— For Home Use Only —

For centuries, the Cuyahoga River has been on the frontier. When the United States was a new nation, the river literally marked the western frontier. But "civilization" came to the river; by 1870 the river was on the industrial frontier. On the river's banks sprouted a multitude of factories, a booming display of what was called progress. The river, as it flowed through Cleveland, became a foul-smelling channel of sludge, with an oily surface that ignited with such regularity that river fires were treated as commonplace events by the local press.

But then, in 1969, the river burned again, just as a third kind of frontier swept across the nation: an environmental frontier. And the Cuyahoga River became a landmark on this frontier too -- a poster child for those trying to undo the destruction wrought by progress in America.

The Return of the Cuyahoga is a one-hour documentary about the death and rebirth of one of America's most emblematic waterways. In its history we see the end of the American frontier, the growth of industry, the scourge of pollution and the advent of a political movement that sought to end pollution.

Presented by Bullfrog Films
Directed by Lawrence R. Hott and Diane Garey
Writer: Ken Chowder
Executive Producer: Len Materman
Co-Executive Producer: Ted Esborn
For WVIZ ideastream®: Kit Jensen and Mark Smukler
A co-production of Florentine Films/Hott Productions, Inc., America's River Communities, Inc. and WVIZ/PBS ideastream®

Educational Use at www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/roc.html