Welcome To Cleveland SAFeDATA

Cleveland is home to many celebrations throughout the year. Cultural celebrations such as the annual Feast of the Assumption in the Little Italy neighborhood, the Greek Orthodox Festival in the Tremont neighborhood, and the Harvest Festival in the Slavic Village neighborhood are popular events. Vendors at the West Side Market in Ohio City offer many different ethnic foods for sale. Cleveland hosts an annual parade on Saint Patrick`s Day that brings 100`s of thousands to the streets of downtown.

As of the 2000 Census, the city proper had a total populus of 478,403, making it the 33rd largest city in the nation and the second largest city in Ohio. It is the center of Greater Cleveland, the largest metropolitan area in Ohio, which spans several counties and is defined in several different ways by the Census Bureau. The Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor Metropolitan Statistical Area has 2,250,871 people and is the 23rd largest in the country, according to the 2000 Census. Cleveland is also part of the bigger Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area, which is the 14th largest in the country with a populus of 2,945,831 according to the 2000 Census.

In studies conducted by The Economist in 2005, Cleveland and Pittsburgh were ranked as the most livable cities in the US, and the city was ranked as the best city for business meetings in the continental U.S. The city faces continuing challenges, in particular from concentrated poverty in some neighborhoods and difficulties in the funding and delivery of high-quality public education.

Cleveland obtained its name on July 22, 1796 when surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company laid out Connecticut`s Western Reserve into townships and a capital city they named "Cleaveland" after their leader, General Moses Cleaveland. Cleaveland oversaw the plan for the modern downtown area, centered on the Public Square, before returning home, never again to visit Ohio. The first settler in Cleaveland was Lorenzo Carter, who built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The Village of Cleaveland was incorporated on December 23, 1814. The spelling of the city`s name was later changed to "Cleveland" when, in 1831, an "a" was dropped so the name could fit a newspaper`s masthead.

In spite of the nearby swampy lowlands and harsh winters, its waterfront location proved providential. The area began rapid growth after the 1832 completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal. This key link between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes connected the city to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Growth continued with added railroad links. Cleveland incorporated as a city in 1836.

In commemoration of the centennial of Cleveland`s incorporation as a city, the Great Lakes Exposition debuted in June 1936 along the Lake Erie shore N of downtown. Conceived as a way to energize a city hit hard by the Great Depression, it drew 4 1,000,000 visitors in its first season, and 7 1,000,000 by the end of its second and final season in September 1937. The exposition was housed on grounds that are now used by the Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Burke Lakefront Airport, among others.