Garfield Heights, Ohio

Location of Garfield Heights, Ohio

Garfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 30,734 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Garfield Heights is located at 41°25′17″N 81°36′10″W (41.421423, -81.602682)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.9 km² (7.3 mi²). 18.7 km² (7.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.09%) is water. The city has 4, 446 acres. Garfield Heights elevation is 831 feet above sea level at the Garfield Heights-Cleveland border, but the elevation gets higher at 972 feet above sea level, this measurement is taken at Garfield Heights Justice Center.

Garfield Heights is about 11 miles southeast of Downtown Cleveland and is on the buslines. The John Glenn Freeway cuts through the city. Most of Cleveland attractions are within a 10-15 mile radius of Garfield Heights.

Attractions within 10-25 miles from Garfield Hts.

Downtown Cleveland 8-11 Miles Playhouse Square, Jacobs Field, Quicken Loans Arena(the-Q), Rock Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Science Center, Tower City,the financial center of Cleveland, and Cleveland State University.

University Circle 9-10 Miles Cleveland Clinic Foundation, University Hospitals,Case Western University, Botanical Gardens, Natural History Museum, Art Museum, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland Institute of the Arts, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Severance Hall

Hopkins Airport 12-15 Miles Hopkins Airport, I-X Center

Cuyahoga Valley National Park almost in the neighborhood. A short 2 mile ride down Rockside Road.

Brandiywine and Boston Mills Ski Centers 15-20 Miles in Northfield Center Township

Geauga Lake Amusement Park 20 Miles in Aurora

Cedar Point is a 2 hour ride in Sandusky, Ohio

Surrounding Communities

	North: Cleveland
West: Cuyahoga Heights	Garfield Heights	East: Maple Heights
	South: Valley View

Economy

Marymount Hospital is the city's largest employer. City View Center, a $200,000,000 shopping complex, was recently built on old landfill space. This project encompasses a new shopping center, hotel, and office space built within five years. There will be another shopping complex called Bridgeview Center. The city also has light industry, technology, and a few service firms.

ODOT-or Ohio Department of Transportation has its District 12 Headquarters in the city.

Largest Employers:

• Marymount Hospital 1,200
• ODOT 500
• City of Garfield Heights 370
• Garfield Hts City Schools 350

Government

Garfield Heights, Ohio City Hall

Garfield Heights has seven wards and a Mayor-Council form of Government. The city's charter went into effect in 1956. The City also has a municipal court.

City Officials Mayor: Thomas J. Longo(D) elected 1983

• Council President: Vic Collova(D) elected 2005

Council president is also vice-mayor according to city charter.

City Council

Ward 1

Henry Warren

Ward 2

Janet Farr

Ward 3

Vincent Liotta

Ward 4

Debra Sarnowski

Ward 5

Joseph Suster

Ward 6

Tracy Mahoney

Ward 7

Michael Abella Jr.

Mayors of Garfield Heights

Term of Service	Name	Life Dates	Party
1950-1955	Charles F. Wing
1956-1961	Neil E. Bowler
1962-1964	Jack Donovan
1965-1969	Frank Petrancek
1970-1979	Ray Stachewicz
1979-1983	Theodore S. Holtz
1983-present	Thomas J. Longo		Democrat

Public safety

The city maintains its own police and fire departments.

Police Chief: Thomas J. Murphy since 1992

Police Strength

66 patrol officers and 30 auxiliary officers

Fire Chief: Tony Collova since 1988 recently announced his retirement

Fire Strength

45 firefighters/EMTS

Education

File:Garfield Heights school logo.GIF

Public Schools Logo

Garfield Heights has its own public school system comprised of 2 elementary schools, 1 Intermediate, 1 Junior high ("Middle School"), and 1 High School. There are 5 private schools in the city, all Catholic. The City also has its own school board.

In 1996 The Garfield Heights City Schools were named a BEST district.

In 2001, Garfield Heights passed a much needed levy to build a new High School. Construction of the school soon began, and was completed in mid-2003. High School students were transferred to the new High School in January 2004, Junior High students were transferred to what was the High School, and what was the Junior High School was torn down in June 2004, to make room for the yet-to-be-constructed Arts and Drama building, which will be connected to the High School. In 2006, ground was broken for the construction of the High School Arts and Drama complex, a $5,000,000 edifice. Construction of the 750-seat Garfield Heights Matousek Center for the Performing Arts started in November 2006. Currently the foundation and some of the walls are being built. The goal is to open the center by the 2007-08 school year.

The High School's Mascots are:

• Trinity High School: Trojans
• Garfield Heights High School: Bulldogs

History (Timeline)

1786

Moravian settlers settle in the city.

1852

St. John Lutheran becomes the First Church established in the City.

1904

The Village of South Newburgh is Established

1910

School Board is Established

1919

The Village of South Newburgh is renamed Garfield Heights Village

1923

The First Catholic Church St. Timothy is established.

1925

Maple Leaf School opens and the First streetcars go into downtown

1926

Sisters of St. Joseph establish their motherhouse

1927

Garfield Hts gains two new churches (Sts Peter and Paul/St. Therese)Garfield Central school (now demolished) is opened

1930

Garfield Heights achieves City status

1946

Jennings Hall, the local home for the elderly, is established

1947

Turney-Town Shopping Center opens

1948

The Garfield-Bedford Busline starts service between Bedford and Garfield Heights into Downtown Cleveland.

1949

Marymount Hospital opens.

1950s-1960s

New housing emerges as the city grows by leaps and bounds

1952

St. Monica Church established and Elmwood school opens; Garfield Heights Baseball League Founded

1957

William Foster opens and Marymount High school opens.

1965

Garfield Hts Recreational Center is opened, the main focal point being the new library. In January, sixteen year old Beverly Jarosz is found murdered in her Thornton Ave home. The killer is never found, this being one of the strangest cases in criminal history. Enterpruneur Sam Conte begins operation of a landfill near Rockside Rd, an act that will cost 18 residents of Valley View Ohio their lives due to various forms of cancer as toxic waste oozes into their direct living environment.[refcitation needed[/ref]

1966

A major fire at TurneyTown shopping center destroys several stores, Municipal swimming pool is opened at Rec Center

1969

Cardinal Karol Woltya(Pope John Paul II) of Krakow, Poland Visits Garfield Heights.

1970

Sam Boyas purchases and expands the Rockside Rd dump.

1972

Automotive enthusiasm grows as local groups such as the "Park Hts Gang" promote street drag racing

1973

Marymount High goes coed and Trinity High School is Established

1974

Garfield Mall opens. Construction of I-480, The "John Glenn Freeway" begins.

1975

The Garfield Hts-Bedford Busline gets absorbed into the newly created Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. The busline becomes the 76x/f route.

1976

8 people die in a car crash on Granger Road hill, caused by drunken driver in semi.

1978

The I-480 Bridge opens to Traffic. The bridge is a twin span bridge. It is 4,025-feet long and it is 212-feet tall. Its footing begins in Garfield Heights and ends in Independence. This Bridge has been the scene of many suicides. In 1994 an auto plunged into the valley below.

1979

The Garfield Heights Branch Library experiences a fire in its building, the cost of fire damage totals $210,000. Also in 1979, Marymount Hospital completes a $30,000,000 renovation of its campus. The infamous dump finally closes.

1981

Alfred Antennucci jumps on John Hinckley Jr during the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. Antennucci, a laborer was outside the Washington Hilton Hotel where he noticed Hinckley with a handgun. Antennucci is honored.

1991

New City Hall opens.

1994

Three police officers were killed in the line of duty. One officer died in a shootout. 15 August, and 2 were killed in car chase 8 December.

2003

29 December, Garfield Alloys, a magnesium processing plant, catches fire.

2004

Garfield Hts opens its new high school and ground is broken on the new City View Shopping center.

2005

Marymount Hospital breaks ground on a $25,000,000 addition

2006

City View Shopping Center opens for business. In September of 2006 it is offered for sale. New York grocer Thomas Klein purchased the retail complex for $100 million. City View has a Wal-Mart, OfficeMax, Circuit City, JoAnn Fabrics,Bed Bath and Beyond, AJ Wright, Dicks Sporting Goods, Giant Eagle(grocery store),Petsmart, and a future Home Depot. The Garfield Hts fire dept closes Wal-Mart on three occasions due to Methane gas leaks.

2007

Marymount Hospital Emergency Room addition opens. Construction of Bridgeview Commons Shopping Center commences. This shopping center will feature a Target Store, a Lowes and other new stores. A scathing article in a local free newspaper chronicles the high mortality rate due to cancer in the residents of Valley View Ohio and sites the former landfill (now City view) as the cause .

Communications

Garfield Hts is served by the Cleveland television stations. Numerous cable and satellite providers also serve the city. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Garfield-Maple Hts Sun, and the Neighborhood News-Garfield Heights Tribune are the main newspapers.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 30,734 people, 12,452 households, and 8,205 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,641.3/km² (4,253.0/mi²). There were 12,998 housing units at an average density of 694.1/km² (1,798.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.72% White, 16.80% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.26% of the population.

There were 12,452 households out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,278, and the median income for a family was $47,557. Males had a median income of $35,435 versus $26,472 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,988. About 6.0% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

The ethnic groups of Garfield Heights include Poles, Slovenes, Italians, Irish, and African-Americans.

Religion

Garfield Heights is about 75% Roman Catholic and 25% Protestant. There are 4 Catholic Churches, 1 Lutheran, and several other Christian churches.

Brief listing 1852-St. John Lutheran established 1923-St. Timothy Roman Catholic established 1926-Sisters of St. Joseph Mother House Roman Catholic established 1927-Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Therese Roman Catholic established 1946-Sisters of the Holy Spirt establish Jennings Hall 1949-Sisters of St. Joseph open Marymount Hospital 1952-St. Monica Roman Catholic Church established 1954-Hathaway United Methodist Established 1956-Garfield Hts United Methodist Established

References

• Garfield Hts History c 1976 Garfield Hts Historical Society
• More information at Garfield Heights city data at City-data.com
• Cuyahoga Public Library - History of Garfield Heights Library

External links

• City of Garfield Heights, official site