The Shaker Heights Collection

Founded in 1912, Shaker Heights (see Google map) is situated on the eastern side of Cleveland, Ohio. Famous for its planned garden-city design, neo- traditional architecture,and green spaces, the city of Shaker Heights preserves many of the traditional ideals of its primary builders, the brothers Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen.

In the 1950s, Shaker Heights neighborhood associations resisted white flight and fought to preserve its racially integrated communities, a commitment that continues to this day. Such values echo those espoused by the North Union Shakers, who from 1822 to 1889 occupied the land on which the village of Shaker Heights was later constructed and for whom it was named.

Now a city of just under 30,000 residents, Shaker Heights remains a community dedicated to its schools, its natural spaces, its people, and its history.

About the Collection

This collection is a small portion of the materials available for patron use in the Local History Collection at the Shaker Heights Public Library and the Elizabeth Nord Library Collection at the Shaker Historical Society. 415 of the photos in this collection were donated to the Shaker Public Library by Pulitzer Prize winning Cleveland Press reporter David Dietz,who acquired them when the paper stopped its presses for good in 1982.

For Further Study: