St. Croix Avenue was parallel to South Lake Avenue. St. Croix Avenue was changed to South First Avenue East in 1912. This area has evolved over the decades. It was a neighborhood to various ethnic enclaves including Finnish and Jewish communities. It served people in transit in its many boarding houses. In 1885 a group of Jews living in the vicinity of St. Croix Avenue organized an Orthodox congregation. They bought a small house on St. Croix, converted it into a synagogue, and held services there for a few years. The Cleveland school was at St. Croix and Buchanan Street. The area became a red light district followed by removal of housing in the 1940s and 1950s followed by light industrial businesses taking root.