Ukrainian National Home

Exterior of Ukrainian National Home This photograph shows the interconnected Lamson House (right) and Olney Gallery (left). The Ukrainian National Home was located in the Lamson House whereas community gatherings such as theater productions and concerts were held in the Olney Gallery. Grace Hospital purchased the buildings in 1990 with plans to restore them. Creator: CSU Center for Public History + Digital Humanities Date: 2009

Ukrainians began arriving in Cleveland in the mid-1880s and made Tremont their primary settlement. The first Ukrainian Catholic parish in Cleveland was organized in the neighborhood in 1902. By 1910, the parish had constructed SS. Peter and Paul Church at 2280 West 7th Street. The church served as a focal point for the community.

The Ukrainian National Home on West 14th Street, which opened in the 1920s, was another key meeting place for Ukrainians in Tremont. Located in a mansion that had once belonged to industrialist Thomas Lamson of Lamson & Sessions Co., the home held a variety of educational, social, and recreational events until it closed in 1967. It served, too, as a temporary refuge for Ukrainian political emigres and displaced persons who came to Cleveland following World Wars I and II. By the time of its closure, much of the Ukrainian community had moved to Parma and other western suburbs.

Despite suburbanization, a Ukrainian presence remains in Tremont today. Displaced scholars founded the Ukrainian Museum-Archives (located at 1202 Kenilworth Avenue) after World War II, seeking to preserve Ukrainian history and culture while their homeland was under Soviet occupation. Since its creation in 1952, the museum, its mission, and its collections have garnered worldwide recognition and support.

In later years, the old site of the Ukrainian National Home became a Puerto Rican social hall. This transition reflects the changing nature of Tremont's community, with new waves of immigrants and ethnic groups arriving in neighborhood.

Audio

"The Church of St. Marx" Dr. John Grabowski, Krieger-Mueller Associate Professor in Applied History at Case Western Reserve University and Director of Research at The Western Reserve Historical Society, describes the fissures that existed within the Ukrainian community in Tremont which led to the establishment of the Ukrainian Labor Temple.

Why Did They Come? Dr. John Grabowski, Krieger-Mueller Associate Professor in Applied History at Case Western Reserve University and Director of Research at The Western Reserve Historical Society, explains why Ukrainians were drawn to the Tremont neighborhood.