BROOKLYN - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The west side municipality of BROOKLYN, distinguished from the BROOKLYN portion of the city of Cleveland (Old Brooklyn) and located 6 miles southwest of downtown, lies contiguous to Cleveland on its east, north, and west borders, and to the city of PARMA on its southern boundary. Brooklyn Township, organized 1 June 1818, occupied a significant part of Cleveland's early west side territory, and was bounded on the north by Lake Erie, on the east by the CUYAHOGA RIVER, on the west by Rockport, and on the south by the Parma and INDEPENDENCE townships. The incorporation of separate municipalities, along with subsequent annexations by the city of Cleveland, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries (OHIO CITY (CITY OF OHIO), Old Brooklyn, LINNDALE, and BROOKLYN HEIGHTS) left only a small area in the southwest corner of the original Brooklyn township. That portion of the former township became Brooklyn Village on 16 March 1927, and was chartered as the city of Brooklyn in 1950.

Primarily a residential suburb of 4.5 sq. miles, in 1966 Brooklyn became the first community in the nation to mandate use of seatbelts in automobiles. The city constructed the Brooklyn City Center at 7619 Memphis Ave. (housing the city court, police, and fire divisions) in the early 1970s, and in 1975 opened the Brooklyn Recreation Center at 7600 Memphis Ave. The Brooklyn Historical Society, founded in 1970, displays furniture and artifacts from the 1830s through the present, along with memorabilia pertaining to Brooklyn's township and city history. In 1994 the PLAIN DEALER opened a $200 million printing and distribution facility on Tiedeman Rd. adjacent to I-480 on Brooklyn's south side. John M. Coyne served as Brooklyn mayor for 52 years from 1948-1999, the longest consecutive term of service by any mayor in the nation. Brooklyn's population in 1995 was 11,700 and in 2000 was 11,586.

Related Article(s)

• NEIGHBORHOODS AND LANDMARKS
• SUBURBS