Dining at Merwin's Wharf is currently limited to igloo reservations only, as the dining room is currently closed. More information can be provided by calling the restaurant at (216)-664-5696 during business hours, or by sending an email to kdj1@clevelandmetroparks.com.
Igloos are available for booking during business hours or online. Igloos can accommodate up to 8 guests. A rental fee of $25 is due at time of booking and reserves the igloo for two hours. Food & Beverage can be pre-ordered at time of reservation and is encouraged, however onsite ordering is available as well. The food and beverage menu for the igloos can be found here.
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, Merwin’s Wharf has several safety measures for guests including an optional contactless ordering and menu, outdoor socially distant tables and designated carryout parking. Guests are required to wear facial coverings during their visit except when seated at Merwin’s Wharf. Facial coverings are not required for children under 6 years of age, or any individual who cannot wear a face covering because of a medical condition, mental health condition or developmental disability, or who is unable to remove the face covering without assistance, and any individual who should not wear face coverings under the CDC guidance.
History
Noble H. Merwin arrived in Cleveland around 1812. Like most of his neighbors, he was a New Englander, born in Milford, Connecticut in 1782. He made the long trek to Cleveland with his young family and became one of the first merchants and wholesale dealers in the primitive town.
When the early residents of Cleveland looked at what was then called “the Ox-Bow” they saw opportunities. The natural beauty of this flat area created by the looping river was lost on a generation determined to create commerce and trade out of the “swamp, mire and bulrushes” and “unproductive wasteland.”
Noble Merwin first purchased a log tavern at the intersection of Superior and Vinyard. He then turned his attention to the flat meadows lying within the ox-bow of the river, buying property along the northwest side of the peninsula. He had hopes of providing supplies for the Army, American Fur Company and perhaps, even the American Indians living along the shores of the Great Lakes.
He built a packing and slaughterhouse for droves of cattle and hogs that were brought to the city, as well as a warehouse at the east end of the street that bears his name. He constructed small lake vessels, including the schooner Minerva, the first vessel registered at Washington from Cuyahoga County.
Merwin did all this before the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal that would make his land investments so profitable. According to some memoirs, Noble Merwin was part of the Cleveland delegation that headed down to Akron to meet the officials traveling along the newly opened Ohio and Erie Canal and escorted them to Cleveland for the opening ceremonies in 1827.
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