Garfield Heights, Ohio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garfield Heights, Ohio City Hall

Garfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 30,734 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Economy
3 Government
- 3.1 Mayors of Garfield Heights
4 Education
5 History (Timeline)
6 Communications
7 Demographics
8 Religion
9 External links

[edit] Geography

Garfield Heights is located at 41°25′17″N, 81°36′10″W (41.421423, -81.602682)^GR1.

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 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. Garfield Heights neighbors are

North: Cleveland
West: Cuyahoga Heights
South: Valley View
East: Maple Heights

[edit] Economy

Garfield Heights's economy is based on having Marymount Hospital as its largest employer. The city is currently progressing a construction boom of the City View Center a $200,000,000 shopping complex built on old landfill. This project will encompass a new shopping center, hotel, and office space within the next 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

[edit] 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. 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 1993

Fire Strength: 45 firefighters/EMTS

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.

[edit] Mayors of Garfield Heights

Term of Service	Name	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

[edit] Education

Public Schools Logo

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 finally 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. As of November 2006, construction of the 750-seat Garfield Heights Matousek Center for the Performing Arts has begun. Currently the foundation and some of the walls are being built. The goal is to open the center by school year, 2007-08.

The High School's Mascots are:

Trinity High School: Trojans
Garfield Heights High School: Bulldogs

[edit] 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]
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.
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, bad semi-truck danglings and several automobiles have 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.
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.
2007: Marymount Hospital Emergency Room addition set to open.

[edit] Communications

Garfield Hts is served by the Cleveland Television Stations, numerous cable and satellite providers also serve the city. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Garfield-Maple Hts Sun, and the Neighborhood News-Garfield Heights Tribune are main newspapers. Radio Stations are also Cleveland market.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 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 Afro-Americans.

[edit] 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