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Shaker Heights, Ohio

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Shaker Heightsis a city inCuyahoga County, Ohio,United States. As of the2020 census,the city's population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ringstreetcar suburbofCleveland,abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. It is aplanned communitydeveloped by theVan Sweringen brothers,railroad moguls who envisioned the community as a suburban retreat from the industrial inner city of Cleveland.

Shaker Heights, Ohio
City
Shaker Village Historic District
Shaker Village Historic District
Location in Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio.
Location inCuyahoga Countyand the state ofOhio.
Coordinates:41°28′35″N81°33′6″W/ 41.47639°N 81.55167°W/41.47639; -81.55167
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountyCuyahoga
Established1911
Incorporated1912
Government
•MayorDavid Weiss (D)
Area
[1]
• Total
6.33 sq mi (16.40 km2)
• Land6.29 sq mi (16.29 km2)
• Water0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2)
Elevation
[2]
1,050 ft (320 m)
Population
(2020)
• Total
29,439
• Density4,679.54/sq mi (1,806.68/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5(Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)UTC-4(EDT)
ZIP codes
44118, 44120, 44122
Area code216
FIPS code39-71682[3]
GNISfeature ID1065308[2]
Websitewww.shakeronline.com

History

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A house at theNorth Union Shaker Site.

Shaker Heights is home to the oldest house in Cuyahoga County, built in 1817 by Moses Warren.[4]The name "Shaker Heights" has origins in two local sources. The community was laid out on land formerly owned by the North Union Community of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known asShakers."Heights" refers to theplateaueast of Cleveland that rises sharply in elevation from 582 feet above sea level at the base of the Cedar Glen Parkway rising to 950 feet above sea level in nearbyCleveland Heights;Shaker Heights' elevation is 1050 feet above sea level.

Ralph Russell established theNorth Union Shaker Settlementin 1822 with just over 80 individuals. Between 1826 and 1854, the group dammed Doan Brook, which made Upper and Lower Lake, and established threegristand asawmills.[5]The colony peaked around 1850 with about 300 settlers, but subsequently faded away and was closed in 1889.[6]

In 1905, the land was bought by brothers M.J. and O.P.Van Sweringenwho envisioned the firstgarden styled suburbin Ohio for the site.[6]The brothers constructed homes, set aside land forchurchesand schools, and planted trees. Originally referred to as Shaker Village, the community was incorporated in 1912 and reached city status in 1931.[7]

Shaker Heights is known for its stringentbuilding codesandzoninglaws, which have helped to maintain the community's housing stock and identity throughout the years.[8]Approximately seventy-five percent of the city of Shaker Heights is listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesas theShaker Village Historic District.[9]

Efforts toward racial integration began in the late 1950s, with neighbors in the Ludlow Elementary School area working together to make integration successful.[10]As a result, Shaker Heights avoided many of the problems created from practices such asblockbustingandwhite flight.In 1986, the city began the Fund for the Future of Shaker Heights, which offered loans for down payments for residents buying homes in segregated neighborhoods, which helped to create multi-ethnic neighborhoods.[11]Today, the city maintains a housing assistance office that works with home buyers to achieve and maintain neighborhood integration.

Shaker Heights was a finalist for theAll-America City Awardin 1989.[12]

Geography

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ANASAphoto ofGreater Cleveland,showing the relative location of Shaker Heights.

Shaker Heights is located at41°28′35″N81°33′6″W/ 41.47639°N 81.55167°W/41.47639; -81.55167.[13]According to theUnited States Census Bureau,the city has a total area of 6.32 square miles (16.37 km2), of which 6.28 square miles (16.27 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) is water.[14]

Shaker Heights is roughly 1,050 feet (320 m) abovesea level,[2]and is located about 6 miles (10 km) inland fromLake Erie.Shaker Heights is drained by the Doan Brook watershed, and has several small artificial lakes: Horseshoe Lake, Green Lake, Lower Shaker Lake, and Marshall Lake.[15]Horseshoe Lake and Lower Shaker Lake had been dammed by the Shakers, while developers added Green Lake and Marshall Lake, the latter named after drugstore chain owner W. A. Marshall, at a later point.[16]

Shaker Heights is one ofGreater Cleveland's older inner-ring or "first" suburbs, and bordersCleveland,Cleveland Heights,University Heights,Beachwood,Highland Hills,andWarrensville Heights.[17]Shaker Heights is a member of the Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium.[18]

Neighborhoods

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A map of the neighborhoods in Shaker Heights.

There are nine neighborhoods in Shaker Heights, all of which were named after the nine original elementary schools.[19]These neighborhoods are:

  • Boulevard,located in northwest Shaker Heights, is near Cleveland'sUniversity Circleneighborhood, and bordersShaker Square.TheNature Center at Shaker Lakesis located in this neighborhood.
  • Fernwayis located in the middle of Shaker Heights, north of Van Aken Boulevard, and south of Shaker Heights Country Club.
  • Lomondis located in the south-central part of the city.
  • Ludlowis the smallest neighborhood and is located in the western portion of the city. Half of the neighborhood lies in Shaker Heights, while the other half is in the Shaker Heights School district ofCleveland.[10]
  • Malvernis mostly residential and is the location ofHathaway Brown School.TheHanna Perkins Center,a child development center, occupies the former Malvern school building.[20]
  • Mercer,located in northeast Shaker Heights, is the largest neighborhood. The area is also home toShaker Heights Middle School(previously Byron Junior High School), and the private schoolsUniversity SchoolandLaurel School.The Bertram Woods branch of the Shaker Heights Public Library is located here.
  • Morelandis located in southwest Shaker Heights. The former Moreland school building now houses theShaker Heights Public LibraryMain Branch.
  • Onawayis home toShaker Heights High School,and the former Woodbury Junior High School Building.
  • Sussexis located in southeast part of the city and is the location of theTower Eastoffice building and post office.

Shaker Squareis in the city of Cleveland, though a September 1912 agreement between Shaker Heights and Cleveland school districts places it in the Shaker Heights City School District.

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19201,616—
193017,7831,000.4%
194023,39331.5%
195028,22220.6%
196036,46029.2%
197036,306−0.4%
198032,487−10.5%
199030,831−5.1%
200029,405−4.6%
201028,448−3.3%
202029,4393.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[21]

As of the2010 census,[22]there were 28,448 people, 11,840 households, and 7,716 families residing in the city. Thepopulation densitywas 4,529.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,749.0/km2). There were 13,318 housing units at an average density of 2,120.7 per square mile (818.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 55.0%White,37.1%African American,0.1%Native American,4.6%Asian,0.6% fromother races,and 2.7% from two or more races.HispanicorLatinoof any race were 2.2% of the population.

There were 11,840 households, of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% weremarried couplesliving together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.8% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.03.

The median age in the city was 40.9 years. 26.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.1% were from 25 to 44; 29% were from 45 to 64; and 15.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.2% male and 54.8% female.

The median income for a household in the city was $76,476, and the median income for a family was $105,660. Theper capita incomefor the city was $47,360. About 5.3% of families and 8.6% of the population were below thepoverty line,including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.[23][24]The unemployment rate in the city is 5.4%, one of the lowest rates for individual cities included in data provided by theOhio Department of Job and Family Services.[25]

About 93.5% of residents speakEnglishnatively at home, while 1.6% speakSpanish,1.2% speakFrench,0.7% speakChinese,and 3.0% speak another language, includingGerman,RussianandArabic.[26]

Educationally, Shaker Heights is above the national, state, and local averages for residents who have attained a bachelor's, master's, or above a master's degree. As of the 2010 Census, 64.5% of the city's population over the age of 25 had obtained a college degree compared to 28.6% of the same population in Cuyahoga County, 24.1% statewide, and 27.9% nationally.[27]

Government and politics

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Shaker Heights City Hall

The Shaker Heights City Charter was adopted in 1931 and revised in 1974, 1986, and 1999. Thischarterprovides for amayorand seven members of acity council,elected on anat-large,non-partisan basis. The current mayor of Shaker Heights is David Weiss. He was elected in 2018 after serving briefly as interim mayor to fulfill the term of the previous three-term mayor Earl Leiken, who resigned to take the position ofchief of staffwithCuyahoga County ExecutiveArmond Budish.[28]In 2019, David Weiss ran unopposed and was re-elected to a four-year term as mayor.[29]He was re-elected to a second full term in a landslide in 2023.[30]Council members are elected to four-year terms, with four of the elections coinciding with mayoral elections and the other three two years later in order to stagger terms.[31]

TheNeo-Georgiancity hall, designed byCharles Schneider,was built in 1930.[32] Over the years it has hosted 12 Keys to the city ceremonies starting in 1935 to Oris Paxton Van Sweringen and ending in 1993 to Dean Yoder.

Shaker Heights is a stronghold of theDemocratic Party,withJoe Bidenwinning nearly 90% of vote in themost recent Presidential election.[33]Shaker Heights is entirely within theEleventh Congressional District,a seat in theHouse of Representatives,represented byShontel Brown(D).[34]At the state level, Shaker Heights is located within the21st senatorial district,represented byKent Smith(D) in theOhio Senate,and in the 22nd District of theOhio House of Representatives,represented byJuanita Brent(D).[35]

Education

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The main branch of theShaker Heights Public Library,a member of theCLEVNETconsortium.[36]

Publicly, Shaker Heights is served by theShaker Heights City School District,[37]aK-12district with an enrollment of about 5,600 students in eight total schools. There are five lowerelementary schools,Fernway, Mercer, Boulevard, Lomond and Onaway; an upper elementary school, Woodbury Elementary School;Shaker Heights Middle School;andShaker Heights High School.The district estimates that roughly 90% of Shaker graduates attend college,[38]and has been recognized for its efforts to increase neighborhoodintegration.[39]In the 1950s, the public school system was rated in the top ten nationally. According to the 2007-2008 State of Ohio Report Card, Shaker scored 97.1 out of a possible 120. The district is listed as "Effective," the third tier on a 6 tier scale.[40]On the other hand, since 1995, 9-17% of seniors atShaker Heights High Schoolhave been recipients ofNational Merit Scholarship awards,[41]and in 2008, the high school had twice as many National Merit Scholarship winners as any other public school in the state.[42]This can possibly be explained in a 2009 survey of the school, which said that Shaker Heights High School "is really two schools – one school with students in an outstanding Advanced Placement program and one school with students with academic needs."[43]

Private schools in the city includeLaurel School,Hathaway Brown School,and the lower campus ofUniversity School.There is also aparochial schoolin Shaker, St. Dominic School.[44]

John Carroll Universityis partially located in Shaker Heights, with the university owning several residential and commercial properties in the city.[45]Additionally, Shaker Heights is in proximity to University Circle, which is home toCase Western Reserve University,TheCleveland Institute of Art,and theCleveland Institute of Music.

The Japanese Language School ofCleveland(クリーブランド nhật bổn ngữ bổ tập giáo,Kurīburando Nihongo Hoshūkō),aweekend Japanese school,holds its classes at the Shaker Heights campus of the Laurel School.[46]

Media

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Shaker Heights is thecity of licenseforCBSaffiliateWOIO,channel 19, which has its studios and offices in Cleveland.[47] Shaker Heights news appears in the Cleveland daily newspaper,The Plain Dealer,as well asThe Shakerite,the Shaker Heights High School student newspaper. TheSun Press,a weekly, provides local coverage of Shaker Heights and neighboringBeachwood,Cleveland Heights,andUniversity Heights.[48]

Transportation

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See also:RTA Rapid Transit
A Blue Line streetcar at theLynnfield station.This style of car, thePCC streetcar,was replaced in 1981 with theBreda LRVcar.[49]

Twolight raillines of theGCRTApass through and terminate in Shaker Heights. TheBlue Linecuts through the median of Van Aken Boulevard, while theGreen Linecuts through the median of Shaker Boulevard. The Blue and Green lines provide direct rail service to Cleveland, and are each the direct successors of former streetcar services established in 1920 and 1913 respectively. The city of Shaker Heights directly owned and operated theseShaker Heights Rapid Transitservices between 1944 and 1975.[49]

Notable people

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Main article:List of people from Shaker Heights, Ohio
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Shaker Heights is the hometown ofHow I Met Your MotherprotagonistTed Mosby(despite being attributed toClevelandon occasion),[50]Ward Cleaverfrom the TV seriesLeave it to Beaver,[51]and theWorld Wrestling Federation'sBeverly Brothers.[52]

Shaker heights is also featured as the main city in “Little fires everywhere” a novel by Celeste Ng that was also adopted into a Tv series on Hulu starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washingtion.

The city is the principal setting forCeleste Ng’s bookLittle Fires Everywhere,as well as itsTV adaptation.[53][54] Shaker Heights and its history are also the setting and a main plot point inNo One's HomebyD.M. Pulley.[55]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"ArcGIS REST Services Directory".United States Census Bureau.RetrievedSeptember 20,2022.
  2. ^abcU.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Shaker Heights, Ohio
  3. ^"U.S. Census website".United States Census Bureau.RetrievedJanuary 31,2008.
  4. ^"The Famous Architects of Shaker Heights | Shaker Historical Society".www.shakerhistoricalsociety.org.Archived fromthe originalon March 15, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 13,2022.
  5. ^"North Union Shaker Site".National Park Service.RetrievedMarch 21,2008.
  6. ^ab"The North Union Shakers".Archived fromthe originalon June 29, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 20,2008.
  7. ^"Shaker Heights".Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.CWRU. 2003.RetrievedJune 4,2011.
  8. ^Segall, Grant (December 2, 2008)."Demolition crew uncovers long-hidden Philco sign in Shaker Heights".The Plain Dealer.RetrievedDecember 13,2008.
  9. ^Shaker Heights Landmark Commission."Historical Development of Shaker Heights"(PDF).RetrievedJune 7,2014.
  10. ^abMaag, Christopher (January 17, 2008)."A Suburb Looks Nervously at Its Urban Neighbor".New York Times.RetrievedJune 12,2008.
  11. ^Keating, W. Dennis (September 1988)."Suburban Cleveland's 20-Year Integration Struggle".American Planning Association. Archived fromthe originalon May 9, 2008.RetrievedJune 12,2008.
  12. ^"Past Winners of the All-America City Award".Archived fromthe originalon August 14, 2007.RetrievedOctober 8,2007.
  13. ^"US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990".United States Census Bureau.February 12, 2011.RetrievedApril 23,2011.
  14. ^"US Gazetteer files 2010".United States Census Bureau.Archived fromthe originalon January 25, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 6,2013.
  15. ^Behnke Associates, Inc."The Doan Brook Watershed"(PDF).The Holden Parks Trust Distribution Committee. p. 1.RetrievedJanuary 20,2008.
  16. ^Marshall, Bruce T. (2006).Shaker Heights.Arcadia Publishing. p. 69.ISBN0-7385-4050-1.RetrievedJune 4,2011.
  17. ^Housing Policy Research Program,Cleveland State UniversityCollege of Urban Affairs."Cities of the First Suburbs Consortium".RetrievedMarch 19,2008.{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help)
  18. ^"Members".Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium.RetrievedAugust 16,2024.
  19. ^"Shaker Neighborhoods".Shaker Online. 2008. Archived fromthe originalon January 11, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 5,2008.
  20. ^"Directions to the Hanna Perkins Center for Child Development".2007. Archived fromthe originalon December 31, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 5,2008.
  21. ^"Census of Population and Housing".Census.gov.RetrievedJune 4,2015.
  22. ^"U.S. Census website".United States Census Bureau.RetrievedJanuary 6,2013.
  23. ^Bureau, U.S. Census."American FactFinder - Results".factfinder2.census.gov.Archived fromthe originalon February 12, 2020.RetrievedApril 5,2018.{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)
  24. ^"Shaker Heights (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau".Quickfacts.census.gov.RetrievedJune 30,2013.
  25. ^Legeza, Kasha; Michelle Simakis (January 27, 2012)."Kent's Jobless Rate Drops to One of Lowest in Ohio".Kent Patch.RetrievedJanuary 29,2012.
  26. ^"MLA's Data Center Results for Shaker Heights, Ohio".Modern Language Association.2000. Archived fromthe originalon June 19, 2006.RetrievedJune 21,2010.
  27. ^"Educational Attainment: United States, Ohio, Portage County, Ohio, and Kent city, Ohio".2010 United States Census.United States Census Bureau.2010.RetrievedMay 6,2013.
  28. ^Jewell, Thomas (April 10, 2018)."David Weiss takes the oath and reins as interim Shaker Heights mayor".Cleveland.com.RetrievedApril 24,2018.
  29. ^Bamforth, Emily (November 5, 2019)."17 Cuyahoga County mayors running unopposed in 2019 election".Cleveland.com.RetrievedNovember 6,2019.
  30. ^Raspe, Becky (November 8, 2023)."Mayor Weiss wins reelection in Shaker Heights".Cleveland Jewish News.RetrievedAugust 16,2024.
  31. ^"City Council".Shaker Heights.RetrievedNovember 6,2019.
  32. ^Forgac, Patricia (May 1981). "Architecture".The Physical Development of Shaker Heights.Ohio:Kent State University.p. 106.
  33. ^"Official results: Joe Biden won 42 of 59 Cuyahoga County communities, 66.4% of the vote; see details by precinct".November 19, 2020.
  34. ^"Shontel Brown sworn in as representative for Ohio's 11th Congressional District".wkyc.com.November 4, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 29,2022.
  35. ^"Government Resources: State".City of Shaker Heights.RetrievedMay 6,2017.
  36. ^"CLEVNET Consortium".Cleveland Public Library.2008.RetrievedJune 9,2008.
  37. ^"2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cuyahoga County, OH"(PDF).U.S. Census Bureau.RetrievedFebruary 11,2022.
  38. ^"Fast Facts".Shaker Heights Schools. 2006. Archived fromthe originalon February 1, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 25,2008.
  39. ^Brand-Williams, Oralandar (January 28, 2002)."Shaker Heights: City works at integration"(PDF).The Detroit News.RetrievedFebruary 14,2009.
  40. ^"Shaker Heights City School District Report Card".State of Ohio Department of Education. 2008.RetrievedNovember 25,2008.
  41. ^"National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholarship Programs".Shaker Heights City School District. October 13, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon January 16, 2009.RetrievedDecember 13,2008.
  42. ^Stephens, Scott (May 12, 2008)."Shaker students score National Merit Scholarships".The Plain Dealer.RetrievedDecember 13,2008.
  43. ^"Report of the Quality Assurance Review Team for Shaker Heights High School"(PDF).AdvancED Worldwide. 2009. p. 9. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on January 12, 2011.RetrievedApril 23,2010.
  44. ^"About Shaker: Education".Shaker Online.RetrievedJanuary 21,2008.
  45. ^Jewell, Thomas (February 25, 2010)."John Carroll University and Shaker Heights reach off-campus housing accord".Sun News.RetrievedJuly 16,2010.
  46. ^"Học giáo khái yếu".Japanese Language School of Cleveland.RetrievedFebruary 11,2022.Bưu tiện uyển tiên: JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL OF CLEVELAND C/o Laurel School 1 Lyman Circle, Shaker Heights, OH. 44122
  47. ^"FCC Information:WOIO".Federal Communications Commission.RetrievedJanuary 20,2008.
  48. ^"History of the Sun Newspapers".Case Western Reserve University.June 30, 1997.RetrievedJanuary 20,2008.
  49. ^ab"About RTA: History of Public Transit in Greater Cleveland".Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.July 6, 2017.RetrievedJuly 1,2020.
  50. ^Morona, Joey (January 19, 2022)."Hulu's 'How I Met Your Father' lacks the fun and mystery of 'How I Met Your Mother'".cleveland.RetrievedApril 7,2022.
  51. ^Bona, Marc (March 18, 2013)."Ward Cleaver: Your 2 p.m. Buckeye Bits A&E trivia".cleveland.RetrievedApril 7,2022.
  52. ^"Are McGillicutty & Otunga really THAT boring? We don’t think so", from WWE.com
  53. ^"Shaker Heights From 'Little Fires Everywhere' Is A Real Place & It *Does* Have Strict Rules".Bustle.RetrievedApril 7,2022.
  54. ^Morona, Joey (March 23, 2020)."How much Cleveland is in Hulu's 'Little Fires Everywhere'?".cleveland.RetrievedApril 7,2022.
  55. ^DeMarco, Laura; Dealer, The Plain (August 31, 2019)."D.M. Pulley's 'No One's Home' a Gothic story of haunted Shaker Heights house, and families".cleveland.RetrievedApril 7,2022.

Further reading

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