Photos Of Belle Creek Flooding Its Banks And Downtown Lakewood 1913

[Jim O'Bryan]

With everyone sitting around looking for things to do and cleaning out old boxes come these three amazing photos from 1913 which according to one caption represent the "Spring Flood" of the creek on Belle Avenue. This would be the river that one administration left out of it property site assessment, for they never knew there was a river there.


This would be about where Lakewood Hospital Emergency entrance was. You can clearly see it rising up over its banks of the pond then down Belle Ave.


This would be at Belle and Detroit looking west. The river had been routed underground and covered. A pond formed in the creek, and was filled when they filled the creek. This became the courtyard, then the atrium as the ground would not support weight. Of course you cannot simply cover up a creek and get away with it.


This was just a little proof of the power of the river. One maintenance man at Lakewood Hospital referred to it as "the constant war with that goddamn river."

And that is your history lesson for the day.

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[cameron karslake]

Absolutely incredible shots!

How does history like this get forgotten, covered up and ignored, only to rear its ugly head over 100yrs later?

Thanks for sharing!

[ryan costa]

Was the Creek diverted somewhere else further upstream a hundred years ago? Or simply put underground?

[Jim O'Bryan]

Was the Creek diverted somewhere else further upstream a hundred years ago? Or simply put underground?

The creek was just filled in, this was one of the real problems.

A person that worked at Lakewood Hospital called it the 40 year battle with the rive. He only worked there 40 years. They finally drilled large holes in the wall, to allow the water in, and then piped it out. Some days a trickle, some days a creek.


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[Edward Favre]

Great old pics. I recall a sort of ditch or creek bed running south between the back yards of the houses on the west side of Marlowe and east side of Belle. The yard of the last house on Belle before Madison is like a swale and a former homeowner told me it once was a pond. When hospital construction was done about the time the atrium was enclosed, water flow was disrupted and caused flooding. The existence of the creek should be of no surprise.

[ryan costa]

apparently most of ohio flooded in 1913.
https://mrcc.illinois.edu/1913Flood/com ... ille.shtml

https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/1913_O ... wide_Flood

a few years later, most of the houses and buildings in Lakewood were built.

[Jim O'Bryan]

apparently most of ohio flooded in 1913.
https://mrcc.illinois.edu/1913Flood/com ... ille.shtml

https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/1913_O ... wide_Flood

a few years later, most of the houses and buildings in Lakewood were built.

Ryan

Years ago, some civic leaders in Lakewood went through a "I wish we were Crocker Park" phase. Finally after years of education they found out, Crocker Park was a new version of Lakewood, and many suburbs in and around Cleveland. 2/3rds of all structures in Lakewood were built over 25 year period. About the same time frame Crocker Park is working on. Difference was Lakewood was semi organic, Crocker Park was as planned as Hersey PA, Sun City, etc.

Thanks for the links.

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[ryan costa]

just build 3 story Parking Garage at site of Former Hospital, More people from outer suburbs can visit lakewood to eat at restaurants. That way they will not have to eat at restaurants in their own suburbs.

[Dan Alaimo]

just build 3 story Parking Garage at site of Former Hospital, More people from outer suburbs can visit lakewood to eat at restaurants. That way they will not have to eat at restaurants in their own suburbs.

The first thing these deep-thinkers demolished was a parking garage.

[Amy Martin]

So, before Parkwood Road was developed, it was the site of a farm with an orchard. We've all been told that the street was built over a stream that ran north, and most of us on the street believe it, since the majority of the homes have wet basements and most people on the north end of the street have had basement waterproofing.

One has to wonder what's going to happen once the development (Jerome Solove Development, Inc) gets underway on Parkwood. Will another river be unearthed? What effect will this have on the development and the integrity of the surrounding homes once this major construction project commences?

[Bridget Conant]

Amy

Like OneLakewood Center, that project might not go ahead as envisioned. The economy will be in a recession and nothing gets built during a recession.