Greater Cleveland

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NASA image of Greater Cleveland and Lake Erie

Map of the Cleveland-Akron-Elyria CSA

Greater Cleveland is a nickname for the metropolitan area surrounding Cleveland in Ohio.

Northeast Ohio refers to a similar but substantially larger area as described below. This article covers the area generally considered to be Greater Cleveland, but includes information on the entire region of Northeast Ohio which includes the cities of Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Youngstown-Warren.

According to the 2000 Census, the five-county Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of Cuyahoga County, Geauga County, Lake County, Lorain County, and Medina County, and has a population of 2,250,871.

The larger Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area is the 14th largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States and includes the above counties, plus Ashtabula County, Portage County and Summit County, with a population of 2,945,831.

The Cleveland-Akron-Canton television Designated Market Area covers this area, and all of Northeast Ohio except for the Youngstown/Warren region. It is the 16th largest in the United States, according to Nielsen Media Research.

However, the areas commonly understood as Greater Cleveland or Northeast Ohio are not precisely defined. Most often, Greater Cleveland is understood as referring to all of Cuyahoga County, and a number of surrounding communities. The Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor MSA covers most of this area and some smaller outlying communities.

Northeast Ohio consists of 13 counties^[1] and includes the cities of Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Lorain, Elyria, Medina, Ashtabula, Youngstown, and Warren. Northeast Ohio is home to approximately 4.5 million people, has a labor force of almost 2 million, and a gross regional product of more than US$134 billion.

Additional counties are often (but not always) considered to be in Northeast Ohio. These locations include Ashland County, Carroll County, Erie County, Holmes County, Huron County, Richland County, Tuscarawas County, and Wayne County, thus making the total population of the entire Northeastern section of Ohio well over 5 million people.

The areas commonly referred to as Greater Cleveland or Northeast Ohio are not precisely the same as either the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor MSA or the Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The region is considered by some to be a part of a megalopolis. Some geographers describe the area stretching from Cleveland to Pittsburgh as the "Steel City Corridor", encompassing the cities of Akron, Canton, and Youngstown. Others characterize it as part of a larger megalopolis that connects Chicago to Pittsburgh.

[edit] Counties

[edit] Cities and villages

[edit] Cuyahoga County

[edit] Geauga County

[edit] Lake County

[edit] Lorain County

North Ridgeville
Oberlin
Rochester
Sheffield
Sheffield Lake
South Amherst
Vermilion (portions in Erie and Lorain Counties)
Wellington

[edit] Medina County

[edit] Portage County

Mogadore (portions in Portage and Summit Counties)
Ravenna
Rootstown
Streetsboro
Sugar Bush Knolls
Windham

[edit] Summit County

[edit] Business and industry

More than 37% of Fortune 500 companies are present in Northeast Ohio, through corporate headquarters, major divisions, subsidiaries, and sales offices. In addition, more than 150 international companies have a presence there. In 2006, Northeast Ohio serves as the corporate headquarters of 25 Fortune 1000 firms (shown with 2006 rankings below):

(#112) Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (Akron, Rubber)
(#153) Progressive Insurance (Mayfield Village, Insurance)
(#184) FirstEnergy (Akron, Utilities)
(#210) Eaton Corporation (Cleveland, Motor Vehicle Parts)
(#213) National City Corporation (Cleveland, Banking)
(#279) Parker-Hannifin (Mayfield Heights, Aerospace)
(#311) Sherwin-Williams (Cleveland, Paint)
(#325) KeyCorp (Cleveland, Banking)
(#417) The Timken Company (Canton, Specialty Steel)
(#486) Lubrizol Corporation (Wickliffe, Lubricants and Chemicals)
(#589) Nacco Industries (Cleveland, Industrial Equipment)
(#671) Diebold (Green, Electronics)
(#674) PolyOne Corporation (Avon Lake, Chemicals)
(#678) RPM International (Medina, Chemicals)
(#704) Aleris International, Inc. (Beachwood, Metals)
(#765) The J.M. Smucker Co. (Orrville, Food Consumer Products)
(#825) American Greetings (Cleveland, Greeting Cards)
(#839) Jo Ann Stores (Hudson, Specialty Retailer)
(#846) Medical Mutual of Ohio (Cleveland, Health Insurance)
(#878) Cleveland-Cliffs (Cleveland, Mining & Crude Oil)
(#888) Applied Industrial Technologies (Cleveland, Bearings)
(#922) Agilysis (Mayfield Heights, Electronics)
(#928) Lincoln Electric (Cleveland, Arc Welding Equipment)
(#955) Invacare (Elyria, Medical Products and Equipment)
(#995) A. Shulman (Akron, Chemicals)

Other large employers include:

Babcock & Wilcox (Barberton, Engineering)
Cafaro Corp (Youngstown, Mall Management and Properties)
Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Health Care)
Developers Diversified Realty Corporation (Beachwood, Real Estate Development)
DeBartolo-York Corp (Boardman Twp., Youngstown, Mall Management and Properties)
Exal Corp Aluminum Production (Youngstown, Metals)
FirstMerit (Akron, Banking)
Forest City Enterprises (Cleveland, Real Estate Development)
Gojo (Akron, Chemicals)
Home Savings and Loan (Youngstown, Banking)
IMG (Cleveland, Sports Marketing and Management)
Jones Day (Cleveland, Legal Services)
Roadway Express (Akron, Logistics)
University Hospitals of Cleveland (Cleveland, Health Care)
InkStop Corp (Mayfield, Office Products Retailer)

[edit] Colleges and universities

Greater Cleveland is well known for its multitude of higher education institutions, including:

Baldwin-Wallace College (Berea)
Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland)
Cleveland College of Jewish Studies (Beachwood)
Cleveland Institute of Art (Cleveland)
Cleveland Institute of Music (Cleveland)
Cleveland State University (Cleveland)
Cuyahoga Community College (Cleveland, Highland Hills, and Parma)
Hiram College (Hiram)
John Carroll University (University Heights)
Kent State University (Kent)
Lake Erie College (Painesville)
Lakeland Community College (Kirtland)
Lorain County Community College (Elyria)
Myers University (formerly Dyke College) (Cleveland)
Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (Rootstown)
Notre Dame College (South Euclid)
Oberlin College (Oberlin)
Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine (Cleveland)
University of Akron (Akron)
Ursuline College (Pepper Pike)
Youngstown State University (Youngstown, Ohio)

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Airports

Greater Cleveland is served by international, regional and county airports, including:

Akron-Canton Regional Airport
Akron Fulton International Airport
Burke Lakefront Airport
Cuyahoga County Airport
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
Landsdown Airport (Private, Youngstown's Eastside)
Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport

[edit] Highways

The Greater Cleveland highway network

[edit] Highway notes

I-271 and I-480 are the only two three-digit interstates in the nation to be multiplexed with each other. They run concurrent near Bedford Heights in Cuyahoga County.

[edit] Public transit

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority operates a bus system and heavy and light rail in Cuyahoga County. Other transit agencies serve the surrounding counties and provide connections with RTA, including Laketran in Lake County, Metro in Summit County, and Lorain County Transit.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Theater

In addition to Playhouse Square Center, the second largest theater district in the United States, Greater Cleveland has a vibrant theater community throughout the region.

[edit] Theaters

Actors' Summit (Hudson) [1]
Akron Civic (Akron) [2]
Beck Center (Lakewood) [3]
Cabaret Dada (Cleveland) [4]
Cassidy Theater (Parma Heights) [5]
Cleveland Play House (Cleveland) [6]
Cleveland Public Theater (Cleveland) [7]
Dobama Theater (Cleveland Heights) [8]
Euclid Avenue Opera House (destroyed)
Palace Theatre (Lorain)
Geauga Lyric Theater (Chardon) [9]
Huntington Playhouse (Bay Village) [10]
Karamu House (Cleveland) [11]
Near West Theatre (Cleveland) [12]
Olde Towne Hall Theatre (North Ridgeville) [13]
Canton Palace (Canton) [14]
Playhouse Square Center (Cleveland) [15]
Powers Auditorium (Youngstown) National Register of Historic Places: The Original Warner Theater

[edit] Theatrical companies

Bad Epitaph Theater Company (defunct)
The Bang and Clatter Theatre Company
Beck Center for the Arts
Bodwin Theater Company [16]
Carousel Dinner Theater [17]
Charenton Theatre Company [18]
Cleveland Shakespeare Festival [19]
Cleveland Signstage Theatre [20]
Cleveland Theatre Company (defunct)
Convergence-Continuum [21]
Dobama's Night Kitchen (defunct)
Fairmount Center for the Arts (Mayfield Village Performing Arts Center) [22]
Fourth Wall Productions [23]
Knot Theater (defunct)
Giant Portions (defunct)
Great Lakes Theater Festival [24]
Ground Floor Theater & Improv (defunct)
The Group [25]
Pieces of People (POP) Theatre (defunct)
Portage Lakes Players [26]
The Public Squares [27]
Red Hen Productions [28]
SPOT Improv Comedy Troupe (defunct)
the Working Theatre (defunct)

[edit] Sports and recreation

Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians

Cleveland's professional sports teams include the Cleveland Indians (Major League Baseball), Cleveland Browns (National Football League), and Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association). The Indians have two minor league affiliates in the area, the AA Akron Aeros and the Single-A Lake County Captains, who play in Eastlake.

The Cleveland Metroparks are a system of nature preserves that encircle the city, and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park encompasses the Cuyahoga River valley between Cleveland and Akron. The region is home to Mentor Headlands Beach, the longest natural beach on the Great Lakes.