If any word accurately describes the city of Cleveland, it's diversity. Long before it was settled by westwardly mobile British colonists, the region was home to various Native American tribes. "Cuyahoga," if you didn't know, is Indian for crooked river (though some will have you believe it means "cursed sports teams"). By the late 19th century, 10 percent of the city's population was Irish. Next came the Germans, followed in successive waves by Italians, Poles, Hungarians, Slovenians and Slovakians. Later, Cleveland welcomed Asian immigrants by the armful from China, Korea and Vietnam, but also Thailand, Laos and India. Hispanics came in equally large numbers too.

Walk into the West Side Market on a busy morning and you might identify a dozen different tongues – and we don't mean the kinds that come from tasty animals. Diversity is not only what defines a city; it's what makes a city great.