Home to a world-class orchestra, spectacular museums and stunning gardens, it’s easy to see why University Circle is one of the most celebrated destinations for locals and tourists alike.
In May, USA TODAY devotees proved they agree with that assessment. The newspaper proclaimed the cultural hub as the Best Arts District in the country in the 2021 USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice Award travel contest. Runners-up include Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, Dallas Arts District, Arts District Houston, Baltimore’s Station North Arts District, Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, Wynwood in Miami, Chicago’s Wabash Arts Corridor, Santa Fe Railyard Arts District and the Warehouse Arts District in Tucson.
Judges based their decision on criteria that included the number of revitalized urban spaces, renowned museums with architecture that’s as impressive as the art showcased inside them and streets lined with small galleries and studios interspersed with trendy cafes.
“University Circle packs a lot into just one square mile,” they reported. “Art lovers will find the Cleveland Institute of Art Reinberger Gallery, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art and the Sculpture Center, as well as several theaters, music halls and a performing arts center.”
Chris Ronayne, who’s been president of University Circle Inc. (UCI) since 2005, is proud of the accolade, but not surprised. Cleveland’s former city planning director is quick to give credit where he believes it’s due — to University Circle’s foremost founding father Frederic Allen Whiting, who had the foresight to envision the area as a center for artistic expression.
“University Circle was, by design early on in its history, intended to be an arts district,” Ronayne says. “We go back to the building of the Cleveland Museum of Art, when Whiting was brought on in 1913 to oversee the construction and, ultimately, the great exhibit halls when the museum opened in 1916.”
Whiting expanded that scope by asking the museum’s architectural firm, Hubbell & Benes, to not only design the Cleveland Museum of Art, but also draw up plans for an arts district that would encircle the museum.
“Whiting’s interest was in having cultural institutions within a few hundred yards of one another,” Ronayne says “And one by one we ended up with a remarkable square mile of cultural institutions that are all within walking distance.”
Ronayne is looking to a future that includes connecting the vacuous spaces to the cultural district that exist as a result of 1950s and ’60s outmigration from the city. He also wants to create outdoor sculpture gardens that will complement the iconic sculpture of Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” that has graced the front of the Cleveland Museum of Art since 1917.
But the most pivotal endeavor is fostering a sense of community for residents in nearby neighborhoods who feel they’ve been left behind. UCI is partnering with more than 20 museum and community organizations to offer five unique education programs designed to bring learning to life for 20,000 preschool through adult learners annually.
“Frankly speaking, suburban families are always going to find their way to the Circle, and that’s wonderful,” says Greg Deegan, UCI’s director of community education. “But what we want to do is go deeply into our relationships with our neighborhoods and figure out ways we can support kids, their families and teachers in ways that will enrich their lives.”
That goal begins with the Early Learning Initiative (ELI), which fosters essential literacy skills and promotes school readiness for 1,000 4- and 5-year-olds in 50 public schools and day care centers. The program provides classroom content that helps teachers prepare pupils for a visit to a University Circle institution for hands-on learning activities. A kid-friendly map and activity book tell the story of the district and is offered to families throughout the community to enjoy on informal CircleWalk tours.
Celebrating 46 years of success, Linking Education and Discovery (LEAD) combines classroom lessons with real-world experience. Cleveland Metropolitan School District and East Cleveland City Schools students in kindergarten through eighth grade visit nine University Circle museums, gardens and performing arts institutions, which leads to strong relationships and familiarity with the neighborhood.
Students lacking opportunities for after-school activities are invited to become Circle Scholars, a semester-long program that combines experiential learning with leadership development and critical thinking skills to explore environmental and cultural sustainability and stewardship. Offered through a partnership with the Famicos Foundation, Effective Leadership Academy and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, scholars make multiple visits to the Cleveland History Center, Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Cleveland Museum of Art to sharpen their observation, classification, reflection and synthesis skills.
“By the time many of Cleveland’s public school students reach high school, they will have experienced all the Circle has to offer, and are making choices about where they’re going in life and who they will be surrounding themselves with,” Deegan says. “UCI’s Future Connections program is designed to launch students into fulfilling careers by giving them the opportunity to participate in two four-week internship placements at cultural institutions and businesses. Throughout the academic year, UCI partners with 30 organizations and 12 school districts to offer life skills workshops that focus on resume writing, interviewing and financial literacy.”
Delivering on the ideology that people of all ages are at the heart of thriving communities, University Circle Interactive Cleveland brings arts and humanities programs to more than 7,000 adults in retirement communities and senior centers through video conferencing. Field trips to lectures, concerts and museums are also offered.
“When architect Frank Gehry designed the Peter B. Lewis Building for Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management, he used the phrase ‘messy vitality’ to describe it,” Ronayne says. “We channel that to create this eclectic center of arts, culture, learning and research.”