Euclid AvenueEdit

Euclid Avenue is a historic arterial street in Cleveland, Ohio, traveling roughly northeast from Public Square through downtown into the University Circle district. For more than a century it has been a central axis of the city’s economic and cultural life, hosting everything from grand private residences to major medical, educational, and cultural institutions. In the heyday of Cleveland’s rise as an industrial hub, the eastern portion of Euclid Avenue earned fame as Millionaire’s Row, a line of opulent homes that reflected the wealth generated by rail, mining, and manufacturing. In the postwar era it faced decline as transportation patterns and suburban development reshaped urban form, but in recent decades it has become a focal point of revival, blending residential, office, and civic uses along a corridor anchored by Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in the University Circle area and a revitalized downtown spine near Public Square (Cleveland).

Euclid Avenue is closely tied to Cleveland’s growth as a metropolitan center. Its course intersects with the city’s core institutions and cultural life, linking downtown commerce with the educational and medical powerhouses of University Circle and surrounding neighborhoods. The street’s evolution tracks broader debates about urban planning, fiscal priorities, and the role of private investment in shaping cities. Today, the avenue is a case study in how a historic street can adapt to 21st-century needs while preserving long-standing commercial and cultural value.

History

19th century origins and Millionaire’s Row

As Cleveland emerged from a frontier town into a thriving urban center, Euclid Avenue became its premier residential and commercial corridor. Wealth generated by the steel, railroad, and shipping industries flowed into the city’s most fashionable address, where grand mansions and early commercial buildings showcased the fortunes of entrepreneurial families and industrial magnates. The stretch became known as Millionaire’s Row, a symbol of civic ambition and the city’s planned ascent on the backs of private enterprise. The presence of architectural showpieces and elite institutions along or near Euclid Avenue helped cement Cleveland’s status as a regional capital of culture and business, with John D. Rockefeller and other prominent figures leaving a lasting imprint on the city’s built environment. The era connected the avenue to a broader national story of urban growth powered by private capital and entrepreneurial risk.

Early- to mid-20th-century changes

The arrival of new transit technologies, freeway systems, and shifting regional patterns altered Euclid Avenue’s character. Streetcar networks and later bus systems redirected traffic and development, while suburbanization drew residents and taxable activity away from the urban core. Urban renewal and highway construction in the mid-20th century reshaped blocks, sometimes tearing down older structures to make way for newer facilities or for traffic corridors. The cumulative effect was a more dispersed economic footprint at the same time that central institutions—such as major universities and medical centers—began to anchor the area in new ways. These shifts reflected the broader national move toward car-oriented planning and the accompanying challenges and opportunities for city centers.

Revitalization and the modern era

Since the late 20th century, Euclid Avenue has seen targeted investment aimed at rebalancing urban density, safety, and economic vitality. The corridor has benefited from private development, public improvements, and the presence of anchor institutions Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals (Cleveland) that generate sustained employment and demand for housing, retail, and services. Historic blocks have been refurbished, mixed-use projects have added housing and street-level activity, and cultural institutions along the University Circle axis have continued to draw visitors and students to the area. The arc from downtown toward University Circle remains a focal point of Cleveland’s strategy to blend living, working, and learning in a compact, walkable corridor.

Notable institutions and landmarks along Euclid Avenue

The corridor’s eastern reach intersects the University Circle cultural and educational cluster, including institutions such as the Cleveland Museum of Art and the campuses of Case Western Reserve University.
Cleveland Clinic maintains a significant presence along Euclid Avenue, reflecting the street’s role as a spine for medical and research employment.
Public Square (Cleveland) anchors the western end, tying Euclid Avenue to the city’s historic core.
The area also features landmarks such as the former early-20th-century civic and commercial complexes that once defined the urban fabric of downtown and the boulevard-like segments that fed into Millionaire’s Row, a term often used to describe the era’s opulent residences along the street.
Terminal Tower and other downtown icons sit along or near the central axis of Euclid Avenue, illustrating how the avenue linked financial leadership with the city’s skyline.

Economic and social dynamics

Economic base: The evolution of Euclid Avenue mirrors Cleveland’s broader economic transitions—from a manufacturing and railroad-driven boom to a diversified economy anchored by health care, education, and professional services. The presence of Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University provides stable employment and demand for housing and services along the corridor.
Urban form and investment: Public-private partnerships and private investment have reshaped land use, aiming to create walkable districts with a mix of residences, offices, and culture. Proponents stress that such investment expands the tax base, improves safety, and heightens the city’s global competitiveness.
Social fabric: The avenue’s changing character has impacted neighborhood dynamics, including housing affordability and the balance between displacement and renewal. Advocates for sensible policy emphasize keeping housing accessible to a broad range of residents while encouraging investment that benefits the city as a whole.

Controversies and debates

Gentrification versus preservation: As Euclid Avenue redevelops, questions arise about how to balance new investment with support for long-standing residents and small businesses. Proponents argue that revitalization creates jobs, lowers crime, and raises property values, while critics caution that without deliberate policies to preserve affordable housing and protect small enterprises, displacement can erode the very community a revival intends to help.
Role of government versus private initiative: Supporters of market-led renewal contend that private investment, a clear regulatory environment, and streamlined permitting deliver faster, more efficient growth than heavy-handed government programs. Critics claim that public incentives and zoning rules should do more to safeguard neighborhoods, ensure fair housing, and prevent capricious planning that benefits only well-connected interests.
Diversity of cultural and economic outcomes: Some observers emphasize the need to ensure that growth benefits a broad cross-section of residents, including black communities and white-collar workers who can be priced out of rapidly improving neighborhoods. From a pragmatic standpoint, the focus is often on expanding opportunity, improving safety, and aligning development with long-term fiscal health rather than rhetoric about equity alone.

From this vantage, the practical contest over Euclid Avenue centers on aligning private ambition with public stewardship: creating a stable tax base, delivering essential services, and maintaining an attractive urban environment without sacrificing the neighborhoods and small businesses that give the street its character. Critics who frame these debates as purely symbolic or as a confrontation with "woken" preferences are missing the core issue—whether policy choices deliver durable prosperity and real, broad-based opportunity.