Incorporated in 1814, the village of Cleaveland was originally established as the capital city of Connecticut's Western Reserve (a parcel of land that would eventually become northeastern Ohio). Named for the leader of the Connecticut Land Company surveyors, Moses Cleaveland, the city's name was shortened in 1830 when its first newspaper, The Cleveland Advertiser, dropped the "a" from Cleaveland to fit the masthead. The completion of the Ohio and Erie Canals in 1832 led to rapid growth, and Cleveland was reincorporated as a city in 1836.

Much of Cleveland was designed in the early 1900s, during the City Beautiful movement (an urban beautification campaign prevalent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries). The major governmental and civic buildings were built in a neoclassical style around a meticulously designed public park known as the Cleveland Mall. Public Square, the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, was lit with arc lamps in 1879, making it one of the first streets in the nation to have electrical lighting. Cleveland's three tallest buildings face the square, including the landmark Terminal Tower.