"The South Collinwood neighborhood is a mixture of residential enclaves interspersed with industrial districts that developed along the rail lines which followed the southern shore of Lake Erie. Industrial development accelerated rapidly following the construction of the Collinwood Yards rail switching center and freight yard. It became a neighborhood of Cleveland when the villages of Collinwood and Nottingham were annexed to the City in 1910 and 1913. Most of the housing dates from before 1930 with the oldest cluster, from the late 1800s, located around East 152 nd north of St. Clair."
Map: Run 1
Distance This Run: 5.1 miles
Distance So Far: 621.9 miles
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Southern Bar-B-Que (630 E. 140th Street) is a little oasis in this part of South Collinwood. Owner Wendell Powell is a super nice guy and serves up a wide variety of Alabama-style BBQ dishes, which he smokes right in front of his shop.
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| Southern BBQ has a lot of good options but they are known for their rib tips, featured above and my post-run meal. |
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| I thought this house on the corner of Eaglesmere & E. 133rd was one of the cooler looking houses on this run. It was built in 1918. You can't see it but they also planted two new trees on the E. 133rd side. |
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| According to the Cleveland Restoration Society: "Constructed in 1924, Longfellow School was designed by the renowned Cleveland school architect, Walter McCornack in the Dutch Baroque Revival Style. Closed in 2006, the building sat vacant. When it became apparent that the building was slated for demolition, Cleveland Restoration Society intervened and led a three-year effort to save Longfellow School. CRS actively campaigned to have the building rehabilitated and returned to productive use in the community." And now that development is underway. A developer from Connecticut is investing nearly $22 million to create The Longfellow, an 80-unit senior affordable housing complex. 22 units will be in the actual school and the other 58 in a new building being constructed just behind it. This is a massive development - the footprint is an entire city block. Naturally, it's a major win not just for the neighborhood but also for historic preservation in Cleveland. |
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| A side entrance to the old school. Love those owls. |
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| The second/new building behind Longfellow School. It will feature 58 units of affordable housing for seniors. |
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| New Life Mission Baptist Church (13905 Diana Ave) which is led by pastor Bobbie Laster. The building was built in 1930. |
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| Say hello to Rob, the neighborhood mailperson! |
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| A row of homes on Darley Ave. |
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| Tha Brotherhood Babershop (732 E. 140th) operates from building built in 1920 that was saved from demolition. Their motto is: "Let's Get To The Facts". From Google Reviews: "Not only a great barber but more like a big brother. Been seeing Big Ant since 2000 and while I no longer live in Cleveland I do know where to go when I’m in town. #letsgettothefacts" |
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| These guys were doing some exterior work to this property on E. 140th. The site is largely home to a intermodal facilities corporation. Those are basically the guys you call to help you transport significant loads from places like rail line freight yards. These set of buildings were built between 1941-1951. |
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| Built in 1900, this home in the 1400 block of Darley Ave is one of the oldest homes in the neighborhood. |
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| A view of the CSX rail yards (and additional businesses) from the W. 152nd Street Bridge. It was these yards that gave rise to the development of Collinwood. According to Cleveland Historical: “In 1874 at least 500 engineers, firemen, brakemen, conductors, and other employees made their headquarters near the yard to handle the 72 freight trains arriving daily. As the railroad grew, so did the village of Collinwood, with its population reaching about 3,200 by the 1890s. The yards, situated along present-day E. 152nd St. just south of the Lakeland Freeway, were expanded in 1903 and again in 1929; at that time they included 120 miles of track and could handle 2,000 cars daily. In 1933 the facilities employed about 2,000 workers. By the end of World War II, the Collinwood yards became a major switching and diesel repair facility.” Although the operations have downsized since the 1980s, it still serves as a major parts and repair location for CSX. |
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| Thames Park was established in 1968. It’s located on Thames Ave just east of E. 152nd Street, a short street which feeds into one-way S. Waterloo Road right off I.90. It has a basketball court and playground but is pretty beat up and in need of improvement. |
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| This building on S. Waterloo Road is the laundry facility for the Cleveland Clinic. It's managed by Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, a national model for employee-owned business for those living in economically challenged neighborhoods. The facility provides laundry and linen services to over 200 of Cleveland Clinic's facilities in N.E. Ohio, processing 16 million pounds of laundry per year while employing 150 people full-time between their Collinwood and Glenville locations. |
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The
Greater Cleveland Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in Northeast Ohio having served nearly 350,000 people (50 million pounds of food) in Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Ashland and Richland counties in 2022. Their main facility here on South Waterloo Road has reached capacity and a second facility is being built on nearby Coit Rd (which will be featured in a run or two). The Waterloo facility is also being renovated and will offer additional services such as a help center and a pantry with extended hours for working families and hard-to-reach populations.
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