It wasn’t pretty. A decade ago, in some areas, Cleveland’s lakefront parks were home to drug dealers, broken glass, pieces of Styrofoam cups, bags of garbage and washed-up dead fish. Graffiti marred boulders and buildings. Public restrooms were best avoided. Weeds encroached on any battered land that could sustain life.
But equally as damaging was the acceptance that the situation could not be changed. It was hard for the city and many of its residents to use and be proud of lakefront parks that were neglected and not respected.
That was then. This year, Cleveland Metroparks is inviting Northeast Ohioans and tourists to celebrate Lakefront 10, an acknowledgement of the transformation of these parks. Various educational and fun activities are planned for all ages, beginning in June.
The 10-year milestone is tied to 2013, when Cleveland Metroparks became the stewards of several collective parks. Cleveland Lakefront State Park had been owned and maintained by the State of Ohio. Before that, the parkland was city-owned. When the parkland came under the wing of Cleveland Metroparks, it became Cleveland Lakefront Reservation.
“The State of Ohio did a lot of things really well, including some repairs,” says Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman of the leased land. “But priorities had changed and there was a long look at local control, which we had been advocating.
“We needed a change in the culture of users. These parks were not thought of as high-quality amenities. We put out a notice with our partners that we were going to follow our motto: clean, green and safe. And we pushed very hard,” says Zimmerman. “Now you can look at the increase in visitation and see how the community helped shape the plans that allowed for the renaissance to happen.”
Cleveland Metroparks’ Lakefront, Euclid Creek and Huntington Reservations now include an incredible array of facilities, parks and natural features, many developed, enhanced or preserved by the park district during the transformative past decade.
Here are four highlights often noted by Cleveland Metroparks:
- The $4.5 million Edgewater Beach House, 7600 Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, in the Lakefront Reservation, opened in 2017. The building, designed by the Cleveland-based architectural firm of Bialosky, features a ground floor with restrooms, a kitchen, serving windows and office. The open second floor allows views of downtown and the beach.
- The 500-foot-long, $5.6 million Wendy Park Bridge connects downtown Cleveland and Cleveland Metroparks lakefront parks and trails. The bridge, decades in the making, provides pedestrians and bicyclists much-needed access to Wendy Park, Edgewater Park, Whiskey Island and the historic U.S. Coast Guard Station. Funding for this project came from many local, state and national sources and is one of the best examples of Cleveland Metroparks and its partners working in tandem.
- East 55th Street Marina and e55 on the lake restaurant is what a user-friendly marina is meant to do. The E. 55th Marina, 5555 N. Marginal Road in the Lakefront Reservation, includes a 1,200-foot fishing platform, 360 floating wet slips, a marina store, fuel dock and fish cleaning station. As one veteran Cleveland fisherman said, “You no longer have to take your life in your hands navigating rocks and litter to take your grandkids fishing.” In addition, the e55 on the lake restaurant is the place to buy Lake Erie Lemonade and breaded walleye.
- The Euclid Beach Pier opened in December 2018 and greeted pedestrians and dog walkers in the snow and cold. The 315-foot-long pier that extends 150 feet over Lake Erie instantly became one of the Metroparks’ most beloved spots . Maybe it is part nostalgia for the former Euclid Beach Amusement Park, part appreciation for the marvelous custom arches by local artist Brinsley Tyrrell, and partly because it is a unique new place for the community to relax, lake-watch and come together.
“I am tired of people saying we are not a lakefront community,” says Zimmerman. “Cleveland is what it is — a gritty, industrial city with a very challenging lakefront. But we continue to make inroads, whether that is at Edgewater or the bridge across to Wendy Park, which people said couldn’t happen. These projects could change the narrative about how we feel about being a lakefront community. Be bullish in your plans and work to execute them. CHEERS, for example, is one of those bold visions.”
Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy (CHEERS) is an ambitious plan of Cleveland Metroparks, the Port of Cleveland, the City of Cleveland and other partners to add about 80 acres of new parkland to Cleveland’s East Side lakefront. The park district believes connecting more communities and neighbors to Lake Erie and lakefront with CHEERS will result in better health for residents due to the potential for physical activity and recreational opportunities. Economic and environmental benefits are also expected.
Sean McDermott is the chief planning and design officer for Cleveland Metroparks. McDermott says that over the past decade, and particularly during the COVID-19 isolation, “there was a lot of pent-up demand for good, clean, public lake access.”
“Most of everything, if not everything we have done with the lakefront, has been with strong partnerships,” says McDermott. “We have also exceeded our expectations over the past 10 years. A main reason for that is how the public has responded, adapted and embraced the lakefront.”
Jacqueline Gerling, Cleveland Metroparks director of communications, says “extensive efforts throughout the seasons” to maintain the lakefront by the park district and its partners, plus “the help of community volunteers participating in beach cleanups,” are huge benefits.
