Forest Hill Park
John D. Rockefeller Jr. was the son of the richest man in the world, the founder of Standard Oil Co. But his upbringing wasn't much different than the boys hanging over the boathouse docks this sunny September Saturday in the 1-year-old park. During his childhood in the 1870s, John Jr. lived on a hill northwest of this idyllic lake in a four-story Victorian mansion. The interior of Homestead was intentionally humble so the Rockefellers' wealth didn't corrupt the children. John Jr. had chores and even wore his sisters' hand-me-downs. In 1917, the Homestead burned down and in 1923 the elder Rockefeller sold the land to John Jr., who converted the estate into a 235-acre park shared by East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. In 2014, the park — where the boathouse remains — received a face-lift to help return it to its former glory.
