Recent Stories
The Park Building
One of Cleveland’s most overlooked structures overlooks one of Cleveland’s most bustling intersections. Located on the southeast corner of Public Square—with the May Company building to the east and Jack Casino across Ontario Street to the west—the…
Ukrainian Village
When you leave Cleveland for the suburbs, perhaps the last thing you expect to find is a slice of another country nestled along the streets. In 2009, the suburban municipality of Parma to the southwest of Cleveland officially recognized its…
South Branch Library
The structure on the northwest corner of Clark Avenue and Scranton Road was closed for more than five years, during which time library officials, architects, community development organizations and neighborhood residents worked to reconcile views of…
The Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People
The Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People was a necessity for the African American community in Ohio’s largest city. The first residents of the Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People were from out of state. Jefferson Camp, who was formerly enslaved…
The Glenville Shootout
On the evening of July 23, 1968, shots rang out in Cleveland’s predominantly black east side neighborhood of Glenville. Though it is unknown who fired the first shot, it is known that the Cleveland Police Department and the Black Nationalists of New…
Dunbar Life Insurance Company
The Ludlow neighborhood straddles the Cleveland/Shaker Heights boundary and, through an arrangement with the Cleveland School Board in 1912, became part of Shaker Heights School District. Although Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen's garden suburb of…
Featured Stories
Winton Motor Carriage Co.
When people think of the auto industry, they usually think of Henry Ford and Detroit. What most people don't know is that in the 1890s Cleveland was the automobile capital of America. One reason for…
Progressive Field
Art Modell. The very mention of his name in Cleveland still stirs up vitriol. In 1963 he angered many by firing legendary Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown, only two years after Art assumed principal…
May Day Riot
In 1919, the United States was experiencing its first "Red Scare." Following the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, public sentiment against Socialists - who maintained a strong presence in…
Featured Tours
Cultural Gardens
26 Locations ~ Curated by CSU Center for Public History + Digital HumanitiesIn Search of the Underground Railroad
6 Locations ~ Curated by CSU Center for Public History + Digital HumanitiesCleveland Metroparks 100th Anniversary
19 Locations ~ Curated by Cleveland MetroparksRaymond L. Pianka Memorial Walk
15 Locations ~ Curated by The Cleveland Historical TeamCleveland Historical
A project by Center for Public History + Digital HumanitiesCleveland Historical is a free mobile app that puts Cleveland history at your fingertips. Developed by the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University, Cleveland Historical lets you explore the people, places, and moments that have shaped the city’s history. Learn about the region through layered, map-based, multimedia presentations, use social media to share your stories, and experience curated historical tours of Northeast Ohio. Read more About Us