This database is a collaborative project of the Shaker Heights Landmark Commission and the Shaker Library, supported by an award from the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board, through funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), National Archives and Records Administration; and by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior`s Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society.

The Shaker Heights Building Card Database is a project of Shaker Heights Centennial 2012. Shaker Heights celebrates 100 years of history in 2012 with public programming, a city-wide mobile history project, and a rich database of historic building cards, allowing citizens and historians to learn more about their homes, neighborhoods, and heritage. View the Shaker Heights content on Cleveland Historical, or visit HistoricShaker to learn more.

Blueprints and Permits
Blueprints of homes built before 1945 were not microfilmed, and the originals were not retained. Microfilmed blueprints for homes built beginning in 1945 are kept in the Local History Collection of the Library. They are available to view and copy by appointment, and a set can be ordered to be printed on large-scale paper. See Blueprints FAQ for more information.

The City of Shaker Heights` Building Department keeps a file folder on each home which contains additional information about permits and work done on the property. The City`s Housing Inspection Department keeps historical files on many Shaker Heights houses, particularly on code violations and repairs.

House History—Transfers and Deeds
Contact the Local History Librarian for names of owners of the property up to 1975, which are in the Plat Map Books in the Local History Collection.

Trace the house’s owners from 1975 to the present on the website of the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer.

View property deeds on the website of the Cuyahoga County Recorder. Select "Search Database" on the left, and enter an owner`s last and first name and an appropriate date range.

Architects
Some information about prominent Shaker Heights architects is located in the Local History Collection at the Shaker Library and in the Shaker Heights Planning Department. The Cleveland Landmarks Commission maintains an online Architects Database. Some Ohio architects are also listed in the American Institute of Architects Historical Directory of American Architects.

Local Contact Information

• Local History Librarian Meghan Hays: 216-367-3016 or mhays@shakerlibrary.org

• Shaker Historical Society: 216-921-1201 or shakerhistory@shakerhistory.org

• Shaker Heights Building Department: 216-491-1460
  City Hall, 3400 Lee Road

• Shaker Heights Planning Department & Landmark Commission: 216-491-1430. City Hall, 3400 Lee Road

• Shaker Heights Housing Inspection:
  216-491-1470. Community Building, 3450 Lee Road