University Circle

University Circle was known during the early 19th century as Doan’s Corners, after Nathanial Doan, a member of the Connecticut Land Company, who settled his family and started a community here.[16]

The name "University Circle" began to take shape in the 1880s. Western Reserve University moved its campus from Hudson, Ohio, to Euclid Avenue in 1883. Case School of Applied Science moved from Downtown Cleveland to a site next to WRU in 1885. Their relocation led to the birth of an educational center and the creation of a new community called University Circle, named in part after these new institutions—but also the circular street intersection and trolley turnaround located at Euclid Avenue and Doan Brook Boulevard (Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard today).[17]

By the 1890s, the Western Reserve School of Design for Women (Cleveland Institute of Art) moved to University Circle, and the concept of developing a world-class arts and cultural center came to life. The concept became more concrete when Jeptha Wade, a trustee of Western Reserve University, set aside land for the Cleveland Museum of Art to be built in the Circle, which required the Cleveland Zoological Park, now known as the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, to be relocated to its present-day location of Old Brooklyn. The Historical Society (Western Reserve Historical Society) joined these institutions before the start of the 20th century.[18]

The Circle began to grow rapidly in the early 20th century. The Cleveland Museum of Art opened its doors in 1916. By the 1920s and 1930s, 19 educational and cultural institutions were located in the area, from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center to the Cleveland Botanical Garden and others.

Cleveland's college football scene began in University Circle through both Case and Western Reserve football teams. Van Horn Field hosted games against Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Alabama. Famed Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne made his coaching debut against Case in University Circle in 1918. In 1920, The Alabama Crimson Tide played their first ever game in the north at Van Horn Field against Case.

The arrival of University Hospitals in 1931 (founded in 1866) led to health care becoming another center of innovation in University Circle. Less than one mile (1.6 km) away from University Hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic had been serving its patients since 1921. Also in 1931 Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra, was constructed at the corner of Euclid and East Boulevard.[18] By 1950, 34 institutions had chosen University Circle as their home.[17] In 1967, Case School of Applied Science and Western Reserve University confederated to become Case Western Reserve University.[19]

University Circle remains Cleveland's center for cultural, educational, religious, and social-service institutions. The area is currently undergoing many construction projects with many institutions expanding, and private development of residential and commercial dwellings. New housing developments in the area have increased the number of year-round residents in the area to an estimated 15,000 as of 2013.[20]

In 2012, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) opened its new permanent location in University Circle at the corner of Mayfield Road and Euclid Avenue.[21]

Apartments and Retail in the Uptown construction project

The Uptown project is a multi-phase, $150 million-plus retail, entertainment, restaurant and cultural project under development by MRN Ltd. of Cleveland, and sponsored by Case Western Reserve University and University Circle Inc. Its location creates a true center to University Circle.

A $44.5 million "Phase I" broke ground on August 2, 2010, creating two mixed-use buildings of 102 apartments above first floor retail.[32]

Additional anchors of the project currently under construction include the $66 million expansion of the Cleveland Institute of Art[33] and the $32 million new home for the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).[34] The new MOCA is designed by the London architect Farshid Moussavi. The surrounding pedestrian plaza is designed by James Corner Field Operations, the same landscape architecture firm who designed the High Line in New York City.[35]

The $21 million "Phase II" consists of 43 apartments, dormitories for the Cleveland Institute of Art, and retail. The anchor tenant is a two-story bowling alley, known as Corner Alley. Completion date was in fall 2014.[36] Euclid–East 120th (RTA Rapid Transit station) has been relocated to Mayfield Road at East 119th Street. With a total cost of $17.5 million, it was renamed the Little Italy-University Circle Rapid Station.[37]

On November 30, 2011, the New York Times showcased the project with an article entitled "Cleveland Turns Uptown Into New Downtown".[35]

On March 7, 2005 the Cleveland Museum of Art embarked on a multi-year project to renovate and expand into the next century. The project is designed by architect Rafael Viñoly, combining old and new styles. At a total cost of $350 million, it is the largest cultural project in the history of the state of Ohio and one of the most comprehensive renovation and expansion projects in the museum field in the nation.[38]

Three new facilities and structures opened in summer of 2011. They include the $250 million Seidman Cancer Center, $41 million Center for Emergency Medicine, and a $30 million new parking structure.[39]

Both current University Circle train stations were rehabbed and reconstructed by August 2015.

The University Circle-Cedar Rd rapid station underwent a complete rehab, using an ADA-compliant design to include a new rail entry plaza, waiting area, and train loading platform. A new bus terminal was also constructed on the north side of Cedar Road with a pedestrian connection between the bus terminal and the rail station. Secured funding included a $10.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and a $2 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration—totaling $12.5 million in federal funds.[40]

The Euclid–East 120th rapid station was relocated in conjunction with the Uptown Project to E.119 St and Mayfield Rd. Funding was received through a $12.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, via the Federal Transit Administration. The final cost of the new station was around $17.5 million.[41]

Totaling a $526 million expansion, this project includes a seven-story administrative office tower, living space for 122 homeless veterans, a 2,000-car parking garage, and a seven-story tower with 222 patient beds. Among the other parts of the project are the renovation of the hematology/oncology unit, expansion of the radiation area, building two floors on top of the atrium to accommodate various services, and an expanded operating room.[42]

Two major new construction projects have recently broken ground:

• Tinkham Veale Student Center
• Wyant Field House

In Spring 2012, Case Western Reserve University campus underwent the construction of $50 million student center in the center of campus. It is known as the Tinkham Veale Student Center designed by Ralph Johnson of Perkins + Will. It encompasses 82,000-square-feet, has 24/7 student access, and is environmentally friendly—with a green roof to absorb rainwater and windows designed to prevent excessive heat from sunlight.[43] The second project is known as the Wyant Field House, enclosing the last open portion of DiSanto Field. The Wyant Field House is approximately 24,000 square feet and serves as a facility for varsity athletes and the 2,500 students who reside at The Village. The facility includes weight training and cardiovascular areas, a Varsity Club lounge, and multipurpose space.[44]

Little Italy is known for its several culinary, historic, and cultural sites. Its biggest attractions are the restaurants, bakeries, and pizzerias. It is home to everything from a thriving art gallery, to scene boutique shops—and even a technology startup. The best known historic structure is Holy Rosary Church built in 1908. Culturally, the Alta House is the community center for the neighborhood founded in 1895. The private elementary and middle school is Montessori Elementary at Holy Rosary Church. Tony Brush Park[48] provides the neighborhoods green space and playgrounds.

The annual highlight event of Little Italy in Cleveland is the Feast of the Assumption.

Each August, the Roman Catholic congregation of the historic Holy Rosary Church celebrates the 4-day festival for the Feast of the Assumption, in which Little Italy stages Greater Cleveland's largest Italian-American street festival. Every October, Little Italy hosts the city's Columbus Day Parade. The neighborhood enjoys artwalks a few times a year, usually in June, October, and December.

Little Italy began in 1895 when immigrant Joseph Carabelli saw the need for monument work in Cleveland's Lakeview Cemetery and established what soon became the city's leading marble and granite works. Local Cleveland industrial billionaire John D. Rockefeller took a special liking to the Italian immigrants of the neighborhood and commissioned the building of the community center Alta House, named after his daughter Alta Rockefeller Prentice, in 1900. Little Italy is also home to the first Italian restaurant to open in the State of Ohio, Guarino's. The first hand-crank pasta machine was invented in Little Italy by Angelo Vitantonio, an Italian immigrant to Cleveland. He received a patent for the product in 1906, and went on to found the Italian kitchenware manufacturer VillaWare, which continues to operate today.[49]

In 1911, it was estimated that 96% of the inhabitants were Italian-born, and another 2% were of Italian parents. Ettore Boiardi (Chef Boyardee) opened his first restaurant, Il Giardino d'Italia, in the 1920s. In 1993, the community dedicated Tony Brush Park, named for champion boxer and Little Italy resident Anthony Brescia, at Mayfield and Random roads. Major residential project expansions occurred in 2003 with the 20-unit Villa Carabelli,[50] in 2005 with the 15-unit Random Road Lofts townhomes,[51] and in 2011 the 27-unit 27 Coltman townhouses.[52] The neighborhood bocci courts are located at the Alta House, and in 2011 underwent a complete remodeling in a $110,000 project, being named in honor of Nick and Dorothy Lucarelli.

For a large part of its history, Cleveland was home to the largest Mafia organization between New York and Chicago.[53] The Mayfield Road Mob was the name of a gang which began around 1920 in Little Italy. Among the members of the "Mayfield Road Mob" were James T. Licavoli and Jimmy Fratianno. This Mafia faction was even mentioned by its old name in the movie "The Godfather" as the Lakeview Road Gang, as Lakeview Cemetery borders Mayfield Road Hill.