Lakewood to Celebrate its 100th Birthday (As a City)

In early 1911, without too much fanfare, the village of Lakewood learned that its population had eclipsed the 5,000-resident mark required for “city” status. On Feb. 17 that year, the local government made it official.

A popular destination as Cleveland’s “bedroom community,” ’s growth was largely attributed to the westward expansion of the streetcar. 

The young city — among the first Cleveland suburbs to hit 5,000 residents — never looked back.

Make a wish and blow out the candles because, on Thursday, Lakewood is celebrating 100 years as a city.

Also, keep your calendar open because the party’s expected to last all year. 

• On Thursday — the city’s actual birthday — a party is slated to take place at the , starting at 7:30 p.m. with special guests, including Mayor Michael Summers and the Lakewood Historical Society (which will feature a slideshow of early Lakewood).

Lakewood resident Chris Bindel organized Thursday’s event after he learned that there weren’t any scheduled activities in the city on its birthday.

“I knew there were things planned for throughout the year but I was kind of disappointed no one had decided to do anything to celebrate it on the actual day of, or at least the nearest weekend of, the date,” he said.

“Although this is the centennial of Lakewood’s incorporation — and not of it becoming an official settlement — I still thought it was an important landmark worth celebrating.”

• The — celebrating its own 100th birthday on Saturday — is hosting an event April 9 at the Beck Center to raise money for this summer’s Ohio Chautauqua, presented by the Lakewood Historical Society.

The five-day event’s theme this year is the Civil War — marking the sesquicentennial of the nation’s bloodiest war.

Patty Ryan, the executive director of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, said the city — and its residents — should be proud.

 “I think that the real positive thing is that we haven’t lost our charm in 100 years,” she said. “We’ve maintained a lot of our original architecture. While we’re celebrating 100 years, we’re learning that what we’ve got is also relevant to what developers are doing today.”

• In addition to Ohio Chautauqua — five days of living history from June 22 through 26 — the is asking the community for its help in its next big project. Mazie Adams, executive director of the Lakewood Historical Society, said the idea is to collect photographs of every residential building in Lakewood.

“We want to compile a comprehensive photographic collection,” she said. “One thing about celebrating our 100 years is that (people want to see) early images of Lakewood. It can be frustrating because we wish we could find a treasure trove of photos of 1911. But there isn’t, so we’re trying to help to the next generation of people wanting to look at images of Lakewood.