Note 1 : Local journalists and writers often allude to The “Battle of the Bridge” or “Bridge War” to frame public interest articles regarding the City’s perceived division. So to say the least, the historical references relating to this event, may not be new to many of the readers and in general no new discoveries were made.

Note 2: These historical documents, articles and personal recollections submitted in this blog were available in the public domain, and stored in the digital archive collections maintained by public and private institutions. The purpose of this blog is to provide some reference to this specific event along with a broader understaing of the era in which it occurred including the published recollections of several people from that time period along with some modest commentary of my personal experiences as I developed this research.

In most large metropolitan areas in the United States, when making new introductions to another local citizen, it is often good form to define in which community you live, as a bridge to more convivial conversation. The same is generally true in the Cleveland area, unless you find yourself residing on the opposite side of the Cuyahoga River, than that of your new acquaintance.

In this instance, it is traditional to add the phase “So your from the West Side?” or “An East Sider, what brings you over here?”. The images of the proud banners of “East Side” or “West Side” are instantly unfurled, with their fabric corners intentionally dangled just close enough to the tip of the nose to make the other person itch, without appearing to be impolite.