GOODRICH-KIRTLAND

GOODRICH-KIRTLAND PARK is a neighborhood and statistical planning area located on Cleveland's East Side. As of 2013, it is bounded by I-90 to the west, East 55th to the east, Euclid Avenue to the south, and Lake Erie to the north. It is home to landmarks such as St. Nicholas's Byzantine church and the Goodrich-Gannett Neighborhood Center . By 1910, many of its residents had been displaced by industrial (see industry) buildings. Among these prominent industrial complexes, was Richman Brothers Co. clothing, located on in Goodrich-Kirkland's eastern boundary on East 55th Street, until its closure in 1992.

Since 1914, Goodrich-Kirtland has been home to the Goodrich-Gannett Neighborhood Center. The Goodrich-Gannet was a settlement house that Goodrich organized street associations and clubs, while also offering classes and workshops for arts and crafts, cooking, sewing, gymnastics, and other activities. The Goodrich-Gannet Center first served Germans and Irish, then East Europeans, and finally Appalachian whites and African Americans. As of 2010, the center continued to offer social services for the community.

Unlike many East-side neighborhoods, Goodrich-Kirtland did not experience rapid white flight. There had been a cluster of AFRICAN AMERICANS located near Lake Erie since at least the early twentieth century, and the neighborhood has become steadily more African American since World War II. There was also a cluster of Asians who have lived in an area known as "Chinatown" just to the west of today's Goodrich-Kirtland. By 1970, the Asian community had relocated to present-day Goodrich-Kirtland Park. As of 2010, Goodrich-Kirtland is home to large numbers of KOREANS, VIETNAMESE, and CHINESE. This Asian community, referred to as ASIATOWN, is home to the largest percentage of Asian Americans in Ohio (about 39 percent). In sharp contrast to its neighbors, Central to the south, and Hough to the east, the neighborhood has remained ethnically diverse over the past half century with large numbers of Asians, African Americans, whites, and Latinos/HISPANICS.

Last updated: 7/3/2019


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