You might know Cleveland for its sports teams, but real Cleveland natives know that there’s so much more to this city of firsts. Here are some interesting Cleveland facts that only those who really love Cleveland know about (we know you’ll keep these hush-hush)!
31 interesting Cleveland facts only residents know about
1. Cleveland is a really old city. The Connecticut Land Company founded it in 1796, led by General Moses Cleaveland.
2. General Moses Cleaveland founded the city, and in 1831, the city then dropped the “a” in the name because a newspaper left it out in order to fit the name in the header. Cleveland was actually originally Cleaveland.
3. In 1879, the city lit the first electrified public square on April 29 at 7:55 p.m, which was the first public outdoor space to be fully illuminated by electricity.
4. Besides having the first electric public square, Cleveland also had the world’s first electric traffic signal installed in 1914, near Millionaire Row.
5. Cleveland is certainly a city of firsts. The first indoor shopping mall, The Arcade Cleveland, opened in May of 1890. Threatened with demolition the city added it to the National Register of Historic Places, Cleveland’s first building to do so. It’s now home to a Hyatt Regency hotel.
6. John. D. Rockefeller wasn’t born there, but the oil tycoon spent a lot of time in Cleveland. Cleveland was one of the most booming cities in the U.S. from the late 1800s to the early 1900s because Rockefeller started an oil company, Standard Oil, in Cleveland.
7. Millionaire Row, now called Euclid Avenue was home to some of the richest people in the nation, with over 250 mansions. The largest home was more than 50,000 square feet! If you want to feel like a glamorous millionaire (for a lot less money), you can find apartments for rent in Cleveland on Euclid Avenue.
8. Cleveland is the real birthplace of Superman. While Superman grew up in Kansas in the comics, the creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, dreamed up the buff, patriotic superhero right in Cleveland. Talk about a super fact.
9. Cleveland is also the real birthplace of rock n’ roll. Surprised about this one? Many people are! But radio personality Alan Freed started his radio show in Cleveland in the early 1950s. He’s the person who actually coined the term “rock n’ roll” for that genre of music.
10. Originally known as a “summer candy,” Clarence Crane founded the rainbow hard candies known as Lifesavers in 1912. He wanted something that wouldn’t melt, unlike chocolate.
11. More Cleveland facts include their weird laws. In Cleveland, it’s actually illegal for women to wear patent leather shoes. Not that this law is upheld, but it started because people thought men could see up women’s skirts in the shiny reflection of the patent leather of their shoes. In Cleveland, you also need a hunting license if you want to kill mice.
12. Cleveland is near Oberlin College, the first college in the United States to accept all students regardless of gender or color. It’s been a paragon of equality since its founding.
13. Cleveland is home to the Wicked Witch of the West. The “Wizard of Oz” was set in Kansas, but the actress who played Elphaba, the “Wicked Witch of the West,” Margret Hamilton, grew up in Cleveland.
14. There are many famous people buried in Lakeview Cemetery, including many civil war generals and even many of President Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet. President James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, also rests there. Take a tour of the cemetery and visit these famous gravesites.
15. Jesse Owens, the track-and-field world record holder and four-time gold medal Olympian was from Cleveland, Ohio. Owens famously attended the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, in 1936 during Hitler’s reign. As a black American, his presence was very controversial and he is famously credited with crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy.
16. Carl Stokes, one of the first Black mayors in the United States, was elected into office in Cleveland in 1967. He even defeated the grandson of President William Howard Taft, Seth Taft. He was in office from 1967 to 1971.
17. The Cleveland Browns left in 1996, causing major controversy when they moved to Baltimore. The NFL deactivated the Browns for three years due to this controversial relocation. They ended up staying in Cleveland after they were sold to a new owner and re-established playing in 1999. Considering the Browns are currently the third top team in the AFC North, we’re happier than ever that they stayed in Cleveland.
18. LeBron led the Cleveland Cavaliers to win an NBA Championship in 2015. This started a sports renaissance for all major sports teams in Cleveland, who were more energized and motivated than ever. Ever since the Cleveland sports teams have all gotten better and better.
19. Cleveland has A LOT of sister cities. 20 to be exact. Miskolc, Hungary, Conakry, Guinea and Segundo Montes, El Salvado are just a few.
20. Langston Hughes, the world-famous American poet, activist, playwright and novelist may have been born in Missouri, but his family moved to Cleveland in 1916 and he went to high school in Cleveland. He graduated from Central High School in 1920.
21. “A Christmas Story” takes place in Cleveland. Ralphie’s house has been restored to match exactly how it was set in the movie, and you can even get tickets to visit it.
22. Famous actor and comedian Drew Carey was born in Cleveland, OH in 1958 and lived there until he left for college.
23. The Glenn Research Center, located in Cleveland, is one of NASA’s largest research facilities. They design and develop some of the innovative technology that advances NASA’s space missions.
24. In 2016, Forbes actually voted Cleveland as “America’s Hottest City Right Now.”
25. American Greetings Corporation, the creators of Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake, is based in (wait for it) Cleveland. The company’s headquarters are still there today.
26. Besides Drew Carey, many famous celebrities are from Cleveland. Halle Berry, Steve Harvey, Paul Newman and American rapper Kid Cudi, just to name a few.
27. Cleveland is a popular filming location for movies. Multiple Marvel movies were filmed in Cleveland, including “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Spider-Man 3” and “The Avengers.”
28. Cleveland’s river, the Cuyahoga River, has caught on fire over a dozen times. Because oil and pollution were so regularly dumped into the river, it became extremely flammable. Rats and other dead animals were regularly seen floating in the water because of how poisonous it was.
29. Lake Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes, but it also has the greatest fish population. Considering it only has 2 percent of the water that makes up the Great Lakes but 50 percent of the fish is pretty impressive.
30. Outside of New York City’s Lincoln Center, Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland is the largest theatre in the country. If you love the theatre, you’re in luck. Visit this historical, gorgeous playhouse for a night out at the theatre.
31. One of the first people to create the famous snack we all love, the potato chip, was from Cleveland. In 1895, William Tappendon started making potato chips and then sold them to stores. This led to the creation of one of the first potato chip factories.
Did we forget any Cleveland facts?
Cleveland natives are proud of our city, full of so many firsts and unique qualities. So, did we forget any Cleveland facts? Let us know in the comments!
If you’re looking to move to Cleveland, take a look at apartments for rent in the city.
