For five years running, engaged neighbors on West 47th Street in Ohio City have hosted “Miracle on 47th Street,” an event that builds friendships among residents, attracts visitors from across the city and shares the magic of the season with children.   

Last year, over 300 children had the chance to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, pet Lola the “reindeer” (a greyhound with antlers) and enjoy hot chocolate and gifts by the warm fire.  

Yet it hasn’t always been this festive and friendly on West 47th Street. Fourteen-year resident Marcia Nolan remem-bers a time when prostitutes,drug dealers and criminal activity ran rampant. Most residents didn’t know their neighbors, and they often didn’t bother calling the cops

“There were 11 vacant houses,” recalls Nolan, who had moved from Cleveland Heights to Ohio City to be a part of the city’s renaissance. “One morning, there was a prostitute with a guy in the lot next door. It was nine o’clock on a Sunday – and she swore at me!”

Yet Nolan, a high-energy rabble-rouser who directs the nonprofit organization Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH), wasn’t one to sit back and watch her new neighborhood circle the drain. Instead, she worked with her neighbors to turn the tired street around.

“We kept on coming up with all these crazy ideas for projects,” Nolan says with a laugh. “There was ‘Cookies for Cops’ – we baked humongous trays of cookies and delivered them to the Second District station. We figured if we fed them, they’d be nice to us.”

Police presence on the street began to improve shortly afterwards. Block club members also rolled up their sleeves to beautify the street, launching a ‘Trash to Tulips’ effort (planting bulbs in unsightly tree lawns) and a community garden that continues to thrive.

“I had faith in Ohio City,” Nolan explains her decision to move to the neighborhood and not pull up stakes when the going got tough. “I thought if anyone could do it, they could.”

As a result of these efforts, West 47th slowly but surely began to turn around.
New homeowners began to move in, adding economic diversity and bringing
new ideas and energy to the area.

In 2008, Nolan and two other homeowners, Melissa Sopata and Denise Dobay, came up with the idea behind Miracle on 47th Street. Today, their holiday tradition has become a much-anticipated community event that brings the neighborhood closer together.

As an illustration of the magic of the event, Nolan recalls an exchange last year between a mother and a child that epitomizes why the event is so special. “The kid wanted to feed Lola the ‘reindeer’ chocolate, and his mom said, ‘It’ll make the dog sick.’ The kid replied, ‘No momma – that’s a reindeer!’”

Perhaps more than anything else, Miracle on 47th street has created bonds that last all year long. 

“Everyone’s become good friends, and because they’ve become good friends, they haven’t left,” says Nolan. “Now, when there’s something happening on our street, we call each other because we know everybody here. It has really made a difference.”