Photos
Shaker Heights Patch is celebrating the 100 years of Shaker Heights history by creating an online scrapbook. Each day for 100 days, we'll feature a photograph that helps tell the story of Shaker Heights.
Today's photo features Caminati's Restaurant, which was located at 2775 S. Moreland Blvd. on Shaker Square.
Shaker Square was conceived in 1923, as part of a development project that fell through. The Van Sweringen brothers took over the project and turned the square to an octagon to facilitate parking. The square served as another amenity for the well-off residents Shaker.
In 1976, the Square was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest shopping district in Ohio, and the second oldest district in the nation.
Source - "Shaker Square," Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
You can join our celebration of Shaker Heights history. Share your memories in the comments. Or upload your photos and we'll feature them in this scrapbook. Follow #ShakerCentennial on Twitter.
Cindy Courtright
7:30 am on Thursday, August 23, 2012
i went to this article hoping to learn more about caminati's restaurant. as a lifelong shaker resident, i have never heard of this place and was intrigued. instead, the focus was on shaker square. could we please have background on the restaurant (which location did it occupy? start and end dates? type of food/clientele?)
Afi-Odelia Scruggs
9:19 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
I'd love to answer those questions, but I couldn't find anything on the restaurant myself. If you find any answers, please post in the comments.
Don Blumenthal
2:55 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012
I can help a little. Caminati's did not face the Square. It was on the east side of South Moreland between the corner store (I haven't lived in Cleveland for many years but it was an East Coast Custard the last I looked) and the parking lot behind the southeast quadrant. If I recall correctly, it served what would be called now a continental cuisine. I don't know exactly when it was in business but I can recall it from parts of the 60s and 70s. As for clientele, the best I can say is that it generally was a place for parents to enjoy themselves without us kids.
Afi-Odelia Scruggs
3:25 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012
Thanks Don. It's nice when readers contribute to this series. The comments really round out - and often correct - the information I'm finding in the online archives.
Vicki Blank
9:00 am on Friday, August 24, 2012
Since Shaker Square is not in Shaker Heights, it's not quite an appropriate inclusion in the series, which may add to the lack of information.
Nikki Ferrell
10:16 am on Friday, August 24, 2012
Hi Vicki,
Thanks for your input. Even though Shaker Square is within Cleveland city limits, its history - the photographs and postcards that we've gathered - is interesting and relevant to Shaker Heights residents who shop and dine in its businesses and consider it a part of their neighborhood. This is why we included it in this post.