History of The Collinwood Community

HISTORY OF THE COLLINWOOD COMMUNITY

Courtesy of the Western Reserve Historical Society

The COLLINWOOD neighborhood of Cleveland is located about 7 miles northeast of Public Square. Originally part of East Cleveland Township, initially called Collamer, Collinwood was a village separate from Cleveland until 1910. By 1860 an omnibus line operated between Cleveland and Collamer via St. Clair Avenue. The main axis of the village was Collamer (E. 152^nd Street). By 1890 Collinwood was a major switching point of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (later New York Central) Railroad and the location of its vast freight yards. The Collinwood railroad yards eventually included over 120 miles of track and extensive repair shops, providing the basis for the area's early growth. Disaster struck the Collinwood community on March 4^th, 1908, when the Collinwood school fire claimed 174 lives. Collinwood was annexed to Cleveland on January 21^st, 1910. The neighborhood became home to large Irish, Italian, and Slovenian populations. Five-Points -- the intersection of E. 152nd Street, St. Clair and Ivanhoe avenues--was the commercial hub of the neighborhood.

During World War II, Collinwood encompassed one of the heaviest industrial areas in the world. Within its boundaries, in addition to the New York Central yards, were Fisher Body Division of General Motors Corp., Thompson Prods., General Electric Co., Lincoln Electric Co., Eaton Axle, National Acme, Bailey Meter, and a dozen other firms. During the 1950s Collinwood experienced the beginning of social problems, including high delinquency and crime rates, followed by racial turbulence in the 1960s and 1970s as African Americans moved into the formerly white neighborhood. The neighborhood was further buffeted by the departure of such industries as Fisher Body and Eaton and the closing of the Collinwood shops by Conrail in 1981. In the face of such reverses, organizations such as the Collinwood Village Development Corp. and ERIE.net have been working to upgrade the neighborhood's residential and commercial property and attract new business to the community. For additional information about Collinwood and Nottingham Villages Development Corporation, kindly contact Yolanda Anderson, Executive Director, at (216) 383-9772. To join our ERIE.net mailing list and attend our networking functions, kindly contact Tony Viola at (216) 214-4665 or tony@realtycorpofamerica.com.