North Collinwood: Part 3

This was the third run of the North Collinwood neighborhood.

Distance This Run: 11.5 miles

Distance So Far: 593.6 miles

Euclid Beach Park was established in 1894 and was modeled after Coney Island in NYC. It offered gambling, freak shows and charged an admission fee. That approach failed and the property was sold to Dudley Humprey and his family in 1906 who turned into into a free, family-friendly lakefront park featuring amusement rides, concessions and a banquet hall. The park became a major destination for Clevelanders over the years but closed in 1969 due to rising cost, lakefront pollution and racial incidents (Black residents were restricted from access to certain aspects of the park for much of its existence; this resulted in a riot in 1946). The original archway above was designated a Cleveland landmark in 1973. Part of the site now includes affordable housing but a large section of it has remained a beautiful park and marina operated by Cleveland Metroparks.

The entrance to Euclid Creek Reservation which includes the "new" Euclid Beach. It features a 650’ beach with shaded picnic areas, a scenic observation pier and a reservable pavilion. Though it closed in 1969, signs of the amusement park including the shuffleboard area, remnants of the beachside fountain and concrete footers of the Flying Turns roller coaster are still visible.

Euclid Beach Mobile Home Community is wedged between Euclid Beach & Villa Angela Parks. The Western Reserve Land Conservancy recently purchased the 28.5 acre site with the possibility of converting it into expanded park space for Cleveland Metroparks. This has created tensions with 150 residents who fear displacement. A planning process is currently underway to determine the future of the site. You can read more about the situation here.

The Shore Acres Association is a homeowners association established in 1920. Its members include homes located north of Lake Shore Blvd between E. 149th and E. 152nd. (One house has been occupied by the same family since it was built in 1920). The organization is probably best known for its annual 4th of July Parade and Picnic which it has held for the past 60+ years.

This is probably the most consequential No Outlet I've discovered yet. Keep going and you end up in the lake at the bottom of a stone retention hillside.

This Oriental-themed home on Shore Acres Drive was the coolest house I saw.

Stylish reuse of local old school brick pavers as a permeable tree lawn (a tree would be better but at least this beats 40' feet of impermeable concrete).

Halloween week in North Collinwood.

The Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant (14021 Lake Shore Blvd) is the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's oldest facility, having been built in 1908. The plant treats wastewater from homes and businesses, as well as stormwater from combined sewers which have existed under Cleveland in some areas for more than 100 years.

Memorial on Lake Shore Blvd.

Bonniewood Drive is another private drive off the lakefront. There are a number of these drives and it is very clear they don't like visitors, which creates a divisive feeling along Lake Shore Blvd.

This church at 14713 Lake Shore Blvd was built in the 1930s for the Seventh Church of Christ, a part of Christian Science which has a history in Cleveland. The Christian Fellowship Church - who now owns and occupies it - attempted to sell this space and build a new church behind it on the same parcel but closer to the lakefront a little over 10 years ago. However, that fell through due financial issues and all that's left behind the church now is a long parcel and a massive vacant concrete pad where the new church was being being built. It's an odd juxtaposition given all the dense, private residential streets to its east and west.

There was a book in here about the theory of physics, asking the reader to contemplate whether or not they were even reading the book or it just being a simulation in one of an infinite amount of possible scenarios of a never ending multiverse. Just kidding. There were mostly books about raingardens, dinosaurs and a romance novel.

Custom benches at Euclid Beach Park.

The Metroparks installed several of this info boards throughout the park. This one discusses the history of the former amusement park that once occupied the site.

A view of the lake from Wildwood Marina...which once was the location of Wildwood Park...which is now all part of Cleveland Lakefront State Park.

One of the very popular Cleveland script signs, this one located at the far eastern edge of Euclid Beach Park.

"Wildwood Park was originally a private picnic grounds, then a City of Cleveland park with a water treatment plant and marina. In 1978, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources acquired the lakefront and operated it until 2013, when Cleveland Metroparks assumed management. Located at the mouth of the Euclid Creek, Wildwood offers many opportunities for excellent fishing, birdwatching and sunset gazing."

Entrance to Villa Angela & Wildwood Park from Lake Shore Blvd.

Cleveland Public Library obtained the Villa Angela Academy site at 17109 Lake Shore Blvd in 1991 and renovated the former high school building, which is now the Memorial-Nottingham Branch. The facility also houses the Ohio Library for the Blind and Print Disabled.

The pier at Euclid Beach Park.

Fresh crab apples growing along along the sidewalk on Lake Shore Blvd (yes, I had a few).