Shaker Heights, Ohio: Difference between revisions

Shaker Heights is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the city population was 29,405, making it the tenth-largest city in Cuyahoga County.^[1] It is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland that abuts the city on its eastern side.

Shaker Heights is located at 41°28′35″N 81°33′6″W / 41.47639°N 81.55167°W / 41.47639; -81.55167Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function.Template:GR According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.4 km²), of which, 6.3 square miles (16.3 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.63%) is water.

Shaker Heights is roughly 1,050 feet (320 m) above sea level, and is located located about six miles (10 km) inland from Lake Erie. Shaker Heights is drained by the Doan Brook watershed, and has several small lakes: Horseshoe Lake, Green Lake, Lower Shaker Lake, and Marshall Lake.^[2]

Shaker Heights has a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa), which is similar with much of the midwest United States. This climate has very warm, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. The Lake Erie shoreline is very close to due east-west from the mouth of the Cuyahoga west to Sandusky, but at the mouth of the Cuyahoga it turns sharply northeast. This feature is the principal contributor to the lake effect snow that is typical in Shaker Heights weather from mid-November until the surface of Lake Erie freezes, usually in late January or early February. Seasonal totals approaching or exceeding 100 inches (2,500 mm) are not uncommon because Shaker Heights is found in an area known as the "Snow Belt", extending from the east side of Cleveland proper through the eastern suburbs and up the Lake Erie shore as far as Buffalo, New York. Despite its reputation as a cold, snowy place in winter mild spells often break winter's grip with temperatures sometimes soaring above 68 °F (20 °C).^[3]

The all-time record high in Shaker Heights of 104 °F (40 °C) was established on June 25 1988, and the all-time record low of −20 °F (−29 °C) was set on January 19 1994.^[4] On average, July is the warmest month with a mean temperature of 71.9 °F (22.2 °C), and January, with a mean temperature of 25.7 °F (−3.5 °C), is the coldest. Normal yearly precipitation based on the 30-year average from 1971 to 2000 is 38.7 inches (930 mm).^[5]

There are nine neighborhoods found in Shaker Heights, all of which were named after the nine original elementary schools.^[6] These neighborhoods are:

• Boulevard, located in northwest Shaker Heights, is near the Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic and is home to Hathaway Brown School a private all girls preparatory school.
• Fernway is located in the middle of Shaker Heights.
• Lomond is located in the south-central part of the city.
• Ludlow is the smallest neighborhood and is located in the western portion of the city.
• Malvern is mostly residential. The Hanna Perkins Center, a child development center, is found in its middle, ^[7]
• Mercer, located in northeast Shaker Heights, is the largest neighborhood and is home to University School a private all boys preparatory school , and Laurel School a private all girls elementary school.
• Moreland is located in southwest Shaker Heights.
• Onaway is home to Shaker Heights High School.
• Sussex is located in southeast part of the city.

Shaker Heights is one of Cleveland's older inner-ring or "first" suburbs, and borders Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, University Heights, Beachwood, Highland Hills, and Warrensville Heights.^[8] Shaker Heights is also a member of the Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium.^[9]

As of the 2000 CensusTemplate:GR, there were 29,405 people, 12,220 households, and 8,040 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,685.0 people per square mile (1,807.9/km²). There were 12,982 housing units at an average density of 2,068.4/sq mi (798.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.94% White, 34.11% African American, 0.06% Native American, 3.16% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.

There were 12,220 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $63,983, and the median income for a family was $85,893. Males had a median income of $61,768 versus $38,606 for females. The per capita income for the city was $41,354. About 5.3% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Shaker Heights was incorporated as a village in 1912. The name "Shaker Heights" has origins in two local sources. The community was laid out on land formerly owned by the North Union Community of the United Society of Believers, more commonly known by the vernacular Shakers, so named for the appearance that the worshipers "shook" during religious dance. "Heights" refers to the plateau east of Cleveland that rises sharply in elevation from 582 feet above sea level at the base of the Cedar Glen Parkway rising to 950 feet above sea level in nearby Cleveland Heights; Shaker Heights' elevation is 1050 feet above sea level.

Ralph Russell established the North Union Settlement in 1822 with just over 80 individuals. In 1826, the group dammed the Doan Brook, thus creating the Lower Lake and establishing a gristmill and a sawmill. Later, in 1854, the community built a second dam creating the Upper Lake, and constructed another mill.^[12] Also called The Valley of God's Pleasure, the colony peaked around 1850 with about 300 settlers.^[13] As the Shakers practiced celibacy, the colony faded away and was closed in 1889. In 1905, the land was bought by brothers M.J. and O.P. Van Sweringen who envisioned the first garden styled suburb in Ohio for the site.^[13] The brothers constructed homes, set aside land for churches and schools, and planted trees. Originally referred to as Shaker Village, the community was incorporated in 1912 and reached city status in the 1930s. Shaker Heights is known for its stringent building codes and zoning laws, which have helped to maintain the community's housing stock and identity throughout the years. Approximately seventy percent of the city of Shaker Heights is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[14]

The Van Sweringens acquired the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road) in order to secure the right of way needed to establish a rapid transit interurban streetcar system that would carry residents of Shaker Heights to and from downtown Cleveland. The resulting system was known as the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit. The Rapid Transit system was transferred into the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in the 1970s, which combined the operation of all bus systems in the county with the operation of the Shaker and Cleveland Transit System west side rapid lines. Shaker Heights and Greater Cleveland refer to the system and to the trains as "The Rapid Transit", "Rapid" or "Shaker Rapid". While originally envisioned to extend from downtown Cleveland fourteen miles to the community of Hunting Valley (then called Shaker Estates), the system expansion ended at Green Road in eastern Shaker Heights following the collapse of the Van Sweringen rail empire during the Great Depression.

Shaker Heights is nationally recognized for its school system, rated since the 1950s in the top ten nationally, as well as its efforts to increase neighborhood integration. Efforts toward integration began in the late 1950s with neighbors in the Ludlow Elementary School area working together to make integration successful. As a result, Shaker Heights avoided many of the problems created from practices such as blockbusting and white flight. With interest rate incentives to create multi-ethnic neighborhoods, the city actively encouraged whites to move into black neighborhoods and blacks to move into white neighborhoods. Today, the city maintains a housing assistance office that works with home buyers to achieve and maintain neighborhood integration. In August 2004, the story of early integration efforts in Shaker Heights was subject of The Reunion,^[15] an ABC News special produced by Paul Mason. Mason, now a senior vice president of ABC News, was a student at Ludlow Elementary School when residents, including his parents, moved forward with their efforts to make neighborhood integration a community project.

Shaker Heights was a finalist for the All-America City Award in 1989.^[16]

The Shaker Heights City Charter was adopted in 1931 and revised in 1974, 1986 and 1999. This charter provides for a mayor and seven members of a city council, elected on a at-large, non-partisan basis for four years. The mayor of Shaker Heights is Earl Leiken. The last mayoral and council elections being in 2007, the mayor and four council members selected in one election and three council members at the following, in a way to stagger terms.^[17]

The Neo-Georgian City Hall was designed by Charles Schneider, and was built in 1930.

Shaker Heights is found entirely in the Eleventh Congressional District, represented in the House of Representatives by Stephanie Tubbs Jones.^[18]

Publicly, Shaker Heights is served by the Shaker Heights City School District, a K-12 district with an enrollment of about 5,600. With eight total schools, there are five lower elementary schools, Fernway, Mercer, Boulevard, Lomond and Onaway, an upper elementary school, Woodbury School, Shaker Middle School, and Shaker Heights High School. The district estimates that roughly 90% of Shaker graduates attend college; approximately of 10% graduates receiving first choice acceptance to Ivy League colleges and universities.^[19]

There are also many private schools, such as Laurel School, Hathaway Brown School, and the lower campus of University School. There is also a parochial school in Shaker, St. Dominic School.^[20]

While Shaker Heights is home to no colleges, it is close to Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Institute of Art, and John Carroll University.

Shaker Heights is the hometown of Paul Newman, Molly Shannon, Fred Willard, Susan Orlean, Jim Brickman, Rachel Ryan and Buffalo Bills cornerback Nate Clements. Sara Bloomfield, Executive Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum graduated from Shaker Heights High School (1968) and taught in the Shaker Heights City School District prior to her appointment. Peter Bergman and Philip Proctor, two members of the Firesign Theatre are Shaker Heights natives. Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie Bucket in the first film version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory grew up in Shaker Heights and went to Byron Junior High School (now Shaker Middle School) when he was named to the role. Craig Finn of art-rock dynamos Lifter Puller lived in Shaker Heights before moving to Minneapolis, MN. David Mark Berger, a weightlifter who was one of the 11 Israeli athletes murdered by Arab commandos at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, was born and raised in Shaker Heights. David Wain, the New-York based actor and comedian who directed, co-wrote and co-produced Wet Hot American Summer (2001), a feature film starring Janeane Garofalo and Molly Shannon, also grew up in Shaker Heights where he was attended Shaker Heights High School, participating in the Shaker Theatre Arts Department. Scott Savol, of American Idol fame, claims to be a Shaker Heights native because he attended Shaker Schools, however is actually from the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Writer James Frey, whose memoir A Million Little Pieces came under criticism when it was disclosed that he may have embellished its contents, spent his early childhood in the city. Comedian/satirist Andy Borowitz, creator of the website The Borowitz Report, and co-creator of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a native of Shaker Heights. Cheri Dennis, the Princess of Bad Boy Entertainment was raised in Shaker Heights. Musicians Gerald and Sean Levert are also from Shaker Heights. Food Network's latest Iron Chef, Michael Symon (founder of nationally acclaimed restaurants Lola and Lolita in Cleveland) is also the newest addition to Shaker Heights Residents.

Shaker Heights is the city of license for CBS affiliate WOIO, channel 19, which has its offices in Cleveland.^[21] Shaker Heights news appears in the Cleveland daily newspaper, The Plain Dealer. The Sun Press, a weekly, provides local coverage of Shaker Heights and adjacent communities such as Beachwood, Cleveland Heights, and University Heights.^[22]

• Nature Center at Shaker Lakes
• The Battle of Shaker Heights
• Marshall, Bruce T. (2006). Shaker Heights. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738540501.
• Campen, Richard (1992). Distinguished Homes of Shaker Heights. Kent State Univ Press. ISBN 0960135677.

• City of Shaker Heights
• 75 Years, An Informal History of Shaker Heights (1986), published by *Shaker Heights Public Library