St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church and Cleveland's Lower Buckeye Road Area

In the early 20th century after industry came to Cleveland's Lower Buckeye Road area and as the Hungarian and other Eastern European immigrant population in the area swelled, a vibrant retail business district developed along Buckeye Road from East 79th Street to Woodhill Road.  St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church (visible in the photograph on the left) was centrally located in this retail business district.  While many of the early retail shops were owned by the German and Irish merchants who came to Buckeye Road before the Hungarians, as time went on more and more Hungarian immigrant entrepreneurs opened up Hungarian retail shops on Buckeye Road.

In the 1930s and in the decades that followed. Hungarian merchants operated neighborhood grocery stores, candy and tobacco shops, dry goods stores, shoe stores, drug stores and saloons.  Hungarian immigrants met in these shops, spoke Hungarian, exchanged news about the old country and preserved their unique culture.  They also, during this time period, worshipped on Sundays at ethnic churches like St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church.