Browse Interviews

Rosemarie Dadante, through sharing stories of her past, explains how vital catholic churches were to ethnic enclaves in Cleveland. The church became the center for community building, entertainment and celebrations. Additionally, Dadante's experiences highlight the transformation of the Italian neighborhood on the west side of Cleveland.

Janet Thomas was born to Italian immigrant parents and lived in the Gordon Square neighborhood. She describes the neighborhood's bakeries, theatres, drug stores, and ethnic shops. Thomas mentions how the Depression impoverished her family, but notes that the Depression brought the different ethnicities of the community together. Her family never fully recovered financially from the Depression, therefore the family's leisure activities included going to church and visiting nearby parks like…

Mary Ann Early was born in 1923 to Italian immigrant parents. Her father relocated to Cleveland for work. She describes growing up on Herman Avenue near Detroit Avenue and going to West High School. The neighborhood was predominately Italian, Irish, and Romanian at the time. She shares her remembrances of downtown Cleveland including shopping, theatres, the YWCA, and riding the streetcars. In addition, Early lists the places she worked including the Terminal Tower, the Department of Veteran's…

Marilyn Anthony was born in Cleveland and describes growing up in Ohio City. She remembers the various European enclaves that were present in the area, specifically mentioning Hungarians and Gypsies. She shares her experiences of walking to the West Side Market, bakeries, butchers, and other local shops. Anthony also mentions her relationship to the multitude of ethnic Catholic churches in the area. Finally, Anthony discusses the changes in the neighborhood and how it impacted residents.

In this 2006 interview, Anthony Anzalone, a long time resident of the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, talks about his life experiences in this west side neighborhood of Cleveland. Mr. Anzalone grew up in the neighborhood in the 1950s and recounts memories of his Italian grandfather, who played a trumpet in a local band, playing at the Lady of Mount Carmel annual festival and parade. Mr. Anzalone also talks about Our Lady of Mount Carmel as an anchor of the community, and about Father Marino who…

In this 2007 interview, Mary Jo Mazzarella, a resident of the Detroit Shoreway area of Cleveland and owner/manager of American Limousine Service, talks about her history with the Detroit Shoreway area of Cleveland. Mazzarella spent her early years in the 1960s living on West 112th Street, but remembers visiting her Italian grandparents who lived on West 69th and ran a delicatessen on the corner of 69th and Detroit. She also remembers many stories that her father told her about the Detroit…

Longtime resident, Mary Jane Yuhas, describes changes in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.

In this 2005 interview, Raymond Pianka, Judge of the City of Cleveland Housing Court, discusses the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. He first discusses the historical ethnicity of the neighborhood, including the immigration of Irish, and then later Italians and Romanians, into the area. He also discusses his own Polish heritage, and talks about his father and grandfather's industrial employment in Cleveland for a large part of the twentieth century. Judge Pianka also talks about the architecture…

Joyce Mariani, the Exective director of the Italian Cultural Garden Foundation shares her story of how she became involved in restoring and renovating the Italian Cultural Garden. She shares her struggles and successes in regards to fundrasing, acting as the project manager for the restoration, working with Cleveland bureaucracy, adding new cultural features to the garden, and is currently working on installing wifi.

Frank Leonardi, a stone cutter and immigrant from Italy, recollects on his life in Cleveland Mr. Leonardi came to the United States when he was thirteen and his family settled on the east side of Cleveland in the ethnic enclave known as Little Italy. Mr. Leonardi became a stone cutter and graduated from the eighth grade at the age of fifteen. He discusses his family history, buying stones from the Cleveland Quarry, opening up his business, and working in downtown Cleveland. (interview cuts out)

Tony Pinzone's family came to the United States from Italy around 1910 and has been operating stands there since at least the 1920s. He has worked at the Market since he was a teenager and in this interview describes some of the experiences that he has had at the Market, what his opinions about the current state of the Market and surrounding Ohio City neighborhood along with what he feels the future holds for both.

In this 2005 interview, Matt Zone, Councilman for Ward 17 of the City of Cleveland, discusses his family's history on the west side of Cleveland and his political career. Zone is a third generation Italian-American. His grandparents came to the Detroit-Shoreway area of Cleveland shortly after WWI ended. His father and mother grew up on West 65th Street and were both Councilpersons for the Ward--from 1960-1982. Matt has been Councilperson for the Ward since 2001. Zone talks about neighborhood…