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Showing posts from April, 2021

Run #40: Brooklyn Centre - Part 4

  This was the last run through Brooklyn Centre . It included the area known as Barbarowa which is a micro-neighborhood that surrounds St. Barbara Church along the eastern edge of Denison Ave just west of the Jennings Freeway. The actual boundary of the run was Willowdale Ave (north) to Calvary Park (south) and W. 25th (west) to the Denison Ave Bridge (east). Notable locations included: Riverside Cemetery : Founded in 1876, Riverside was the first major, non-sectarian cemetery built west of the Cuyahoga River. It was designed by an eventual City of Cleveland parks commissioner (1884). One of the more notable sections of the cemetery is Babyland, which is an area dedicated exclusively for child burials. During the nation's centennial celebration in 1876, several trees were planted, one by Ohio governor and future U.S. president Rutherford B. Hayes. Also, the original chapel building (built in 1876) was restored after a 50 year hiatus. Eighth Reformed Church : Th...

Run #39: Brooklyn Centre - Part 3

Part 3 of Brooklyn Centre . This run was from Archwood Ave (north) to the Cleveland Zoo (south) and from Pearl Road (east) to I-71 (west).  Notable locations included: Brookside Stadium : This natural amphitheater was once also a historic baseball stadium. It opened sometime between 1894-1896 and was home of the National Inter-City Amateur Championship in the early 1900s (the 1915 championship game had an estimated attendance of 115,000, the largest for any amateur sporting event). Given its great natural terrain, the intent was to develop a stadium in an attempt to attract the 1912 Olympic Games. This didn't pan out but the site would be used for countless sporting events and other forms of entertainment over the decades. It fell into significant disrepair starting in the later half of the 20th century with the the stadium being demolished in the 1980s. However, the baseball diamond was maintained as part of Cleveland Metroparks improvements to Brookside Reservation. A histor...

Run #38: Brooklyn Centre - Part 2

Part 2 of Brooklyn Centre . This run was from Riverside Ave. (north) to Archwood Ave. (south) and from Fulton Ave. (west) to Pearl Rd. (east). Notable locations include: Kotecki Family Memorials : This family operated business has produced thousands of headstones and monuments for Cleveland cemeteries since 1896. Of note is their work on the Garfield memorial in Lakeview Cemetery. Third Church of Christ Scientist : This church was built in 1906 noted architect Frederick Strierbinger and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It was vacant for period of time and was managed by Kotecki Monuments at one point as well but is now the Iglesia de Restauracion Elim church. Cleveland Public Library - Brooklyn Branch : This branch has been in continuous use since 1919. It was designed by renowned architect and artist Ora Coltman  and is an example of a convertible-type building: it is constructed of plain brick, it is semi-fireproof, and it featur...