Lake Erie Artists Gallery at Shaker Square

Shaker Square
13129 Shaker Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44120
216-752-9960

Shaker Square is a place for discerning shoppers looking for quality merchandise and personal service, for anyone who wants a broad choice of restaurants for casual or fine dining, and for moviegoers. Many of its restaurants and stores are unique to the Square.

Stroll the Square, shop and dine here. You'll enjoy the diversity and the sense of neighborhood - a welcome change from today's impersonal, "big box" shopping.

Shaker Square is at the eastern end of the City of Cleveland, near the city's world-class cultural, educational and health care institutions. It is located where Cleveland meets Shaker Heights.

Two light-rail Rapid Transit lines stop at the Square. They offer fast (just 12 minutes) transportation to downtown Cleveland, the waterfront and Cleveland - Hopkins airport. A new RTA "Circulator" bus offers transportation to and from University Circle.

The Square was built in 1927-29 by Otis and Mantis Van Sweringen, the brothers who developed Shaker Heights.

The oldest shopping district in Ohio and the second oldest in the nation, Shaker Square was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

What you see at Shaker Square today is a happy combination of nearly 75 years of preservation, enhanced by a multi-million dollar renovation in 2000-2001.

But Shaker Square is more than a shopping area. It is the heart of a lively, diverse neighborhood. Near the Square are more than 4,000 units of high-quality rental and condominium apartments - the largest concentration of multi-family housing in Cleveland - townhouses and many private homes. Shaker Square and the streets around it are in the Shaker Heights School District.

Lake Erie Artists Gallery Organic Grocery Bag by lakeerieartists
Create a canvas tote bag at zazzle.com

"Do it right, and don't worry about the money." That order came from O.P. and M.J. Van Sweringen in 1925, and "it" was Shaker Square. The directive is both a clue to the quality of the shopping center and the character of the Van Sweringen brothers who financed the project. Bold in business, the Vans sought to create a perfect residential community in Shaker Heights and a distinctive commercial center on adjoining land in the City of Cleveland. Decades later both the City and the shopping complex stand as a testimony to the success of their vision.

The Vans knew that quick, easy transportation was key to attracting residents to Shaker Square and Shaker Heights. Initially the brothers used existing trolley lines along Euclid Avenue for their Rapid Transit, extending them up Cedar Hll, through private right-of-way on what is now Fairmount Boulevard, then south on Coventry Road to Shaker Boulevard. Service began on their Shaker Heights Line in 1913, coming out Shaker Boulevard as far as Fontenay Road. By 1915, the Rapid extended to Courtland Boulevard.

Later that year, the U.S. Attorney General informed the New York Central that their control of the Nickel Plate railroad violated the Clayton Anti-Trust Act. To secure the right-of-way for a new transit line, the Vans bought controlling interest in the 513 mile Nickel Plate Railroad. Now access to the Shaker Boulevard rail could be made directly from the west without cutting through Cleveland Heights. This new rapid transit line began operating on April 11, 1920.

As Shaker Heights grew, the Vans added rapid tracks on Moreland Boulevard (now Van Aken) to Lynnfield. The intersection where Shaker and Moreland lines met was named "Moreland Circle" because of the circular track in the center to accommodate the rapids. To enhance the trolley junction and to create an exclusive retail hub to service their village of Shaker Heights, the Vans planned Shaker Square.

Two designs were considered. Philip L. Small and Charles Bacon Rowley, influenced by the design of Amailienborg Square in Copenhagen, designed an open green enclosed by twelve Georgian-style buildings in an octagonal formation with roadways entering at mid-side of the Square, dividing the buildings into four quadrants. Only a small parking area was planned for each quadrant reflecting Van Sweringen's assumption that most people would use the rapid.

Small and Rowley's plan for a commercial village was approved in 1926 and construction began 1927. Shaker Square opened to great acclaim in the fall of 1929, the first planned shopping center in Ohio. Forty-one stately elms graced its broad lawns and wide walkways. A hardware store, a florist, a drug store, a gift shop, a restaurant and a beauty shop were among its first tenants.

Apartment complexes sprung up in the area immediately surrounding the Square, and early promotional literature emphasized the fifteen-minute, six-mile trip to downtown's Cleveland Union Terminal. Most distinctive of those new residential properties was the luxurious Moreland Courts, completed by the Vans in 1929 and adjoined to the northwest quadrant of Shaker Square. Steam heating for Moreland Courts and for the Square was provided by a power plant built behind the southwest quadrant.

Wouldn't you just love to take a class with some of your friends? We have lots of workshops planned.

Registration required 3 days in advance of the class.

For our current list of classes, CLICK HERE

Shaker Square is a unique location on the east side of Cleveland in the heart of a community that is interested in supporting local artists, and other local businesses. We are now located in another historical landmark in Cleveland, because Shaker Square is the second oldest shopping plaza in the United States. It is a beautiful location with plenty of neighborhood people walking their dogs, visiting the local coffee shop, Dewey's, and eating at wonderful local restaurants.

Shaker Square is in the midst of a neighborhood that is a combination of Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, and Cleveland, Ohio. The RTA rapid transit has a large stop here that runs right through the center of the Square, and there is a very well established farmers market that meets here every Saturday from 8 am to noon. We are also part of the farmers market.

Shaker Square is beautiful location with lots of mature trees, and well kept sidewalks. The community is a diverse mix of people of all ages, races, and ethnicities. It is a great place to live, work, and shop.