I’m trying to put together a modern-day list of ethnic neighborhoods/areas in Cleveland. I know immigration to the city isn’t what it was in the old days and the city is far less dense than it used to be which supported such neighborhoods. Nonetheless, I was wondering where these areas are today. For example, where would one go to find some Hungarian, Japanese, or Indian food market and then a café and restaurant? (by neighborhood, not a single restaurant/shop)?

 

So far--though this list may be need some corrections:

 

Chinese – AsiaTown

Vietnamese – Detroit in the 50’s (though I’m sure if they’re still there)

Russian – somewhere in Mayfield Hts?

Ukrainian-Parma-State Road between Snow & Brookpark

Italian-Little Italy

Slovenian—St. Clair in the 60s? “St. Clair Hts.”

Polish--Slavic Village?

 

 

Middle Eastern- Lorain and W. 117th

You're forgetting puerto rican.. Westside.. Not sure of the exact streets, but there are some elementary schools in Cleveland who are majority latino.

^i'm forgetting/missing a lot of groups I think---and hence my post!

Lots of Indian restaurants and stores/shops here in the Middleburg Heights area. We have a large population of Indians.

 

I would say there are a lot of Arabic shops and restaurants in the Lakewood-Cleveland area, the part of Cleveland being the area just south of Lakewood near W 117th.

I believe Cleveland still has the largest populations of Hungarians and Slovenians outside of their respected countries, but not sure at this point where they would be concentrated, if at all.

You're forgetting puerto rican.. Westside.. Not sure of the exact streets, but there are some elementary schools in Cleveland who are majority latino.

 

Right around Denison and the 60's, no?

 

Im trying to put together a modern-day list of ethnic neighborhoods/areas in Cleveland. I know immigration to the city isnt what it was in the old days and the city is far less dense than it used to be which supported such neighborhoods. Nonetheless, I was wondering where these areas are today. For example, where would one go to find some Hungarian, Japanese, or Indian food market and then a café and restaurant? (by neighborhood, not a single restaurant/shop)?

 

So far--though this list may be need some corrections:

 

Chinese AsiaTown

Vietnamese Detroit in the 50s (though Im sure if theyre still there)

Russian somewhere in Mayfield Hts?

Ukrainian-Parma-State Road between Snow & Brookpark

Italian-Little Italy

SlovenianSt. Clair in the 60s? St. Clair Hts.

Polish--Slavic Village?

 

I think you have two different characteristics here.  For instance, while LI and AT might be the center of that ethnicity's shops/restaraunts, etc..... it is the not the residential epicentre, which is very hard to identify these days..... mostly, if I had to guess, because neighborhoods are no longer built around churches the way they used to be.

 

I will add these:

 

Orthodox Jew - large swath in Cleveland Heights in the residential neighborhood east of Taylor and between Mayfield and Cedar.  There is a growing population also further out east along Green Rd in University Heights and Beachwood.

 

Indian - massive influx into the apartment complexes along Green and Noble Roads north of Mayfield...... although I am sure there are much heavier populations elsewhere.

 

Russian - yes, Mayfield Heights.  To be more exact, the SOM/Mayfield area.

 

Asian - Solon and the Orange School District

 

 

Another concentration of Indians in the high rises on E 12th downtown, overwhelmingly CSU students.  Similarly, Little Italy is now home to a lot of Asians who go to Case.  Job centers = gateways, no different than when European immigrants were drawn to factory neighborhoods.  I would be surprised if those in-city Slavic concentrations still exist in any meaningful way.  There are still some scattered holdouts but most are long gone to the suburbs.  When the diocese suggested that Hungarians start going to church on Buckeye again, the response was far from positive. 

 

The Puerto Rican area of the west side is pretty widespread.  OC, OB, Tremont, D-S... and moreso Brooklyn Center, Clark-Fulton and the Stockyards.  I don't know that there's a PR majority in any of these neighborhoods but certainly an observable presence and influence.  Interestingly a lot of them are Pentacostal.     

^Hts, for the past few months I've been meaning to post this somewhere for you because of your observations about South Asian population in CH.  Sounds like you've been spotting members of this sponsored Nepalese refugee community:

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunpress/2011/01/nepalese_refugees_flock_to_cle.html

I think you have two different characteristics here.  For instance' date=' while LI and AT might be the center of that ethnicity's shops/restaraunts, etc..... it is the not the residential epicentre, which is very hard to identify these days..... mostly, if I had to guess, because neighborhoods are no longer built around churches the way they used to be.[/quote']

 

I agree. Its not so easily defined as in the good ol' days. I guess I would define an ethnic area as EITHER one with a lot of shops/restaurants/businesses that are of/for a certain ethnicity AND/OR one with a significant residential presence by members of one ethnic group.

I also agree that ethnic communities' populations are much more geographically dispersed than they used to be and it's hard to define whether it's the ethnic makeup of the population or the ethnicities of the local businesses and churches.

 

The polish in slavic village ?! heh, the people haven't been that concentrated there, I'm guessing for 20-30 years (before my time).  :laugh: Unfortunately, nearly all of the ethnic shops [kruszynski's, jaworski's - butchers, Gertrude's bakery, and countless others that i'm forgetting] and shops, except for seven roses, have all closed or moved.

 

 

 

 

^Hts, for the past few months I've been meaning to post this somewhere for you because of your observations about South Asian population in CH.  Sounds like you've been spotting members of this sponsored Nepalese refugee community:

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunpress/2011/01/nepalese_refugees_flock_to_cle.html

 

Thanks!  I had been wondering about this since last summer when they just seemed to appear out of nowhere.  The neighborhood has always been diverse, but this new South Asian mix definitely stands out.  The article seems to be exactly what I am talking about re the apartment buildings on S Green and Noble (just south of Monticello).  And since they seem to like to walk so much, you can barely drive down either one of those streets anymore without seeing them.

Another concentration of Indians in the high rises on E 12th downtown, overwhelmingly CSU students.  Similarly, Little Italy is now home to a lot of Asians who go to Case.  Job centers = gateways, no different than when European immigrants were drawn to factory neighborhoods.  I would be surprised if those in-city Slavic concentrations still exist in any meaningful way.  There are still some scattered holdouts but most are long gone to the suburbs.  When the diocese suggested that Hungarians start going to church on Buckeye again, the response was far from positive. 

 

The Puerto Rican area of the west side is pretty widespread.  OC, OB, Tremont, D-S... and moreso Brooklyn Center, Clark-Fulton and the Stockyards.  I don't know that there's a PR majority in any of these neighborhoods but certainly an observable presence and influence.  Interestingly a lot of them are Pentacostal.     

Hispanics are the most numerous group in all census tracks contained in the area north of 71, South of Lorain, West of 25th, and East of W. 41st.

Cleveland also has the third-largest Belarusian population in America, trailing only New York and Chicago. Many Belarusians have settled in Parma, Middleburg and Strongsville -- the latter being the home of their orthodox church and cultural center.

There's also a Ukrainian population in Parma. There's also a section of State Road (south of Brookpark to Ridgewood, perhaps?), that has St. Josephat's, the Ukrainian credit union, and a few other shops with Ukrainian shops, and was noted as 'Ukrainian village' by parma officials in the past 5 years. I think there's also a few other Ukrainian churches along State in North Royalton.

 

Could the 2010 Census shed some light on it and give some numbers of where the ethnic communities are ?

 

There's some Nepalese refugees (maybe a hundred?) also on Cleveland's west side, around the Triskett and 140th area.

 

Also, there's a small (guessing between 100 to 250) Burundian refugee community who have arrived in Cleveland within the past 2 years. At least 2 families live within a few blocks of St. Colman's on 65th, and on the west side of Cleveland.

 

KJP,

How did I miss it, silly me  :yap:

 

There's also a Ukrainian population in Parma. There's also a section of State Road (south of Brookpark to Ridgewood, perhaps?), that has St. Josephat's, the Ukrainian credit union, and a few other shops with Ukrainian shops, and was noted as 'Ukrainian village' by parma officials in the past 5 years. I think there's also a few other Ukrainian churches along State in North Royalton.

 

 

He's got it listed. It's called "Ukrainian Village".....

 

There are still pockets of Hungarian residents in the streets between Shaker and Buckeye in the E. 120s.

 

Very large and growing Latino population (Puerto Rican being the large though not sole component) on the Near West Side, particularly in Clark-Fulton area.

 

Asiatown does have a large Chinese population but also has a sizable population of Koreans and Vietnamese (hence the decision to brand as Asiatown instead of Chinatown).

 

Very large and growing Latino population (Puerto Rican being the large though not sole component) on the Near West Side, particularly in Clark-Fulton area.

 

It should be noted that the Latino population is shrinking on the Near West Side (along with every other group) but growing rapidly in Old Brooklyn, Cudell, Edgewater, etc.  It's the familiar "flight" pattern that has been playing out city-wide for decades.

There are still pockets of Hungarian residents in the streets between Shaker and Buckeye in the E. 120s.

 

Very large and growing Latino population (Puerto Rican being the large though not sole component) on the Near West Side, particularly in Clark-Fulton area.

 

Asiatown does have a large Chinese population but also has a sizable population of Koreans and Vietnamese (hence the decision to brand as Asiatown instead of Chinatown).

 

Is there really a sizable Korean population living in Asiatown?  I know there are a couple restaurants there, but never would have guessed there were many, if any Korean residents.

 

Two relevant google map views just for kicks:

 

http://bit.ly/er44CQ: possible sighting of two of those last couple dozen Hungarians living in Buckeye

 

http://bit.ly/fP9RZ9: a stations of the cross walk in Slavic Village (I think; though not really my expertise) showing an ambiguously non-Slavic participating group.  Mostly non-Caribbean Latin American is best I can guess through the google face fuzz-out.

 

Do I spend too much time on google maps?  Yes.

Cleveland's Slovenians followed St. Clair out east from the area around E. 55th to Lake County. My grandparents did the St. Clair to Collinwood to Wickliffe move over a 30 year period.

 

Cleveland's Polish are heavy in the south suburbs. Brooklyn Heights to Brecksville and everything in between.

^Any Slovenians left on St. Clair between 55 and 79 Sts?

Maybe a few, since some of their institutions remain.  But very few.

I see what appears to be Slovenians walking on 55th from time to time and areas of Payne and St Clair, but west of 55th

There's a relatively recent retirement home across from St. Vitus that's full of Solvenian old folks, I believe, and I'm sure a few old couples in some of the small houses, but yeah, not exactly a hot spot for young Slevenian-american families anymore.

There's been quite a few Albanians settling in that neighborhood since the 1990s Balkan War.

I thought it was more Bosnians and Serbians, but regardless, it hasn't been enough that I would call it an ethnic neighborhood for any of those ethnicities.

I know of at least three households of Albanians at E.55th and St Clair.  All homeowners (they bought the houses with straight cash working side jobs btw...).

 

^side jobs, huh? :)

 

There's been quite a few Albanians settling in that neighborhood since the 1990s Balkan War.

 

They have a sizeable population in Lakewood.  Check out any of the coffee shops on a Friday or Saturday evening and you'll see the men hanging out outside and smoking.

There is also a sizeable number of Butanese moving into Lakewood.  They are mostly concentrated in apartment buildings in East Clifton and Cove Avenue.  Catholic Charities has done a lot of work with relocating them.

Refugee resettlement is good for Cleveland--giving us a nice geographic mix of people. US policy on migration has shifted over the years, resettling a smaller proportion migrants to major foreign born markets like NY and LA and increasing the proportion to smaller places like Utica and Lincoln, NE.

 

In the 1980's, 90's, and 2000-June 2004--here are the proportions to these cities:

 

New York---9.0, 14.9, 5.0

LA--13.1, 5.0, 4.3

Chicago---4.0, 4.1, 3.5.....

Cleveland 0.4, 1.0, 0.8

Jacksonville  0.3, 0.8, 1.2

Des Moines  0.4, 0.6, 1.0

 

Data from here: http://www.migrationinformation.org/charts/singer_mar07_tab3.cfm

 

(Don't have the data for smaller places, but I imaging the proportion increasing significantly--perhaps from 0% to over 1%.

 

In total, the number of refugees resettled, from 1980-2004 in CLE was 12,494, ranking it 29th in the US, with NY, LA, and Chicago being the top three in order.

 

 

 

 

So apparently after reading the article about the new Global Center in the BP building there are 10,000 Nigerians in the Cleveland area.  Does anyone know where they live?

All over the place.  I know a few that live in Pepper Pike.  Nigeria is more westernized than most other African countries, per my understanding.

I'd guess that the Nigerians who come to Cleveland are by and large educated professionals or grad students (maybe like the Korean community) so maybe not so clustered.  The 10k number surprises me- as of 2000 there were only about 3k African-born residents of Cuyahoga county, but maybe it picked up a lot in the 2000s, plus kids and all that.

i can't verify who lives around st vitus church now, but they do offer slovenian language courses for children and adults

So apparently after reading the article about the new Global Center in the BP building there are 10' date='000 Nigerians in the Cleveland area.  Does anyone know where they live?[/quote']

 

Wow--10,000 is a big number. I wonder how accurate the article was (I just found one from the PD that made that claim). I've never met a single Nigerian in CLE...

 

Wow--10,000 is a big number. I wonder how accurate the article was (I just found one from the PD that made that claim). I've never met a single Nigerian in CLE...

 

I've met two -- both were the drivers of taxis I hailed at the airport. If they hadn't said anything, I never would asked where they were from because I would have assumed they were African-Americans who were born here. There was almost nothing visually to distinguish them from lifelong Clevelanders.

^no accent?

 

Yes, both had a very strong accent. That's why I said I asked where they were from.

^Ah--now i get it. I misread the above....

There's a lot of Nigerians working on the east side, especially at Whole Foods in University Heights.

Time for some fun. Can anyone correctly guess the top 5 countries of origin for people naturalizing in metro Cleveland in the year 2010, in ranked order?  (Metro Cleveland, for this purpose, excludes Akron, since INS uses census bureau definitions of metro areas.) (I have the answers, which I'll reveal later...)

Total guesses here:

 

1:  India

2:  China

3.  Croatia

4.  Ukraine

5.  Belarus

Time for some fun. Can anyone correctly guess the top 5 countries of origin for people naturalizing in metro Cleveland in the year 2010, in ranked order?  (Metro Cleveland, for this purpose, excludes Akron, since INS uses census bureau definitions of metro areas.) (I have the answers, which I'll reveal later...)

 

My guesses :)

 

1. Iraq

2. Mexico

3. Burundi

4. India

5. Nepal

 

(I had Canada but decided to switch it out with india  8-)

1. Pittsburgh

2. India

3. Canada

4. Cincinnati

5. East Side (naturalizing on west side)

ha....... ha........  East Siders could never "naturalize" on the west side.  Our wives don't weigh more than our pick-ups.  We limit our front porch appliances to the occasional grille.  And we cut off our mulletts and rat tails thirty years ago.  :P

Hts--you were close!

 

The top 5 - with number of persons:

 

1. India - 294

2. Romania - 150

3. Ukraine - 125

4. PRC - 104

5. Albania -78

 

Other countries mentioned above:

 

Croatia: 28

Belarus: 7

Iraq: 13

Mexico: 49

Burundi: not disclosed

Nepal: not disclosed

Bhutan: 0 (probably of Nepalese origin) [though a large number got green cards].

Canada: 35

 

Overall, really tiny numbers. By contrast, NY had 8500 Indians and 7700 Chinese naturalizing.

PRC? Do you mean Peoples Republic of China?

 

EDIT... BTW, I'm surprised those numbers are so low.

ha....... ha........  East Siders could never "naturalize" on the west side.  Our wives don't weigh more than our pick-ups.  We limit our front porch appliances to the occasional grille.  And we cut off our mulletts and rat tails thirty years ago.  :P

 

This is a pretty accurate description of the East End and California neighborhoods on the extreme east side of Cincinnati....Pretty scary out there. I feel much safer in OTR than out that way.

 

The numbers Pugu released seem extremely low; It seems like they would be significantly higher.

 

Also, LoL at Bumsquare's response.

PRC? Do you mean Peoples Republic of China?

 

EDIT... BTW, I'm surprised those numbers are so low.

 

The numbers Pugu released seem extremely low; It seems like they would be significantly higher.

 

KJP--Yes. PRC to differentiate it from Hong Kong (2198) or Macau (94). The numbers in parentheses refer to naturalizations in the US as whole. In CLE, these numbers were either zero or insignificant.

 

KJP/HHS78---They are very low, I know. Cleveland naturalizations equaled those of Nashville--and we both ranked 40th in the US. One would think CLE should be a lot higher, but the city has fared dismally in the past decades of attracting new immigrants--and hence the recent push. 620,000 people naturalized in the US last year, with 91,000 in Metro New York, 52,000 in Metro LA, and 42,000 in Metro Miami. Metro CLE came in at 2,122.