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Broadway ?
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Glenville
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Kamm's ?
Lorain Station
St. Clair - Superior Neighborhood
The newly created St. Clair Superior Business Revitalization District is a commercial district which has been designated under the Zoning Code as a district in which all new construction and exterior property alterations are subject to “design review” prior to issuance of a building permit. The Re$tore Cleveland Initiative is a comprehensive revitalization program that promotes economic development on St. Clair Avenue from East 55th to East 72nd Street. Since 1988, 21 properties within this business district have participated in the Storefront Renovation Program to upgrade the exterior of their buildings to retain and also attract new businesses. There are close to 500 businesses in the
area that include diverse restaurants, retail, commercial, large industry and
Fortune 500 companies. The community is also home to Asian, African-American and
Puerto-Rican residents, who currently compromise over half of St. Clair
Superior’s population. Eastern Europeans, Slovenians, Lithuanians, Croatians,
Germans, and Poles are noticeable in the neighborhood and worship at the
historic churches. Many residents work in a variety of industries, including
manufacturing, technology, medicine, law, education, and human service. Neighborhood History The St. Clair Superior neighborhood began to urbanize in the 1870’s and 1880’s, following the area’s annexation to the City of Cleveland. Industries located north of the St. Clair Avenue attracted Slovenian, Irish, German, and Lithuanian immigrants. St. Vitus Church is the largest Slovenian church in America, having been the place of worship for the late, great senator of Ohio, Frank Lausche. The landmark Slovenian National Home, with a 1,000 seat social hall, was built at East 64th and St. Clair Avenue in 1924. Members of the Lithuanian community founded the Lithuanian Building and Loan Association in 1906 and built the present St. George Lithuanian Church at East 40th and St. Clair Avenue in 1921. Goodrich-Kirtland Park and Payne-Sterling are also a part of the St. Clair Superior neighborhood. The Goodrich-Kirtland Park neighborhood became part of the city when Cleveland Township was annexed in 1850. The area began to urbanize in the 1870’s and 1880’s. Industries developed north of St. Clair Avenue along the rail lines which paralleled Lake Erie. These industries attracted Slovenian and Lithuanian immigrants in addition to Croatians, Germans, and Poles. One of the most prominent and oldest landmarks in the neighborhood is the Immaculate Conception Church, established in 1873 (and rebuilt in 1898) at East 41st and Superior Avenue. The Goodrich-Gannett Center, currently located at East 55th and St. Clair Avenue, originally moved to the neighborhood in 1914 at a location on East 31st Street. It offered classes, workshops, and other activities to serve the needs of the neighborhood’s many immigrants. The East 55th Center was opened in 1952.The Payne Sterling area of the neighborhood became part of the city when Cleveland Township was annexed in 1850. Members of the Croatian Community developed St. Paul’s Catholic Church at East 40th and St. Clair in 1904 and St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church at its present East 34th and Superior site in 1913. The newly built Evergreen Apartments, located just east of the Asia Plaza, are home for many Asian American senior citizens. The Asia Plaza development features many shops, including Asian grocery and specialty stores. African-American residents now comprise
over half of St. Clair Superior’s population, with the most sizable east side
Hispanic population in Cleveland. In addition, St. Clair Superior is the most
culturally diverse neighborhood in the city of Cleveland with immigrants coming
from Albania, China, Ethiopia, South Korea, Serbia, and Slovenia to this day.
Restaurants of every country can be found on St. Clair and Superior Avenues,
with some of the best corned beef sandwich restaurants following suit. St. Clair Superior Today
There have been several major projects that have made private investments into the neighborhood including: Quay 55 5455 N. Marginal Road ($25 million); Dominion 1201 East 55th Street ($14 million); St. Vitus Village 6114 Lausche Avenue ($6 million); Tim Evans’ building 6202 St. Clair Avenue($1.2 million) and the Diner on 55th and St. Clair Avenue($1 million). For additional information about the St. Clair Superior Development Corp. and the neighborhood, call Katharyne L. Marcus at (216) 881-0644. |
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Send mail to info@cndc2.org |
The
St. Clair Superior Development Corporation (SCSDC) is located in the most
culturally diverse and fully integrated neighborhood in the City of Cleveland.
One of the greatest features of the neighborhood is its proximity to the Lake
Erie shoreline. The Lake Erie shore once merely sand dunes is now home to a
marina, lakefront airport, and notable parks and Marinas-Kirtland, Gordon, the
Cleveland Cultural Gardens and East 55th Marina. Kirtland Park was
created in the 1930’s and was designated as a Cleveland Landmark in 2002.
The St. Clair Superior neighborhood is
poised to become one of the city’s cultural arts destinations with galleries and
artist live work space. The neighborhood boasts the most prevalent artist live
work district in the city with several projects catering to the emerging and
established artists. These include Hodge School, the Tower Press and Zygote
Press buildings, Payne Avenue Lofts, Wolf Lofts and 1400 East 30th
Street.