What We’re Doing
Exploring University Circle
By Greg Deegan
Lake View Cemetery
As so many of us sit in our homes or places of work surrounded by mounds of ice and snow, and as sub-zero temperatures seep through the porous seams in our windows and doors – it might be odd to suggest simply embracing the cold. Why not bundle up and head outdoors to explore this fascinating city?
If you’re looking for a brisk winter walk, draped in a blanket of snowy, silent history and magnificent views – find your way to the eastern edge of University Circle and check out Lake View Cemetery. You won’t be disappointed. The crisp winter days at Lake View can feature walks among headstones whose names are buried by the snow, but which represent lives who help build the Cleveland we live in and walk through every day. Your stroll can take you past names that might be familiar to you, or past monuments to those who walked our streets but whose stories we don’t know. You can take in Lake View Cemetery with near total quiet if you find yourself far from any of the gates. You can learn tons of tidbits about famous Clevelanders who now call this wide expanse home. Enjoy a lively walk among the dead – and take some time to reflect on your place in Cleveland’s story. Learn more here.
Near the Euclid gate, you can take in the monument and gravesite of Henry Chisholm, known as the “father of the steel trade,” according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. A Scot who came to Cleveland in 1850, he originally started constructing breakwaters in Lake Erie but eventually moved into the steel industry. Chisholm co-founded the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company, which created the second Bessemer steel works in the U.S. in 1865. When he died in 1881, his workers contributed generously to the monument which you can behold today – a testament to the close relationships Chisholm had with his employees. (Photo Courtesy of Teaching Cleveland)
In the February snow, you cannot see the thousands of names chiseled on their headstones. (Photo Courtesy of Teaching Cleveland)
According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Jacob L. Goodman founded the J.L. Goodman Furniture Co. and opened its first store at Broadway and Harvard avenues in Newburgh. Eventually, his descendants would expand the company to include four more stores around Northeast Ohio. Henry Goodman, a third generation owner, and his business associates announced in 1993 the closure of all five stores in 1993 – the passing of a family-owned staple in Greater Cleveland. (Photo Courtesy of Teaching Cleveland)
Monuments to the neighboring James A. Garfield Memorial surround the massive structure. (Photo courtesy of Teaching Cleveland)
Just east of the James A. Garfield Memorial, up a set of stone stairs and situated on a hill overlooking the cemetery, sit the gravesites of John D. Rockefeller and his relatives. Pictured here are Rockefeller’s obelisk as well as the gravesite of his in-laws, the Spelmans. (Photo Courtesy of Teaching Cleveland)
You can take in Wade Pond, surrounded by the June-Louis Walkway, and adjacent to the Wade Memorial Chapel, pictured here on the right. (Photo Courtesy of Teaching Cleveland)
A serene winter day in Lake View Cemetery, which holds more than 100,000 graves of Clevelanders who have gone before us. From the first person ever buried there – Civil War soldier Louise Germain DeForest in 1870 – to those who gained fame associated with Cleveland (among them, Garfield, Rockefeller, Eliot Ness, Alan Freed, Garrett Morgan, Carl Stokes), the cemetery continues to be the resting place for thousands of people who have enriched Northeast Ohio and beyond. (Photo Courtesy of Teaching Cleveland)
(Artography Studios and Press, Lauren R. Pacini, Photographer. All rights reserved.)
Situated on Mayfield Road at East 115th Street just west of Little Italy, the Cozad-Bates House is the only pre-Civil War structure in University Circle. Recently opened as the Cozad-Bates House Interpretive Center by University Circle Inc., the place tells the story of Cleveland and the Underground Railroad.
Open on Saturdays from 12 – 4 pm, visitors can learn about what Cleveland was like in the middle of the 19th century, and they can learn about individuals and activists who supported freedom seekers who risked their lives fleeing permanent enslavement as they tried to get to Canada. Cleveland, and particularly what was then known as East Cleveland Township, was a hotbed of abolitionist activity. Visitors are able to learn about the Constitutional amendments designed to address Black inequality – the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments – and reflect on their legacies today.
Don’t forget to take in the grounds of the Cozad-Bates House, too, as they are filled with symbolism and meaning, designed to honor the brave souls who fought for freedom. On the walkways you’ll encounter embedded symbols – an African gourd pattern; arrows pointing north; the Little Dipper, Big Dipper, and North Star (all used by freedom seekers to guide them on their journeys); and quotes about freedom from famous individuals. You won’t be disappointed! Learn more here.
