for city residents and to preserve
part of the Flats history. Whiskey Island has also been purchased by Cuyahoga
County in hopes of making it more accessible to residents in the form of a
lakefront park. The water quality of the river has also improved since 1970,
with fish populations returning increasingly each year. This is largely due to
the unintended importation of zebra mussels from Asia in the ballast of ships in
the Port of Cleveland or some other port on Lake Erie.