Collinwood

Collinwood
Neighborhoods of Cleveland
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Cuyahoga
City	Cleveland
Population (2000)
• Total	34,220
	1% increase from 1990 Census
Demographics
• White	34.6%
• Black	62.5%
• Hispanic	1%
• Asian	>1%
• Other	>1%
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Codes	44110, 44119
Area code(s)	216
Source: 2000 U.S. Census, City Planning Commission of Cleveland. Please note: Statistics reflect combined SPAs of North and South Collinwood.

Collinwood is a neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. Originally a village in Euclid Township, it was annexed by the city in 1910. Collinwood grew around the rail yards of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (now CSX) and is divided by these same tracks into a North and South section. Collinwood was identified as one of America's Best Secret Neighborhoods by Travel + Leisure in 2008.

The neighborhood's most infamous incident pre-dates its annexation by Cleveland. On Ash Wednesday, March 4, 1908, Collinwood was the site of an event known as the Collinwood School Fire, at Lakeview Elementary school. One of the deadliest school fires in American history, 172 children, two young teachers and one rescuer died in the fire after being trapped in stairwell vestibules. Originally, it was thought that the students were trapped because doors to the school opened inward; however, the coroner's report indicated that the doors did indeed open outward. While some of the children died from burns and smoke inhalation, most were either crushed or suffocated in the frantic attempt to escape the building. Those killed in the fire who could not be identified were buried in a mass grave in Cleveland's Lakeview Cemetery. National building standards requiring that doors in public buildings open outward were already in effect, however, the fire did result in a trend towards municipalities nationwide adopting policies of school inspections and enforcing stricter building codes.

For much of the 20th century, Collinwood thrived due in large part to heavy industry. Besides the railroad yards, major corporations like General Motors, who operated its Fisher Body plant on Coit Road and General Electric with its Pitney Glass Works on E.152nd., employed thousands of workers. By the eve of World War II Collinwood's economic vitality had drawn large numbers of both ethnic white Europeans and Southern Appalachians. The 1960s saw an influx of African Americans, who are today the majority population both in North and South Collinwood.

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