KAMM'S is a neighborhood and STATISTICAL PLANNING AREA (SPA) on Cleveland’s far west side. Its boundaries include Lakewood to the north, CLEVELAND HOPKINS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT to the south, the Rocky River branch of the CLEVELAND METROPARKS to the west, and Triskett Rd. and I-71 to the east. The intersection of Lorain Ave. and Rocky River Dr. is the commercial hub of the neighborhood’s WEST PARK section.
The neighborhood is named after Oswald Kamm, who opened a grocery in 1875 and later a post office. As postmaster of the ROCKPORT TOWNSHIP office Kamm walked daily to the NICKEL PLATE RAILROAD Station in ROCKY RIVER to fetch and forward mail; postmarks on the outgoing letters read "Kamm's Ohio."
The area became an interurban transfer point from the Cleveland Green Line to the SOUTHWESTERN line that ran to Lorain and Elyria. The area comprising what are now the Kamm’s, Riverside, Jefferson and BELLAIRE-PURITAS neighborhoods became the suburb of West Park in 1900 and annexed to Cleveland in 1923—the last large swathe to become part of the city.
Kamm’s population stood at 14,061 in 1940, peaked at 26,750 in 1970, and declined to under 21,000 approaching 2020. The area has traditionally enjoyed lower poverty rates as well as higher median incomes, median home values and levels of home ownership compared to other Cleveland neighborhoods. Historically a predominantly white neighborhood with a significant Irish Catholic population, Kamm’s has diversified somewhat since 1990, with AFRICAN AMERICAN and HISPANIC populations that stand currently at 5.1% and 6.6% respectively.
Updated by Kevin Pope
Last updated: 12/31/2019