Browse Interviews

Michael DeAloia is the former "Tech Czar"/Senior Director of Technology Development in the city of Cleveland and the author of "Lost Cleveland." He shares in knowledge of Bond's Clothing Store, the department store that was known for its $15 two-piece men's suits. DeAloia also discusses "Short Vincent," a small stretch of road from E 6th to E 9th street known for the nightlife and entertainment. He also discusses the downfall of Bond's and of Short Vincent in general during the late 1960s-1970s.

Hunter Morrison, Director of Youngstown State University's Center for Urban and Regional Studies, served as Cleveland City Planning Director throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In this 2006 interview, Morrison describes his work as a city planner in Cleveland and offers his view on Cleveland's needs for the future. After detailing his early work as a planner in Kenya, Morrison discusses the development of the Euclid Avenue Corridor plan. Much of Morrison's work in Cleveland focused on updating the…

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…

Robert H. Arnold born in Massachusetts, but made his mark in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Arnold begins his story by discussing his time during World War Two, and he mentions several harrowing experiences he had abroad, and challenging experiences he had once he came back state-side. After his time in the war, Arnold had several offers. He could have studied law at Yale or became part of an executive training program at General Electric, a program that he had begun before the war. instead of these…

Michael R. White is the former mayor of the city of Cleveland, Ohio. This 2014 interview covers a range of topics, including White's student government activism at Ohio State University and his political career in Cleveland.

Susan Kaeser lived in Wisconsin through graduate school. She earned a master of urban planning degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, during which time she met Cleveland City Planning Director Norman Krumholz. Krumholz brought her to Cleveland to serve as a city planner. When she arrived in Cleveland in 1976 she lived first in the Ludlow neighborhood near Shaker Square before moving to Cleveland Heights in 1979. In the interview she discusses how she became a community activist, the…

John (Jack) Boyle is a native Clevelander hailing from University Heights and attended high school at St. Ignatius. He left the Cleveland area to attend Boston College to return and work his father at United Agencies until his retirement in 2000. Boyle was familiar with many reoccuring people who would come to be ever-present in the Cleveland Heights community. One of his close friends, Harry Fagan, was an important part of Heights Community Congress. Boyle and a few others felt that a change…

In this 2004 interview, Ione Briggs talks about racism and women’s issues in the City of Cleveland. Briggs discusses the role and impact of the Cleveland Chapter of the NAACP. She discusses the racism in city administration and the politics of working for the city. The later part of the interview includes discussion of the City Club. Brings discusses some of the memorable speakers at the City Club which included individuals such as Cesar Chavez, Robert Kennedy and Jane Fonda. She also talks…

James Mancino, born in South Euclid in 1939, was chief legal council for the city of Cleveland during the Glenville riots of 1968. He gives a first hand account of the riots, the civic responses, and his role as legal council. Mancino was also involved in defending the city during legal battles over urban renewal, and describes lessons learned from the urban renewal process. As legal council for the city, Mancino worked closely with Mayor Carl Stokes, who he describes as "a rare individual."…

Virgil E. Brown Sr., resident of Cleveland Heights, moved to Cleveland in 1929 at age twelve. Brown relates his experiences growing up during the Depression, including local schools, baseball games and the availability of part time jobs. Schools and ball teams were racially and ethnically mixed, and he does not remember much racial tension at that time. Brown discusses the changes in shopping habits; the shift from local shops and downtown stores to malls and big box stores, and the loss of…

Bob Reeves discusses his involvement with the Cleveland Corporation and University Circle Inc. As Projects Director for the Cleveland Corporation he was involved in a Master Plan for Public Square, including a pedestrian mall which did not materialize. Reeves states several reasons for the eventual rejection of a pedestrian mall and the problems between the Cleveland Corporation and Mayor Dennis Kucinich. He describes the evolving role of UCI as a community development corporation, the decision…

Former Shaker Heights Planning Commission member, City Council Member and Mayor, Judy Rawson talks about redevelopment in Shaker Heights. She discusses the problems faced, the achievements, and the issues that still linger. She explains how the community gets involved with politics and what kind of impact that has on the outcome of public policy. She talks briefly about her work in reorganzing county government after her terms as mayor in Shaker Heights ended in 2007.

Margaret Cannon talks about her role as Law Director for Shaker Heights. She discusses the traffic diverter issue and how that impacted the relationship between Shaker Heights and the city of Cleveland.

Winston Ritchie, a Shaker Heights resident, was the Vice Mayor of that city. He describes his childhood experiences and how issues of race affected him as a child. Some of these issues were faced by his children while they were going to school. While Ritchie used race a light-hearted source of humor during his campaign, he takes the integration of Shaker Heights very seriously. It was the most important issue for him during his time in office. He is proud of his efforts in Shaker Heights and of…

Mary Webb Scibana talks about her experience moving to Shaker in the late 1960s. She and her husband lived in the Lomond Neighborhood. She relates her experiences in buying the Moses Warren house and its history. Her husband at that time, Tom Webb, was on city council and was influential in getting streets blocked. Mary was assistant to Mayor Stephen Alfred and first female president of the Shaker Heights Historical Society among many other positions she held in the community. She covers race…

In this 2012 interview, Jan Devereaux talks about her involvement in Shaker Heights politics. She was on City Council, and explains her involvement in different projects under both Mayor Mearns and Mayor Rawson. She also talks about the Landmarks Commission: how it works and its role in local government. She also talks about the process of getting Shaker Heights on the National Register.

David Hartt, a Shaker Heights resident, was an urban planning consultant and served on the city's planning commission and was the commercial areas coordinator. He talks about some of the advantages of living in Shaker. He describes various urban development projects in the ciy of Shaker Heights. He discusses changes in the philospohy of urban planning over the last few decades. Hartt also describes Shaker's struggles in attracting businesses to the city.

Paul Volpe, President of City Architecture Inc., discusses the company's role in redeveloping Cleveland's Midtown Corridor. Established in 1989, City Architecture's main focus is urban redevelopment in the Northeast Ohio region. Volpe served as the urban architect for the mayoral administrations of George Voinovich and Michael White throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He discusses the ideas within city hall regarding redevelopment during his years working for the government. Volpe also explains how…

Linwood Smith, a member of the Carl Stokes Mayoral Administration, recalls his time working for the city in the 1960s. He describes the riots in Hough and Glenville. He describes the Model Cities program and how people were incredulous that "free" money was coming to them through a $4,000 grant. They always thought there were strings attached. Smith then goes into the problems that Carl Stokes had to deal with, and he lists the police force as first and foremost. Smith discusses the chain of…

The mayor of Parma, Dean Depiero discusses his political effort in concert with the West Creek conservation project and the impact of the environmental efforts on his community. From a political perspective, the mayor focuses much of the interview on the process by which he and local constituents came to support the efforts of conservationists and the impact the project has had on Parma's economic, environmental, and social landscape.

Frank G. Jackson, mayor of Cleveland, discusses his interactions with Cleveland State University (CSU), his political history, and the projects he has implemented as mayor. He mentions his path to get his various degrees, and how he felt while he was getting these degrees. He also talks about the atmosphere at CSU and how it was different from where he started at Cuyahoga Community College. After his education he talks about his political career, and how he has had a unique experience being on…

This interview was conducted as part of Cleveland State University's 50th Anniversary Commemoration effort. Born and raised in Cleveland, Louis Stokes is most widely recognized as being the first African-American to be elected to Congress from Ohio. Stokes graduated from Central High School and was drafted into the army during WW2. Following his service in the military he attended Western Reserve University on his GI Bill and continued on to earn his law degree from Cleveland-Marshall Law…

Director of University Circle Incorporated, Chris Ronayne discusses the City of Cleveland, urban planning, and his own life's path. He begins by talking about how he got into urban planning on the recommendation of a professor during his undergraduate years. He went to Cleveland State University (CSU) where he met a professor, mentor, and lifelong friend Norm Krumholz. Through his work with Krumholz and the Levin College, Ronayne was able to get jobs as the Cuyahoga County Planner and as a City…

This interview was conducted as part of Cleveland State University's 50th Anniversary Comemmoration effort. Geoffrey Mearns is currently the President of Northern Kentucky University. He moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio with his family in 1974 when he was 15 after his father accepted a position as a law professor at Case Western Reserve University. Mearns attended Shaker Heights High School where he excelled in track. After high school he went to Yale where he earned a bachelors degree in english…

In this 2005 interview, Ben Stefanski, son of the legendary Polish immigrant founder of Third Federal Savings and Loan Association, discusses his experiences as the Director of Public Utilities for the City of Cleveland form 1968-1971. Stefanski, a lawyer, was brought into the Stokes administration not only for his talent and experience, but also because of his connections to Cleveland's ethnic neighborhoods. As Utilities Director, Stefanski was instrumental in leading the City's efforts to…

William Gould was born in Lakewood, Ohio in 1930 and began working as an architect in Cleveland starting in the late 1950s, serving on Cleveland's Planning Commission for a period early in his career. In this 2006 interview, Gould talks extensively about the development of Downtown Cleveland, discussing the 1959 Downtown Plan on which he worked, as well as earlier plans to install a subway beneath Euclid Avenue. In addition, he discusses Cleveland's Euclid Avenue, recalling past memories of the…

Norman Krumholz, Professor of Urban Studies at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, served as Planning Director for the City of Cleveland from 1969-79. As Planning Director, Krumholz helped establish the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in 1975. In this 2006 interview, he gives his opinion on some of Cleveland's development projects - past and present - as well as the problems that Cleveland faces in remaining a viable city. Urban sprawl, deindustrialization, and…

Paul Volpe served as Commissioner of Architecture in Cleveland from 1983-1989, leaving that position to found City Architecture Inc., an urban design firm located in Cleveland. In this 2006 interview, Volpe talks about the various projects he led while working for Mayor George Voinovich's administration. He also discusses his more recent work with City Architecture Inc. and the philosophy of urban design and city planning that lies behind it. Throughout the interview, Volpe praises Cleveland's…

Chris Ronayne, President of University Circle Incorporated, once served as Cleveland's Planning Commissioner. In this 2006 interview, he extensively discusses the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project, detailing how it came about, how it will function, the groups integral to its success, and what he hopes it will accomplish. Ronayne describes his wish that the project - which connects University Circle and Downtown - will revitalize the area, reconnecting the two parts of the city and diffusing…