Some hear the word “north” and start to shiver.
Some label “northern Cleveland Heights” what is north of Mayfield,
which for many years was lucky to be closer to Euclid Beach amusement
park. We do have some streets with “north” incorporated into
their names, but there may or may not be a geographic connection.
North and South Park Boulevards – the latter entirely within Shaker
Heights – meander around the northern two Shaker Lakes. Basically,
any stretch of the old “Park Boulevard” running to the north
of a lake was officially stamped “North.”
North Woodland Road was once long – the former name
of the stretch of Fairmount Boulevard east of Lee Road. The name now belongs
only to that brief connector of Larchmere and Fairmount Boulevards, while
North Taylor Road is the portion of Taylor Road north of Mayfield within
Cleveland Heights.
North St. James Parkway is actually south of Cedar Road
and only labeled such to distinguish it from the “West” portion.
Oddly, nine blocks directly west of North St. James is South Overlook
Road – there is no “North Overlook.”
Northcliffe and Nordway Roads (“Nord” means
north in French) were named picturesquely with no connection to their
locations; they are in proximity to each other and have caused confusion
for generations. But Northvale Boulevard, in Forest Hill, and Northampton
Road, in our Crown Point subdivision, are both northerly of their respective
tracts. Assumably these streets’ namers had that in mind.
Finally, our North Park and West Park Boulevards—should
they be listed in street listing under “N” and “W”
or under “P?” Directory publishers, as well as the County
Auditor, have disagreed on that point for almost a century!
Untitled Document
Streets of
Cleveland Heights Index
For easy access, the following list of stories will
appear at the end of each story page.
A
City Of Few Streets Have you ever wondered how your street got
its name? Perhaps Cleveland Heights' bright new street signs will
heighten awareness of your street names.
Hollywood
Boulevard? How many readers know of streets in Cleveland
Heights that actually are called "Street?"
National
Origins That most Cleveland Heights streets sport
the name of English towns or London streets or are derived from
words in the English language is well agreed, but we have many
street names originating from other nationalities gracing our
community.
Neighbor
Names Some of our Cleveland Heights streets take
their names from thoroughfares they are near.
North
Suburb Some hear the word “north” and
start to shiver. Some label “northern Cleveland Heights”
what is north of Mayfield, which for many years was lucky to be
closer to Euclid Beach amusement park.
On
The Avenue Jan Cigliano's The Grand Avenue: 1850-1920,
of 1994, describes the history of selective prestigious thoroughfares
in large American cities, including Cleveland.
On
The Boulevard Officially naming a street 'Boulevard' was
popular in the Cleveland of 1900-30.
Our
London Connection Images of England were important to early
Cleveland Heights developers, residents and would-be residents.
Our
Wood Streets Our Cleveland Heights streets can boast
no fewer than 16 streets with names ending in 'wood.'
Quirky
Street Spellings The quirky spellings of some of our street
names have long perplexed even excellent spellers.
Rocky
Roads Cleveland Heights has several streets which
honor the area's 19th-century quarries, including Quarry Road
itself.
Royalty
Among Us Cleveland Heights' 'royal streets'-Queenston,
Kingston, Princeton and Canterbury Roads-were named with the English
aristocratic imagery generally favored in the time of their development,
about 1910.
Shorties Cleveland Heights has its turn-of-the-century
'country lanes,' but also has its very short streets-cut-throughs
not found in the newer suburban areas of highways, winding drives
and cul-de-sacs. Most of our short streets are by-ways connecting
two to four streets.
Streets
Named For Early Subdivisions Many Cleveland Heights streets carry the
names of their individual tracts. Some streets, in fact, form
entire tracts in themselves.
Take
A Drive What image does 'Drive' in a street name
evoke to you?
Threes
And Twos Our community is flush with streets grouped
in trios and pairs.
The
Name's (Almost) The Same Cleveland Heights, with most of its streets
named within a 25-year period many years ago, has a number of
street names so similar that they have confounded the public since
first platted.
We're
Flattered! If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,
Cleveland Heights must be appealing to residents elsewhere because
some of our street names have been conscientiously copied in other
communities.
What's
In A Name? Sometimes the name of a street is influenced
by that of a more major street nearby.
