CANAL BASIN PARK
Introduction
Cleveland and NE Ohio is positioning the region to meet the demands and expectations associated with a changing economy. While the region's past has relied on manufacturing and heavy industry to provide wealth and jobs, it is clear that its future is rooted in an economic development strategy that recognizes research, innovation and entrepreneurship as keys to successful transformation.
With this recognition comes a newfound appreciation for the quality of life amenities necessary to lure the new class of "knowledge workers" and "risk takers" to our area. It is known that exciting cultural attractions and extensive recreational opportunities rank high within their requisite "quality of life" package.
To this end, NE Ohio has embarked on the development of a unique, linear heritage greenway that will provide more than 200 miles of dedicated off-road trails and a series of interpretive/ educational parks that depict and celebrate the history, culture, and natural features found along lake Erie, and the great rivers of the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas.The Ohio & Erie Canalway
Cleveland and NE Ohio is midstream in the development of a model heritage greenway system that will stretch from Cleveland's lakefront 110-miles south to Dover, Ohio. This greenway, the Ohio & Erie Canalway, is one of twenty-four federally-designated National Heritage Areas, and is affiliated with the National Park Service. The Canalway offers three complimentary transportation options to explore the stories of settlement and development along the historic Ohio & Erie Canal: the Towpath Trail, CanalWay Ohio National Scenic Byway, and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
The Towpath Trail anchors an extensive network of trails that will one day connect Canal Basin Park to an array of diverse nearby venues including University Circle, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo & Rainforest, two State Lakefront Parks - Edgewater and Gordon, and numerous historic districts. The Towpath will stretch 101-miles from Cleveland to Dover, Ohio; 70 miles are already developed and open for public use. More than 3 million people currently use the Towpath Trail.
The Ohio & Erie Canalway Byway is one of sixty-two America's Byways and serves the Canalway by providing the preferred auto route to the various attractions, parks, museums, train stations, trailheads and historic districts from Cleveland to Dover, Ohio. The National Scenic Byway program includes an aggressive marketing component to lure national and international visitation. The Byway is signed with distinctive Byway Route markers and awaits a second phase of Wayfinding information.
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad will soon be the only excursion railroad in America that serves three major cities - Cleveland, Akron and Canton - with regular passenger service. It is within 6 miles of achieving this goal. Ridership has topped 100,000 for two consecutive years.
Canalway visitors will use one or more of the three transportation options to explore the regional and national stories of settlement and development as they visit new interpretive parks and sites.
Canalway Venues
The Ohio & Erie Canalway offers parks and sites of varying size for purposes of sharing the history and culture of the region. The Canalway Management Plan describes three levels of such parks and places: Canalway Centers, Journey Gateways and Landings.
Chief among the venues in this story-telling exercise are dedicated Canalway Centers - significant visitor centers sited within an extended park-like setting that allows for interactive visitor experience in exploring the aforementioned stories. The Canalway Centers are positioned at the intersections of the Towpath Trail, Scenic Byway and Scenic Railroad to provide ready access to personal journeys to-and-through the diverse landscapes and their associated stories.
In Cleveland, the Canalway Center, located in the Cuyahoga River Valley, near the city's downtown core, is named Canal Basin Park.Canal Basin Park
A District
In Cleveland, the Ohio & Erie Canalway features the Cuyahoga River Valley and its adjoining neighborhoods and communities. The Towpath Trail alignment wraps the river's edge to create a "Canal Basin Park" District within its northernmost reach - the Flats. Since the River contains so many of Cleveland's most important and historic moments, the District provides a fun and interesting way for visitors to walk, bike, or roller-blade along its perimeter and interact with a blend of nature and industry.A Park
Canal Basin Park includes parcels that were once occupied by the canal itself. It is Ground Zero in the history of the canal - the place where the canal poured into the Cuyahoga River; a place where greater Cleveland's agricultural products were shipped eastward to New York City and, in turn, where the manufactured items - the tools, hardware, clothing and household items - were unloaded for Cleveland consumers.
The role of Canal Basin Park, however, extends beyond the early history of Cleveland and the canal. Canal Basin introduces the stories of entrepreneurs, industry and immigration. It follows the role of the Cuyahoga from Indian times through the industrial revolution to modern times, where river reclamation is writing a new chapter. It introduces the stories of Cleveland's immigrants - the men and women who came here to pursue and experience "the American Dream." People like Bob Hope, John Rockefeller, Tom Johnson, Sherwin & Williams, and George Steinbrenner.
Canal Basin Park has benefited from three public charettes that explored the shape and size, the public uses and functions as depicted by nationally and internationally-renowned architects. The results of those planning exercise paint a bright and exciting future for a place that will celebrate Cleveland's role in our nation's history, while recognizing those individuals who played major roles on both stages.
Canal Basin Park will provide not only a setting for education, but will introduce a major event site for concerts, fairs, and other happenings. It will integrate public art and mixed-media into an atmospheric experience, and will serve as Cleveland's gateway to the 110-mile Canalway. It will be Cleveland's major point of visitor orientation. Canal Basin Park will, itself, become a national model for heritage area visitor centers.Updates
The City of Cleveland received notice in 2004 that it was awarded $3 Million in federal funds for land acquisition for Canal Basin Park. Ohio Canal Corridor is working with the city in an acquisition strategy to gain site control of the necessary parcels.
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