Enclaves: North Park and South Park boulevards in Shaker Heights

 

But the real force behind how the area looks today — gracious homes on large lots along wandering roads — was the Van Sweringen brothers. It was the early 20th century and Millionaires’ Row was starting to lose its appeal. “Industry was encroaching on Euclid Avenue, and they started moving up to the Heights,” says Sabine Kretzschmar, executive director of The Shaker Historical Society and Museum.

 

The Vans wanted the houses on North Park and South Park to retain the “parklike” feeling of the property. In fact, they so liked the land that they moved there themselves in 1912, building an eight-bedroom house on South Park (No. 4 on our Top 10 list below). Today, the area has experienced a renaissance of sorts, with lots of young families moving in. And, almost every time a house gets a new owner, it gets a facelift. Because they’re so big — and old — there’s almost always something to be done.

 

Insiders who live here:
A lot of Cleveland Clinic doctors. Also, labor attorney Robert Duvin, and Stewart Kohl, a local businessman perhaps most well known for donating $5 million to Oberlin College’s jazz program.