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Long before it became one of America's best-known planned suburbs, this land belonged to the North Union Shakers, a celibate religious community that farmed here and dammed Doan Brook to make the lakes that still bear their name. After the Shakers left in 1889, the Van Sweringen brothers bought the land and built a garden suburb served by its own rapid transit line to downtown Cleveland.
The result, a city of about 29,000 just east of Cleveland, is famous for winding tree-lined boulevards, strict architectural rules and grand Tudor, Colonial and French-style homes. In the 1950s and 1960s, neighborhoods such as Ludlow became national examples of deliberate racial integration, a legacy the city still talks about with pride.
Visitors come to walk the Shaker Lakes and the Nature Center's boardwalks, learn the Shaker story at the Shaker Historical Museum and eat at the Van Aken District, a new town center built around the rapid transit stop. It is an easy and pleasant half day from Cleveland's University Circle museums.
A free nature center on the edge of Lower Shaker Lake, with the All People's Trail, a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk through marsh and woods, plus exhibits on local wildlife. It was saved in the 1960s by residents who fought a planned freeway. Come in spring for migrating warblers and frogs in the marsh.
A museum in a 1910s mansion that tells two stories: the North Union Shaker community that farmed here from 1822 to 1889, and the planned suburb built by the Van Sweringen brothers. See Shaker furniture, tools and oval boxes alongside early sales brochures. Small and well curated, with limited hours.
One of the lakes created when the Shakers dammed Doan Brook for their mills, now ringed by a walking path, big old trees and grand homes. It is a favorite for jogging, birdwatching and fall color. Park near the Nature Center and walk along the water toward the Doan Brook valley.
A walkable mixed-use center opened in 2018 at the end of the Blue Line, with Market Hall food stalls, restaurants, shops and a lawn for summer concerts and movies. It is the liveliest spot in Shaker Heights in the evening. Take the rapid from Cleveland and stay for dinner on the patio.
Much of the city is a National Register historic district, with curving streets, wide lawns and early 1900s homes in Tudor Revival, Georgian and French styles built under strict Van Sweringen design rules. Drive or bike along South Park and Shaker Boulevards to see some of the grandest houses. Respect private property.
A neighborhood on the city's western edge where residents formed the Ludlow Community Association in the 1950s to welcome Black families and keep the area integrated, an approach that drew national attention. Today it is a quiet area of handsome older homes. Walk the streets near the Ludlow school to see it.
The Blue and Green Line light rail trains, built by the Van Sweringens to sell their suburb, still run down the grassy medians of Shaker and Van Aken Boulevards to downtown Cleveland. Riding the line is a cheap and scenic way to see the suburb. Buy a day pass and ride from Tower City to Van Aken.
The city's main recreation park, with an outdoor swimming pool complex, an indoor ice rink for public skating and hockey, tennis courts and playing fields. Day passes are available for non-residents in many seasons. Check the public skate schedule in winter, as sessions fill up on weekends.
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Log in to add photosPhoto: Spencer, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5
Photo: Spencer, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5
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Photo: Cards84664, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Cards84664, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Cards84664, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Cards84664, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
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