Shaker Heights, Ohio

Shaker Heights is a city located in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 29,405.

History and Notable Facts

Shaker Heights, Ohio 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 worshippers "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 1000 feet above sea level.

Related Topics:
1912 - Shakers - Cleveland Heights

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The North Union Settlement was established in 1822 with just over 80 individuals. The colony peaked around 1850 with about 300 settlers. As the Shakers practiced celibacy, the colony faded away and was closed in 1889. 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. 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.

Related Topics:
1822 - 1850 - Celibacy - 1889 - Van Sweringen - 1912 - 1930s - Building code - Zoning - National Register of Historic Places

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The Van Sweringens acquired the Nickel Plate Railroad in order to secure the right of way needed to establish a "rapid" 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 System. The Rapid 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 west side rapid lines. Shaker Heights and Greater Cleveland refer to the system and to the trains as "The Rapid". While originally envisioned to extend from downtown Cleveland fourteen miles to the community of Hunting Valley, Ohio (then called Shaker Estates), the system was truncated in eastern Shaker Heights following the collapse of the Van Sweringen rail empire during the depression.

Related Topics:
Nickel Plate Railroad - Interurban streetcar - Shaker Heights Rapid Transit System - Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority - 1970s - Greater Cleveland - Hunting Valley, Ohio

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Shaker Heights is nationally recognized for its efforts to increase neighborhood and school system integration beginning in the late 1950s with neighbors in the Ludlow area working together to make the transistion successful. As a result, Shaker Heights avoided many of the downfalls from practices such as blockbusting and white flight by actively encouraging multi ethnic neighborhoods. The city maintains an 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, 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.

Related Topics:
Integration - Blockbusting - White flight - ABC News - Paul Mason

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Shaker Heights is the hometown of Paul Newman, Molly Shannon 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 was a teacher in the Shaker Heights Public School System prior to her appointment. Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie Bucket in the first film version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was raised in Shaker Heights and was a student at Byron Junior High School (now Shaker Middle School) when he was named to the role.

Related Topics:
Paul Newman - Molly Shannon - Buffalo Bills - Cornerback - Nate Clements - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Shaker Heights Public School System - Peter Ostrum - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

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