Sokolowski's Overlook

Sokolowski's Overlook. People on the Move: Immigration and Migration, also, People on the Move: Transportation. People on the Move: , Immigration and Migration , The human story is a story of movement. From early hunter gatherers to modern job-seekers people have moved to find better resources or opportunities. Others have fled wars, famines, and harsh climates. , The Ohio area known as Tremont has attracted people on the move since pre-historic times. Indigenous people hunted and fished the area for centuries. In the early 1800s New Englanders, whose ancestors had immigrated from Old England in the 1600s, came here to settle in the Connecticut Western Reserve as farmers and entrepreneurs. , By the 1860s, as factories began to fill the valley the need for a large work force led to waves of immigration. Irish, Germans, Poles, Greeks, Syrians, Ukrainians, and Puerto Ricans are among the over 30 nationalities who have lived here. Their varied music, food, and religious traditions created a vibrant cultural landscape in the 20th century. In the early 21st century upscale condominiums, trendy restaurants and the proximities to the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail attracted young professionals to this ever-changing neighborhood. , Tremont area residents in the early 1800s from New England were drawn to the area by the promise of farmland. By the 1900s these farms had been subdivided and filled with houses for factory workers. , Sokolowski's University Inn was opened by the Sokolowski family in 1923 and was a neighborhood landmark for almost 100 years. Polish and other Eastern European immigrants found familiar food at Sokolowski's, and Clevelanders unfamiliar with Polish foods learned to enjoy kielbasa, pierogis, and other delicious dishes., People on the Move: , Transportation , Navigating the steep street with a little help. , Image courtesy of the Cleveland Press Collection, Cleveland State University , The modern highway system in the United States began to take shape in the 1950s giving quick access to and around cities. But the construction of these highways also demolished streets and cut neighborhoods off from each other. Tremont was somewhat isolated even before the advent of the new highways. Its location south and west of the twists and turns of the river meant convoluted routes to other parts of the city. The Cuyahoga River has often been more of a barrier than a highway and offered little in the way of transportation opportunities to downtown or other parts of the city. Tremont sits on bluffs high above the river valley. Old aerial photos show rows of small working-class houses perched on steep dirt roads that were unpaved until after world war two. As you travel along the Towpath Trail, or speed along the highways seen all around you imagine the difficulties and obstacles that people had to overcome to get from here to there, wherever here and there may be! , Take a look at the maps and notice that, while you are on the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail, you are not on the original towpath! The original canal was long ago obliterated by railroad tracks and industrial buildings just north of Harvard Road, so the modern towpath had to be diverted away from the original canal bed. The old towpath and the modern trail meet up again at Canal Basin Park.