Wandering Around in Tremont

Tremont’s history and diversity make it one of the most interesting neighborhoods in Cleveland. It’s a great place to hang out if you have an afternoon or evening to kill. In fact, if you plan on an afternoon, you might find you get lost in the pleasure of walking in a working class neighborhood of brick roadways, tree-lined streets lined with Victorian beauties and smaller German-style brick homes, and alleyways with a second set of houses behind. The steeples of its many churches rise above the scene like sentries, making it comfortable just wander.

The New England-style square dominates the neighborhood built on a bluff overlooking the Cuyahoga River and the Flats. It’s an area now enclosed by highway. Once upon a time, in the mid-1850’s, Tremont was known as University Heights because it was the home of Cleveland University, and Tremont’s streets bear names like Literary, Professor and College, a nod to that time. Because it was the site of two Union camps during the Civil War, it was re-named Lincoln Heights before becoming Tremont.

While Paul and I generally stop in Tremont for dinner or a drink and leave, an afternoon in Tremont can be lively. The neighborhood was originally settled by German and Irish immigrants, who were followed by Greeks, Eastern Europeans, African Americans and Appalachians. It’s a blend of old world charm and trendiness with its upscale restaurants and eclectic boutiques and galleries in old buildings and houses that reflect its roots. Everyone is friendly, out and about in the neighborhood, talking freely about their lives and businesses—hanging out in Tremont is a lesson in neighborliness.

Tremont West Development Corp. puts out a newsletter called “Inside Tremont.” On the back page is a list of “Meetings-Special Events-Notes Around the Neighborhood” which includes a list of ten block club meetings. Special events noted included the Towpath Trail Dedication at Steelyard Commons on September 4 and a Civil War Encampment on October 6th and 7th sponsored by the Tremont History Project. The Liminis Theater offers free Thursday night performances of “Act a Lady.” A Farmers’ Market takes place on Saturdays from 9 until 1, and Studio 11 keeps residents inner-focused with yoga. The list of participating businesses in the second Friday evening Tremont Art Walk takes up almost an entire page of “Inside Tremont.”

One September afternoon, we parked our car at the curb on Starkweather and at the corner, Pilgrim Church United Church of Christ, built in 1893 and facing Lincoln Park, loomed above us. The Church was having an outdoor rummage sale and the congregants were talking up a storm about the glassware, old books and records, old world china, and Art Deco dishes spread out on wooden church basement tables. The neighbors of all ages and economic ranges mixed with suburbanites passing through, checking out the stuff. The church is a Richardsonian Romanesque building and an example of the “Akron Plan” with a sanctuary, art museum, library, gymnasium, and kitchen under one roof. Inside is a huge sliding door that provides a flexible floor plan for events and programs ranging from the Antaeus Dance Company and North Coast Mens’ Chorus to the Interfaith Hospitality Network and the Gathering Wellness Center. We felt welcomed into the community while in the church yard.

We were headed for the Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival at Lincoln Park. The Park is bordered by Starkweather, W. 11th, W. 14th, and Kenilworth and was known as Pelton Park when it was part of Cleveland University’s campus. Note the word “culture” in the name of the Festival. Local churches and community cultural groups showcase their culture and nonprofit endeavors right along with unique art. We ate Slovenian cabbage and noodles and Puerto Rican fried plaintains, but we could have chosen to eat Korean or Greek food. One booth sold woven goods made by women of the Costa Rican mountains, where a husband and wife sometimes live with their two children; the oldest blond-haired daughter gave instruction on how to feed a monkey—you put the banana on a long stick because you don’t want to get too close to them. Other booths sold wooden boxes made in Tibet and many booths made political statements about eating meat, racial inequities, and environmental issues. This neighborhood is well acquainted with political activism.

In Tremont, union workers and faithful servants have stood up for the rights of people to a good life. A Slavic Social Club began in 1931 in Lemko Hall, where the wedding reception in The Deer Hunter movie was shot; the Club was established by immigrants from Lemkovina, a Slavic area of the Carpathian Mountains. Merrick House, built in 1919, was the center of the community and offered English classes to the new immigrants, even today housing a daycare center, offers GED classes, and after-school recreation. The Ukrainian Museum Archives, at 1202 Kenilworth Avenue, houses a well-regarded collection of material related to Ukrainian immigration; the Ukrainian Labor Hall was a hotbed of worker radicalism in the 1930s, and the Ukrainian National Home housed Ukrainians fleeing Communism in the 1950s.

The art at the festival was wide-ranging. Central American shawls and Tibetan painted wood boxes were interspersed with Posch & Gulyas silver and Sandra Curry’s ElSan jewelry designs. Artist Way friend Nancy Weidner displayed her sea glass jewelry alongside other new artists’ work in a booth set aside for emerging artists. The Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival was run in conjunction with its September Art Walk and the Greater Cleveland Art & Gallery Festival—SPARX Gallery Hop, which showcased art in Tremont, Little Italy, and the Galleria at Erieview.

Leaving the festival, someone handed us a flyer to tour historic St. Theodosius Orthodox Cathedral, so we decided to head up Starkweather, but not before noticing the Lincoln Park Baths. Across from Lincoln Park, the Lincoln Park Baths were built in 1921 to serve as public baths for people without indoor plumbing. The Baths had separate entrances for men and women and were adorned by Roman columns and murals. From the Park, the property, which has been converted to condominiums, looks charming fronted by gates, trees, and shrubbery.

The fiddling going on at the Prosperity Social Club at 1109 Starkweather caught our attention as we walked down the sidewalk. They had Zydeco music for the Art Festival. We opened a door with a Celtic design and discovered a pub with an Old World feel and friendly waitresses who invited us to have a seat at any of the tables of four in the darkly-wooded room. Beers on tap and a pub menu were tempting, but we were going to church. We noted that the Prosperity Social Club has regular entertainment.

As we headed down Starkweather, we passed Lucky’s Café. Outside were picnic tables and inside was the aroma of coffee. The counter showcased good-sized and good-looking scones and brownies, and the establishment uses organic eggs. Further down the street, Browns Market was decorated with posters about the Ohio Canal Corridor, so went in to find out more about the Canal Corridor and instead found framed photography by Roger Mastroianni. It was his “Labor and Industry” show presented by Gallery 0022, the Ohio Canal Corridor and OECA. We were greeted by a guy who told us he had lived in New York then tried to farm in Ashland, and it turns out this outgoing guy was curator and photographer Dan Morgan who has space in the Artcraft Building over by Cleveland State. We talked about the Steelyard Heritage Center (to be at Steelyard Commons) and how Browns Market will soon be a chocolate factory while sipping complimentary wine. It was an eclectic moment.

Tremont has one of the largest collections of architecturally notable churches anywhere in America. The churches include St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church which was built in 1865 and is home to a hunger center and community outreach program; it’s at 2486 West 14th Street. St. John Cantius at 906 College Avenue was built in 1925, when it was the heart of the Polish community—the church still offering services in Polish. German-built St. Michael Church at 3114 Scranton was built in 1888 and is a nationally-recognized High Style Gothic Revival structure, and it now offers services in Spanish. Zion United Church of Christ at 2716 West 14th Street, built by Germans in 1885, has a 175-foot steeple.

St. Theodosius Orthodox Christian Cathedral is a walk down Starkweather towards the bluff where there used to be project housing. The church was built by Russian immigrants, beginning in1911, and its onion shaped domes are now a distinctive symbol of the Tremont skyline. Considered to be one of the finest examples of Russian Orthodox architecture in America, it has been featured in films such as the Deer Hunter. The church was ornately and richly decorated from floor to ceiling with side columns and arched paintings across the front. Above the nave are ceilings covered with colorful painted frescoes and the floor has recently been tiled in marble.

We were greeted by an older gentleman raised in the Russian area of Tremont and a member of the church since his youth. He told us that when lightening struck the church in 1949, he was hoisted up into the dome-area high above the sanctuary to inspect the damage, up there where Christ resides. During services, congregants stand for 2-1/2 hours because worship should be done while standing. The altar is completely off limits and roped off from everyone but the priest and it seemed a pity not to be able to view the richness behind and around the altar. When facing the altar, the priest represents the people and when he turns around to face the people, he represents God. Our tour ended with an invitation to have light refreshments in the convent building next door where the nuns used to take in immigrants.

Wandering back towards our car we stumbled upon Visible Voice Books at 1023 Kenilworth Avenue (www.visiblevoicebooks), whose owner we met at the festival. The bookshop resides in an old house which has been renovated. To the left of the door is a café with coffee and drinks. The walls are half paneled and painted in various dark pastels. Between the light wood bookcases on some of the walls are framed art and words from a Frog Went a Courting and recessed and track lighting make for an intimate and bright space to browse the shelves and relax on the upholstered furniture. The magazine rack indicated material that focuses on politics, arts, architecture, literature, and music. The bookstore will take part in the Jack Kerouac “On The Road” celebration the third weekend in October.

We didn’t go to any galleries this time around—Asterisk, Banyan Tree, Brandt Gallery, Eye Candy Gallery, or Piccadily’s Fine Art Gallery—saving them for the next Tremont ArtWalk, coming up this Friday October 12. We didn’t make it to any of the eateries—the Tree House with its “What a lovely day for a Guinness” mural, Fat Cats in its renovated house, or upscale Parallax—but we had an interesting afternoon in Tremont. We think it would be really cool to head down there on a Sunday, go to church, eat breakfast at Lucky’s, take a Sunday afternoon walk, and leisurely hang out at Visible Voice Books. Perhaps next time.

Restore Tremont puts out a guide with help from a Neighborhood Connections Grant from the Cleveland Foundation. For a walking tour or scenic byway tour call Walter Wright a 575-0920.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller ctallerwritesATwowway.com
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