Cleveland is the urban center of Northeast Ohio, the 15th largest combined metropolitan area in the United States. Throughout the twentieth century, the City of Cleveland proper was ranked as one of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. (from 1890 until 1970 per US Census Bureau statistics). Like most U.S. cities, Cleveland proper began to lose population to suburban areas in the 1960s and 1970s. However, in the mid-1980s, Cleveland earned the nickname the "Comeback City" as the urban core experienced a dramatic revitalization process that continues today. As its "comeback" has continued, the official moniker is now the New American City as Cleveland has rightfully earned the reputation as a model of effective public-private partnership for urban planning.
Despite the common perception that Cleveland is an industrial town, just beyond the automotive and steel plants, a clean and beautiful downtown rises at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on the southern shore of Lake Erie (often marvelled over by visitors who are surprised you can't see the other side, i.e., Canada). Like other cities in the so-called "rust belt", Cleveland has endured growing pains as it makes its transition from a manufacturing-based economy. While Cleveland continues to play a leading role in building the U.S. industrial base, it has also developed economic prowess in the fields of health care, law, finance, insurance, real estate development, and professional services.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Another thing non-locals don't often realize is that Cleveland's long history of industrial wealth has left it chock full of cultural riches as well as the beginnings of a "sustainable city" movement. Serving as a global model for urban rebirth, Cleveland has been named one of the top 10 international visitor hotspots by Travel and Leisure magazine. For decades, the city has boasted of:
a "Big Five" orchestra (The Cleveland Orchestra),
the second largest performing arts center in the U.S. (Playhouse Square Center),
a world-renowned art museum (The Cleveland Museum of Art),
the nation's first health museum (HealthSpace Cleveland),
R&D hub of the aerospace and aviation industry (the NASA Glenn Research & Visitors Center) and
a number of other first-rate attractions (too many to mention here - read on).
During its "comeback" years, Cleveland has added:
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum,
the Great Lakes Science Center with Omnimax theatre, and
four new sports facilities in the downtown area - Progressive Field ("Still known as "The Jake" after a recent corporate name change) for the Major League Baseball Indians, QuickenLoans Arena ("The Q") for the NBA Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns Stadium for the NFL Browns and the Wolstein Center for the Cleveland State University Vikings basketball team.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Cleveland
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Cleveland - updated May 2024
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Cleveland Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
