{"id":53,"ordinal":0,"featured":1,"title":"Raymond L.  Pianka Memorial Walk","creator":null,"description":"<p>Raymond L. Pianka (1951-2017) was the first Executive Director of the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO), Cleveland Ward 17 Councilman from 1986 to 1995, and then, from 1996 until his death in 2017, Cleveland's Housing Court Judge. A life-long resident of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, Ray had a profound love for the place where he grew up as a child and lived as an adult. He was proud of the neighborhood's history and shared it with many people in many ways, including leading local history tours like this one. Ray's knowledge of his neighborhood was truly amazing, second to no one's. He knew all the neighborhood legends and stories, and his knowledge of local history made him a walking encyclopedia.\r\nThis tour highlights some of the historic places in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood that Ray Pianka knew and loved best. Some of the tour stops are points of interest in part because they are places that fostered his early love of history. Bethany Presbyterian (Stop 1), built in 1895, was where, while growing up on West Clinton Avenue, he worshiped with his family. Waverly Elementary School (Stop 2), built in 1884 (and razed in 1979), was where he attended grade school. Nearby Fir Street Cemetery (Stop 3), which he explored as a boy and helped restore as an adult, had been a burying ground for Polish and Hungarian Jews since the time of the Civil War. And West High School (Stop 4), which Ray attended from 1965 to 1969, was the oldest high school on Cleveland's west side, founded in 1855. Other tour stops highlight Ray Pianka's and others' efforts at preserving some of the historic buildings in the neighborhood. The Oliver Alger House (Stop 6) is one. So are Cogswell Hall (Stop 5), the Louis Patrick Smith (House Stop 9) and the House that Brass Built (Stop 10). And, of course, so are Gordon Square Arcade (Stop 13) and the Capitol Theatre (Stop 14). And then there are the stories, neighborhood stories that Ray Pianka reveled in telling. He believed that recovering and retelling these stories connected residents of Detroit Shoreway to their past, and helped to give them a greater stake in their neighborhood's future. Stories like the Cleveland Circulation War (Stop 7), Kilbane Town (Stop 8), and the McCart Street Gang (Stop 12). And, of course, no tour of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood would be complete without Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (Stop 11), a neighborhood anchor and an early partner in Ray Pianka's life-long work here, and historic St. Helena Byzantine Catholic Church (Stop 15). These two churches were founded by two important ethnic groups--Italians and Romanians--who settled in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood in the early twentieth century.\r\nWe hope you enjoy the Raymond L. Pianka Memorial Walk Tour.</p>","postscript_text":"","tour_img":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/23cfc1ce549042e359ed7693e065555b.jpg","items":[{"id":799,"title":"Bethany Presbyterian Church","latitude":41.48293225909200288015199475921690464019775390625,"longitude":-81.7299368977550102499662898480892181396484375,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/23cfc1ce549042e359ed7693e065555b.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/23cfc1ce549042e359ed7693e065555b.jpg","subtitle":"The West Side's First Presbyterian Church","address":"6415 W Clinton Ave, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":801,"title":"Waverly Elementary School","latitude":41.47929918893800049772835336625576019287109375,"longitude":-81.72611743211700741085223853588104248046875,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/706f3843d146c85dcc76feda58f7b7f3.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/706f3843d146c85dcc76feda58f7b7f3.jpg","subtitle":"The Original Site of the Historic West Side Grade School","address":"W 58th St, EcoVillage, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":800,"title":"Fir Street Cemetery","latitude":41.4795896235140020280596218071877956390380859375,"longitude":-81.72773480415298763546161353588104248046875,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/2fe917423c69448b6ae8f17f711353e8.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/2fe917423c69448b6ae8f17f711353e8.jpg","subtitle":"Cleveland's Second Oldest Jewish Cemetery","address":"6015 Fir Ave, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":772,"title":"West High","latitude":41.481225899999998318889993242919445037841796875,"longitude":-81.7327563000000054671545512974262237548828125,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/57d75f04be781d26a912bc49da9ae253.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/57d75f04be781d26a912bc49da9ae253.jpg","subtitle":"Cleveland Builds its First Public High School on the West Side","address":"6809 Franklin Blvd, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":803,"title":"Cogswell Hall","latitude":41.48113459999999719229890615679323673248291015625,"longitude":-81.734678000000030806404538452625274658203125,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/b220d6a079bb6ff24b35cea4df3f1a92.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/b220d6a079bb6ff24b35cea4df3f1a92.jpg","subtitle":"For More Than a Century Providing Affordable Housing for People at Risk","address":"7200 Franklin Blvd, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":526,"title":"Oliver Alger House","latitude":41.4799292000000008329152478836476802825927734375,"longitude":-81.737818800000013652606867253780364990234375,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/bdccfea0ed4f93faf7f4db7235e77588.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/bdccfea0ed4f93faf7f4db7235e77588.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"7702 Franklin Blvd, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":733,"title":"The Cleveland Circulation War","latitude":41.4822261035429988851319649256765842437744140625,"longitude":-81.73692941665598254985525272786617279052734375,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/4feed616ffed06c6ba4b9db26266dc2d.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/4feed616ffed06c6ba4b9db26266dc2d.jpg","subtitle":"When Competition between the Plain Dealer and the Leader Turned Deadly","address":"7503 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":288,"title":"Kilbane Town","latitude":41.48460709999999806996129336766898632049560546875,"longitude":-81.7354420000000345680746249854564666748046875,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/bef8b2fa76b7c3f4e940516d91225130.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/bef8b2fa76b7c3f4e940516d91225130.jpg","subtitle":"A Story About One of Cleveland's Most Famous Boxing Champions","address":"Herman Ave, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":538,"title":"Louis Patrick Smith House","latitude":41.483070400000002564411261118948459625244140625,"longitude":-81.73443179999998164930730126798152923583984375,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/532bc2e91c25d18ad3ef08b50afa6234.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/532bc2e91c25d18ad3ef08b50afa6234.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"7200 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":524,"title":"The House That Brass Built","latitude":41.48507690000000280861058854497969150543212890625,"longitude":-81.734870000000000800355337560176849365234375,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/3f6c070bd717c2c46e9668d86a978117.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/3f6c070bd717c2c46e9668d86a978117.jpg","subtitle":"The Farnan Family Builds One of Detroit Shoreway's Treasures","address":"7302 Herman Ave, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":184,"title":"Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (West)","latitude":41.4834857000000027937858249060809612274169921875,"longitude":-81.73270089999999754581949673593044281005859375,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/ourladyofmtcarmelchurch-clevelandstateuniveristy-clevelandmemory_presschurchmix012-exterior-1972_68f25b9ae3.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/ourladyofmtcarmelchurch-clevelandstateuniveristy-clevelandmemory_presschurchmix012-exterior-1972_68f25b9ae3.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"6928 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":72,"title":"The McCart Street Gang","latitude":41.48354450000000070986061473377048969268798828125,"longitude":-81.73225279999996928381733596324920654296875,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/1896-mugshot-of-michael-foxy-gorman_c3022dcb6c.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/1896-mugshot-of-michael-foxy-gorman_c3022dcb6c.jpg","subtitle":"AKA The Gang from Cheyenne","address":"Detroit Ave at W 69th St, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":211,"title":"Gordon Square Arcade","latitude":41.48419890000000265217749984003603458404541015625,"longitude":-81.7304272999999739113263785839080810546875,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/180d212a73d010c18dffe0bfa2193fad.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/180d212a73d010c18dffe0bfa2193fad.jpg","subtitle":"A District's Namesake","address":"6516 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":152,"title":"Capitol Theatre","latitude":41.4843752000000023372194846160709857940673828125,"longitude":-81.730396100000007209018804132938385009765625,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/capitoltheatre-dscdo-boxoffice-nd_e89dea3675.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/capitoltheatre-dscdo-boxoffice-nd_e89dea3675.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"1390 W 65th St, Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":207,"title":"Saint Helena Romanian Byzantine Catholic Church","latitude":41.4844279000000000223735696636140346527099609375,"longitude":-81.73002630000002000087988562881946563720703125,"thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/8ab79bf572168157c3fbdcd0784d20e5.jpg","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/8ab79bf572168157c3fbdcd0784d20e5.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"1367 W 65th St Cleveland, OH","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}}]}