Larchmere

The Larchmere area was annexed by the City of Cleveland in 1911 from the Village of Shaker Heights. It became known as the Fairhill Neighborhood. A large portion of the homes were constructed in the neighborhood between 1910 and 1925. The housing types are largely single-family and Cleveland doubles, which are two-family flats.

Larchmere Boulevard was once named North Woodland Avenue throughout most of the twentieth century. Built in 1929, Larchmere Arts and Antiques District was originally a Hungarian and Italian working class neighborhood of Cleveland. The neighborhood community decided a name change was in order from Woodland Avenue because of the negative connotation the name received from the Sugar War days and gang activity of the roaring twenties.

Throughout the late 1990s Larchmere boasted a large collection of antique and art dealers and gained the reputation as the city’s premier art and antique center. During the onset of the 2005 planning initiative, the neighborhood selected a new name, Larchmere, the same as its west-east commercial corridor.

Located immediately north and west of Shaker Square, today the district accommodates more than 40 antique shops, auction houses, and art galleries, and is a home to annual events such as the Holiday Stroll. Among the most notable shops found here are Bingham Antiques, Elegant Extras, Shaker Square Antiques and others, offering visitors a rich variety of old and rare merchandise.

The annual Porchfest, a summer music festival that hosts over 30 bands on thirty porches with several varieties of music, is hosted by the Larchmere community every summer.