Euclid Beach History Lives On

Carousel Historical Marker Close Up

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Euclid Beach became part of the Cleveland Lakefront State Park, under the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, in 1982.  I started working here as the naturalist conducting programs and events in 2001.  About 8 years ago, I had an idea to highlight the history of this park area.  I went to members of the Euclid Beach Park Now (EBPN) group to see if they were interested in bringing some of their memorabilia to the park.  I envisioned a small scale event with historical information and stories shared around the picnic tables of the pavilion.  If you have attended any of our 7 annual events, you have seen that it has developed into much more (see related article by Rich Wickens for details from the 2011 event).

A one day event is great – but what if visitors any day of the year could learn about the history of this park?  What if there were permanent markers scattered throughout the area to share photos and information about some of the larger attractions and points of interest?  Through community partnerships this idea is becoming a reality.

 At the annual event this year we celebrated the work of members of this community that came together to honor the original operating location of the carousel.   This is the first of hopefully several more markers.  At the event this year a survey was taken to poll attendee’s interest as to which attraction(s) should be the focus of the next permanent marker.  Almost half of those that responded selected a marker to highlight the Flying Turns, Thriller, and Racing Coaster.  A raffle was also conducted by EBPN at the event to begin raising funds for this next marker.  It is our hope that through additional efforts in the coming year, this next marker can be in place by our annual event in 2012 (September 30 – mark your calendar!!).

 I would like to acknowledge and thank the following partners that provided time, talents, and expertise to this project:  Councilman Polensek, Mary Louise Jesek Daley and Elva Brodnick of the Collinwood Nottingham Historical Society, Brian Friedman of Northeast Shores Development Corporation, Barb Clint and Sarah Gyorki, who are neighborhood advocates, and members of Euclid Beach Park Now - especially for their financial support to make this marker possible.