Cleveland was incorporated as a city in 1796. A lot has changed since then, with each year bringing another wave of redevelopment and new businesses. But a lot has stuck around. Here’s to the staying power of Cleveland’s oldest things.
Oldest Market: West Side Market (110 Years Old)
Known by all, beloved by many, Cleveland’s West Side Market has been kicking for over a century. Though even before its long life, Pearl’s Street Market stood in its place during the mid-1800s, making the spot one of the oldest marketplaces in U.S. history and certainly the oldest in Cleveland.
Photo via The Cleveland Memory ProjectOldest Cemetery: Riverside Cemetery Chapel (146 Years Old)
This historic chapel was built in 1876 as part of Riverside Cemetery. Having undergone numerous repairs and renovations over the years, the Gothic Revival-style chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
Photo via Scene ArchivesOldest Bicycle Store in the City and Maybe Country (139 Years Old)
What started as a coal and feed store in 1883 moved into their current location in Ohio City in 1890 and took off as a bicycle shop from there. They have over 10,000 square feet of retail space and are still owned by the same local family.
Photo via FridrichsOldest Theater in Cleveland and Oldest African American Theater in the United States: Karamu House (104 Years Old)
Karamu House and Playhouse Square were both founded in 1915. However, Karamu was first to lay roots by opening an actual theater in 1917, while Playhouse didn’t open any doors until 1921. Throughout its lifetime, the likes of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston wrote and debuted productions for Karamu. Today, it still stands as a testament to cultural celebration and inclusion.
Photo via The Cleveland Memory ProjectOldest Sports Team: Cleveland Baseball Franchise (124 Years Old)
Cleveland’s tried and true sports team happens to also be its oldest. The Cleveland Guardians are older than every other minor and major league team in the area, eclipsing the Browns and Cavs in age. In fact, both the Browns and the Cavs are barely over the hill with the Browns at 76 years old and the Cavaliers at an infantile 52.
Photo via The Cleveland Memory ProjectOldest School: Beaumont School for Girls (172 Years Old)
Tracing its origins back to 1850, Beaumont School for Girls has stood in Cleveland Heights since 1942, making it the oldest operational school in Cleveland. The private all-girls secondary school is also the oldest school in the Cleveland Diocese.
Photo via Scene ArchivesOldest Piece of Art in Cleveland: Vinca Idols- 6,000 years
One of two sister sculptures found together in Serbia marks a triumph in human technology. Made from fired clay and red paint, these sculptures act as worshipping idols during a time when humans were just learning about agriculture and farming. Thousands of years old, the CMA’s two Vinca idols are considered to be one of the best preserved art pieces from the Neolithic time period.
Photo via Scene ArchivesOldest Festival: Feast of Assumption- 121 years
Started in 1898, this Catholic street festival has been shepherding Clevelanders into Little Italy each summer since it began. In celebration of the Assumption of Mary, as well as of Cleveland’s Italian culture, the Feast kicks off each year around August 15, bringing thousands and thousands of Ohioans out into the streets for an all-out block party. (photo courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project)Oldest Hotel: Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (105 Years Old)
First opened as Hotel Cleveland, this luxury mainstay has been around longer than most. With prime Tower City real estate, the Renaissance proves popular with locals and tourists alike. Aligned with Public Square, the Renaissance has solidified itself as both a modern getaway and a Cleveland landmark.
Photo via Scene ArchivesOldest Privately Owned Armory In The Country: Cleveland Grays Armory Museum (129 Years Old)
Known for being the oldest privately owned armory in the U.S., this Cleveland landmark was constructed in 1893 to house the Cleveland Grays, an independent volunteer militia company founded in 1837. .
Photo via EdselLittle/FlickrCreativeCommonsOldest Indoor Shopping Center (In Cleveland and the Country): The Arcade (132 Years Old)
When it opened in 1890, The Arcade Cleveland became the first indoor shopping center in the country. Today, Hyatt Regency Cleveland occupies the top three levels of the atrium while retailers continue to operate in the lower two.
Photo via Scene ArchivesHarbor Inn
1219 Main Ave., Cleveland
As the oldest continuously operating bar in Cleveland — open since 1895, thank you very much — the Harbor Inn has many stories to tell. Thankfully, the West Bank of the Flats spot keeps its secrets, and night after night allows patrons young and old to imbibe in witty conversation and general tomfoolery virtually undisturbed while swallowed up in dim yellow light.
Photo via Harbor Inn/FacebookOldest Consecrated Building: St John’s Episcopal Church (186 Years Old)
Located in the Ohio City neighborhood, St. John’s Episcopal Church is the oldest consecrated building in Cuyahoga county. Construction of the stone gothic revival church building began in 1836 and was completed in 1838.
Photo via TheZenderAgenda/FlickrCreativeCommonsOldest Place of Worship: Old Stone Church (167 Years Old)
Opening just five years after Cleveland’s oldest building, the aptly named Old Stone Church started accepting worshippers in 1855. Still very much alive, the landmark is host to weekly services, spiritual programs and weddings.
Photo via Scene ArchivesOldest Building: Dunham Tavern (198 Years Old)
Dunham Tavern holds the crown title of being the oldest building still standing in the city of Cleveland. Built in 1824 as the home of Rufus and Jane Pratt Dunham, this midtown historic site opened to the public as a non-profit museum in 1941.
Photo via EdselLittle/FlickrCreativeCommonsOldest Brewery: Great Lakes Brewing Company (36 Years Old)
A millennial, Great Lakes Brewing Company is younger than plenty of Clevelanders. However, it still makes the list as the longest-standing brewery in the area. In addition to being the oldest brewery, it is also the first microbrewery and first brewpub in Ohio. Before Great Lakes, Cleveland had a rich history of brewing and distilling alcohol. Starting in 1831, dozens of distilleries popped up around the Flats, giving Whiskey Island its name. However, prohibition wiped them out in the 1920s. The 1970s also beckoned plenty of brewers to the city. However, they all fizzled during the 1980s.
Photo via The Cleveland Memory ProjectOldest Neighborhood: Ohio City (168 Years Old)
Though it originally stood as an independent municipality decades before adopted by Cleveland, Ohio City became the city’s original residential neighborhood in 1854. Today, nearly 10,000 people call Ohio City home.
Photo via The Cleveland Memory ProjectOldest Pizza Place: Geraci’s Restaurant (66 Years Old)
2266 Warrensville Center Rd., University Heights, 6687 Wilson Mills Rd., Mayfield Village and 29425 Chagrin Blvd., Pepper Pike
Still owned by the Geraci’s family, Geraci’s restaurant has been operating since 1956. The thick-cut pepperoni (we recommend ordering double-pepperoni) on their pizzas are the stars of the show at this mom and pop Italian restaurant that’s been a family business for over 65 years. Don’t let that stop you from exploring the rest of the traditional Italian menu, with other staples like spaghetti and homemade meat sauce and eggplant parmesan. Now, you can try their delicious offerings at three locations, one in Pepper Pike and one in Mayfield Village in addition to their original home in University Heights, which opened in 1956.
Photo via Scene ArchivesOldest Park: Rocky River Reservation (192 Years Old)
Cleveland Metroparks claims its first installation to be the oldest park in the area’s history. Rocky River Reservation was first acquired by Metroparks in 1919 and was its first ever purchase. Pre-dating all other local parks, Rocky River Reservation is still alive and kicking, though often under construction.
Photo via Scene ArchivesOldest Restaurant: Guarino’s (104 Years Old)
First built as a prohibition speakeasy, the Little Italy institution has been around for over 100 years. The traditional Italian restaurant has come far since its days of serving liquor in coffee mugs along the roadside though it stayed in the Guarino family until the 1980s when friends of the family took over.
Photo via Scene ArchivesOldest Movie Theater: Capitol Theatre (100 Years Old)
Now adopted into Cleveland Cinemas, the Capitol Theatre originally opened its doors in 1922. A popular spot for indie and major film releases alike, the Capitol Theatre has been a staple for nearly a century and is sure to continue thriving.
Photo via The Cleveland Memory Project
