The Flats

The Flats is a mixed-use industrial, recreational, entertainment, and residential area of the Cuyahoga Valley neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

Early residents found the Flats inhospitable with humid summers that brought airborne illness and harsh winters with strong winds and snowfall off Lake Erie.

The heavily Irish immigrant workforce that built the canal took residence on the West Bank of the Flats and neighboring Ohio City.

[1] Ohio City's rise, fueled by the produce that flowed from Medina County farms along U.S. 42 to the West Side Market, was soon viewed as a threat to Cleveland's development.

[2] They met a mob of Cleveland residents ready to fight; the ensuing "Bridge War" was put down by county sheriff's officers.

A recession in the mid-19th century caused the Cleveland Centre mixed commercial and residential plan to collapse, and the land was purchased by industrialists connected to the canal and growing railroad lines.

John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company on the East Bank was putting Cleveland on the map as an industrial power.

The Flats' industrial legacy, however, would be defined by its steel mills, located along the river south of the Tremont neighborhood and west of the Slavic Village.

The Powerhouse, built to power the city's cable cars, was renovated to include multiple bars, restaurants, and an outdoor music venue.

Three drowning deaths in one month in 2000, along with a city crackdown on fire and health code violations led to the closing of many bars.

[3] A multiphase, $500 million mixed-use redevelopment along the East Bank of the Flats is being developed and financed by the Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties.

Work at both stations includes replacing brick and concrete pavers, repairing the glass shelters, and demolishing ticket booths.

Whiskey Island has also been purchased by Cuyahoga County in hopes of making it more accessible to residents in the form of a lakefront park.