Posted October 8, 201113 yr Part VII – Superior Triangle & Cumberland & Mayfield Lee & Forest Hills These four neighborhoods are in the northwest portions of the city. At the epicenter is the city’s recreation center. It is also home to the Motorcars dealerships (anyone know the name Seidman? ;)). Most significantly IMO is the history at the corner of Mayfield and Lee, which speaks through the pictures below. Part VII(a) – Superior Triangle Starting out at the northwestern edge of the city is the Superior Triangle (or what locals may sometimes refer to as ‘the Jets’). We are kind of back where we started in Part I. It is a small, but dense, area just to the north of the Coventry strip and shaped by Superior Avenue and Coventry Road with Mayfield Road to the south. Sadly, it is probably the most crime ridden portion of the city. Whenever suggesting Coventry as a place to live, I always recommend renting only the apartments either on Mayfield or south of Mayfield. But I don’t take issue with the units that are actually on Mayfield, such as… 1. 2. I would love for them to cut back these sidewalks and put in some bike lanes 3. 4. 5. And next… a lesson on how to not just toss the baby out with the bathwater 6. 7. Superior Ave., heading down towards East Cleveland 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. A sampling of the residential streets caught within the triangle, a mixture of single and multifamily homes 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Part VII(b) –Cumberland Cumberland is a much more desirable area. For the purposes of this thread, I will define it as the area to the southeast of Superior and Mayfield, but also including the recreation center immediately to the northeast of that intersection. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. At one time, I gave some thought to putting a bid in on that house on the right 26. It’s no cheaper than a gym membership, but it is a one stop shop equipped with anything you could imagine right down to ice skating. I can’t remember if they tore the old one down or just built around it. 27. 28. 29. 30. Part VII© –Mayfield Lee (aka the original Rockfeller Center 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. There’s something really ‘off’ about this scene 37. 38. The whole area is filled with gems 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. Moving east on Mayfield towards Taylor…. this church, of which I am a ‘member’ (long story but if you’ve seen that greek wedding movie, then you get the drift), throws a big festival at the end of each summer. 44. 45. A non-orthodox temple is hidden back there in the woods 46. Residential on the surrounding side streets 47. Part VII(d) –Forest Hills Most of the glory of the Forest Hills neighborhood, including the park it is built around, is within the boundaries of East Cleveland. The southern point of the neighborhood dips into Cleveland Heights just north of Mayfield-Lee along Monticello Blvd and some adjacent residential streets. It is a really charming neighborhood, but anyone interested in living there should realize that parts of the neighborhood that are within CH’s municipal boundary are actually within the East Cleveland school district (if that is a consideration for those interested). 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. I have always wondered whether the house was built around that tree or whether it was planted post-construction 54. 55.
October 8, 201113 yr I'm pretty sure the old recreation center was demolished and replaced entirely by the new one. I remember there being a long bank of windows along the front of it, and at night you could see inside it really well. I am remembering the indoor pool was at the front of it -- am I remembering that right? My mother raised her two oldest boys from her first marriage on her own at two places on Glenmont in the Triangle. She first lived at the south end of Glenmont in CH and the later at the north end in EC. My oldest brother, born in 1949, was in the fourth- and fifth-grades in East Cleveland. In his fourth-grade class picture, there were only several black kids. In his fifth-grade class picture, there were only several white kids -- he among them. Right around this time, Cleveland Heights adopted some of the earliest anti-block busting ordinances in the nation, and had some of the toughest pre-sale real estate inspection laws. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 8, 201113 yr I can tell you with certainty that the old recreation center was NOT entirely demolished. I played rec hockey there for a better part of my youth and that old ice rink is still there just as it always was. Basically, the new ice rink was built in the old parking lot, an atrium was add between the two ice rinks towards the new parking lot near Monticello Boulevard, new locker rooms were added, and the main entrance was moved from Superior Road to Monticello Boulevard. They may have done some other things, but as someone who spent a lot of time there before the renovation and visited it quite often since, these are the things that stand out to me the most. Also, it should be noted, I can't remember a time, going back to the early 1990s, when the facility ever had an indoor pool. Maybe before then, but not since as far as I know.
October 8, 201113 yr One other thought, there are some magnificent hidden areas of East Cleveland just off of Lee Road (north of Northvale-Forest Hills/south of Terrace/west of Taylor). I can see why certain people might be itching to annex part of EC (not to mention bring along with it Forest Hills Park). ;)
October 9, 201113 yr I can tell you with certainty that the old recreation center was NOT entirely demolished. I played rec hockey there for a better part of my youth and that old ice rink is still there just as it always was. Basically, the new ice rink was built in the old parking lot, an atrium was add between the two ice rinks towards the new parking lot near Monticello Boulevard, new locker rooms were added, and the main entrance was moved from Superior Road to Monticello Boulevard. They may have done some other things, but as someone who spent a lot of time there before the renovation and visited it quite often since, these are the things that stand out to me the most. Also, it should be noted, I can't remember a time, going back to the early 1990s, when the facility ever had an indoor pool. Maybe before then, but not since as far as I know. Agreed. We played basketball and volleyball there during summers and they expanded the building. The current center is at least 3 times the size it was back in the day.
October 9, 201113 yr I can tell you with certainty that the old recreation center was NOT entirely demolished. I played rec hockey there for a better part of my youth and that old ice rink is still there just as it always was. Basically, the new ice rink was built in the old parking lot, an atrium was add between the two ice rinks towards the new parking lot near Monticello Boulevard, new locker rooms were added, and the main entrance was moved from Superior Road to Monticello Boulevard. They may have done some other things, but as someone who spent a lot of time there before the renovation and visited it quite often since, these are the things that stand out to me the most. Also, it should be noted, I can't remember a time, going back to the early 1990s, when the facility ever had an indoor pool. Maybe before then, but not since as far as I know. Agreed. We played basketball and volleyball there during summers and they expanded the building. The current center is at least 3 times the size it was back in the day. Yeah, during the summer they converted the ice rink to a gym for basketball (and I guess volleyball). Oddly enough, I can't ever remember being in that building when they had the gym setup. They've also probably added treadmills and other workout equipment (before renovation they did have a limited selection of this equipment), but I'm not sure where these are located now. Regardless, this is all probably picking at the nit a bit too much. The new facility is very nice.
October 9, 201113 yr Beautiful area. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 10, 201113 yr Actually I might have to take back my comment from the Cedar Fairmount thread - the building in #32 is probably my favorite building in CH. And it looks like you went down the street I grew up on in #25 - I assume that's Compton.
October 11, 201113 yr I wonder if portions of Cleveland Heights were developed by the same person who did Forest Hills Gardens in Queens--so many similarities, or was it just a trend at that time in many cities? Whatever, it's such a beautiful look. Especially the building with Starbucks. http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
October 11, 201113 yr This area of Cleveland Heights north of Mayfield is a hidden gem and not known to many Clevelanders outside of the Heights suburbs. I know I was completely clueless about the area until I moved to my first apartment in Shaker Heights and started going on the Cleveland Heights heritage tours.
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