When he first picked up a camera, Jasper Wood captured the Cleveland he saw in his Scovill Ave. neighborhood beginning in 1946.

“The moments he was capturing were very everyday, something that maybe the regular passerby may not notice as they were moving through the city,” Adam Jaenke of the Cleveland Public Library, where Wood’s collection was donated, told Cleveland Magazine. “He used his camera and his vision to find these lost moments and connect with the subject in certain ways.”

The activist and artist shot photos for about a decade before giving it up completely. But his work over those ten years remains a vital snapshot into the mind of the artist and post-war Cleveland.

Crowd on Public Square, 1947 Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Central Market Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Residential Neighborhood Street Scene Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Bananas Hanging in Market Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Smoking in Front of Abyssinia Baptist Church Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Detroit-Lakewood Streetcar Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Smoking in Front of Wall Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Walking by “Cavalier Stoker Coal” Sign Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Close-Up View of man Slumped Against Wall Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Uniformed Man Sleeping Beside Clothes Line Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Standing in Front of Dry Cleaning Business Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Getting a Haircut or Shave Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Woman in Doorway Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Campbell Grocery and Confectionary Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Cuban Cigar Co. Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Watching Hat Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
View of Bridges Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Woman Smoking Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Mike’s Place Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Walking Into Hotel Next to A&L Restaurant Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Cleveland Industrial Landscape Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Sitting at Counter in Royal Castle Restaurant Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Sitting on Crate Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Woman with Toddler Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Girl in Striped Dress Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
View of Terminal Tower Complex from the Detroit-Superior Bridge Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Men on Building Stoops Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man with Baskets of Produce Outside of Store Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Uniformed Man Sleeping Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Boy Wearing Cleveland Indians Tee-shirt Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Close-Up of Man in Front of Political Posters Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Young Man Reading Newspaper at Market Stall Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man with Mohawk Hairstyle Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Burning Trash Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Children Looking at a Book Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Cat in Store Window Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Woman with Hanging Laundry Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Alley Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Men Reading and Relaxing Outside on Chairs Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Abandoned Car Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Pulling Wagon Filled with Coal Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Sleigh Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Boys Walking by Trash Barrels Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Shoe Display Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Boy Standing Outside Store Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Girls with Kerchiefs Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Fence with “Keep Out Bad Dog” Sign Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Hotel Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Butch’s Snack Bar Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Store Window with Cattle Auction Sign Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Pouring Drink into Tin Cup Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Children Standing Behind Cider Mill Sign Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
“Big Man We Can Fit You” sign Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Boys at Movie Ticket Booth Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Movie Theater Sign Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Spectators at Ballpark Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Truck on Street Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Tattered Posters Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Corner Cafe Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Intersection of Prospect and Huron Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Streetcar Stop on Prospect Avenue Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Horse-Drawn Cart Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Newspaper Boys in Front of Store Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Storefronts Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
State Liquor Store No. 142 Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Men Playing Cards Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Carl’s Food Market Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Special Pig Feet Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Movie Theatre Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL
Man Sitting Under Bridge Credit: Jasper Wood/CPL

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