Lakeview Terrace aerial photograph

An aerial photograph of Lakeview Terrace, in Cleveland, Ohio, with the Cuyahoga River winding beside it. Lakeview Terrace, internationally known as a landmark in public housing, was one of three Cleveland housing projects that were the first to be authorized by the federal government's Public Works Administration. Together with Cedar-Central and Outhwaite, it began in 1935 and completed in 1937. Lakeview Terrace was especially notable because of its successful adaptation to a difficult site. The 22-acre site at W. 28th St. between Lake Erie and the Main Avenue Bridge was an irregular hillside with an 80-ft. drop in elevation. The scheme was adapted to the hillside by a curving road, with many of the housing units arranged in a fan-like pattern. There are 44 residential buildings of 3 types--apartments, row houses, and a combination of the two--oriented as much as possible to provide daylight and views of the lake. The architects were Joseph L. Weinberg in association with William. H. Conrad and Wallace G. Teare. The building construction was entirely fireproof, consisting of brick on tile walls with concrete roof and floor slabs and steel casement windows. The curved end walls, the windows arranged in horizontal bands, the iron railings, and especially the distinctive downturned hoods over the doorways reflected the work of International Style architects. Lakeview Terrace included the first community center in a public housing project. The project was also innovative in its use of the decorative arts, made possible by the creation of the Treasury Relief Art Project in 1935