History/Neighborhood

After its annexation to Cleveland in 1872, the neighborhood now known as Fairfax underwent a period of rapid residential development which continued until 1920, when the area’s population reached 34,000. The neighborhood is ideally located between downtown Cleveland and University Circle. Its boundaries are Chester Avenue to Woodland Avenue and East 77th to Stokes Boulevard. Fairfax is located in Ward 6 of Cleveland, Ohio. The councilperson is Mamie J. Mitchell.

Euclid Avenue, near the neighborhood’s northern border, became the site of many of Cleveland’s largest and most architecturally distinguished churches.

Fairfax is home to three nationally recognized institutions. The foremost of these is the Cleveland Clinic, established in 1921 and now ranks as Cuyahoga County’s largest private employer. The Cleveland Playhouse, America’s first regional theatre, was founded in 1915, and the first facility was built in 1923 on Euclid Avenue. Karamu House is the country’s first inter-racial theater and arts center and was established in 1917. It has been located in the Fairfax neighborhood since 1943.