You have presented a good, relatively comprehensive history of the Western suburbs; well done! The "ridges" that Detroit Road, Center Ridge Road, and Lorain Avenue run on were created during the last ice age, BTW, where glaciers pushed a bunch of...crap...to, in stages...
Hi Joe! I just moved to the Cleveland area from Florida and I have loved watching your videos to help me get acquainted with my new home. Would love to hear more of the random history facts that you pepper into your videos - so interesting!
Wish you could have covered my home turf, West Park, but it is part of the city of Cleveland. It used to be its own city. It has more in common with Lakewood and Parma than Cleveland. Kamm's Corners is fun.
I grew up in Brooklyn in the late 60's and 70's and your comments on the west side are spot on. The seatbelt law was funny--I grew up with that and never knew Brooklyn was special like that. I assumed it was the law everywhere until I got older. A mention of Old Brooklyn would have been interesting---even though it's technically in Cleveland, it was part of Brooklyn before it incorporated. And Linndale. Ah Linndale. I worked at the Burger King there the summer before college. Nothing but a speed trap. Glad to hear it's harder for them to do that nowadays.
With all the history Cleveland has and how successful it used to be, it's good to finally see improvements. especially in places like Tremont, Ohio city and downtown. everytime i come back to visit family it always seems like something new is being built.
I really need to visit more places in Ohio I’ve been almost every where in the west side. But this really puts it in perspective of how big our state is. Great video man!
I like your vids Joe! I am a big City Beautiful fan (I feel like you might have watched him? You have his cadence in another vid I watched) and housing/urban development is an interest of mine. And Im from Cleveland!
Linndale has a speed camera now on Memphis to make their money, so you go to Linndale kinda court and barter with the city attorney on how much of a fine to pay, interesting I think.
Yeah its totally ridiculous. Linndale simply shouldn't exist anymore, but since it does its next to impossible to get rid of it. No municipality would leverage the powers granted to them for any reason, hence the overlapping suburbs we have.
Growing up in the southwest (Cleveland), I don't have a problem naming those 'orange' towns on your map. We're a long time Cuyahoga County family, Dad's from Lakewood, Cousins in Lakewood, East Cleveland, and Chagrin Falls. My generation grew up in Middleburg Hts and dad's cousins were in Berea. Highlights are just as many as any other part of the metro area. Cleveland Metroparks, including Rocky River Reservation and Big Creek Parkway. County fairgrounds, Olmstead Falls, and much more. Demographically, Parma is / was the eight largest city in Ohio, and yet a suburb of Cleveland.
Thanks for making another one man! I don't like Westlake houses on the inside either. I used to do contact work and unless they pay out the nose for a maid service they're almost always trashed inside. It's too much house to clean.
Thats the interesting thing about Westlake, its a wealthy place, but the houses are so gaudy that they become impractical. The east side is a very different story with its 100 year old houses!
@@geography_joe when I was growing up in Bay, 1952-1972, Westlake was mostly rural, and we called the people farmers! I remember in the summer to farm stands for fresh produce. Bay was not considered rich then either, solid middle class with a some working class and a few more upscale areas.
I grew up in North Olmsted. Was kinda sad you sorta blew it off just the get to Westlake. No street view either. Good job talking about the other suburbs. :)
Nice job. Although I'd consider Avon to be an exurb, no longer rural. Also could note Dover Center Road runs through the center of former Dover Township and three current municipalities. Similar to SOM Center Road on the east side running through the center of three former townships.
Came here from Mr Beat! I live nowhere near Cleveland or the Midwest, but you do a good job of talking about your city in an interesting way! I found the bit about Linndale pretty funny. And yeah, McMansions kindaaa suck lol.
This is some real og youtube shit, I love how wholesome and informative this video is. It's admirable how much you know about your hometown. Much love and fuck Linndale
Cleveland should start annexing more of it's suburbs,( with the exception of east Cleveland)because of it's decline in population. Also the city needs more space to bloom.
The ORC 709.46 requires that annexation be voted and passed by a majority of residents in both corporations - a majority of voters in both Cleveland and a majority of voters in the suburb being anexes. Since no suburb would want to give up control of their police, fire, or school systems to the incompetence that has come to define how the city of Cleveland operates no suburb would vote for annexation. Additionally, since most of the western suburbs vote Republican comprares to the eastern suburbs that vote Democrat you would see very long protracted legal battles as any such attempts by Cleveland to annex the western suburbs could run afoul of certain state and federal laws like the VRA.
@@cxa340 then I would go for consolidation. Merge every municipality with cuyahoga county... but keep the school districts separated..... merge everything else....
@@TheProtocol48 the incompetence of Cleveland voters has brought this on themselves - it has been almost 40 years since a Republican has been elected mayor of Cleveland, the incredible incompetence and corruption of the past few mayors has been astounding but since Cleveland voters refuse to vote for anything but single party rule there is no way that the residents in the western suburbs would want to give up control of any of their services to a one-party electorate that cares little for qualifications or achievement. The current debate about building a new airport is a great example of this where the incompetence of the city leadership has left the city with an old outdated airport that does not serve the needs of passengers of northeast Ohio, but since the management of the airport is decided by the mayor and city council we find mismanagement, corruption, poor planning, has left the city with the current airport. Why would voters in the suburbs trust Cleveland voters to run police or fire when they can’t even manage to run the airport?
Born 1952 in Lakewood Hospital. Grew up in Bay Village. Parents moved to Westlake, which was largely rural into the Eighties, we called Westlake people ‘farmers’. Bay was called by my HS sociology teacher ‘the Secluded Oasis.’ 100% white and Christian then. I spent a year, 1976, in Cleveland Heights in Coventry in college (black people! Jews!) then in 1978 moved to Lakewood-Clifton Blvd near Lakewood Park. Moved to CA in 1984. (Now live in Sydney Australia-long way from CLE!) Linndale = always a speed trap. Worked at Fairview Hospital 1971-77. Graduated from Cleveland State and went to law school at CWRU. BTW, Huntington Beach was posted NO SWIMMING in the late ‘50s as the lake was filthy then!
The problems you listed at the beginning are shared by many sprawly and/or suburban metro areas like Chicago and LA which are both extremely fragmented in terms of local government. Chicago especially is well known for this. DFW despite being very suburban actually escapes this specific problems as our suburbs are usually pretty large and not super fragmented like Chicago.
Also Australia is a lot like this too but it solves the problem with just a lot of typically local government functions taken over by the state (at least that's how it works in Melbourne)
I grew up near hear. Lived while in north Olmsted and fairview. But im wondering what field you're going into? Local politics /divisions of tourism, planning, etc ate natural fits but you've the capability for even more . Thanks Middle aged guy
Really liked this video - I always wondered why Westlake has that name when it’s not on the lake. I moved to Westlake after college and I love living so close to the lake, but every time I go into Bay Village it’s like they can tell I don’t “belong” there by the way they look at me. (I’m single and in my 20s.) It’s bizarre.
I am a subscriber and I enjoy these videos. This video is the second time that I have noticed you say that it is "inefficient" to have all of these incorporated towns in what used to be Cleveland proper. How can you qualify that statement and why would it matter? Please explain what it is specifically that bothers you about this.
It doesn’t necessarily bother me so much as it seems to make the Greater Cleveland area a lot more segregated and harder to operate with. Having over 60 municipalities to choose from makes it easy for new development to come into town, but the fact that the borders between some of the suburbs are so stark (Shaker/Warrensville Heights, Bratenahl/Cleveland, etc) kinda shows that tax revenues aren't really being equally alotted to certain municipalities. If someone raised in the city of Cleveland wants to make better than average money, they have to find a way to get all the way to Woodmere, or Beachwood, or Lakewood to do so. I just wish there was some sort of organization that worked on synergy between the many suburbs we have.
Yes, Ohio has townships and townships can be run by town meetings or selectmen, or trustees. There is no population limit that forces a township to become a city in Ohio, however, townships may not levy an income tax so people who live in Olmsted Township do not pay a city income tax as the ORC only allows for such a tax to be imposed by incorporated cities and not townships or villages - if you head into central and western Ohio you will find many more incorporated villages and townships.
The built form in the west side suburbs is a lot like the built form in a number of the east side suburbs, minus the Jews. For example, Rocky River is kind of akin to University Heights, but without all the Jews.
Unfortunately Cleveland has been plagued by criminals! East and West Cleveland maybe 2 areas are decent to live but not leave out your home. And depending what area or street even being home isn't safe. Due to the no chase policy criminals juveniles and adults have now spread to surrounding suburbs to do crimes then these criminals run bk to Cleveland Ohio so police can't chase them! Courts and laws here cater to criminals! Also the puplic is never warned !!!!! Till its to late and looking at cuyahoga county court records these criminals have been set free or given the bare minimum! I understand not everyone is impacted by the actions of these criminals but if I can warn 1 nice family from being fooled it's worth the time
How sad that you misunderstand the American model. The more engagement of individual citizens in the governance of the place they live, the better. The challenge is that the municipalities should work together and engage on a regular basis. Governance is messy and it should be. You can make public services efficient and responsive, but public service and governance AT NOT BUSINESS and were never intended to be. Study your history - Cleveland was at its best when it was built around local neighborhoods, churches/synagogues, and when people in the community were actively engaged in everyday governance. People left Cleveland because they were basically "people from the land' - when they accumulated enough wealth to buy and live on the land again.
You have presented a good, relatively comprehensive history of the Western suburbs; well done! The "ridges" that Detroit Road, Center Ridge Road, and Lorain Avenue run on were created during the last ice age, BTW, where glaciers pushed a bunch of...crap...to, in stages...
Hi Joe! I just moved to the Cleveland area from Florida and I have loved watching your videos to help me get acquainted with my new home. Would love to hear more of the random history facts that you pepper into your videos - so interesting!
Alright I’m down for another video. Love ur stuff bro. I’ve got the bell notifications turned on for your channel!
Thanks so much! I’m hoping to upload a lot more this year :)
Wish you could have covered my home turf, West Park, but it is part of the city of Cleveland. It used to be its own city. It has more in common with Lakewood and Parma than Cleveland. Kamm's Corners is fun.
Bratenahl was a speed trap too. I ran over a light pole there one night in 1977 , yes I was somewhat intoxicated.
lma0
"And Lindales is...Lindale :hand wave:"
ACCURATE
Love the content! Cleveland area is for sure underrated!
It really is!
I grew up in Brooklyn in the late 60's and 70's and your comments on the west side are spot on. The seatbelt law was funny--I grew up with that and never knew Brooklyn was special like that. I assumed it was the law everywhere until I got older. A mention of Old Brooklyn would have been interesting---even though it's technically in Cleveland, it was part of Brooklyn before it incorporated. And Linndale. Ah Linndale. I worked at the Burger King there the summer before college. Nothing but a speed trap. Glad to hear it's harder for them to do that nowadays.
I’m from Cleveland too. Specifically Strongsville
Strongsville isn't somewhere I've spent a lot of time. Mainly the northern west side and inner east side
Even as an east sider, I appreciate your attention to detail and interesting trivia. Thanks Joe. 👍
With all the history Cleveland has and how successful it used to be, it's good to finally see improvements. especially in places like Tremont, Ohio city and downtown. everytime i come back to visit family it always seems like something new is being built.
Comment from an old former Lakewood youth: That Hilliard Bridge you show was a great place for late night street (drag) racing back in the day.
Great video! I really love how passionate and knowledgeable you are about your local area; a lot of people know very little about their own towns.
I moved south but I’m more familiar with Eastern suburbs. This was helpful.
Linndale also have a camera speed trap.
Excellent video!
I really need to visit more places in Ohio I’ve been almost every where in the west side. But this really puts it in perspective of how big our state is. Great video man!
Ohio is such a cool state! Just never-ending farms and towns throughout its entirety.
Love this great to see a creator out of Cleveland
I like your vids Joe! I am a big City Beautiful fan (I feel like you might have watched him? You have his cadence in another vid I watched) and housing/urban development is an interest of mine. And Im from Cleveland!
I lived in Brooklyn for a while, nice small town.
Linndale has a speed camera now on Memphis to make their money, so you go to Linndale kinda court and barter with the city attorney on how much of a fine to pay, interesting I think.
Yeah its totally ridiculous. Linndale simply shouldn't exist anymore, but since it does its next to impossible to get rid of it. No municipality would leverage the powers granted to them for any reason, hence the overlapping suburbs we have.
You don't need to pay. They don't send to collections. So nothing comes from the ticket if you ignore it
As a Westlake resident, people here from what I learned so far really don't claim Jake Paul
Growing up in the southwest (Cleveland), I don't have a problem naming those 'orange' towns on your map. We're a long time Cuyahoga County family, Dad's from Lakewood, Cousins in Lakewood, East Cleveland, and Chagrin Falls. My generation grew up in Middleburg Hts and dad's cousins were in Berea. Highlights are just as many as any other part of the metro area. Cleveland Metroparks, including Rocky River Reservation and Big Creek Parkway. County fairgrounds, Olmstead Falls, and much more. Demographically, Parma is / was the eight largest city in Ohio, and yet a suburb of Cleveland.
Im pretty sure Parma is 7th now
Thanks for making another one man! I don't like Westlake houses on the inside either. I used to do contact work and unless they pay out the nose for a maid service they're almost always trashed inside. It's too much house to clean.
Thats the interesting thing about Westlake, its a wealthy place, but the houses are so gaudy that they become impractical. The east side is a very different story with its 100 year old houses!
@@geography_joe when I was growing up in Bay, 1952-1972, Westlake was mostly rural, and we called the people farmers! I remember in the summer to farm stands for fresh produce. Bay was not considered rich then either, solid middle class with a some working class and a few more upscale areas.
6:15 sadly, all those beaches have since disappeared.
I grew up in North Olmsted. Was kinda sad you sorta blew it off just the get to Westlake. No street view either. Good job talking about the other suburbs. :)
Nice video, well done. I was expecting to see my hometown, Parma, in here but maybe you’ll do another video that includes it.
I mean Parma is the biggest suburb of Cleveland so I'll probably include all those suburbs in my next video like this one :)
I'm from parma too, not a big fan of Parma itself. it's pretty boring lmao
I'm from Youngstown area, and even everyone over here hates Linndale lol
Nice job. Although I'd consider Avon to be an exurb, no longer rural. Also could note Dover Center Road runs through the center of former Dover Township and three current municipalities. Similar to SOM Center Road on the east side running through the center of three former townships.
Came here from Mr Beat! I live nowhere near Cleveland or the Midwest, but you do a good job of talking about your city in an interesting way! I found the bit about Linndale pretty funny. And yeah, McMansions kindaaa suck lol.
I grew up on the eastside so I never crossed the river. The video has informed me of this foreign land.
Another great video! Cleveland Heights here.
This is some real og youtube shit, I love how wholesome and informative this video is. It's admirable how much you know about your hometown. Much love and fuck Linndale
Cleveland should start annexing more of it's suburbs,( with the exception of east Cleveland)because of it's decline in population. Also the city needs more space to bloom.
I agree. Start with Linndale please!
The ORC 709.46 requires that annexation be voted and passed by a majority of residents in both corporations - a majority of voters in both Cleveland and a majority of voters in the suburb being anexes. Since no suburb would want to give up control of their police, fire, or school systems to the incompetence that has come to define how the city of Cleveland operates no suburb would vote for annexation. Additionally, since most of the western suburbs vote Republican comprares to the eastern suburbs that vote Democrat you would see very long protracted legal battles as any such attempts by Cleveland to annex the western suburbs could run afoul of certain state and federal laws like the VRA.
@@cxa340 then I would go for consolidation. Merge every municipality with cuyahoga county... but keep the school districts separated..... merge everything else....
@@cxa340 Sadly I think you are correct.
@@TheProtocol48 the incompetence of Cleveland voters has brought this on themselves - it has been almost 40 years since a Republican has been elected mayor of Cleveland, the incredible incompetence and corruption of the past few mayors has been astounding but since Cleveland voters refuse to vote for anything but single party rule there is no way that the residents in the western suburbs would want to give up control of any of their services to a one-party electorate that cares little for qualifications or achievement. The current debate about building a new airport is a great example of this where the incompetence of the city leadership has left the city with an old outdated airport that does not serve the needs of passengers of northeast Ohio, but since the management of the airport is decided by the mayor and city council we find mismanagement, corruption, poor planning, has left the city with the current airport. Why would voters in the suburbs trust Cleveland voters to run police or fire when they can’t even manage to run the airport?
Born 1952 in Lakewood Hospital. Grew up in Bay Village. Parents moved to Westlake, which was largely rural into the Eighties, we called Westlake people ‘farmers’. Bay was called by my HS sociology teacher ‘the Secluded Oasis.’ 100% white and Christian then. I spent a year, 1976, in Cleveland Heights in Coventry in college (black people! Jews!) then in 1978 moved to Lakewood-Clifton Blvd near Lakewood Park. Moved to CA in 1984. (Now live in Sydney Australia-long way from CLE!) Linndale = always a speed trap. Worked at Fairview Hospital 1971-77. Graduated from Cleveland State and went to law school at CWRU. BTW, Huntington Beach was posted NO SWIMMING in the late ‘50s as the lake was filthy then!
Greetings from Phoenix-- but missing Westlake, Bay, River, and Lakewood.
I always wondered about Parkview
Awesome video
And I was just reading about Linndale with the junkyard in their town with illegal dumping, lol
Not surprised to hear about this!
The problems you listed at the beginning are shared by many sprawly and/or suburban metro areas like Chicago and LA which are both extremely fragmented in terms of local government. Chicago especially is well known for this. DFW despite being very suburban actually escapes this specific problems as our suburbs are usually pretty large and not super fragmented like Chicago.
Also Australia is a lot like this too but it solves the problem with just a lot of typically local government functions taken over by the state (at least that's how it works in Melbourne)
I’m from Lakewood too
Can you please make more videos on Cleveland
Great video !!!
I grew up near hear. Lived while in north Olmsted and fairview. But im wondering what field you're going into? Local politics /divisions of tourism, planning, etc ate natural fits but you've the capability for even more .
Thanks
Middle aged guy
Near here.
Hello from Bay Village!
Just subbed to the channel. I'm from Cleveland as well currently living by the zoo
I’m from another rust belt city (Rochester, NY).
Really liked this video - I always wondered why Westlake has that name when it’s not on the lake. I moved to Westlake after college and I love living so close to the lake, but every time I go into Bay Village it’s like they can tell I don’t “belong” there by the way they look at me. (I’m single and in my 20s.) It’s bizarre.
I am a subscriber and I enjoy these videos. This video is the second time that I have noticed you say that it is "inefficient" to have all of these incorporated towns in what used to be Cleveland proper.
How can you qualify that statement and why would it matter? Please explain what it is specifically that bothers you about this.
It doesn’t necessarily bother me so much as it seems to make the Greater Cleveland area a lot more segregated and harder to operate with. Having over 60 municipalities to choose from makes it easy for new development to come into town, but the fact that the borders between some of the suburbs are so stark (Shaker/Warrensville Heights, Bratenahl/Cleveland, etc) kinda shows that tax revenues aren't really being equally alotted to certain municipalities. If someone raised in the city of Cleveland wants to make better than average money, they have to find a way to get all the way to Woodmere, or Beachwood, or Lakewood to do so. I just wish there was some sort of organization that worked on synergy between the many suburbs we have.
@@AllergicToFantasy I didn't ask you.
Speaking of ridges.. Guess why Center Ridge Rd. has it's name! Lolol
Who would've thought!
Center Ridge Road I believe is the farthest south that a glacier reached!
I didn't even know Ohio had townships! I thought that was a New England thing with Michigan being the exception.
Yes, Ohio has townships and townships can be run by town meetings or selectmen, or trustees. There is no population limit that forces a township to become a city in Ohio, however, townships may not levy an income tax so people who live in Olmsted Township do not pay a city income tax as the ORC only allows for such a tax to be imposed by incorporated cities and not townships or villages - if you head into central and western Ohio you will find many more incorporated villages and townships.
The built form in the west side suburbs is a lot like the built form in a number of the east side suburbs, minus the Jews. For example, Rocky River is kind of akin to University Heights, but without all the Jews.
Great video. You might want to take the time to script out your videos a bit more and talk a little bit slower.
ahhh ohio the armpit of the country
Unfortunately Cleveland has been plagued by criminals! East and West Cleveland maybe 2 areas are decent to live but not leave out your home. And depending what area or street even being home isn't safe. Due to the no chase policy criminals juveniles and adults have now spread to surrounding suburbs to do crimes then these criminals run bk to Cleveland Ohio so police can't chase them! Courts and laws here cater to criminals! Also the puplic is never warned !!!!! Till its to late and looking at cuyahoga county court records these criminals have been set free or given the bare minimum!
I understand not everyone is impacted by the actions of these criminals but if I can warn 1 nice family from being fooled it's worth the time
The flat fur temporarily squash because ray serendipitously offend minus a acrid roll. rampant, hurried perfume
How sad that you misunderstand the American model. The more engagement of individual citizens in the governance of the place they live, the better. The challenge is that the municipalities should work together and engage on a regular basis. Governance is messy and it should be. You can make public services efficient and responsive, but public service and governance AT NOT BUSINESS and were never intended to be. Study your history - Cleveland was at its best when it was built around local neighborhoods, churches/synagogues, and when people in the community were actively engaged in everyday governance. People left Cleveland because they were basically "people from the land' - when they accumulated enough wealth to buy and live on the land again.