doan brook 'suburban gorge' hike
DESCRIPTION
Walk the Doan Brook gorge from MLK to Ambler Park. Here, we learn the natural base for Cleveland's early suburban development, 1890s-1910s. Comprehend the issues for stream conservation. Supported with a grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, 2014.TRANSCRIPT
Doan BrookWatershedPartnership
3 pm, Sat, Oct 18, 2014
Roy Larick
Bluestone Heights
Doan Brook gorge, looking southeast
Doan Brook Watershed Partnership
Ambler Park, 1929
for the
[email protected] 216-325-7781
Doan Brook
hike
With support from
Suburban Gorge
Meet: Fairhill Partners parking: 12200 Fairhill Road, Cleveland, OH 44120
Cleveland Memory Project
MLK (East Blvd)
Old Ambleside
During the 1890s, residential development played out on carriage trails, spring water and septic tanks. The gorge became a playground.
By the 1910s, distributed infrastructure loomed large in the environment. The gorge became a conduit.
The ‘Suburban Gorge’ hike visits archaeological vestiges of the earliest infrastructure transformations.
Doan BrookWatershedPartnership
Bluestone Heights
During the summer and fall of 2014, three Doan Brook gorge hikes explore fast-changing natural & cultural features of this special Cleveland landmark.
Doan Brook
hikeSuburban Gorge
The third hike, of the ‘Suburban Gorge’, focuses on the events that transformed the Doan Brook into the urban environment we know today.
Doan Brook gorge and the Portage EscarpmentJust 23,000 years ago, the last glacial advance bulldozed the Portage Escarpment to create two terraces, one atop the Berea Sandstone and, just below, atop the Euclid bluestone. The gorge emerged as Doan Brook cut through these hard rocks and into underlying shale.
Early Suburban DevelopmentIn the 1890s, Cleveland’s earliest suburban developers platted streets and lots on Turkey and Maple Ridges, atop the bluestone terrace. J.D. Rockefeller bought much of the gorge during the 1880s. The Amblers owned the lower gorge and, in 1894, gave 25 acres to the City of Cleveland as Ambler Park. By this time, the huge Baldwin Reservoir complex had obliterated the nature that had drawn the earliest residential development.
Doan Brook Gorge
Vinecliff
Fairhill Village
Am
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© 2014 Bluestone Heights
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Doan BrookGorge
Nathan H. Ambler
A well-known spring lay on the Vinecliff property, at the base of the western bluestone outcrop.
camera viewpoint
Cleveland Memory Project
CMP
Turkey Ridge
Maple Ridge
Ambler Heights
USGS LiDAR underlayGoogle Earth aerial viewer
bluestone quarries
Vinecliff tower.In the bluestone
About 1870, dentist and Gold Rush veteran Nathan H. Ambler bought land on both sides of the gulf. The family lived on Maple Ridge and developed Ambler Heights on Turkey Ridge.
Vinecliff (1872)On the bluestone terrace
Stokes Blvd Old Fairhill/Mapleside
Looking SSE, up Stokes Blvd
Cleveland Memory Project
Cleveland Memory Project
Cleveland Memory Project
Stokes Blvd Stokes Blvd
Cleveland Memory Project
Looking SE fto Vinecliff rom Turkey Ridge, 1874
Vinecliff, the Ambler house, was built on a narrow promontory above the bluestone terrace. Covered with glacial boulders, the hill may have been a remnant of a larger glacial feature.
Ambler built a rustic stone tower, possibly to resemble a ruined castle.
Looking NW onto Vinecliff from Old Fairhill Rd on Maple Ridge
Ambler also developed the Blue Rock Spring resort at the bottom of Cedar Hill. Nathan and Martha Ambler adopted Daniel O. Caswell, who famously operated the resort.
© 2014 Bluestone Heights
Doan BrookGorge
Baldwin Reservoir
About 1870, Nathan Ambler bought land on both sides of the gulf. The family lived on Maple Ridge and developed Ambler Heigts on Turkey Ridge.
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CMP
Turkey Ridge
Maple Ridge
Nor
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Ambler Heights
USGS LiDAR underlayGoogle Earth aerial viewer
bluestone quarries
stone culvert
“quarry dump”Baldwin Res RR
sandstone quarry
Ced
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Fairhill Village
Cle Water Dept
Cleveland Memory Project
Built 1912-1925 to store treated water from the filtration plant.
The reservoir lies in a pit 1,000' long, 500' wide, and 35' deep, dug into the Euclid bluestone and Cleveland Shale.
To dispose of the rubble, a railroad was built in 1915 from the excavation site to the Doan Brook gorge. Rubble was dumped along the south rim and on the north rim, including at old quarries in the Roxboro area.
Baldwin ReservoirThe reservoir holds 135 million gallons. It is roofed by a thin groin-vaulted concrete slab supported by 1,196 columns, which are 30" in diameter and spaced 18' apart.
Cleveland Memory Project
The roof is covered with soil, making a park-like lawn adjacent to the filtration plant.
The filtration plant is a symmetrical Palladian structure 750' long, which dominates the commanding site at the summit of Fairhill Rd.
Am
bler Park
camera viewpoint
Doan BrookGorge
infrastructure
Cleveland Memory ProjectCleveland Memory Project
Cleveland Memory Project
Cleveland Memory Project
Looking northeast across Doan Brook along old Ambleside to current Ambleside (at cliff base). Looking south-southeast from East Blvd (MLK), up Doan Brook to Fairhill (Stokes Blvd).
Looking north-northwest down Doan Brook from Fairhill (Stokes Blvd) to East Blvd (MLK).
Looking south-southeast from NKP tracks across East Blvd (MLK) to the Baldwin Reservoir. Doan Brook culvert construction in foreground.
In 1929, construction of the Cleveland Union Terminal Railroad was fully documented with photographs.
CSU Special Collections now owns the set which are online as part of the Cleveland Memory Project.
Here are four of many that show CUT RR work around “East Boulevard.”
Looking SSE, up Doan Brook, Mar 1929
Cleveland Memory Project
MLK (East Blvd)
Old Ambleside
MLK (East Blvd)
Old Ambleside
Gulf north wall, above North Park. Bluestone level near top. Chestnut Hills Dr lies behind the left tree line.
camera viewpoint
Doan BrookGorge
Ambler Park
North Park
Cleveland Memory Project
Cleveland Memory Project
In 1894, Martha Ambler and Daniel O. Caswell donated 25 acres for the construction of Ambler Park.
At its lower end, the Ambler Park was bordered by East Boulevard. Area landscaping was of high quality.
Looking SSE, up Doan Brook, Mar 1929
Looking SSE, up Doan Brook, Google Earth
Doan BrookGorge
Fairhill Village
Fairhill Village house interior
Fairhill Village was laid out upon a rugged Berea sandstone promontory.
Landscape architect A. Donald Gray developed the settlement in conjunction with architect Antonio DiNardo and, later, H.O. Fullerton. Seven structures were built between 1929 and 1933. An eighth structure was erected in 1971.
The Tudor Revival style encompasses the massive chimneys, arched entrances, gables, recesses and projections. Groupings of diamond paned windows also contribute as does exterior sheathing in sandstone, slate and stucco. 12309-12511 Fairhill Rd, Cleveland
Cervin Robinson, clevelandart.org
Fairhill Village exterior
R. larick
NRHP application, 1990
Doan BrookWatershedPartnership
3 pm, Sat, Oct 18, 2014
Roy Larick
Bluestone Heights
Doan Brook gorge, looking southeast
Doan Brook Watershed Partnership
for the
[email protected] 216-325-7781
Doan Brook
hike
With support from
Suburban Gorge
Meet: Fairhill Partners parking: 12200 Fairhill Road, Cleveland, OH 44120
Cleveland Memory Project
MLK (East Blvd)
Old Ambleside
Ambler Park, 1929