Posted January 10, 200718 yr Which areas in greater Cleveland have immigrant populations from various countries?
January 10, 200718 yr When I used to walk down Cove Avenue in Lakewood to go to a store on Detroit (the store since closed), I was amazed to hear all the different languages spoken. One summer evening, the front porches were filled with people and I estimated that I heard a dozen different languages spoken. Just this evening, while doing laundry in the basement of my building, I met a Russian woman named Rita. She emigrated from Russia seven years ago with her family. Her English was quite good, and she said she likes it here. As for other parts of Cleveland where immigrants are clustering... There is a large Albanian enclave in the area of East 55th and St. Clair. There are two large areas of Vietnamese -- just east of Detroit Avenue and West 65th, and along Lorain Avenue in the West 110th Street area. A significant Arabic community is along Lorain Avenue west of West 110th out to Kamm's Corners. One of the fastest growing ethnic groups in Cleveland are Hispanics from a number of different nations. Just about the entire west side of the city of Cleveland is home to them. We are fortunate at Sun Newspapers to have a reporter, David Plata, who is fluent in Spanish. He covers much of the city's west side. I understand there is also a growing Caribbean population (especially Jamaican) in the Broadway - Miles - Harvard area, between East 93rd and Lee. And, of course, there's Chinatown-Asiantown area just east of downtown. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 10, 200718 yr As for other parts of Cleveland where immigrants are clustering... There is a large Albanian enclave in the area of East 55th and St. Clair. I would add Bosnian and Serbian as being around in this area. Historically, this was a Slovenian neighborhood -- 55th up through 72nd or so along St. Clair. Slovenians have now spread out, with many being in Euclid, Willoughby Hills, Wickliffe, and Mentor, among others. As for others in the greater Cleveland area, I know that there is a large Croation population in the Eastlake/Willoughby area of the suburbs -- near the gigantic Croatian National Home.
January 10, 200718 yr As for other parts of Cleveland where immigrants are clustering... There is a large Albanian enclave in the area of East 55th and St. Clair. I would add Bosnian and Serbian as being around in this area. Are they still coming to that area? I thought that neighborhood had mostly lost its source of immigrants, who are now aging in place.
January 10, 200718 yr I know there was a good influx in the late 90s; I don't know if they are still coming. You are definitely correct in that there are still post WWII immigrants in the area; at least for Slovenians though, I know that the numbers are dwindling.
January 10, 200718 yr Howabout Little Italy for the Italians!!! and of course Slavic Village for Slovakian and Polish (however, in recent years, this has deteriorated and many have moved to Parma and/or Garfield Heights, with the well-to-do moving out to Sagamore Hills)
January 10, 200718 yr My house has a large population of Italians. Plus 3 cats and 10 fishies. LOL LOL
January 13, 200718 yr Lots of Russians in South Euclid, Lyndhurst and Mayfield Heights. Many of them are Jewish; many signs at the JCC are in both English and Russian, and there's a Russian synagogue in South Euclid. The Mexican population in Painesville is growing quite a bit. There's two Asian grocery stores on Mayfield Road; one in SE, one in Lyndhurst. usually you don't have Asian grocery stores without Asian immigrants. There's also two Italian grocery stores, but most Italians around here were born in the US. Finns have historically settled in Fairport Harbor and Ashtabula, but there probably haven't been any Finnish immigrants in 80 or 90 years. Lots of Finnish names still around in those areas, though.
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