As a boy, I spent many nights with my father fishing off the break wall at Edgewater. These experiences – the sights, the smells, the sounds, the feel of the water’s spray as the waves crashed into the stones before us, the sift glow of the Coleman lantern and the smell of the butane, the camaraderie with the other fishermen… these are foundational memories that help keep me in touch with my father even though he passed away many years ago.
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We're listening.
We’ve heard many stories from Clevelanders, reflecting deep connections with Lake Erie, and cherished memories of friends and family.
These stories paint a more detailed picture than traditional histories can. They show the nuance and humanity of our interactions with the lake, and they speak to the heart of our vision for a renewed lakefront.
If you like, please share your own lakefront story. We know it will be a valuable addition to our collection.
Share Your Story
Share your memories of Cleveland’s lakefront. We review submissions before they show up on this page.
Every visit from my hometown of Columbus to Cleveland with my family included a stop at Captain Frank’s Restaurant on the E 9th Street Pier. We would also visit for the annual family reunion on Labor Day weekend when we could also watch the Air Show.
I have gone to the lake for my entire adult life. Lake Erie is my sanctuary, my spot for reflection and relaxing. When out of town guests are visiting, a trip to beautiful Lake Erie is a must.
Ice cream stand behind Captain Frank’s. Watching airplanes take off from E. 9th Street Pier. Walking my dog at Donald Gray Gardens north of old muni stadium. Catching a train to Chicago or Washington at the Amtrak station. Seeing an Indians opener with 80,000 fans.
May seem silly, but my dog absolutely hated water. I think that something traumatic happened to him having to do with water. I went to Lake Erie with a friend and our dogs. Lake Erie was the first time that not only went into the water of his own accord, but actually frolicked in it. There were other dogs who were playing and that helped him to forego his great fear. So amazing for him, but also so cool to see what the power of community can do for us!
My family used to live in Cleveland in the 1970’s, before I was born. I moved here because of school (Case Western Reserve U) but also because of the great stories they would tell about the lake and fishing and hiking. I recently learned how to fish and love it! Following the family tradition.
“I remember learning about Joseph “Black Joe” Hodges accompanying Moses Cleveland to the area that would become Cleveland… Can we tell this story?”
“Captain Frank's Restaurant the ship, history.”
“laughing and having fun with friends in a beautiful setting”
“I remember as a child, just heading to the old lakefront stadium and enjoying Indians baseball. Takes me back to how big the lake looked from my perspective.”
“Short and sweet. I have now lived more than half my life away from the lake, down in Columbus, yet its pull on me is greater than ever. I can stand on a beach and watch waves or throw pebbles into the lake for hours. When I retire we will be moving back to somewhere close to the lake.”
“picnics and fishing”
“I've had several great experiences taking kayaks from Rocky River Reservation out on the lake. Paddled to a shallow spot where boats had dropped anchor and people were swimming and enjoying the lake.”
“I've fished in Lake Erie many times when I was a wee lad and lived off of Lake Erie in Toledo, where I grew up.”
“As I child, I didn't experience the lakefront at all. Now, I enjoy jogging along the lakefront and attending the attractions on the harbor. That said, It would be nice to be able to run the entirety of the lakefront from Bratenahl to Edgewater.”
“I look at places like Toronto with their access to Lake Ontario and think that could be us. With how much me and my family love going to Edgewater and Huntington Beach, I can't emphasize enough how much better access to Lake Erie would be for Cleveland. Our favorite thing to do with out of towners is to take them to see the lake. Every single time they comment on how they can't believe it's in Cleveland. People don't realize what a gem we have and it's because we as Clevelanders don't even have proper access to experience it. Cleveland could become a real destination, a place people want to be, and not just the punchline to a bad joke about our river catching on fire once. The lakefront deserves to be utilized to its fullest and this plan shows the obvious potential it has to be a place for countless memories to be made.”
“I love the access to the beaches we have in NEO. Very scenic views of downtown plus a new beach would be awesome downtown. Feels like freedom to be on the water.”
“Rowing, kayaking, SUP. Music festivals.”
“It's beautiful and always makes me feel like I'm on a vacation”
“Almost choking on that dirty water back in the day lol. Now the water is cleaner.”
“sand volleyball, concerts at Edgewater”
“The lake teaches us to be one with the outside world and appreciate life more spiritually and in a loving way.”
“The working, industrial waterfront was always a place of wonder and entertainment. I can dovetail well with re-imagining plans.”
“We were there recently on vacation. We loved Cleveland. We watched the air show. Had dinner at a restaurant and our fave was the Rock and Roll hall of fame.”
“Euclid beach”
“As a child I would come down to the lake with my grandparents. My grandma would buy fish directly from the fisherman.”
“bike rides and sunsets”
“I prefer to walk down by the lake. No other trails come close to the lakefront trails.”
“Enjoy boating and fishing on lake as well as view beauty.”
“When I was a child my father always took me fishing there, I would like the lakefront to be safe and have more barriers.”
“I remember fishing on the pier with my granddad.”
“The Browns 0-16 parade”
“We love being in and on the water. Ferries from different piers along the lake would enhance the connection to different parts of the lake”
“When friends and family visit me, I’m always trying to find some place to take them that will allow us to explore, walk about, maybe even ride around, in an open, inviting, yet active, and invigorating space. Cleveland has many places like this… but could have more near downtown!”
“I love kayaking, rowing, and paddleboarding, it would be great to do this downtown.”
“Witnesses my first PowWow ever at edge water and felt transported and transformed. It would be a huge mistake and loss to not incorporate the native people in this design and focus.”
“Grew up going to lakefront beaches, fond memories with my family”
“I grew up enjoying the amenities of Euclid Beach Park: the picnic pavilion, frozen custard and taffy, the rides, the penny arcade and the fishing pier.”
“I love going to the lake to have cookouts and enjoy the beautiful sunsets in the summer.”
“Ice cream stand behind captain franks. Watching airplanes take off from E. 9th St. pier. Walking my dog at Donald gray gardens north of old muni stadium. Catching a train to CHI or Washington at the Amtrak station. Seeing a Indians opener with 80,000 fans.”
“I grew up on Lake Erie and there has always been the stigma with Cleveland as having nothing to do on the waterfront. Summers as a kid were spent on the water and at the sandbars on our boats and I've been able to give that same experience to my kids. Some of our fondest memories come from time on the lake.”
“Favorite moments are at the lake. Sunrises, sunsets, peaceful sounds of seagulls, waves. These are some of my kids favorite moments as well”
“Playing a Edgewater and Euclid Beaches with my young kids and watching them grow more confident and curious around the water, each year”
“used to take my kids to lake when little. everyone should be able to”
“I did the mermaid tail challenge with my friends and I won!”
“memories of tubing with friends on the back of a boat and kayaking with family in the lake”
“Love making out our small outboard boat, except when the water was rough! As kid - Euclid Beach was the place to be.”
“A little bit of everything. I like the cold and nature.”
“I spend a lot of time by the north coast. I spent 9th grade there at the Great Lake Science Center at MCZ Stem High School and also took part and creating some of the speakers downtown around the playhouse square area.”
“Going to Euclid Beach amusement park and beach as a child.”
“The lakefront is a relaxing place I brought my children to the beach decades ago and Edgewater was the place to be.”
“I love to visit the lake. I wish it was closer to my house.”
“I love how the lake here in Cleveland has a thousand different personalities depending on where you are along the lakefront and many different spots.”
“Going to baseball games at the old stadium. Going to different events at the lakefront.”
“enjoying my family bond while fishing”
“Peaceful walks by the water. I enjoy the peacefulness of the sound of the waves.”
“I am a Principal in a nearby district. recently a science teacher in my building has been doing work with her students about the importance of keeping our 'Great Lake' as clean as she can be. Work at the Watershed in the Metroparks was done this year, analysis on local rivers was completed and ultimately our students visited Stone Lab to have an experience of a life time at put in Bay. The importance of this generation to understand the importance of keeping our 'Great Lake' beautiful is imperative.”
“My favorite memories involve staring at the lake at sunset”
“Great Lakes Science Center and the pier.”
“As a child, I visited downtown weekly, usually to my grandfather's shoe store on Ontario. But, never to the downtown lakefront. I had seen the lake at the old Euclid Beach. As a Planning student, my thesis was titled "The Lost Waterfront, a Plan for the Cleveland Lakefront". At the time there was little connection to the lakefront from downtown. I had a vision of better connections, more recreation and development including housing. Similar to this new vision. I look forward to a downtown beach area, like other great large cities.”
“Enjoy walking along the lakefront - Sims Park and Wildwood park.”
“the Mather museum and the USS Cod are great starting points!”
“Being peaceful”
“My mom has a dock at 55th and enjoys paddling with inflatable kayaks. I grew up in Lakewood and loved Lakewood Park, Edgewater, Perkins Piers, the Gold Coast, Huntington in Bay. Used to layout and read books on the large rocks. Loved water skiing. The ability to just relax and be while enjoying nature. Skipping stones. People do like looking for sea glass.”
“As a boy, I spent many nights with my father fishing off the break wall at Edgewater. These experiences - the sights, the smells, the sounds, the feel of the water's spray as the waves crashed into the stones before us, the sift glow of the Coleman lantern and the smell of the butane, the camaraderie with the other fishermen...these are foundational memories that help keep me in touch with my father even though he passed away many years ago.”
“I've enjoyed a wonderful brunch on the waterfront.”
“Our family has a long history of times spent on Lake Erie. From boating, to swimming, hiking, camping and picnics and fishing - the lakefront is our favorite place to be in Cleveland!”
“I love going to the lake to watch the sunsets.”
“I enjoy boat shows and festivals like Tall Ships. I am passionate about the lake.”
“I enjoy visiting Conneaut, E55th Marina, and fishing and picnicking at both places.”
“Lived on the lake in Euclid for several years. Watching storms approach on tempest-tossed Lake Erie is always memorable”
“Growing up in Collinwood and raising my own family here has spoiled me. I never take Lake Erie for granted. The lake is always in eyesight. I can hear it. I feel grounded in her presence. She is majestic and creates the most beautiful cotton candy swirled sunsets. The lakefront all along 90 towards the east side needs to be developed. All of Cleveland should have access and enjoy all the lake has to offer. The metro parks have been a godsend to our beaches.”
“Great memories with my son as he grew up. We live close to the lake in Euclid and started sailing after owning kayaks for years. We met Trash Fish Eddie this last weekend and learned about plastic pollution. We are so lucky to have a river and lake.”
“Watching fireworks”
“Family reunions and BBQs, fun date nights, and children's birthday parties.”
“going to the islands.”
“Coming down to capt Franks on date night cooking out at Indians season openers walking why my girlfriend (future wife) along the pier”
“Because we live in Euclid next to Lake Erie, my mom and dad made us take swimming lessons every year until we were strong. Now we can enjoy the lake in a safer way. We made our children take lessons every year too. Sunsets in the Cleveland on Lake Erie are far superior to Key West, Florida - you should capitalize on this fact.”
“I grew up near Edgewater so going to the beach in the summer was a thing! We have enjoyed the concerts at Edgewater, we attend Kelly's Island in the summer with family & friends and we have taken our grandsons to Edgewater Beach as well as to the playground area.”
“We introduced our daughter and her friends to Edgewater Beach at the Thursday night concert series. If you do the same in this new lakefront space, it will always bring new people together over food and music and the lake.”
“My family enjoys the playgrounds at the lakefront parks.”
“I graduated from Vermilion High School and spent many days at the lakefront with friends. Being near the lake, either on the beach or on the rocks, were such strong, beautiful memories for me.”
“Used to come to the IndyCar racer @ Burke-Lakefront airport. I loved the flats. When I visited the rock 'n' roll Hall of Fame, I spent four hours down at the flats afterwards.”
“We live on the lake in Eastlake and I love it so much! I grew up boating in Vermillion and now I boat here. I always have appreciated, loved and respected Lady Lake Erie, as I call her. She is a precious jewel, but tough at the same time. So many fun family memories and I love being out on the water!”
“When I was young we would always go fishing there.”
“Getting outdoors to enjoy with family.”
“Being on the E55th Fishing Pier and Cruising on the Goodtime III with family and friends”
“I remember lake day and fishing. Festivals at the beach.”
“memories fishing with family”
“rowing on the lake at sunrise”
“My lakefront story would be the seeing the lake shore from a mile or 2 out on the lake while fishing with my father.”
“My Grandma used to take me to The Great Lakes Science Center when I was a kid. I loved it there! They had an observation deck where you could see the lake and birds like to land around there. I remember getting up close and seeing seagulls, ducks, and geese. One time I even saw a seagull snatch a fish from the lake! That was always fun. I love birds.”
“I love the lake. I go to all the concerts.”
“Fishing on the lake”
“Was a regular fisher on Lake Erie.”
“All summer we would take drives to be near lake Erie before air conditioning we would take a quick dip and dry while eating a picnic dinner and at sunset drive home . Great memories.”
“I endured it in the 60s. It's come a long way back baby!”
“The recovery of the Cuyahoga River”
“Boating!”
“My mom always walked me to the lake as a child. We would watch the waves, the birds, the sailboats, the power boats and the big freighters. It was a place that combined business and recreation.”
“All of it as a safe place to be.”
“Our family went to the beach in Mentor Headlands, since our cousins lived in Wickliffe and Euclid. Not often, but when we did, it was a grand outing with plenty of food, softball with the uncles, badminton, some fishing.”
“Beach hopping”
“Captain Frank's Restaurant on the Lake. It was so good - ice cream cones from a window. Really nice plated fish inside dinning. Watching the frozen lake in winter was so serene and like magic the way the waves freeze and they cut the ice for the ships.”
“Family walks at Edgewater, Lakewood & Huntington Beach Parks”