The Flats is a mixed-use industrial, recreational, entertainment, and residential area of the Cuyahoga Valley neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. The name reflects its low-lying topography on the banks of the Cuyahoga River.
History
Early days
In 1796, Moses Cleaveland and his survey party landed on the banks of the Cuyahoga upon their arrival from Connecticut. Early settlers included Lorenzo Carter, whose land holdings included much of what makes up today's East Bank entertainment district, including Whiskey Island, which was created when the mouth of the river was straightened by the Corps of Engineers.
Early residents found the Flats inhospitable with humid summers that brought airborne illness and harsh winters with strong winds and snowfall off Lake Erie. Many took to higher ground in current-day Downtown.
Cleveland developed slowly until the arrival of the Ohio and Erie Canal, which brought a trade route from the Ohio River and other southern Ohio cities. The heavily Irish immigrant workforce that built the canal took residence on the West Bank of the Flats and neighboring Ohio City.
Ohio City's rise, fueled by the produce that flowed from Medina County farms along U.S. 42 to the West Side Market, was soon viewed as a threat to Cleveland's development. In response, Cleveland destroyed its half of a floating bridge at Main Street (Main Street Bridge, located near the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway crossing) which was the sole river crossing. Cleveland then built a new bridge further downstream (Columbus Road Bridge) which connected Cleveland Mayor John W. Willey and developer/friend Jas Clark's "Willeyville" and "Cleveland Centre" developments along the newly constructed Columbus Road. The new bridge diverted the produce trade from the West Side Market to the new Central Market. Infuriated Ohio City residents, rallying with the cry of "Two bridges or none," marched on the new bridge with guns, axes, and other tools. They met a mob of Cleveland residents ready to fight; the ensuing "Bridge War" was put down by county sheriff's officers. The courts ultimately forced Cleveland to rebuild its half of the Main Street Bridge, but the damage had been done, and Ohio City soon became the first area to be annexed by the larger city.
Industrial center
A recession in the mid-19th century caused the Cleveland Centre mixed commercial and residential plan to collapse, and the land was purchased by industrialists connected to the canal and growing railroad lines. The cities' poor Irish lived along the West Bank in the "Irish Ghetto" near the intersection of Columbus, Carter, Franklin, and Riverbed Roads. Shipmen would find services at establishments like the "Flat Iron", the oldest Irish Bar in the Flats, which was originally a four-story cafeteria and inn. Lumberyards lined the river with freshly cut wood waiting to be shipped. John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company on the East Bank was putting Cleveland on the map as an industrial power.
The Flats' industrial legacy, however, would be defined by its steel mills, located along the river south of the Tremont neighborhood and west of the Slavic Village. The mills were the pillar of the city's economy and the largest consumer of water and electricity. Post-war recessions and production shifts to China and Europe hit the steel industry hard. Layoffs in the late 1970s forced many to find work elsewhere, or support from welfare programs. During this time, Cleveland, along with other industrial cities in the region like Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Gary, had become known as the Rust Belt. LTV's repeated bankruptcies finally led to the closing their plants in 2000 (including Cleveland's plant), until investors formed ISG and resumed scaled-back operations.
Over the second half of the 20th century, much of the industry and manufacturing in the Flats closed, leaving decaying buildings and persistent pollution. The chemical-clotted Cuyahoga River caught fire several times; most recently in 1969.