LEOPOLD BROTHERS FURNITURE was established in 1859 by Henry Leopold and has been continuously operated by the family. Leopold came to the city from Germany in 1853 and worked as a cabinetmaker for 6 years before opening his own furniture shop at Lorain and Green streets in 1859. He made his own furniture in the store basement as well as caskets, which he sold to the immigrants in the neighborhood.

LERNER, ALFRED "AL"  (8 May 1933-23 October 2002) was a businessman, philanthropist and former owner of the CLEVELAND BROWNS.

The LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND was incorporated by Arthur G. MacDonald, Michael Madigan, and Ethan A.

LESTER M. SEARS FOUNDATION. See SEARS FAMILY FOUNDATION.

LEVERT, GERALD (13 July 1966 – 10 November 2006), was a significant African-American vocalist, songwriter and producer. 

LEVERT, SEAN (28 September 1968 – 30 March  2008), was a famous African-American singer. 

LEVINE, LESTER “LES” (12 November 1946-3 February 2021) was a Cleveland sports media personality.

LEVY AND STEARN, a company that specialized in women's apparel and toys, was established in 1862 when Isaac Levy and Abraham Stearn opened a toy and novelty store on Superior Ave. near W. 9th St. Business grew rapidly and it became the leading toy store in the region. When Levy left the firm in 1895, it became Stearn & Co. and moved to a new location on Euclid Ave. That year it introduced a line of women's clothing.

LEWIS RESEARCH CENTER. See NASA LEWIS RESEARCH CENTER.

LEWIS, FANNIE (6 June 1926 - 11 August 2008) was the Ward 7 representative for the CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL, an area that included the city's Hough neighborhood, for almost thirty years.

JOANNE MARCIA WAXMAN LEWIS (5 JUNE 1933 - 18 FEBRUARY 2024) was an educator and local historian.

ROBERT L. LEWIS (25 September 1919 - 3 August 2005) was a lawyer and education activist.

Lewis was born in New York City and was a vaudeville performer during his youth. He and his older brother were billed as “The Sunrise Happiness Kids.” At age 16, he entered Hamilton College.

The LEZIUS HILES CO., a century-old commercial printing firm built by merger to regional prominence, began in 1888 as the Forest City Printing House with $600 in capital and was located on Champlain St. In 1914 it was incorporated as the Lezius Printing Co., and in 1919 the company bought out the Hiles & Coggshall Co., a small general printing firm started in 1883. The newly formed Lezius Hiles Co.

The LGBTQ LIAISON TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND THE DIVISION OF POLICE is a municipal position in Cleveland that was established in July 2018 in order to improve relations between the police and Cleveland’s LGBTQ community. Director of Public Safety Michael McGrath named Commander Deirdre Jones as the first LGBTQ Liaison.

LGBTQ RIGHTS IN CLEVELAND have been shaped by legal decisions at the local, state, and national levels. This article provides an overview of the laws and legal changes that have shaped LGBTQ rights in Cleveland, including policies concerning sodomy, domestic partnerships, marriage, discrimination, identity documentation, and access to gendered bathrooms.

LIBERTY ROW was dedicated on Memorial Day 1919 to honor Cleveland-area soldiers who had died during WORLD WAR I. The memorial consisted of a series of oak trees planted from Gordon Park on Lake Erie into SHAKER HTS. The trees stretched along the then newly renamed Liberty Blvd.

LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES, AND HISTORICAL SOCIETIES In general, the development of libraries, historical agencies, and archives in the WESTERN RESERVE has followed patterns experienced throughout the Old Northwest Territory. There are some differences, in part dictated by location, population trends, wealth, and select creative individuals.

LIBRARIES, ETHNIC. The large number of immigrant groups that have come to Cleveland have had a profound effect on its libraries, requiring the major public library to evolve a noted collection of works in foreign languages and leading to the establishment of a variety of private libraries by various nationality groups.

LIFE SAVERS, the brightly colored ring-shaped candies, were developed by Cleveland chocolate manufacturer Clarence A. Crane, father of poet HART CRANE. Clarence Crane began making and selling chocolate candy in Cleveland in Apr. 1891. The following year he introduced "Crane's Peppermint Life Savers" to bolster his slow chocolate sales during the summer.

LIGGETT-STASHOWER, INC., was formed from the merger of two of Cleveland's leading advertising agencies. Carr Liggett, formerly a vice-president of the Krichbaum-Liggett agency, established his own firm, Carr Liggett, Inc., in 1933 with offices in the Leader Bldg., 524 Superior. By 1937 Carr Liggett had moved to the NBC Bldg., 815 Superior.

LIGHTS OUT CLEVELAND, is part of a growing international urban movement to protect migratory birds endangered by city lights. A partner of the statewide Ohio Lights Out, It inaugurated its first season monitoring bird migrations in 2014.

The LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY has an international reputation as a pioneer in arc welding and for its innovative employee profit-sharing program.  It was founded by engineer John C. Lincoln in 1895 to manufacture an industrial motor of his own design.   Before opening his own shop, Lincoln worked with prominent figures in the growing field of electricity and electric manufacturing in Cleveland.

LINCOLN PARK is a small, rectangular public park located between W. 11th and W. 14th streets and Kenilworth and Starkweather avenues in the TREMONT section. In 1850 Mrs. Thirsa Pelton purchased about 70 acres on Cleveland's south side with the idea of founding a girl's school.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. See ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S FUNERAL and ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S VISIT TO CLEVELAND.

The LINDSAY WIRE WEAVING CO. became one of the country's leading manufacturers of papermill wire cloth. It was established when Hamilton L. Lindsay, a mechanic at the W. S. Tyler Co., invented an automatic power loom for weaving metal. Realizing the potential for his machine to revolutionize the papermaking process, Lindsay quickly secured a patent.

LINDSETH, ELMER L. (12 Feb. 1902 - 26 Jan. 1999), chairman of the CLEVELAND ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING COMPANY, directed advertising campaigns that promoted his company and boosted the image of the city. Lindesth was born in Chicago to Swedish born parents, Lena (Anderson) and Andrew Lindseth.

The Cleveland Chapter of LINKS, INC., a national black women's service organization, was founded in 1951 (five years after the national group) to promote civic, cultural and educational activities. Dubbed the "Black Junior League," Links of Cleveland celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1976 with a benefit for KARAMU HOUSE.

LINNDALE  (inc. 1902) is the smallest village in Cuyahoga County. Located southwest of downtown Cleveland, it encompasses only .08 square miles (less than 1 dozen blocks).

The LION KNITTING MILLS produced high quality knit goods for 78 years. Founded in 1912 by Louis and Harold Ensten at 1011 Power Ave., the knitting mill produced a variety of knit goods for the military and the private-label market. Lion's first product, the varsity or award-letter sweater, was knitted on hand-operated machines.

LIPP, FREDERICK JOHN (23 Jul 1916 – 8 Jun 1995) was an award-winning novelist, play, radio and TV scriptwriter, and newspaper editor. The son of Fred J. Lipp Sr. and Lulu Hasenplug, Lipp was born in Toledo.

Cleveland Medal of Honor Recipients

LISTER, JAMES M. (9 March, 1907-September, 1983) was born in Cleveland and grew up in Twinsburg and LAKEWOOD, graduating from Lakewood High School. He earned a B.A. degree from Harvard University and both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in landscape architecture from Cornell University.

THE LIT: CLEVELAND'S LITERARY CENTER was an organization of Cleveland-area writers with its office at the Art Craft Building, a former garment factory site at 2570 Superior Avenue. It claimed to be the oldest and largest independent literary organization in Ohio.

LITERARY SOCIETIES (BLACK) were a much-favored form for social gatherings among the black middle class during the 19th century. Beginning with the Colored Young Men's Lyceum, organized ca. 1838 to discuss slavery and social justice, the city has hosted a large number of additional private and church-sponsored societies.

LITERATURE. Until the 1880s, Cleveland's literary life was wholly dominated by its literary societies and bookstores. The earliest bookstore on record appears in the 1820s; 4 more emerged in the 1830s, as Cleveland began to generate commercial and population growth. These stores carried the standard books of the day, mainly the older classics.

LITHUANIANS. The settlement of Lithuanians in Cleveland follows historical patterns similar to those of other East European nations.

LITTER CODE ENFORCEMENT. See CLEAN-LAND, OHIO.

LITTLE ITALY, one of 5 major Italian settlements in Cleveland (see ITALIANS), is located from E. 119th to E. 125th streets on Murray Hill and Mayfield roads.

The LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR, a Catholic religious order dedicated to helping the elderly poor, have operated a care facility in Cleveland since June 1870. The order originated in France in 1839. Seven Little Sisters came to Cleveland in May 1870 at the invitation of Bp. AMADEUS RAPPE. They opened a rest home on Erie (E. 9th) St.

The LITTLE STEEL STRIKE began on 26 May 1937 when members of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee voted to strike REPUBLIC STEEL, Youngstown Sheet & Tube, and Inland Steel, the major independent steel producers known as "Little Steel." Although Ohio governor Martin Davey tried to initiate negotiations between the contending parties, the companies refused to recognize the