Brewed Fresh Daily

Once the city of Cleveland peaked in prestige, size, and growth potential � in the 1920s � it began a long, slow march toward decline. The underlying problem, it�s been suggested, is that instead of incorporating the rapidly growing suburbs, city government resolutely remained convinced it was the nexus of power, making decisions to, among other things, supply water and sewer service to the suburbs as basic commodities. The idea must have been that a prosperous, powerful Cleveland would benefit from the revenues. But when the Van Sweringen brothers� empire collapsed in the Depression era, setting off a chain reaction that, believe it or not, still affects the City today, the suburbs grew in size and clout, draining the City of vital resources. Over a span of nearly three decades roughly spanning the early 1920s to early �50s, the idea of regionalism was proposed several times in different guises, usually involving the incorporation of Cuyahoga County as one metropolis. Sound familiar?