Mr. P. Explores... The Ruins Behind the Scenes at Garfield Park (Garfield Heights, Ohio)

In this episode of Mr. P. Explores, we return to a spot we explored back in the spring of this year, Garfield Park near Cleveland, Ohio, to search for the ruins of what used to be one of Northeastern Ohio's premier local parks. Built in 1894 and expanded as the early Twentieth Century moved forward (most particularly by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in the 1930's), the park was a gem in Cleveland's crown of municipal parks. The creek that runs through the park, Wolf Creek, was dammed in two places, which allowed for boating, swimming and fishing in the summer and ice skating in the winter. Other park attractions included tennis courts, a baseball diamond, football fields, and horseshoes. A new swimming pool and lake sand beach were opened in 1917, drawing in a reported 25,000 bathers the following year. This place had everything and was a serious tourist destination for local families looking to soak up the tranquility of nature just outside of bustling industrial Cleveland. Fast forward to the 1950's when the economics of the neighborhood shifted. Money was no longer available to keep up the park, and no one much felt like fixing that problem. Throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's, the park went into an apocalyptic nosedive, going from idyllic natural park to a drug-infested, garbage strewn nightmare. In the late 1980's, enter the Cleveland Metroparks, who took control of the park, cleaned it up and repaired large chunks of its former glory. However, in modern day, there are still smallish chunks of the wreckage of the original park still to be found, which as an explorer, is considered treasure. Old dams, bridges, stone retaining walls, and a mess of 1930's WPA architecture are littered throughout the park if one is intrepid enough to go look. So, on an incredibly warm day for late December, we dove into the now-Poison Ivy-less, mosquito-less and thick underbrush-less Garfield Park to go on a search for some of those remnants. Enjoy the tour of what was once a going thing in the world of city parks nationwide! -Mr. P. Music: Intro: The Posion Oaks - "Morning Date" Outro: Ben Folds Five - "Theme from Dr. Pyser" MR. P.’S OTHER SITES TO CHECK OUT!: The Mr. P. Explores Facebook Community:   / mrpexplores   Mr. P. Explores Instagram (extras that never make the site or videos, and much more!):   / mr.p.explores   @mr.p.explores Mr. P. Explores Twitter Account:   / exploresmr   The Northeast Ohio Urban Exploration Group:   / neourbexgroup   Mr. P's Mythopedia:   / mrpsmythopedia   Mr. P's World History Emporium:   / mrpsworldhistoryemporium