Ernest J. Bohn (1901-15 December 1975) was an American politician. He was a leading figure in public housing from the 1930s until his death. He spent the majority of his life promoting the creation of public housing in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, particularly in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, and his work created standards copied across the nation. Thanks to his efforts, Cleveland became a leader in public housing, creating the first public housing authority, Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority, and creating some of the largest public housing developments in the nation.

Biography

Ernest J. Bohn was born in 1901, in Sannicolaul-Mare, Romania to parents Frank J. and Juliana Bohn. At the age of 10 he immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio with his father. In 1924 he graduated from

Adelbert College Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

and in 1926 he graduated from Case Western Reserve Law School. A confirmed Republican, Bohn soon became interested in politics and was elected for the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

in 1929, then became a city council representative for the

Hough Hough may refer to: * Hamstringing, or severing the Achilles tendon of an animal * the leg or shin of an animal (in the Scots language), from which the dish potted hough is made * Hough (surname) Communities United Kingdom * Hough, Alderley ...

area until 1940. His work in the city council drew Bohn's attention to the problems of

The Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and the

slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...

expanding in Cleveland and other cities across the United States. He was outraged by the state of housing in Hough and other slums, where multiple families crammed into single-family dwellings, sleeping in kitchens and living rooms. Bohn's conviction to public housing was largely inspired by his

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

background. He believed in providing charity to the poor, and also believed that changing the environment would change residents' temperaments. Public housing was not only a philanthropy, but also a means to eliminate delinquency, immorality and crime. But the majority perceived public housing as a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

approach to a problem better left alone, and Bohn had a hard time getting politicians and landlords to hear his views. Bohn drew attention to his cause by launching the study, "The Analysis of a Slum Area in Cleveland" by

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

Robert Nevin. The slums of Cleveland's E. 21st street to 55th-Central-Woodland area were the focus of the study, which discovered that the cost of subsidizing residents in the slums cost the city 51 dollars per resident each year. This study was replicated across the nation with similar results and changed how America thought about public housing. In 1933, Bohn authorized the nation's first public housing authority, the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority (or CMHA, now known as the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority). The CMHA authorized the first public housing developments built in Cleveland: Cedar Apartments,

Outhwaite Homes Outhwaite Homes is a public development under jurisdiction of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority in Cleveland, Ohio. Built in 1935 by architects Edward J. Maier, Travis G. Walsh, and Leo J. Barrett and possibly named after Joseph H. Out ...

, and Lakeview Terrace, which set new advancements in public housing standards. When Bohn was unhappy with the limited resources provided by the government, he worked to change the laws to allow more the CMHA more freedom and responsibility. Thanks to the efforts of Ernest Bohn, Cleveland became the national leader in public housing, pushing for increased development and innovating existing practices. For example, most cities' public housing developments consisted of high-rise apartments that crammed people together. Bohn insisted that Cleveland housing projects were composed of low row-houses that were better suited for families. He did more than build cheap housing, he aspired to create communities. After World War II, Bohn switched his focus to creating public housing for the elderly. Some of the older public housing units began to deteriorate, and Bohn began receiving criticism for avoiding his obligation to the poor. Projects near the Central and Hough area were accused of destroying more housing than it created, leaving many families with no place to live When Carl B. Stokes (himself a former resident of Outhwaite Homes) was elected mayor in 1968, he forced Ernest Bohn into retirement and decided to reform the public housing system. Bohn taught classes on public housing at Case Western Reserve University until he died in 1975, never having married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohn, Ernest J. 1901 births 1975 deaths Case Western Reserve University alumni Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Romanian emigrants to the United States 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly