The ‘Messiah’ Mayor Who Believed in Cleveland When No One Else Did

Carl Stokes, the First African American to Lead a Big City, Was Both a Realist and a Showman

On June 24, 1969, the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, Carl Stokes, held a press conference on a railroad trestle, one of two bridges damaged when an oil slick caught fire on the Cuyahoga River two days earlier. The coverage in local newspapers was minimal. The fire went out soon after it started. No one bothered to snap a picture. In fact, a Cleveland Press photo of the mayor standing on the tracks with reporters is as close as we can get to the blaze. It was almost a nonissue.

Almost. …

By J. Mark Souther | March 22, 2018

There’s No Magic Bullet for Cleveland’s Poverty

But by Acknowledging the Myriad Causes and Effects of Low Incomes, the City Is Making Tremendous Progress

By Rob Fischer | July 19, 2016

Until the recent NBA championship of Lebron James’ Cavaliers, Cleveland has been known for topping a different kind of list—cities with the highest levels of poverty.

Since 2000, Cleveland has …

The Double Rise of an Iconic Cleveland Bakery

The Return of Hough’s Sweet Treats Adds a Dash of Magic to the City

By Archie Garner | July 18, 2016

Cleveland is all too famous for a depressing kind of magic: the place can make businesses disappear.

But there are stories of renewal here, too. In 1992, the bakery chain …

Cleveland’s “Millionaire’s Row” Still Glitters With the Gilded Age’s Unanticipated Legacy

City Founders Expected an Outpost of New England, What They Created Was a Paragon of Immigrant Civic Engagement

By John J. Grabowski | July 18, 2016

The Republicans are convening in Cleveland, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have won the NBA championship after a half-century long drought for Cleveland sports teams, putting intense focus on the city’s …

Cleveland Rocks, Even in the Dead of Winter

The City’s Unpretentious Music Scene Thrives Year Round, Under Bridges, on Porches, and Outside of the Country’s Most Famous Music Hall

By Annie Zaleski | July 18, 2016

In the middle of February, when the temperatures dip below freezing, Clevelanders are frequently found huddled together for warmth in one place: outside—yes, outside—under the crisp night sky, watching local …

The Wonderful, Painful Opera of Cleveland

From Idylls to Industrial Wastelands and Back, the City’s Stark Contrasts Will Come Into Focus at This Year’s Republican National Convention

By Kevin P. Keating | July 15, 2016

Inside Cuyahoga Valley National Park, through a deep secondary growth forest, a narrow trail skirts the infamous Cuyahoga River following the historic route of the Ohio & Erie Canal. This …

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