Cleveland carries with it a bit of a negative connotation that’s somewhat rooted in the local culture. While we may no longer be The Mistake On The Lake, there certainly is a reason certain locals refuse to let that reputation die. And what is that reason? Well, to be quite frank, the blame lies in the 1970s. Though the decade brought much-needed environmental change, it also brought a save of crime that shook Cleveland to the core. If you have never heard the tales of the Cleveland, Ohio bombings, then you will probably be surprised to learn that our city once had a very different nickname: Bomb City U.S.A.
Meet Mr. Daniel John Patrick Greene, otherwise known as Danny Greene. He’s one of Cleveland’s most infamous gangsters of yore.
Greene was born in Cleveland and he spent a chunk of his life in the Collinwood neighborhood after a brief stint in a local orphanage. As a youth, he was expelled from both St. Ignatius High School and Collinwood High School.
He had a strong desire to remain physically fit, and his physical prowess and ability to fight caught the attention of local crime families.
During his dealings, Greene both directed others to plant bombs and was the intended target of bombings. He once purportedly showed up at the Hells Angels’ Collinwood headquarters with a stick of dynamite! Following his assembly of a group of Irish-American gangsters called The Celtic Club, a hitman was hired to take his life. Subsequently, Green found an unexploded bomb in his car.
In the year before Greene died (via bombing, of course), 36 bombs went off in Cleveland.
When Greene finally succumbed to the deadly power of a bomb, it spelled the end of the Cleveland Mafia. The events of his death eventually led to the capture of mob boss Angelo Lonardo and the Mafia Commission Trial, which placed a spotlight on crime families from all over the U.S.
This disturbing era may be a forlorn memory, but one of its events left a mark that can still be seen to this day.
Ever wondered why Cleveland’s Rodin-supervised cast of 'The Thinker' is, well... different? Around 1 a.m. on March 24, 1970, a bomb detonated beneath it, destroying its legs and base. Though the statue was knocked to the ground, nobody was injured. The bombing was blamed on politically frustrated radicals, though nobody was ever charged for the destructive statement.
And if you're wondering when the Bomb City, U.S.A. moniker came into play... well, that was 1976.
In this year - the aforementioned year before Greene's death - Cleveland was the most bombed city in the nation. Locals placed the blame on Danny Greene’s Celtic Club, for the most part, although it is most definitely possible that copycats followed their lead.
The era's destruction cost locals tens of thousands of dollars...
Remember the Roxy Theater? It was razed many years ago following its closure in 1977, but it was once the subject of local attention. Its lobby was bombed in 1972, purportedly causing $25,000 in damage.
Fortunately, the city has recovered from the bomb boom of the 1970s.
Today, this era is covered in literature and on the big screen, but it's also a memory that longtime Clevelanders will never forget... and one that continues to surprise newcomers in this modern age.
Cleveland's storied past is... well, diverse and disturbing at times, but it is also truly fascinating. Do you remember the Cleveland, Ohio bombings of the 1970s?
If you crave a more picturesque approach to local history, you should check out these iconic places from old Cleveland.
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