The Cleveland Flats, the area surrounding the Cuyahoga River that divides the city of Cleveland, has been a shipping powerhouse since the early 1900s and a vibrant entertainment district since the 1980s and 1990s.
The area is divided into two sections: the West Bank and the West Bank, with the East Bank today a veritable ghost town, with bricked-up buildings and empty streets where there were once hundreds of revelers.
Story
The Cleveland Flats has a long history. One of the first settlers in the area, Lorenzo Carter made the area his home in 1796. (A replica of his original log cabin still stands there). Later, when Cleveland became a world shipping power, the Flats housed warehouses, shipping companies, and bars for sailors.
In the 1970s, The Flats was a deserted area in the shadow of downtown, with some quirky riverfront restaurants like D’Poos and Fagan’s. The 1980s and 1990s saw an increase in people and businesses, including national chains such as Hooter’s, Joe’s Crab Shack, and Landry’s Steakhouse. Eventually more tacky places, including several “gentlemen’s clubs,” set up a store and that, combined with a lack of parking and cheap happy hours, led to the area’s decline.
The East Bank of Flats
In the summer of 2000, three people drowned in the river after a night of revelry, cementing the East Bank’s growing reputation as a place of street crime and violence. The final blow came in 2001 when a city security task force raided nine clubs on the East Bank, tackling six of them on the spot. The club’s owners sued, but it took a while for the East Bank of the Flats to recover.
Today, the area has been revitalized with the help of 16 new bars and restaurants established since 2013 and the opening in July 2017 of a 23,000-square-foot bar, restaurant and retail store, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville.
West bank of flats
The West Bank of flats was historically better than its eastern neighbor. The area is home to the Nautica Entertainment Complex, which includes the Jacobs Pavilion at the Nautica Concert Hall, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, the IMPROV Comedy Club, and the Nautica Queen dinner cruises.
The future of floors
As both the East & West Banks of the Flats have seen considerable growth and a $ 750 million development project that brought a mix of residences and businesses, a saturation of trendy bars and restaurants, and water taxis that operate on weekends. week to keep the flow of Visitors move smoothly.
