University Circle


University Circle is a district in the neighborhood of University on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is home to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance Hall, the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cleveland Cinematheque, Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, historic Lake View Cemetery, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.
Encompassing approximately the University neighborhood is bordered to the north by the Glenville neighborhood, to the south by the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood, to the west and southwest by the neighborhoods of Hough and Fairfax and to the east by the cities of East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. University Circle is member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.
While the population of University Circle ranks on the lower end of Cleveland's 36 defined Statistical Planning Areas, it ranks near the top in importance to the city's economic sector. Neighborhood businesses and institutions provide the city with more than 30,000 jobs in a variety of fields, including averaging 1,000 new jobs per year since 2005. Nearby attractions draw approximately 2.5 million visitors annually. As the neighborhood's name implies, higher learning is a major part of the culture of University Circle, with over 13,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students attending the area's various institutions. University Circle Inc., a not-for-profit corporation established in 1957, serves as the neighborhood chamber of commerce, providing many administrative and quasi-governmental functions for the area, including security, transportation administration, and marketing. University Circle has its own full-service police department to provide security and patrol the area.

Media coverage

In 2021, USA Today ranked University Circle #1 as the "Best Arts District" in America. Forbes ranked University as one of America's Prettiest Neighborhoods; with high praise for its symphony orchestra, museums, botanical garden, planetarium, high-end foods, world class culture, and walkability. In a 2007 USA Today article entitled "10 great places to discover Italy in America", Mario Batali was quoted as saying, "Corbo's Bakery has the best cassata I have tried in the USA." The article listed Cleveland's Little Italy as a top ten Little Italy in America. Askmen.com ranked Cleveland's Little Italy #3 out of 10 in their list of "Top 10: Little Italies".

Notable institutions and landmarks

Points of interest in the University Circle neighborhood include:

19th century

University Circle was known during the early 19th century as Doan’s Corners, after Nathanial Doan, a member of the Connecticut Land Company, who settled his family and started a community there.
The name "University Circle" began to take shape in the 1880s. Western Reserve University moved its campus from Hudson, Ohio, to Euclid Avenue in 1883. Case School of Applied Science moved from Downtown Cleveland to a site next to WRU in 1885. Their relocation led to the birth of an educational center and the creation of a new community called University Circle, named in part after these new institutions—but also the circular street intersection and trolley turnaround located at Euclid Avenue and Doan Brook Boulevard.
By the 1890s, the Western Reserve School of Design for Women moved to University Circle, and the concept of developing a world-class arts and cultural center came to life. The concept became more concrete when Jeptha Wade, a trustee of Western Reserve University, set aside land for the Cleveland Museum of Art to be built in the Circle, which required the Cleveland Zoological Park, now known as the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, to be relocated to its present-day location of Old Brooklyn. The Historical Society joined these institutions before the start of the 20th century.

20th century

The Circle began to grow rapidly in the early 20th century. The Cleveland Museum of Art opened its doors in 1916. By the 1920s and 1930s, 19 educational and cultural institutions were located in the area, from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center to the Cleveland Botanical Garden and others.
Cleveland's college football scene began in University Circle through both Case and Western Reserve football teams. Van Horn Field hosted games against Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Alabama. Famed Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne made his coaching debut against Case in University Circle in 1918. In 1920, The Alabama Crimson Tide played their first ever game in the north at Van Horn Field against Case.
The arrival of University Hospitals in 1931 led to health care becoming another center of innovation in University Circle. Less than away from University Hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic had been serving its patients since 1921. Also in 1931 Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra, was constructed at the corner of Euclid and East Boulevard. By 1950, 34 institutions had chosen University Circle as their home. In 1967, Case School of Applied Science and Western Reserve University confederated to become Case Western Reserve University.

21st century

University Circle remains Cleveland's center for cultural, educational, religious, and social-service institutions. The area is currently undergoing many construction projects with many institutions expanding, and private development of residential and commercial dwellings. New housing developments in the area have increased the number of year-round residents in the area to an estimated 15,000 as of 2013.
In 2012, the Museum of Contemporary Art opened its new permanent location in University Circle at the corner of Mayfield Road and Euclid Avenue.

Public transportation

University Circle is served by multiple forms of transportation, including rapid train, bus, bus rapid transit, and circulators. Unique from other Cleveland neighborhoods, it contains two train stops on the RTA's Red Line, the Little Italy-University Circle Station and the University Circle-Cedar Rapid Station. The CircleLink shuttle service provides free public transportation within University Circle. It provides service between the north and south sides of the CWRU campus, from University Circle to Coventry Village, around the CWRU campus and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center], and between the Urban Child Research Center and the main Case campus. The new BRT HealthLine, which opened on October 24, 2008, is the newest option to the neighborhood, being a major destination on the line along Euclid Avenue that connects Public Square to Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland. In a $197 million project, Euclid Avenue was rebuilt during construction, with the installation of public art, new lighting, and sidewalks along the entire length of the HealthLine, along with dedicated bus lanes. There are seven HealthLine stops in University Circle and runs 24 hours. Additionally, many bus routes have stops in University Circle, including bus numbers 7, 8, 9, 10, 32, 38, and 48/48A.

Events

University Circle is known for its year-round cultural events:
  • Hessler Street Fair
  • Parade the Circle
  • Summer Solstice Party
  • International Folk Festival
  • WOW! Wade Oval Wednesdays
  • Feast of the Assumption
  • Showcase in the Circle and Home Tour
  • Cleveland's RIPE! Fest
  • Little Italy Columbus Day Parade
  • Holiday CircleFest

    Construction and expansion projects

University Circle is undergoing $2 billion in construction and renovation projects.

Uptown project

The Uptown project is a multi-phase, $150 million-plus retail, entertainment, restaurant and cultural project under development by MRN Ltd. of Cleveland, and sponsored by Case Western Reserve University and University Circle Inc. Its location creates a true center to University Circle.
A $44.5 million "Phase I" broke ground on August 2, 2010, creating two mixed-use buildings of 102 apartments above first floor retail.
Additional anchors of the project currently under construction include the $66 million expansion of the Cleveland Institute of Art and the $32 million new home for the Museum of Contemporary Art. The new MOCA is designed by the London architect Farshid Moussavi. The surrounding pedestrian plaza is designed by James Corner Field Operations, the same landscape architecture firm who designed the High Line in New York City.
The $21 million "Phase II" consists of 43 apartments, dormitories for the Cleveland Institute of Art, and retail. The anchor tenant is a two-story bowling alley, known as Corner Alley. Completion date was in fall 2014. Euclid–East 120th has been relocated to Mayfield Road at East 119th Street. With a total cost of $17.5 million, it was renamed the Little Italy-University Circle Rapid Station.
On November 30, 2011, the New York Times showcased the project with an article entitled "Cleveland Turns Uptown Into New Downtown".