Westlake, Ohio
Westlake is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland located 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Cleveland. The population was 34,228 at the 2020 census.
History[edit]
The area now known as the city of Westlake was first settled by European Americans on October 10, 1810. At the time, it was part of Dover Township.
In 1901, the northern part of the township seceded to form Bay Village.[6] In 1912, a southern portion left to join North Olmsted. The remaining township residents formed Dover Village in 1913, taking with it a portion of Olmsted Township.
In order to avoid confusion with the city of Dover in Tuscarawas County,[7] Dover Village was renamed Westlake in 1940.[8] The village of Westlake became a city in 1957.[1]
In September 1966, a house in Westlake which had recently been bought by John R. Compton, a black pastor, was firebombed. No one was injured, although the bombing did cause around $10,000 of damage. According to the Cleveland Press, the mayor of Westlake, Alexander R. Roman, "criticized the parties involved in the sale of the home... He said no one was notified so the community could be prepared to accept a Negro family."[9][10]
Geography[edit]
Westlake is located at 41°27′16″N 81°55′43″W / 41.45444°N 81.92861°W (41.454439, −81.928657).[11]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.93 square miles (41.26 km2), all land.[12]
Arts and culture[edit]
Westlake is served by the Westlake Porter Public Library.
Also found in Westlake is Lakewood Country Club, "the only Northern Ohio Club to host the PGA-based, Web.com televised golf tour."[24]
Clague House Museum showcases the history of Westlake (formerly Dover). This house was built in 1876.
Clague Playhouse is a community theatre producing five plays a season from the classic and contemporary repertoire.
The White Oaks Restaurant was a lucrative speakeasy during the Prohibition era.[25] Dover Gardens Tavern was also a speakeasy with an upstairs ballroom during Prohibition.
The Westlake City School District consistently places within the top 4% of statewide districts on the state education report card.[26] The district received an achievement grade of 89.0% for the Performance Index and a grade of 95.% for the Indicators Met on the Ohio Department of Education's 2013–2014 District Report Card.[27]
The district mission statement is "We Educate for Excellence."[26]
Westlake High School is home to WHBS-TV, the Westlake High school Broadcasting System. WHBS-TV is seen on channels 99 and 18 on AT&T U-Verse and WOW! cable, respectively, in the Westlake area.[28]
Westlake's first sister city partnership with the Town of Tralee in Ireland was founded in 2009 and is recognized by Sister Cities International. In 2012 Westlake also became sister city to the Canadian town of Kingsville, Ontario.[31]