During the Great Depression, the City of Cleveland acquired millions of dollars of federal money in the mid-1930s to build three of the first public housing projects in the nation. One of them was Lakeview Terrace. In attendance at the dedication ceremonies in 1937 was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Lakeview Terrace sits on a hillside overlooking Lake Erie and the various industries along the Cuyahoga River. At its conception, the developers wanted to provide amenities for working-class residents, like a multi-purpose community center, playgrounds, and lots of green space.

Unfortunately, the community was neglected and came into disrepair in the mid-60s and had boarded-up sections adjacent to occupied units when we began the site revitalization project in 1998. In addition, the buildings had single entrances with long, dark interior hallways, which created dangerous conditions for its residents.

Most of the sites had poor accessibility for disabled people and inadequate lighting. In addition, some of the children’s playground equipment was the same items initially installed in 1937.

The revitalization involved providing single entrances for each unit to eliminate the need for long interior hallways, complete gutting and renovation of the individual units, and façade refurbishment. In addition, our scope on the site was to redesign the walkways, steps, retaining walls, playground areas, and landscape.

Craig was the lead designer for the project while Project Landscape Architect at the Outside In-Landscape Architects.

Design Team:
The Outside In - Landscape Architects