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 / 41.42139°N 81.60278°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (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 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
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. [1]
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.
- 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