St.Theodosius Orthodox Christian Cathedral in Cleveland

 St. Theodosius Cathedral is the oldest Orthodox Christian Church in the State of Ohio. 

It is located in the historic Tremont area of the City of Cleveland. The historic cathedral was constructed between 1911-1912 and is considered one of the finest examples of Russian church architecture in the United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States.

 The parish of St. Theodosius Orthodox Christian Cathedral was organized by immigrant Russians living in Tremont in 1896. St. Theodosius Cathedral was the "Mother Church" for most of the Orthodox Christian churches in northeast Ohio today. 

The cathedral is perhaps best known for its appearance in the 1978 Best Picture winning film, The Deer Hunter with Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep. 

 Ken Kovach has been Choir Master at St Theodosius for 50 years.  He gives us a tour of the inside of the Cathedral and shares some thoughts on the Eastern Orthodox Church. 

See more of the Cleveland Russian community 

A Christmas Story house in Cleveland

The movie A Christmas Story is a holiday classic. It seemingly airs around the clock for weeks during the Christmas season and an annual Christmas Eve marathon showing attracts tens of millions of viewers. Many parts of the film are now iconic: the leg lamp, the tongue sticking to the flagpole, the bunny suit, the official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle and so on.

A Christmas Story house sign

Much of the movie was filmed in Cleveland - at the Higbee's department store and at what has become A Christmas Story House in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland.

A Christmas Story house in Cleveland

The A Christmas Story House has been restored to the movie condition and has become a popular tourist destination year round, not just during the holidays.

Visitors can even book overnight stays in the house to relive their favorite parts of the movie. It is located at 3159 W. 11th St., Cleveland, OH 44109 in the Tremont neighborhood. Just five minutes from downtown Cleveland.


Right across the street is A Christmas Story Museum, which features original props, costumes and memorabilia from the film, as well as hundreds of rare behind-the-scenes photos. Among the props and costumes are the toys from the Higbee's window, Randy's snowsuit, the chalkboard from Miss Shields' classroom and the family car.

1939 Ford Fire Truck at A Christmas Story Museum

The Christmas Story House is open year round, 7 days a week from 10am to 5pm with extended hours during Christmas time. Tours run every hour starting at 10:15 am. There are two free parking lots and free street parking.


Next to Ralphie's house is the Bumpus House which was the home to Ralphie's hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpuses, and their 785 smelly hound dogs. The Bumpus Hounds are famous for harassing Ralphie's Old Man and stealing the Christmas turkey. Visitors can book a night in the Bumpus House too.

Ralphie in bunny suit at Bumpus House

More from A Christmas Story house in Cleveland

Tracing Your Family's Path from a Displaced Persons Camp

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., has created a searchable database of information on the Displaced Persons Camps and the people who passed through them. Earlier this year, the Holocaust Museum partnered with the Ukrainian Museum-Archives in Cleveland to digitize the UMA's extensive collection of DP Camp periodicals produced by Ukrainian refugees from 1945-51. Working with Kyiv-based Archival Data Systems, researchers have scanned more than 75,000 documents archived at the Tremont museum, creating a resource that scholars and others will now be able to access.

Officials from the Holocaust Museum unveiled the new resource and its search tools at a special presentation in Cleveland, a city that resettled thousands of displaced persons. "Solving the Mystery: Tracing Your Family's Path from a Displaced Persons Camp," was presented at the Slovenian National Home, 6409 St. Clair Avenue.

Photos and videos from the Displaced Persons Camp event

Andy Fedynsky, Ina Navazelskis and Diane Afoumado