Diamond Lake Park, also known as Diamond Lake Picnic Grounds, was a popular park, lake, beach area located about 15 miles east of Cleveland along Mayfield Road (Route 322) just west of Chesterland. It is known to have operated in the 1950s and early 1960s. Owned by Diamond Cratsas, from whom its name was derived, Diamond Lake was located a convenient distance outside of the city, as it was advertised as being only a forty-minute drive from Cleveland. Diamond Lake was equipped to host outdoor events involving hundreds of attendees, as there was ample parking space and reportedly hundreds of picnic tables available for use. Some of the attractions and amenities the park provided included boating, swimming, fishing, beach space, and a playground for children to use. The park was especially popular with Lithuanian and other Eastern European civic groups, but African American social organizations are known to have used the park in the late 1950s.
Resources
- “At the Courthouse.” The Record [Chardon, OH]. November 6, 1958. Chronicling America. Library of Congress.
- Diamond Lake Picnic Grounds advertisement. Dirva [Cleveland, OH]. May 25, 1950.
- “Kings and Queens in Diamond Lake Picnic.” Call & Post. August 30, 1958.