2-1 History of Lkwd - City of Lakewood, Ohio

Lakewood Home Improvement & Maintenance Guide:Preserving Your Housing InvestmentHistory of Lakewood, continuedCommercial Landscapes - As the mainroad through Rockport Township, Detroit Avenuehas always been a center of activity. Afew 19 th century houses remain today, howeverthe streetcar lines ensured that Detroitand Madison Avenues would become the focalpoint of commerce and civic life. Hundredsof merchants provided daily necessitiesto a population on-foot in an era beforemodern refrigerators and widespread automobileuse. The buildings included many twoandthree-story structures with first floorshops and apartments or offices above, aswell as movie theaters, dance halls, fraternallodges, municipal offices, and numerouschurches. With their focus to the streetcarline, buildings were located close to the sidewalk.West 117 th Street, on both the Lakewoodand Cleveland sides, was also a majorcommercial street, however, most of the early20 th century buildings have been demolished.THE INFLUENCE OF THE AUTOMOBILEBy mid-century, the popularity of the automobileresulted in the decline of urban rail systems.Shortly after the Clifton Boulevard lineended service in 1947, the road was widenedfrom two lanes to six lanes. The last streetcarin Lakewood traveled the Madison Avenue linein 1954.The popularity of the automobile has alsocaused other changes to development patternsin Lakewood. The original early 20 th centurycommercial areas filled with small shops did notneed parking because residents walked or usedstreetcars. Today, changes in retailing such asshopping centers and large supermarkets, aswell as convenience demanded by many customers,means that parking areas have beenincorporated into commercial areas. In residentialareas, the number of vehicles requiringoff-street or on-street parking spaces has increasedsubstantially over the years.CITY OF LAKEWOOD OHIO53