*I remember visiting my grandma here as a kid and It was actually our getaway. The area was always nice and clean and everyone knew each other. She grew fruits and vegetables in her back yard. It started going down real bad real fast I would say mid 80s. I lived in EC in the early 90s and the amount of crime was outrageous. We drove by there years ago and I couldn't believe it was the same place. There was a feeling of despair and hopelessness. I damn near cried. I'm grateful I made it through. Thx for showing this.*
I grew up in Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, right next to East Cleveland. My parents and their generation of Baby Boomers all had stories about when EC was such a nice place. I played against teams from EC in the 90s and it had fallen hard then, but people were still making it work. Now they are just gone. The population dropped from 30K in the 90s to just 12K now.
The local Politicians with the help of many in the local community have worked very very hard to ruin this once great city. What's incredible is this is being played out in countless cities in the US.
Joe, my husband had open heart surgery in June 2023. At Cleveland Clinic main campus. ICU 35 days, total time there 55 days. We live over in Hillsdale county MI. I slept in my jeep in the parking garage. There is no housing unless your there for a transplant or cancer care. Everywhere is a money trap. I went around a decent bit. Doing laundry, shopping and car repairs. I have to say the Black Community was the nicest friendliest folks to this old 60 yr old white grandma. I regularly went down to poorer sections to do laundry and shop at dollar store. Never had a problem at all. Did treat my hubby to take out a few times when he was better.."Juicy Seafood"..best food, best price. Many like me sleeping in hospital parking due to high prices of hotels. Son and his wife came to visit twice there. We drove downtown. It was beautiful and so quiet during the day.
I was raised in East Cleveland from the 60's to Mid 80's. I was a booming beautiful city. Most people own their homes back then, but the crack epidemic in the 90's started the downfall. Not to mention crooked politicians stealing money from the citizens. Then people like myself left for college, military service and other reasons. The original population got older and most of their children never returned. Then transit people started moving into the area. Its sad to see my old hometown decay in such a way. I pray they one day will become a great city again.
I grew up in East Cleveland and the east side of Cleveland. It was white flight that was the main culprit. I grew up in glenville which was one of the area where the riots happened in Cleveland the other being hough. I was born in 1990 and moved in 2003! I remember hearing so much growing up. The crack epidemic was the one that broke the camel's back. White flight was the first domino effect
I haven't seen Euclid Ave. in sixty years. What a travesty! Only three miles away are a couple of the finest museums in the country. Today's tour is just a half-hour bus ride away from where I spent boyhood. It might as well be a planet beyond Pluto. How fortunate are the officials that can pull down six-figure compensation to manage such a failure. Thanks for taking us along for the ride, Joe.
@@kevinc8955government by youtube comment section, of course. So easy to assume everyone is “incompetent”, “immoral” etc. In the 1970s, the owners of this country decided it would be more profitable (short term) to deindustrialize, and places like East Cleveland are the remnants. There used to be thousands of jobs in GE and other companies. All gone
Maybe legalizing all drugs. This ends the problem of drugs being laced with deadly mixtures of unwanted narcotics. The tax revenue from the drugs, coupled with the billions of dollars we will save by ending the war on drugs, can be used to build treatment centers, drug education, and programs for the local communities. Including homeless programs, programs for single mothers, and job training........or just keep doing what is clearly working so well for us.
@@thecoasterbear or…as is happening in California, the legal drugs are just another major revenue stream for the cartels as they steadily take over the legal trade. What I don’t understand about the legalize everything argument is we don’t typically allow people to see poisonous pharmaceuticals. legal fentanyl seems questionable to me
I think it's disgusting how our government can give billions of dollars away to other countries but can't spend a dime on tearing down condemned houses and building new homes for the people.
Government spending is what caused the problem you see on the screen. Originally, that beautiful city was built without ANY government funding. By strong, married couples. Think about that. Regards.
@@agentcooper6179that would be called the military-industrial complex and capitalism. If socialism existed in this country you wouldn't have places that look like this because all the tax players around the country with lift places like this up and keep the jobs here instead of Outsourcing them overseas
My first apartment ever, was an East Cleveland back in 1971. I even remember visiting friends in the high-rise you featured. I also remember how the windows slid open without any covering for safety and a small child fell from a high floor back in 1990. I am in absolute shock and saddened that a community, once so vibrant, has fallen to that level of decay and abandonment.
East Cleveland was like this even back in 1990. I know I'm born and raised on the east side and live downtown now. Been a Cleveland resident my whole life. You have to go all the way back to probably the 1950s when East Cleveland was last a decent community.
My family moved to EC in 1967 and I grew up there and graduated from Shaw High School in 1985. We had football games at night, girls walked around at night after those games, our HS band was 2nd in the state in 1982, our Lady Birds competed in the state basketball championship in 1982, Darryl Talley went on to play for the Buffalo Bills, and there were plenty of family-owned businesses even after white flight. We had 5 Elementary Schools, one huge junior high school and one high school I mentioned. My elementary school was rebuilt twice and my son attended the same elementary as I did. We had gifted education and other career programs, Police Athletic League summer baseball, and The Chiefs summer football league The drug era ruined our city and, as was stated the corruption of city officials. The “beautiful” homes near the end are located near Forest Hill Park where we STILL celebrate our annual All Class Reunion picnics EVERY Labor Day weekend. I love and miss EC. The former citizenry needs to reinvest in the place that made us who we turned out to be, and that includes me!
hi nice post . Came out of Shaw 1990. Lived behind windermere station on Doan /Hayden in apartments with dad. Left ohio for good sept. 1992 for chicago to live with mom . I remember buyin records from Dolls Rapid Creation on euclid & paulettes on Chapman/euclid. Wow . East Cleveland fest too.
Rozelle, Kirk, and Shaw High Class 1987. Loved EC then and love it now. It's a shame, EC was the home of Rockefeller, and now it's awful. When I left for college in 1987, it was good but it gradually went downhill in the 90s and then a certain 80's president allowed crack cocaine to move into our cities (that's facts so go fight your momma on this). The shame of it all is EC has some amazing housing stock.
It looked that way when I was a little kid in the 80s. There were beautiful homes on one block, then the next was wretched. My grandparent's family home was massive, well kept and a hub of activity. The house immediately to rear was decrepit and full of weeds. It truly did depend on whether your family was employed or not.
Why were the homes built so massively? I didn't see a small, single family home amongst them. These look like homes to house a few generations of one family.
Thanks for stopping nearby, just watched the Gary video and heard you mention my area next so I stuck around. I'm in Cleveland Heights. That building at the beginning I wouldnt say is a "crime hive", and the "road " you went down in front of it has been closed for a while, there has been a large water problem there which keeps tearing it up. There is a really nice park, Forest Hills Park, that is up behind that broken down apartment. There hass been some interesting stuff about it in the news lately because the Cleveland Metroparks were going to take over maintenance and its split between Cle Heights and East Cle, the East Cle side is in limbo at the moment due to some shenanigans. I go on walks and runs through that park on my lunch hour almost every day. The Cle Heights side has the location of the Rockefeller family home. The whole park was donated to the city by the Rockerfellers as long as it remained a public park area. The nicer area you went through towards the end is the Forest Hills District, they've done a good job of keeping their area nice. The Lakeview Cemetery would have been a nice cruise through as well, its a huge cemetery right nearby with lots of well known people buried there like Rockefeller, President Garfield, Elliot Ness and tons more, great place to go running as well. Many fantastic grave stones to view, and part of one of the Avengers films was filmed at the dam in the center of the cemetery.
I'm glad you left this comment. Part of the problem I have with this type of content is that so much of the location gets sensationalized. Like you mentioned, that building isn't a "crime hive", it's literally just an abandoned building that the city won't tear down. The vast majority of the abandoned buildings in EC, aren't owned or were never owned by people from East Cleveland, many don't even live in Ohio.
Sorry but I have to correct this. Cleveland was awash in resources. What happened was it was taken over by a corrupt, anti-social ideology of dependence. Bad politics.
I used to live in East Cleveland. City is so corrupt no developer wants to touch it. Bought a cheap house three blocks away in City of Cleveland (proper) and it's not so bad. Fresh pavement, decent schools, and reliable services. I've explored many of those brownstone apartments and phone books would indicate they were abandoned in the late 90's. Great vid as usual!
This was like a look into the past and how nice this part of Cleveland use to be. It’s a real shame that the city itself is in such a bad financial situation that even they can’t do anything about it. Especially to help out the kids .
Joe told a story about how the City of Cleveland wanted to annex EC but the corrupt politicians (city council members, I think) in EC insisted on keeping their $100k+ salaries so Cleveland nixed the deal.
You can tell that living in those neighborhoods used to be a brag, now it's a badge of courage. Single moms keeping the business sector afloat. Bless their hearts.
I'm in Cleveland and MANY years ago YOU WANTED East Cleveland and that would be about over 45 years ago. Across the street from the Huron Apartments at the very beginning of the video was Huron Road Hospital and it's gone now. 3 minutes into the video you pulled up into a corner store and that street that is blocked off with the apartment building, well those building were BEAUTIFUL back int he day. I mean GORGEOUS!! It's very sad to see it now.
Imagine back in the 40s moving into a brand new house with the new house (pain) smell still fresh -- it would be beyond belief if you were told that 75 years later the whole neighborhood would be a crumbling slum. shocking
The City of East Cleveland's proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 is $36 million. The largest portion of the budget, about $17 million, is for the general fund, which supports the city's core services such as police, fire, and public works. Other major spending areas include the community development fund ($5 million), the parks and recreation fund ($4 million), and the library fund ($2 million). High debt: The city has a debt of over $20 million, which is a major financial burden.
I love watching your Chanel. I have learned things I didn't know. Never would have believed things in the US were so bad. I'm 75 . Just am amazed at the trash, poverty & homeless. I'm so blessed to live where I do. Keep up the good work & please stay safe!
A very interesting and enlightening video. You can really see how lovely these neighbourhoods would have been in the past, some beautiful and unique architecture there. Thanks so much for showing us around, Joe, it's very much appreciated.💚
This is only the first video I've seen on this channel, but had to comment and give mad props for cruising through EC like this. I know locals that will straight up turn around if they reach that train bridge near Superior (Cle Heights/EC border) and double back on another route rather than risk losing their wallet, car or life at a red light... Massively sad state of affairs.
I lived in Cleveland from 1958 to 1974 was such a good place to live them days. Went back to visit old friend 3 years ago. Will never go back. Poor Cleveland
WOW!!! Not sure what to say about all this. I was raised in upper Ohio and have not been back since I was about 6. This is nuts to see what this looks like now. I can't believe the city officials think it is okay to take that much pay while their city is falling down around them. That is not okay, they need to get a grip on reality. Thanks for sharing and you watch out for the "presents" at the bottom of the pot holes, no flat tires. Safe travels
@@TOCC50 The slave narrative is a lie and told in reverse. It was more export than import because the aboriginal indigenous people were already here. It's you that needs to go.
Been watching your videos for about 6 months. You bring notice to the plight of small town USA. Some of the towns you drive through would scare the hell out of me. This town was once very nice. Love your videos, keep them coming!
Cleveland East & East Cleveland are very scary places. Not necessary to say even Worse at night. My last East Side friend was at 1268 E145th and Woodward until 2 years ago. Google map for a look see. He lived in the second floor unit. He did Tats up there to make a living. He is now in rural Alabama. The east side is a Terrifying place after dark.
Cleveland Clinic main campus starts at Euclid and about East 80th. It is massive in itself, and has been rumored that they will slowly buy up the decayed neighborhoods for next to nothing. The crime is rampant in that area as well.
Ok…thanks for showing East Cleveland. I grew up there, went to school there and lived there until I married in 1995. I am white and the street I lived on in EC there were only myself and another white family living there. The city was redlined about in 1970. It went from maybe 80% white to 80% black in 1-2 years. It was nobody’s fault except maybe the real estate people. To be honest the housing stock was pretty old and the baby boom generation was moving on after finishing school down there. It was a great place to grow up. Everything was within walking distance and the schools were excellent into the 70s. Like I said the housing stock was old. The house I lived in was built in 1890. You really need deep pockets to maintain those houses. But what really hurt the city was the politicians that came into office. Apathy allowed pure, out and out crooks to hold office. Mayor after mayor allowed the city to rot deeper and deeper. You opened with the site of the high rise. It’s on Terrace Rd. Opposite the building on the other side of Terrace was a Cleveland Clinic Hospital. It was a rather large hospital once called Huron Rd Hospital. CCF (Cleveland Clinic Foundation) decided to close it about 10 years ago. The city protested but the city and CCF came to a deal. CCF threw money at the city and who knows who got what but it’s gone now. As recently as this summer Cleveland Metro Parks was going to lease the EC portion of Forest Hill Park because the EC side is like the rest of EC. EC Council members blew the deal up and CMP backed out. And for the record…Forest Hill Park sits in EC and Cleveland Heights and this was a donation to both cities by John D. Rockefeller Jr. And within this park at a top of a hill in the park on the EC side is where John D. Rockefeller Sr. Had a giant mansion that burned down in 1917. In JDR’s day the park consisted of his mansion, his golf course, his boat house and lake, his horse stables and trails within the park. And for the record, Millionaires’ Row was closer to downtown Cleveland between East 55th and downtown. You were right though, it was on Euclid Ave. I hope that clears it up a little. While here and just on the western border of EC you would have Lake View Cemetery. You could make a great video there. It’s a beautiful cemetery and former arboretum of Cleveland. There you would have found the aforementioned J.D. Rockefeller and family graves. You would also find the mausoleum of President James Garfield. Also buried there is Alan Freed, Elliot Ness, Harvey Pekar, and many other notables too numerous to mention with ties to Cleveland and history. Again thanks and good luck! -NLP
Great details in your statement. Born in Cleveland's St Ann's Hospital, I knew the East side well into the mid 90's. The prosperity level's changed blocks away from each other. Relief when arriving at certain intersections after apprehension and fear at others. I was a Professional Carpet Cleaner for SEARS, I requested the East Side so I could see the Grand Homes from the inside. I cleaned one of Senator Nelson Rockefeller's homes, It was not as grand as I expected to see. Another memorable home was near Rockefeller's that was a former Gangster owned Speak Easy. Plush and pompous would describe this Grand Beauty with circular drive and large parcel of ground. The Bath rooms for the era were very Grand as was the very stately home riddled with Tommy Gun Bullet holes. Down stairs was the secret rooms of the speak easy. You entered through a Bookcase door in to a grand Bar. The Piano and Bar all intact as a time capsule into the 60's when it appeared to have had it's final decor featured added. The Architecture in these neighbor hoods were built with pride by the fine immigrant Craftsman to arrive and settle this diverse City of Greater Cleveland.
Thanks for clearing that up because he had alot of partially incorrect information in this video. I moved into East Cleveland in the 80s and moved out around 2004 family continued to live there till around 2014. When we moved there the majority of it was still in pretty good shape but started declining rapidly due to the corruption. I now live in the neighboring city of Euclid and it wont be long before the same thing happens here. My house is on the market as we speak
This was probably your best video ever. I could feel the emotion in your voice. I could feel you sensing what it was like for these poor people, with no hope.
My family moved out of East Cleveland to Cleveland Heights in 1980 when I was 2 years old. Black flight from EC has been going on for a long time. It's sad, because even as recent as the 90's EC was nothing like this.
What an amazing video❣️ I’ve watched many as my 96 year old grandmother owned a home on the Hill in East Cleveland. The beautiful area you went to at the end, it’s so nice to see it stands among the incredible poverty here.
Some years ago, we spent quite a bit of time in Cleveland, as my son had to get a series of operations at Cleveland Clinic hospital, which isn't very far from the area you visited. We used to like to eat at Tommy's restaurant in Cleveland Heights, and visit nearby Little Italy. One time I was driving around and came across some of the blight you showed here. It's real, and very sad. There are areas close to Interstate 90 that are pretty bad as well
I got mistakenly GPS's down east 9th street looking for a retailer that was on W 9th and drove through a couple open air drug markets .....crazy map software.
Yep by giving out free money feed and rent to these people. If they don’t work for it then it means nothing to them. They basically destroy and don’t tend to be builders.
When you go to upstate New York, you need to start at the Roycroft Inn in East Aurora and then go to Niagara on the Lake across the river in Ontario. From there, I would go to finger lakes and Cooperstown before finishing up the upstate area in Lake Placid and the Adirondack mountains.
I live an hour and a half south of this. It's so sad what is happening in Cleveland. Very horrific kidnapping and crimes. And even Akron is getting bad. Breaks my heart.
@@mississippisdarkknight Why would one assume Akron is bad? You rarely hear anything bad coming out of there compared to Cleveland. Maybe I missed something. Please explain thank you
Yea, I've been repairing roofs in this town on occasion for about a decade. History rotting before our eyes and citizens being neglected. What a shame.
Hey. I really enjoy your videos. So much history - good and bad I suppose. Sad to see the decay of towns and cities. Many of these places were once thriving wonderful places to live I suppose. Thanks for what you do. I responded earlier to your video on South Carolina, not realizing it was six months old. I really liked that one too. Enjoy your journey, but stay safe.
Good Lord! The community leaders and politicians should be ashamed of themselves. I can't even believe that these types of conditions exist in this country. Absolutely pathetic.
@@kyoakland So they sit around waiting for a job to show up? Go to any port of entry. Do you see jobs crossing back and forth? No. You see goods moving back and forth. Those goods are going to people who buy them. Think about it.
When I grew up on the border of E.Cleveland we weren't even allowed in E.C. as it was a very prominent suburb.John D.Rockefeller had a whole street of homes his executive's lived in up near Forest Hills park .A very Affluent community was East Cleveland.
I love watching your videos, they give such a good view of the towns you visit. The contrasts in this were staggering. I wonder who lives in those super nice homes you showed towards the end, maybe those council folks making 6 figures. I look forward to upstate NY, I lived in Rochester and know the area quite well. I hope you visit Rochester.
Interesting video, man! Thank you so much for sharing! I´m from Germany & I grew up with Americans for over 25 years. All of my neighbors here are US. I have good good and trusted friend in Columbus, OH. Great guy. My ex neighbor here, she´s a USAFE crew chief, and she´s originally from Toledo, OH. All the best to you guys
I thought at first you weren’t going to talk about this city’s history but I was so pleased when you did! I’ve driven thru this area recently and it’s just such a shame. The houses are beautiful (or once were). Ty!
I got lost there a few years ago driving a truck turned down the wrong road ended up in an area know for violence against outsiders I truly believe the only reason I made it out was because one of the dudes saw the flag on my truck that stayed veteran and asked me if I am a veteran and I am so he helped me get turned around told the shipper about it and he told me that 2 days before this a truck driver had the same problem and he got stabbed and almost died in almost the exact same spot
Back in the late 80s I went to Cleveland to work out of the Ironworkers local. Not being familiar with the area I was driving around trying to find the Union Hall. It was after dark and I was near a hospital, I saw a police car and asked for directions. They were very helpful but informed me it would be wise to get out of the area quickly that it wasn't safe to be out after dark there.
Were you delivering to a Pallet company off of Euclid Avenue by chance? I used to deliver to a Pallet company at the end of a Dead End street where there is no turn around. It's right in the heart of that area.
Im from Cleveland, Shaker Height and lived in University Heights and this makes me so sad, because this was a very nice area when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's l used to dance at there community theater!😢😢😢
Looking forward to your upstate NY video. Hope you visit Albany and down the Hudson Valley. Love all of your videos. I don’t travel much and watching I can see sites I’ll never experience. ❤️
One thing I did notice amidst all that poverty was when you drove throughout that blighted community that there were modern or newer cars parked in the driveways or in front of the houses.
yes, I too, noticed the cars. I could share a few stories about my experiences while living in Cleveland area back in late 70's (Garfield Ht/Bedford/Warrensville..omg) It was a huge! eye opener since i was young Canadian, huge culture shock! I was told ' u stay in the car with doors locked' 'u always keep doors locked' 'u always bring our dog to the door when answering'
Car's are necessary to get around in most of the USA. There is next to zero reliable, safe public transportation across the USA. Driveways with 'newer' car's actually in the driveway signifies to me that someone may be fortunate enough to have some kind of employment. The US is a failed, dying country ~
Gots to have that status symbol ! I live in a cardboard box, but look at my car !! Acting like you have money is a guaranteed way to stay broke. Invest in yourself and don't worry about looking like you're someone that you're not.
its almost like you cant function in 99% of this country without a vehicle... you know more people live in cars than houses that cost less than 100k? you know most jobs pay 10k? just to buy a car you need a pretty good job. most likely one you were networked into because the chances of getting a job outside of networking these days in 1 in 700...
I used to work about 10 minutes away from that United market ive never been over that way and didn’t realize it was that bad. I would mostly stick to main streets. A coworker of mine would take the bus to work every day and she lived in an apartment complex somewhere nearby. She said that one day management stopped collecting rent, garbage wasn’t picked up anymore, it was like the complex was abandoned by whoever was in charge. She said random people started moving into empty units. Someone in the apartment complex organized to get the garbage cleaned up but I just couldn’t imagine the situation.
@@AwesomeFinish Their probably telling the truth. I live in Austin and it's pretty nice for now, but I'm not delusional I know it's only a matter of time before it all turns to crap.
I live near Aurora, driving through East Cleveland is like entering another universe. It's such a shithole and it's a dangerous sore on Cleveland's reputation. It really is sad that the state/city can't repair this place. I don't even like going downtown anymore it's like the East side is leaking onto the streets and it's usually an uncomfortable experience until you get to wherever you're walking to downtown.
I was not aware there was an East Cleveland. The wealthy pockets have some gorgeous homes. The blight, roads, graffiti and dilapidated homes are indeed depressing. Years ago Cabrini Green in Chicago was blocks away from wealthy Chicagoans. Jane Byrne, former Chicago Mayor, famously moved into Cabrini Green. Thank you for another great video!
Very sad to see this. In spite of these conditions, this needs to be seen, maybe there will be a wake up call. We can only hope. Thank you for the video. Have a safe trip!
Wasn’t it production jobs flight??? In 1992 Ross Perot campaign was to stop NAFTA: If NAFTA passes there will be a giant sucking sound of jobs going overseas:(
There’s been some revitalization some they proposed a bill for the old run down historic buildings to be redone to historic level and no taxes will be in the building for 30years I believe. A couple billionaires have done some nice things but crime is spiking majorly again unfortunately. I live 15 minutes outside and rarely go downtown anymore unfortunately.
Its such a shock on the mind to see these blighted areas and in the same window of my mind I see some of the gorgeous areas that you have also visited and shown to your viewers. A lot of the disparities we are seeing across the country are so complex and I cannot think of respectful words to explain them. And by the way, I am not blaming any one group. It's complex, but someway somehow someone will need to step up and reverse the decay. Or nature will do it for us.
My phone just put this video in front of me. Wow!!! So sad ! I love old architecture! I’m an old guy in Canada near Vancouver. Born and raised here. There is a town called Bellingham in Washington state ( near Vancouver Canada) that I visited as a kid from 1960s until now . Bellingham very similar to East Cleveland these days 😢
East Cleveland was something at one time. May West lived there. I lived in East Cleveland for 9 years, and it was horrible! I was forced to live there due to some bad financial decisions I made. When I could get out, I ran and didn't look back. The working class are taxed to death to make up for those that don't work. In addition every elected official has lined their pockets are ran. Many went to jail. Nonetheless, the residents suffered. He's right. At one time you couldn't tell the difference between East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. I have a strong feeling Cleveland Hts. is next on the depression list. I hope I'm wrong!
cleve hts, garfield, then maple, bedford. problem is tolerating overwhelming actions, presence of black thugs...many ages and many address where they wait til sundown
We have just started watching your videos and are finding them very interesting. We do notice that in some of the towns that have an industrial building, and would live to know why they closed down, and if that was one of the reasons the towns started to die off
