When William J. Gordon, who made his fortune in the wholesale grocery and iron ore businesses, died in 1892, he donated the land that is now Gordon Park under the condition that it would forever remain a free, public park. It was dedicated around the same time as Edgewater and was just as big at the time.
But in the early 1900s it began to turn. First, a power plant was built nearby. Then, in the 1930s and 1940s, the shoreway was built through the park to avoid the power plant, effectively cutting the park in two and ending easy access from the southern portion to the northern portion.
The city leased the northern section to the Metroparks a decade ago and announced that it intends to lease the southern section to the park system as well.
What better time for a look back at what Gordon Park used to be.
Gordon Park beach, 1927 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectDrawing of Gordon Park after planned freeway construction, 1951 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectPolice search for missing man at Gordon Park, 1956 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBathhouse tents at Gordon Park, 1938 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectTrash at Gordon Park, 1957 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectPeople fishing at Gordon Park, 1969 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBody found at Gordon Park, 1935 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park bathhouse, 1939 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectSwimmers at Gordon Park, 1935 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park ten cent bleachers, 1932 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBoaters at Gordon Park, 1930 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park concession stand, 1938 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectFisherman at Gordon Park fishing wall, 1973 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectSwimmers At Gordon Park, 1942 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectCoastline of Gordon Park, 1929 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectCrowded beach at Gordon Park, 1932 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBaseball game at Gordon Park, 1935 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectAerial view of 16 acres added to Gordon Park, 1947 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park fishing pier, 1958 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectDamage to Gordon Park pier, 1929 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectDamaged break wall at Gordon Park, 1972 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectLifeguard tower at Gordon Park Beach, 1934 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park bathhouse, 1951 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park, 1951 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park break wall, 1932 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectChildren at Gordon Park Trailside Museum, 1945 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park Pier, 1961 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectCrowded beach at Gordon Park, 1940 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectNorth view of Gordon Park, 1945 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectWaves at Gordon Park, 1970 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectCouncilman George Young and children holding rocks at Gordon Park Beach, 1937 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectNorth view of Gordon Park, 1945 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBlack Forest and Gold Bond beer signs hang above concession stand at Gordon Park on Cleveland’s East Side, 1938 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBridge construction in Gordon Park, 1936 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBarrels of waste on Gordon Park beach, 1954 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park concertgoers, 1932 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectTurtle pool at Gordon Park Trailside Museum, 1945 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectFishermen fishing for perch at Gordon Park pier, 1963 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBoys swimming at Gordon Park beach, 1946 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectSunbathers at Gordon Park, 1948 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBathhouse tents at Gordon Park, 1928 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectLower entrance to Gordon Park, 1956 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park Beach and field house, 1930 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park concession station, 1930 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectWoman sunbathing at Gordon Park, 1945 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectView of Lake Erie from Gordon Park, 1951 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectCanoe houses on fire at Gordon Park, 1951 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectWaves at Gordon Park, 1945 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectHazardous fishing area at Gordon Park, 1952 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBeach at Gordon Park, 1918 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park, 1912 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectFishermen on jetty at Gordon Park, 1938 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectPeople picnicking at Gordon Park, 1932 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectSwimmers on beach at Gordon Park, 1942 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectSunken boat at Gordon Park, 1965 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectCar driving past waves on Lake Shore Boulevard, 1940 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectCapping the break wall at Gordon Park, 1951 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectRoad damage at Gordon Park, 1942 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectThree fishermen at Gordon Park, 1977 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectFishermen at Gordon Park pier, 1967 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park pier, 1933 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBoaters and onlookers at Gordon Park pier, 1932 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park waterfront fill in, 1935 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectEntrance to bathhouse, 1925 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectIcicles at Gordon Park beach, 1968 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectCredit: Cleveland Memory ProjectView of piers and Lake Shore power plant from Gordon Park beach, 1936 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectFishermen on decaying Gordon Park pier Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBoy with dog on Gordon Park Beach, 1938 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectMan in car watching Gordon Park waves, 1961 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGroup of women at Gordon Park beach, 1926 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectMan standing by boulders at Gordon Park, 1979 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectGordon Park beach cleanup, 1934 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectPeople on jetty at Gordon Park beach, 1939 Credit: Cleveland Memory ProjectBoys fishing at Doan Brook, 1930 Credit: Cleveland Memory Project
