Encyclopedia
Shaker Heights is a city in
Cuyahoga County,
Ohio,
United States. As of the
2000 Census, the city population was 29,405. It is an inner-ring
streetcar suburb of
Cleveland that abuts Cleveland, as well as the communities of
Beachwood,
Cleveland Heights,
Highland Hills,
University Heights, and
Warrensville Heights.
Geography
Shaker Heights is located at .
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.4 kmē . 16.3 kmē of it is land and 0.1 kmē of it is water.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 29,405 people, 12,220 households, and 8,040 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,807.9/kmē . There were 12,982 housing units at an average density of 798.1/kmē . The racial makeup of the city was 59.94%
White, 34.11%
African American, 0.06% Native American, 3.16% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from
other races, and 2.22% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.
There were 12,220 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $63,983, and the median income for a family was $85,893. Males had a median income of $61,768 versus $38,606 for females. The per capita income for the city was $41,354. About 5.3% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
History and notable facts
Shaker Heights, Ohio was incorporated as a village in 1912. The name "Shaker Heights" has origins in two local sources. The community was laid out on land formerly owned by the North Union Community of the United Society of Believers, more commonly known by the vernacular
Shakers, so named for the appearance that the worshippers "shook" during religious dance. "Heights" refers to the plateau east of Cleveland that rises sharply in elevation from 582 feet above sea level at the base of the Cedar Glen Parkway rising to 950 feet above sea level in nearby
Cleveland Heights; Shaker Heights' elevation is 1000 feet above sea level.
The
North Union Settlement was established in 1822 with just over 80 individuals. The colony peaked around 1850 with about 300 settlers. As the Shakers practiced celibacy, the colony faded away and was closed in 1889. The land was bought by brothers M.J. and O.P.
Van Sweringen who envisioned the first
garden styled suburb in Ohio for the site. Originally referred to as Shaker Village, the community was incorporated in 1912 and reached city status in the 1930s. Shaker Heights is known for its stringent building codes and
zoning laws, which have helped to maintain the community's housing stock and identity throughout the years. Approximately seventy percent of the city of Shaker Heights is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
The Van Sweringens acquired the
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad in order to secure the right of way needed to establish a
rapid transit interurban streetcar system that would carry residents of Shaker Heights to and from
downtown Cleveland. The resulting system was known as the
Shaker Heights Rapid Transit. The Rapid Transit system was transferred into the
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in the 1970s, which combined the operation of all bus systems in the county with the operation of the Shaker and Cleveland Transit System west side rapid lines. Shaker Heights and
Greater Cleveland refer to the system and to the trains as "The Rapid Transit", "Rapid" or "Shaker Rapid". While originally envisioned to extend from downtown Cleveland fourteen miles to the community of
Hunting Valley, Ohio , the system expansion ended at Green Road in eastern Shaker Heights following the collapse of the Van Sweringen rail empire during the depression.
Shaker Heights is nationally recognized for its school system, rated since the 1950s in the top ten nationally as well as its efforts to increase neighborhood
integration beginning in the late 1950s with neighbors in the Ludlow Elementary School area working together to make integration successful. As a result, Shaker Heights avoided many of the problems created from practices such as blockbusting and white flight. The city actively encouraged whites to move into black neighborhoods and blacks to move into white neighborhoods with interest rate incentives to create multi ethnic neighborhoods. Today, the city maintains a housing assistance office that works with home buyers to achieve and maintain neighborhood integration. In August 2004, the story of early integration efforts in Shaker Heights was subject of , an
ABC News special produced by Paul Mason. Mason, now a senior vice president of ABC News, was a student at Ludlow Elementary School when residents, including his parents, moved forward with their efforts to make neighborhood integration a community project.
Shaker Heights is the hometown of
Paul Newman,
Molly Shannon,
Fred Willard, Susan Orlean, Jim Brickman, Rachel Ryan and
Buffalo Bills cornerback Nate Clements. Sara Bloomfield, Executive Director of the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum graduated from Shaker Heights High School and taught in the
Shaker Heights Public School System prior to her appointment.
Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie Bucket in the first film version of
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory grew up in Shaker Heights and went to Byron Junior High School when he was named to the role. David Mark Berger, a weightlifter who was one of the 11 Israeli athletes murdered by Arab commandos at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, was born and raised in Shaker Heights. David Wain, the New-York based actor and comedian who directed, co-wrote and co-produced Wet Hot American Summer , a feature film starring Janeane Garofalo and Molly Shannon, also grew up in Shaker Heights where he was attended the high school, participating in the Shaker Theatre Arts Department.
Scott Savol, of
American Idol fame, claims to be a Shaker Heights native because he attended Shaker Schools, however is actually from the city of
Cleveland, Ohio. Writer
James Frey, whose memoir
A Million Little Pieces came under criticism when it was disclosed that he may have embellished its contents, spent his early childhood in the city. Comedian/satirist Andy Borowitz, creator of the website
The Borowitz Report, and co-creator of
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a popular American [i] sitcom [i] tha ...
is a native of Shaker Heights. Cheri Dennis, the Princess of Bad Boy Entertainment was raised in Shaker Heights. Gerald Levert and Shawn Levert are from Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Shaker Heights is the city of license for
CBS affiliate
WOIO, channel 19.
External links
