Browse Exhibits (2 total)

This exhibit explores the essential question, what is a community?  Who are the members of the community of Lakewood, where did they come from, what were their talents and contributions, and most importantly, how does this idea of community shape identity? 

Located thirty miles west of Cleveland and situated on the intersection of Lake Erie and the Black River, the growth of Lorain, Ohio as an industrial city has in many ways mirrored that of Cleveland.   Lorain is literally titled the "international city" because of its ethnic diversity, ranging from Russian to Hungarian, to Mexican and Puerto Rican groups.  Most ethnic groups traveled to Lorain to take advantage of the abundance of work during the early twentieth century. 

Specifically, the growth of the hispanic population in Lorain is directly related to the steel industry.   This exhibit begins to explore that relationship.  First Mexicans arrived in the 1920s to work at the National Tube Company, then Puerto Ricans came to work in the late 1940s. 

Compare and contrast the Mexican experience and the Puerto Rican experience of arriving and adapting to the community in Lorain.