Whenever Cleveland comes up in conversation with people who’ve never been there, it’s amazing how fast it turns negative. They jump straight to the “burning river” label and act like that’s the whole story. What gets lost is that Cleveland wasn’t the only city with a polluted river that caught fire in that era—it just became the one everyone remembers.
I lived in Cleveland for over 15 years, and I’ll tell you straight: there’s a lot more to that city than one headline from the past.
So, let’s talk about what Cleveland has to offer now as a city. Then we can get into history that is not about the burning river.
Modern-day Cleveland has hospitals known around the world for their quality of care. And I’m not just repeating a brochure line—while I lived there, I had two heart attacks, and I can tell you firsthand those hospitals are top notch.
Cleveland also has the second-largest theater district in the country, behind only New York City. Want to see a play without paying out the nose for tickets? Go to Cleveland’s theater district. You can catch the same touring shows people brag about in bigger cities—just at a more reasonable price.
And the museums? Everyone’s heard of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but that’s not the only one worth visiting. Cleveland has several quality museums, and a lot of them are the kind of places you can go back to more than once.
Then there’s the park system—the Emerald Necklace—which is genuinely beautiful. Bike riding, hiking, horseback riding, even spots for rock climbing. It’s one of those things outsiders don’t expect from “industrial Cleveland,” but it’s there, and it’s one of the city’s best features.
If you like festivals, Cleveland has that covered too. All summer long you’ll find different ethnic festivals—Italian, Greek, Hispanic, Asian, and more. And if you’re into art, there are art festivals and events that keep the city feeling alive.
People will tell you Cleveland is nothing but a depressed city—and sure, parts of it have struggled. But that’s not the whole picture. A lot of people don’t realize how many major national (and global) businesses are based in Cleveland or have a serious footprint there.
Just to name a few:
- Cleveland Clinic
- Sherwin-Williams
- Parker Hannifin
- KeyBank
- Lincoln Electric
And it’s not just headquarters and office buildings. Both Ford and GM (Chevy) have operations in the area, along with the supporting suppliers and machine shops that come with that kind of manufacturing base.
NASA isn’t “based” in Cleveland, but people forget that Cleveland has a serious NASA presence too. Out by the airport is NASA Glenn Research Center—a major research facility that’s been part of aerospace work for decades. That’s one of those details that doesn’t fit the lazy “burning river” stereotype. Cleveland has always had this other side: engineering, research, manufacturing, and institutions that actually matter.
Popular Movies Filmed in Cleveland:
- A Christmas Story (1983): The iconic house from this holiday classic is a museum in Cleveland.
- Major League (1989): The beloved baseball comedy features the Cleveland Indians.
- The Deer Hunter (1978): Opening scenes used the city’s steel mills.
- American Splendor (2003): A biopic about Cleveland’s comic book author Harvey Pekar.
- The Fisher King (1991): A fantasy-comedy with scenes shot in the city.
- Welcome to Collinwood (2002): A heist comedy set and filmed in Cleveland.
- Air Force One (1997): Featured scenes at Severance Hall.
- The Avengers (2012): Cleveland doubled as New York City for the Battle of New York.
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014): Used locations like Tower City and Lakeview Cemetery.
- Spider-Man 3 (2007): Filmed significant portions in Cleveland.
- The Fate of the Furious (2017): Featured a major car stunt downtown.
- Antwone Fisher (2002): Parts filmed in Cleveland.
- Alex Cross (2012): A crime thriller starring Tyler Perry.
- All the Bright Places (2020): A Netflix drama with Cleveland filming.
- White Boy Rick (2018): Matthew McConaughey film shot in the area.
The final point I will make before I get into the history of Cleveland is that if you like to party. Cleveland is definately a party town. This is both good and bad. There is all kinds of troubles you can get into, but there are also all kinds of things you can do and go to if you so desire.
Now, let’s get into the history of Cleveland. I want to start with the main gripe I have with the history of Cleveland. The burning river.
Fifty years ago this June, sparks from a train ignited the greasy surface of Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River. The river was one of the most polluted waterways in the country. A hundred years of dumping unregulated factory waste had smothered the river in a foot of oil. In fact, the Cuyahoga had burned at least 13 times since the 1860s.
Clevelanders half-jokingly warned visitors: “Don’t fall into the river, or you won’t drown, you’ll decay.”
Two months after the 1969 fire, Time magazine ran an article about water pollution and famously declared that the Cuyahoga “oozes rather than flows.”
Fine, the story is true. What do you expect from an industrial base that supported this nation throughout its history. Why does Cleveland take the hit, when Chicago, Buffalo, and the Rouge also lit up? And, they lit up multiple times.
When Lake Erie – or more exactly the Cuyahoga River which flows into Lake Erie – caught fire in 1969, it ignited a firestorm of public outrage over the indiscriminate dumping of sewage and industrial chemicals into the Great Lakes.
But the incident was not particularly unusual. Nor was it the most significant of a long history of fires fueled by the thick oily sludges that fouled the Lakes and their arteries. The Chicago and Buffalo rivers also repeatedly caught fire. So did Michigan’s Rouge River.
Alright, enough about the burning river stereotype. Now let’s hit some other Cleveland history, scrapbook-style, in no particular order.
Remember how I said Cleveland is a party town? Chuckle. Here’s a story that backs that up, featuring pro sports… and “let the fights begin” entertainment.
10 Cent Beer night at Cleveland Indians Game
Actually, I am not going to quote from that source. It is too good of a read to destroy it with my own interpretation. Seriously, read this article.
Oh, what the hell. Just watch the video. It’s a published YouTube documentary, and you’ll see that the second it opens. Sometimes pictures are worth more than any amount of words.
Let’s move on to one of my favorite pieces of history about Cleveland. During the early 1900’s, the nation and cities were still very prejudiced in how they treated African Americans. But even with that prejudice, one individual, Garrett Morgan still was able to make his mark on history and lives through his life saving inventions.
This man created an early gas mask, officially called the “Safety Hood and Smoke Protector,” and patented it in 1914. It later became famous after he used it to rescue men from a tunnel explosion under Lake Erie in 1916. And in 1923, he is credited with creating the first patented three-position traffic light.
To close out this Cleveland history stretch, I want to lean on a Case Western Reserve history summary. This quote nails the contradictions, the grit, and the weird charm:
Cleveland is a city of paradoxes. It is a sprawling metropolis and a small town. It is a city that pioneered in social reforms of all kinds, and yet it is a bastion of conservatism. Founded and developed by a small group of Protestants from the New England and Middle Atlantic states, it is peopled by members of over 50 ethnic groups representing every part of the world and many of the world’s religions. It is a blue-collar city that supports a unique cultural complex—University Circle—composed of nationally acclaimed institutions, and a park system—the “Emerald Necklace”—surpassed by none. A “city of cooperation,” it became famous for confrontation politics. Cleveland’s past is filled with soaring achievements, such as the building of the iron, steel, and oil industries, and a great transportation network of railroads and waterways. Its past is filled, too, with missed opportunities and reverses, such as the failure to become the center of the electrical, automotive, and aviation industries despite the prominence of these enterprises within the city during the early 1900s. Recently the decline and decay of heavy industry that has plagued the cities of the Northeast has made some of these missed opportunities doubly regretted as the traditional economic backbone of the city has disappeared. Nevertheless, and perhaps because of these paradoxes and changes, Cleveland’s story is exciting and vibrant. It is filled with personalities who have made contributions as spectacular as electric street lighting, and as small as the modern golf ball. One writer rightly called Cleveland and its history “the best kept secret,” but it deserves to be known, and that is the goal of the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
To close this out, we’ve all heard the saying: don’t judge a book by its cover. The national media foolishly labeled Cleveland “the city of the burning river.” That’s just one more reason I have such a low opinion of our national media. They don’t tell the whole story, because the whole story doesn’t fit in a lazy headline.
So don’t judge Cleveland by a one-liner. Judge Cleveland for what it is: a city rich in history, rich in accomplishments, and yes, with its share of failures. Just like every other city in the world.