Willow Beach Park was located along Lake Erie on Route 283 in Willowick and was a picnic and recreational site that Black groups visited between the 1900s and 1930s. It featured ball diamonds and picnic groves, as well as a dancing pavilion large enough to accommodate several hundred people. It is not known whether this […]
The beach at Turkeyfoot Lake opened in 1957 on an integrated basis, attracting Black swimmers who had previously used the small lake at Virginia Kendall Park. The latter closed in 1956 when the Akron Metropolitan Park Board declared that the cost of upkeep was too much to justify its continuation. African American leaders decried the […]
East 9th Street Pier has long been a center for pleasure, initially as the principal Cleveland dock for passenger ships that plied Lake Erie. Later, during the 1960s, the Pier became home to a popular local restaurant, Captain Frank’s. Today, it is home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Goodtime III […]
On-Erie Beach played a significant role in the African American community in Northeast Ohio from the 1920s to the 1940s. Located in western Lorain, the beach may have been the only African American owned and operated beach in the area. On-Erie Beach lay along State Route 2, near present-day West 21st and Martin Drive. The […]
Edgewater Park Beach is located along the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of downtown Cleveland. In its early years the park appears to have been open to African Americans but not well used. In 1908, the Cleveland Gazette reported, “A few ladies of the East End held a picnic at Edgewater park last Thursday afternoon. Our […]
Craig Beach was a beach, park, and amusement park area located along Lake Milton to the west of Youngstown. Gaining massive popularity in the 1920s, the location could accommodate thousands of visitors at one time, and was a very popular vacation and resort location for the people of Youngstown, Akron, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. While the […]
When we think of historically Black beaches, Atlantic coastal resorts usually come to mind, including American Beach near Jacksonville, Highland Beach outside Baltimore and Washington, and Atlantic Beach near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. But in the early 20th century, African Americans in the Great Lakes region also sought out their own lakeshore beaches, including on […]
Gordon Park is a public park owned and administered by the City of Cleveland. The park offered public access to water through its swimming beach and small boats. Cleveland residents could easily reach it by public transport or by car. The park was integrated during the 1940s, but racist incidents remained common. Shifts in the […]
Euclid Beach Park, located in Cleveland’s North Collinwood neighborhood along Lake Erie, was the city’s best-known amusement park for about seven decades. Throughout its history, Euclid Beach was also the site of many confrontations over its policy of racial segregation. Euclid Beach was segregated starting in 1895, its first season, denying African Americans use of […]