Beachwood, Ohio

Beachwood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2010 census the city's population was 11,953.

Beachwood, Ohio
City
Beachwood water tower
Location in Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio.
Location of Ohio in the United States
Beachwood
Location in Ohio
Beachwood
Beachwood (the United States)
Beachwood
Beachwood (North America)
Coordinates: 41°28′56″N 81°30′14″W
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountyCuyahoga
Government
 • MayorMartin S. Horwitz
Area
 • Total5.27 sq mi (13.65 km2)
 • Land5.26 sq mi (13.63 km2)
 • Water0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation1,188 ft (362 m)
Population
 • Total11,953
 • Estimate 
(2019)[4]
11,590
 • Density2,201.75/sq mi (850.13/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
44122
Area code(s)216
FIPS code39-04500[5]
GNIS feature ID1048493[2]
Websitehttp://www.beachwoodohio.com/

History

The land that eventually became Beachwood was originally part of the Connecticut Western Reserve.[6] Before becoming an independent municipality, Beachwood was part of Warrensville Township.[7] In 1915, it seceded from Warrensville after the Township voted to close a nearby area school. A petition was organized, and on June 26, 1915, Beachwood was incorporated into an independent village. In 1960, Beachwood had reached the number of residents to attain city status under the Ohio Revised Code.[7]

Beachwood was named for the numerous Beech trees that grew throughout the village.[7] The origin of the spelling of the city is disputed. Upon incorporation, the city's name was originally spelled, "Beechwood".[8] One popular theory is that an early village hall clerk misspelled the name on some official documents, giving rise to the current spelling.[7]

In 1948, a village wide debate was sparked after the proposal of the construction of the Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple following the purchase of 32 acres of land on which the temple currently stands.[9] The debate started due to the growing trend of families moving to the suburbs due to the booming post WWII economy. Considering that Beachwood at the time was a small community with few Jews, the sudden proposal of the large synagogue of 1,800 families sparked anti-Semitic worries among the village's community due to the imminent demographics change that the establishment of a large synagogue would bring.[10] The village council, no member of which was Jewish, cited in 1952 that the establishment of Anshe Chesed "would be detrimental to the public safety, welfare, and convenience of the village".[11] One morning in May 1952, following Anshe Chesed's threat to sue the village of Beachwood, residents opened their mailboxes and found a white supremacist newspaper called The Plain Truth, with the message:

The battle is on. No longer should we sit idly by and watch our country be taken from us. Act now. Let not the Jew plan succeed.[11]

Zoning arguments between the village and the congregation regarding the temple's construction led to the Ohio Supreme Court ruling in 1954 that the synagogue must be allowed to be built, as well as issuing state building permits to the congregation. The temple's construction was finished in 1957.[9]

Since the late 1950s, multiple other synagogues relocated to Beachwood, establishing the Jewish influence on the growth of the community.[10]

Geography

Beachwood is located at 41°28′56″N 81°30′14″W (41.482226, −81.504001).[12]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.34 square miles (13.83 km2), of which 5.33 square miles (13.80 km2) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2) is water.[13]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1920225—
193024910.7%
194037249.4%
19501,073188.4%
19606,089467.5%
19709,63158.2%
19809,9833.7%
199010,6777.0%
200012,18614.1%
201011,953−1.9%
2019 (est.)11,590[4]−3.0%
Sources:[5][14][15][16]

2000 census

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 12,186 people, 5,074 households, and 3,181 families living in the city. The population density was 2,307.5 people per square mile (891.1/km2). There were 5,447 housing units at an average density of 1,031.4 per square mile (398.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city is 86.50% White, 9.08% African American, 0.08% Native American, 3.21% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.78% of the population.

There were 5,074 households, out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 56.0% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out, with 19.7% under the age of 18, 3.0% from 18 to 24, 17.2% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 35.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $65,406, and the median income for a family was $86,632. Males had a median income of $71,829 versus $35,375 for females. The per capita income for the village was $40,509. About 2.5% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under the age of 18 and 5.0% of those 65 and older.

Of the city's population over the age of 25, 57.3% held a bachelor's degree or higher.[17] Cleveland Jewish News claimed that 89.5 percent of Beachwood's population is Jewish.[18]

2010 census

As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 11,953 people, 5,064 households, and 3,005 families living in the city. The population density was 2,242.6 inhabitants per square mile (865.9/km2). There were 5,483 housing units at an average density of 1,028.7 per square mile (397.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 77.3% White, 13.7% African American, 7.4% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population.

There were 5,064 households, of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.7% were non-families. 37.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.88.

The median age in the city was 52.5 years. 19.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.2% were from 25 to 44; 27.2% were from 45 to 64; and 32.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.3% male and 55.7% female.

Jewish community
See also: Jews and Judaism in Greater Cleveland

Since its development in the 1950s, Beachwood has been a destination for the Jewish community in the Greater Cleveland area. Following WWII, Jewish families from inner city neighborhoods such as Glenville began relocating to established communities in the city's eastern suburbs.[19][20] Today, with approximately 90% of the Beachwood's population identifying as Jewish, the city has the fourth largest per capita Jewish population of any municipality outside of Israel.[21] Beachwood's Jewish establishment is rooted in decades of development of various Jewish institutions, such as synagogues, Jewish schools, The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Menorah Park Center for Assisted Living, the Mandel Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, and many Jewish owned restaurants, stores and other businesses.[22] Beachwood's Jewish community is also reflected in the city's public schools, with Hebrew being offered as a foreign language at the local Middle and High School, making Beachwood one of the only public schools in the United States to do so.[23]

Education

The Beachwood City Schools consists of:

  • Fairmount Early Childhood Center: Pre-kindergarten.
  • Bryden Elementary School: K through 2nd grade.
  • Hilltop Elementary School: 3rd through 5th grade .
  • Beachwood Middle School: 6th through 8th grade.
  • Beachwood High School: 9th through 12th grade.

There are three parochial Jewish schools located in Beachwood:

  • Fuchs Mizrachi, an Orthodox Jewish school; Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
  • Beatrice J. Stone Yavne High School: All girls, Orthodox Jewish school; 7th through 12th grade.
  • Mandel Jewish Day School (Previously known as Agnon Day School): Jewish day school; Pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.

Economy

Beachwood is home to University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center, and several offices affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic including the Beachwood Family Health and Surgery Center.

Corporate headquarters located in Beachwood include:

Retail attractions in Beachwood include Beachwood Place and the adjacent LaPlace Center, an upscale shopping center. The city is also home to Canterbury Golf Club, a USGA member course which has hosted PGA Tour events and has been ranked among top 100 courses in the United States by Golf Digest magazine.[24]

Recreation and museums

Beachwood is home to Preston's H.O.P.E. - the largest fully accessible playground in Northeast Ohio.[25]

The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage is located in Beachwood and is dedicated to furthering an understanding of Jewish immigrant history and culture in the U.S.

The David Berger National Memorial is the country's smallest National Memorial, honoring the legacy of Jewish-Clevelander Olympian David Mark Berger.

Notable people

Surrounding communities

References
  1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  2. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  5. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. "Map of the Western Reserve including the Fire Lands in Ohio (1826)". Michael Schwartz Library Special Collections. Cleveland State University. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  7. "History of the City". City of Beachwood. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  8. Piorkowski, Jeff (August 29, 2014). "Why is the city's name spelled as it is? Beachwood Historical Society seeks the answer as 100th anniversary nears". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  9. "The Fairmount Temple | Cleveland Historical". Cleveland Historical. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  10. Rosenblum, Jonah. "Beachwood: From anti-Semitic roots to thriving Jewish community". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  11. Freedman, Samuel G. (2001). Jew Vs. Jew: The Struggle for the Soul of American Jewry. Simon and Schuster. p. 294. ISBN 9780684859453. village of beachwood v. anshe chesed.
  12. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  13. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  14. "Population: Ohio" (PDF). 1930 US Census. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  15. "Number of Inhabitants: Ohio" (PDF). 18th Census of the United States. U.S. Census Bureau. 1960. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  16. "Ohio: Population and Housing Unit Counts" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved 2013-11-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. Bob Jacob (August 4, 2014). "Are rallies a start? Let's talk". Cleveland Jewish News. p. 1. ...city of about 12,000. The population of Beachwood is 89.5 percent Jewish.
  19. "case.edu/ech/articles/j/jews--judaism/". case.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2017-10-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. "Beachwood has the second-highest Jewish population per capita outside Israel [sic]". www.rebuildcle.com. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
  22. "Access Jewish Cleveland". Access Jewish Cleveland. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
  23. "Program of Studies". www.beachwoodschools.org. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
  24. http://www.pga.com/seniorpga/2009/course/
  25. http://www.prestonshope.com/
  27. Yarborough, Chuck (14 October 2014). "Marc Cohn still loves 'Walking in Memphis'; Beachwood native plays Music Box on Thursday, Oct. 23". Cleveland.com. The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  28. Hevesi, Dennis (2012-03-21). "Samuel Glazer Dies at 89; Popularized Drip Coffee". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
  29. Schmitt, Alyssa. "Mandel goes private, political re-entry possible". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  30. Wyse, Alex (2013-12-03). "'Wicked' Returning to PlayhouseSquare with Beachwood native Alex Wyse as Boq". The News-Herald Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
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