Cleveland has been commanding attention in recent years thanks to the success of the Cavaliers basketball and Indians baseball teams and for playing host to high-profile events like the last Republican National Convention. Tracing the current glory days back to the time the city was first surveyed by General Moses Cleaveland and the Connecticut Land Company in 1796, observers of our storied past will discover a Rust Belt town built by immigrants that sparkled in the Gilded Age, became an innovator of industry, was coined the rock ’n’ roll capital of the world, and reinvented itself as a global leader of medicine and higher education.
The Cleveland Historical app is a free resource to help parents, babysitters, and nannies discover the best historical sites in the city through old photographs, self-guided tours, and searchable nearby landmarks thanks to GPS-location capability. Read on for 10 of C-Town’s top spots for uncovering the city’s rich past with your family.
A Christmas Story House
Address: 3159 W. 11th St., Cleveland, OH 44109
Hours: Open daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Except for major holidays
Phone: 216-298-4919
Admission: Adults, $11 | Seniors, $9.50 | Children (ages 3-12), $8 | Children (ages 2 and under), Free
In Cleveland, Christmastime is as synonymous with Santa Claus and Rudolph as it is with Ralphie and the Red Ryder. The 1983 cult classic, filmed in the Tremont neighborhood long before it was a trendy dining destination, has been immortalized in A Christmas Story House, where tours are conducted every hour starting at 10:15 a.m. Up to six super fans can spend the night in Ralphie’s and Randy’s beds and a sprawling modern upstairs loft. In addition to hundreds of rare photos from behind the scenes, you’ll find original costumes and props from the movie, including the family car, Randy’s snowsuit, toys from the Higbee’s window, the chalkboard from Miss Shields’ classroom, and last but not least, the iconic leg lamp. Want a “major award” of your own to take home? Swing by the gift shop to pick up a life-size model or miniature replica.
Cleveland Cultural Gardens
Address: Rockefeller Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Cleveland, OH 44106 | See map for individual garden locations
Hours: Open daily, 6 a.m. – 9 p.m.
In between Lake Erie and the city’s cultural hub, University Circle, sits the 254-acre Rockefeller Park: a gift to Cleveland from John D. Rockefeller for the city’s first centennial celebration in 1896. In 1916, the Shakespeare Garden (now the British Garden) was built inside the park. A decade later, Leo Weidenthal, editor and publisher of the Jewish Independent, imagined a chain of gardens symbolizing brotherhood between the many cultures of the world. With Weidenthal’s help, the Hebrew Garden became the first “outdoor museum” among what now includes 29 established and eight developing gardens constructed in a joint effort among Cleveland’s ethnic communities. The gardens wind approximately 1.5 miles down both MLK and East boulevards, creating a scenic 3-mile circle that’s fascinating in all four seasons. Delve deeper into the details of each site with a self-guided tour provided by Cleveland Historical. The One World Day celebration occurs each year in late August with the Parade of Flags and free trolley rides to each garden, which showcases the native dance, food, literature, and music of its country.
Cleveland History Center
Address:10825 East Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44106
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Sunday, noon – 5 p.m. | Closed Mondays
Phone: 216-721-5722
Admission: Adults, $10 | Seniors, $9.00 | Veterans, $7 | Children (ages 3-12), $5 | Members, active duty military, and children (ages 2 and under), Free
When the inevitable rainy days and winter snowfall strike, the Cleveland History Center offers an indoor refuge amongst the city’s relics. Delight the entire family with a spin on the restored Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel and a stroll through the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, filled with classic cars and vintage planes. A standing exhibit called In the Backyard of History has hands-on playthings for preschoolers, including historic costumes, antique toys, a miniature West Side Market, and a buildable Cleveland skyline. For kids between 6 and 9, Time and Place Space explores ways our clothes, cooking, and travel have evolved. Kids can try their hands at cooking over a fire, on a hearth or range, and in a microwave oven, then experience what it’s like to travel by horse, carriage, car, and plane. Between permanent collections and temporary exhibits, you’ll find something new on every visit that tells the histories of the communities, entrepreneurship, families, and technological innovation that influenced our modern age.
Keep in mind, too, that a pair of carousel rides is included with every paid admission.
Lake View Cemetery
Address: 12316 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106
Hours: Open daily | Hours depend on season
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April 1 – Oct. 31: 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. | Gates may close at dusk during late fall.
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Nov. 1 – March 31: 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Phone: 216-421-2665
This 285-acre cemetery listed on the National Register of Historic Places has become a popular retreat for locals and a must-see tourist destination for visitors. It has been dubbed “Cleveland’s outdoor museum and arboretum” for its trees and shrubbery that were planted for aesthetics as well as educational and scientific value. Numerous famous people are memorialized at Lake View Cemetery; among them are Eliot Ness and John D. Rockefeller. A crypt containing the nation’s only presidential casket on full display is located inside the President James A. Garfield Memorial, honoring our country’s 20th president. Don’t miss an opportunity to photograph the interior of the Jeptha H. Wade Memorial Chapel, one of a rare few remaining worldwide completely designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Lorenzo Carter Cabin
Address: 1283 Riverbed St., Cleveland, OH 44113
Hours: Open daily, dawn to dusk
Moses Cleaveland is credited with founding the city along the Lake Erie shore, but Cleveland’s first settler was actually Lorenzo Carter, who arrived in Cleveland on May 2, 1797, from Vermont. Carter was literally a jack-of-all-trades, holding posts as a fur trader, farmer, innkeeper, ferry captain, and the town’s first constable. A replica of his family’s small log cabin on the east bank of the Cuyahoga River was commissioned by Cleveland Women’s City Club in 1976 to give today’s residents and visitors a snapshot of what life was like for the first residents of Cleveland.
Playhouse Square
Address: 1501 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115
Hours and Admission: Varies by event.
Phone: 216-771-4444
Five fully restored historic theaters built between 1921 and 1922 compose Cleveland’s Playhouse Square — the world’s largest theater restoration project. Initially opened to audiences with silent movies, theater, and vaudeville performances, the Euclid Avenue theaters weathered the Great Depression and lean times post-World War II, until only one remained open by 1970. Nearly lost to demolition, the district saw its renaissance begin when civic leaders saved the Ohio and State theaters in 1972. By 1999, the city reclaimed its position as the nation’s largest performing arts center outside of New York City. In 2014 Star Plaza was christened, integrating the area with the largest outdoor chandelier on the globe (according to the Guinness Book of World Records), featuring a 20-foot light fixture encrusted with 4,200 crystals suspended from a 44-foot steel archway. Take in a show or a guided tour of the Theater District and behind the scenes at Playhouse Square on select Saturdays.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Address: 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44114
Hours: Thursday – Tuesday, 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Wednesday, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. | Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day
Phone: 216-781-7625
Admission: Adults, $23.50 | Seniors, $21.25 | Children (ages 6-12), $13.75 | Guests of members, $19 | Members and children (ages 5 and under), Free | See below for more details about discounted tickets.
There’s no better way to kill a day in the birthplace of rock than at the world’s foremost museum devoted to preserving and celebrating rock ’n’ roll music. Don’t miss The Power of Rock video exhibit, which is included in your ticket price and features video footage from 31 years of induction ceremonies’ greatest moments. The name may be misleading but there’s something for everyone to enjoy, not just classic rock aficionados. In the words of Ice Cube during his induction speech in 2016, “Rock and roll is not an instrument; rock and roll is not even a style of music. Rock and roll is a spirit. … It’s been going since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul, R&B, rock & roll, heavy metal, punk rock, and, yes, hip-hop. And what connects us all is that spirit.” You can find his work with NWA in the Rapper’s Delight Retrospective tracing the history of hip-hop, while Right Here, Right Now showcases popular music of today and the musicians shaping the future of entertainment.
Discounted admission is available at the box office for college students, military personnel, and Northeast Ohio residents who live in ZIP codes beginning with 440, 441, 442, or 443.
USS Cod Submarine Memorial
Address: 1201 N. Marginal Road, Cleveland, OH 44114
Hours:
- May 1 – Sept. 30: Open daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Oct. – Nov.: Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Also open on November 11 (Veterans Day), December 7 (anniversary of Pearl Harbor), and for special events as advertised online.
Phone:
- May – Sept.: 216-566-8770
- Oct. – April: 216-408-6991
Admission: Adults, $12 | Seniors and veterans, $10 | Children (grades K-12), $7 | Preschools and and active duty military in uniform, Free
Tethered at the downtown shoreline since 1976 is U.S. Navy submarine and national historic landmark USS Cod. As you ascend the slipway and step on board the Gato-class vessel, you’ll travel back in time to World War II and explore the history of an underwater craft that toured the globe and sunk more than 30,000 tons of Japanese ships. Though the Cod was constructed in Groton, Connecticut, by the Electric Boat Company in 1942, the diesel engines that powered it were built by General Motors’ Cleveland Diesel Engine Division and are among the rare parts restored to functionality. Shore attractions that complement the onboard experience include a 1950s-era type 8A search periscope that gives visitors a submarine skipper’s perspective of the Port of Cleveland.
Veterans Memorial Bridge and Subway
The Detroit-Superior Bridge, or Veterans Memorial Bridge as it’s officially known, was the city’s first high-level bridge over the Cuyahoga River when it opened to traffic on Thanksgiving Day 1917. At the time, it was also the world’s largest double-deck, reinforced-concrete structure. Its lower deck was constructed as a subway system with four sets of tracks for carrying streetcars, sandwiched by passenger stations on either side. The streetcars stopped running in 1954, and by November of 1955, the ramps to the subway station were permanently sealed. While you can cross the upper-level bridge anytime, in recent years, the Cuyahoga County Department of Public Works began allowing free public access to the underground time capsule once a year in August during the SPARX City Hop, organized by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. In addition to video footage and vintage trolley displays, the half-mile tour offers bird’s-eye views of the Flats entertainment district for fantastic family photo opportunities.
West Side Market
Address: 1979 West 25th St., Cleveland, OH 44113
Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Friday & Saturday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. | Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Phone: 216-664-3387
While it’s truly one of a kind today, when the West Side Market opened in 1912, it was among a trio of public markets built in the early 20th century to meet the demands of the city’s growing immigrant population. This bucket-list destination for tourists that was designated one of “10 Great Public Places in America” by the American Planning Association is a hot spot for locals who flock to the market five days a week, in search of exotic ingredients or merely to escape the monotony of a trip to the supermarket. A 137-foot-tall clock tower stands at attention to signal your arrival, and a brick-and-mortar structure is embraced by a winding tunnel of stalls with vendors selling herbs, fresh produce, flowers, honey, and handmade beauty products. The building interior is punctuated with a 44-foot-high Guastavino tile vaulted ceiling presiding over aisles and aisles of artisan foods, meats, and seafood.
