Cleveland/East Side

The East Side is a district in Cleveland consisting of the areas outside of Downtown that are east of the Cuyahoga River. The district includes several important neighborhoods, including:
 * University Circle – Home to 3 higher education institutions and numerous museums and cultural attractions
 * Little Italy – Traditional Italian restaurants, bakeries, and numerous art galleries
 * Shaker Square – A small neighborhood built along the Rapid rail line with several excellent restaurants. Adjacent to the historic suburb of Shaker Heights.
 * Collinwood – A growing arts and entertainment district
 * Asiatown – Featuring traditional Asian restaurants, shops, and art galleries
 * Fairfax – Home to the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic hospital and most of the hotels on the East side

Get in
For information on getting to Cleveland, see Cleveland

The East side has far less access to highways than the West side. The main east-west routes through the East side are the parallel avenues: Carnegie, Euclid, and Chester. North-south travel is more difficult as few of the numbered streets actually continue across the entire city. Main N/S routes include E 55th, E 105th, and Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Transit access is much better however, with the East side served by all 3 Rapid rail lines, a bus rapid transit line called the HealthLine, which connects downtown to University Circle, and numerous conventional bus lines. The Blue and Green lines serve Shaker Square. The Red line serves University Circle and Little Italy via the Cedar Road and Little Italy stations.

University Circle
University Circle is located about east of downtown and can be reached via Euclid Avenue. Its main attractions are the numerous museums, research institutes and schools which surround it. This rich cultural menagerie is surpassed by few places in North America (e.g., perhaps the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.).



Stay safe
Cleveland's East side contains some of both the city's most prosperous neighborhoods as well as some its most poverty and crime-ridden, often in surprising proximity to each other. Certain areas should be avoided at night, others should be avoided entirely. Always be aware of your surroundings when traveling by foot at night. If you see boarded-up buildings and check cashing stores, you're probably in the wrong neighborhood, but crime is possible anywhere.

Go next

 * Cleveland Heights – Home of the eclectic Coventry neighborhood with local restaurants, shops, bars, and music venues.
 * Shaker Heights – Established in 1822 as the North Union Settlement by the religious Shaker community, Shaker Heights became one of America's oldest planned communities in 1912 when it was redeveloped as a garden community for commuters to Cleveland. Today the suburb offers stunning architecture, with many of the homes and other buildings featured in architectural texts.  Visitors will also enjoy several picturesque man-made lakes, a 20 acre nature preserve, and a historical museum that documents the area's early Shaker roots.  Amenities include an excellent public library, numerous restaurants, and shopping destinations including the historic Shaker Square.