U.S. Urban History

The line for the first Shaker rail cars started in December 1913. It was started to bring the residents of Shaker Heights to downtown Cleveland. The first cars on the line were not so rapid at all. The trip took about forty-five minutes from the Moreland station to east 34th street. In 1920 the Van Sweringen Brothers bought the private rights to the railway system and expanded it to downtown Cleveland union terminal also known as the public square. They then extended the line from Morland and linnfield to Van Aken and Warensville center road. The railway also took a split at Shaker square and continued to Green road which are now known as the blue and green line trains. There were plans to extend the transit to Beachwood Ohio; however the plans never were completed. The Van Sweringen brothers also had an express line that brought the elite from downtown to Shaker square without stopping. The brothers invested a tremendous amount of money and man power on the bridges and tunnels to continue their vision of the efficient link between the suburbs and the inner city. In 1930 the depression brought an end to the Van Sweringen Empire the business was no longer a privatized system but now was owned by the banks. They authorized the sale of the system to the city of Cleveland which ended the private rail system and became a capitalized system. Through the sale the name was changed from Cleveland Inner Railway System to (SHRS) Shaker Heights Rapid System. The Beachwood extension was abandoned and the rapid system continued along the same original route that opened the suburbs to the terminal tower. Now through the innovations of the day it only takes approximately twenty minutes to complete the trip from terminal tower to shaker square. Although renovations and extensions were abandoned the idea of bringing the suburban shopper to the urban shops was completed.  The most important part of this transformation was the stops that were in between downtown Cleveland and Shaker Heights. One of the major stops were at East 116th street ,this stop was important because it had  St.luke’s Hospital ,affordable housing ,restaurants, repair shops a school ,a library, churches and satellite stores , such as woolworths and kreskies to provide services for the working class community. Through zoning and planning what was originally intended for one class extended to many communities.

Oris Paxton Van Sweringen on the left (24 April 1879–November 22, 1936) and Mantis James Van Sweringen on the right (July 8, 1881–December 12, 1935) The brothers put atremendous amount of work into bringing Shaker Heights to Down town cleveland and held a privatized railway from 1920 to 1937.

The Cleveland Railway System brought the urban area into a wealthy neighborhood. The system also brought satellite stores, Hospitals, and businesses to create a walking neighborhood for the working class.