MayDay

You've picked a great weekend - we're supposed to have sunshine and temps in the mid-70s. I've put together two maps for you of Tremont and Ohio City. The first is the overall map. I'm not sure which direction you'll be coming from but note that most importantly - the direct exit from I-71 north to West 14th Street in Tremont is CLOSED. Also - certain interstates only have an exit in certain directions (for example, the West 25th exit from I-90 is only in the eastbound direction). You could take a scenic route and it won't add too much travel time - take I-71 north to the Ontario Street exit downtown. Once on Ontario, be ready to make a LEFT onto Carnegie (you should see the art deco bridge statues). Take that bridge (Lorain-Carnegie) until you reach the West Side Market area. You can't miss the West Side Market tower at West 25th and Lorain. Parking is free in the West Side Market lot, however it is very busy on Saturdays. The area in general will be busy because of the weather and the Open Air at Market Square (across from the market). Street parking is also at a premium. DO NOT park in the strip plaza lot where the EB Games is located. The West Side Market is a must see, http://www.westsidemarket.com and if you like beer, you have to go to the Great Lakes Brewing Company http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com. If you go to Great Lakes Brewing Company, make sure not to park in the Dave's Supermarket lot. This map shows a little more detail. Note that to get from Ohio City to Tremont, you need to follow Abbey Avenue (the green line). This is one spot that's tricky if you're not familiar with it. There's a brief "dogleg" off Lorain onto Gehring (right next to the RTA station) and then to Abbey. Once on Abbey, you'll go over a bridge and under the interstate and you'll be in Tremont. For food in Tremont, I recommend the South Side or Lava Lounge. Civilization is great for coffee. Here are two sites that do a good job covering Tremont and Ohio City, respectively. http://www.restoretremont.com/ http://www.ohiocity.com/ Feel free to ask if you need more information.

I don't disagree that the retailers in question might serve the region better with a centrally located store. However... "But c'mon. Do you really think the average Beachwood shopper has any interest in Ikea merchandise?" Absolutely. They may not do the "floor to ceiling" thing (hopefully they don't) but they don't scoff at inexpensive options to overpriced stores. This is especially true at IKEA when it comes to accessories, kitchen tools, and gardening/outdoor. No - they may never pick up a $500 couch but they sure as hell love to stock up on things that get heavy use and need easy/cheap replacements. They get things like that at IKEA so they can spend the rest of their money on $3000 sectionals and 600-thread count sheets - things that have a little more durability. Believe me - I know quite a few people who could sneeze my annual income and they think IKEA is great. "Take Trader Joe's for instance. Frankly the people who live near Trader Joe's in the suburbs have been unimpressed. They already have Heinen's which carries very similar foods, has an even greater selection, and better service." I don't know the suburbanites you know, but let me tell you that I know plenty who love Trader Joes for the prepared and frozen foods. They can stock up to the gills on the frozen stuff for their kids, or pick up a ready-to-eat meal (for the single types). Trader Joes has a substantially lower price point than Heinens on a lot of items. Better service? If you say so - I love Heinens but I've found the service at Trader Joes to be just as friendly and helpful. The only people I've met who aren't impressed by Trader Joes are people who really have a passion for cooking - they'd just as soon make something themselves than pay for it, and that's not Trader Joes target market anyway. "It is also a similar situation with H&M - which is openning a store in Beachwood now. These retailers have no common sense." Again, you're thinking that the people who shop at Saks and Nordstrom wouldn't set foot in a place like H&M. If that was the case, you wouldn't see a Marc's store anywhere along the I-271 corridor. Speaking of - when I lived in Westlake, the parking lot at Marc's was a mix of average, middle-class vehicles and high-end (BMW, Benz, Jag, etc.). Another perfect example: http://www.loehmanns.com I think the discount retailers have a little more common sense than you might think :-)

You're welcome! The site looks great and has a lot of information - keep up the great work! :clap:

I didn't have time to hand-render a brushed steel pattern. Boy, tough crowd today! :wink: *EDIT* Just to compare - look at some of the stuff that's out there now:

Just out of curiosity, do Columbus papers ever run the full-page IKEA ads that advertise shipping specials, or the seasonal sales like they run in the Cleveland Plain Dealer?

"You're not into that?" No, despite what some people may think, and despite the fact that I've been told I'd be QUITE popular in such a place, that's reallly not my cup of tea, thanks :wink: "No offense, but that Lofts 28 logo needs some work." Cut me some slack, I only whipped it up in a few minutes! :-P

"How about D28 Lofts or D28 Condominiums?" How very... cellblockish :| How about Lofts28?

There are a million different opinions about cameras, but I'll try to help. Things to consider: 1. Power source. Some cameras use a proprietary battery, others use standard batteries such as AA. I prefer the standard batteries because if I'm out somewhere and my batteries run low, I can use store-bought batteries in a pinch. If you do buy a camera that uses standard batteries you'll want to purchase an Energizer recharger along with two sets of rechargeables. Trust me - do this because most cameras burn through batteries fast. 2. Optical zoom. Although a high optical zoom is great for up close/detail shots, they have their drawbacks (blurs, etc.). 3. Portability. Is it important to you to be able to carry your camera in your pocket, or do you not mind carrying a camera bag. 4. Budget. What are you looking to spend? I've heard generally good things about Canon cameras. I use a Minolta Z6, but Minolta no longer produces cameras. Once you've narrowed your choices down to a handful, go to http://dpreview.com - it's an exhaustive site with tons of info about cameras.

For what it's worth, I created an attempt at an all-inclusive Cleveland construction thread on the forum at skyscraperpage.com. It's by no means complete and my apologies to those whose images are there but I thought it would be good for a global audience (almost 10K members) to see that things are happening in Cleveland. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=97396 I know, a lot of people might groan at the thought of viewing/joining another forum, but urbanohio.com basically grew as an offshoot of the skyscraperpage.com forum. The format is very similar - it's just that you have about ten times as many potential viewers (and they're spread across the globe).

An elevated view from the same day. I'm looking forward to seeing this get finished :-)

I was happy to see that some definite progress has been made on the McCrory Building on Euclid - they're rehabbing the facade and the results are finally evident:

I know it's not anyone's favorite project underway, but an update from this weekend (also, they're putting the "round-about" in at West 14th):

*Ahem* - in my book, if it's south of I-480, it's south of the Mason-Dixon line, geography books and wikipedia be damned! :-D

"hip hop doesn't evolve. its a pattern of new artists that soon die." Don't be silly - they don't die, they just take each other out :shoot: Just KIDDING!!! :-D

Broadview Heights isn't Cleveland - it's south of the "Mason-Dixon Line" (I-480). I feel bad for the lady, those are pretty severe injuries. But when sprawlburbia consists of tearing down Bambi's "house", Bambi is gonna get really p!ssed.

"As a person of color, I like that Frank has filled this position (formerly held by a person of color) with another person of color." As a voting and taxpaying resident of the city of Cleveland, I like that Frank has filled this position with someone who (hopefully) is the best person for the job. I don't give a rat's patooty if the man is tie-dyed, paisley, or chartreuse, as long as he's the best person for the job and will give me (the taxpayer) a good ROI.

"What a mess. When is someone actually going to do something with this place??" When the slacker (yes, I know she made millions in Yahoo stock, that's beside the point) absentee landlord stops trying to unload the property to shady jack@sses who offer up harebrained schemes.

^That very question is probably why they've closed indefinitely. They're located under Vivo on Euclid. Great space, great atmosphere but it's not well-marked. When a place is that hard to find, it's gonna be hard to get people in the door.

"The same can be said of East 4th Street." As someone who remembers the former Wig Walk *ahem* East Fourth Street before it was rehabbed, sorry - it was hideous back then. Hideous with a capital F. Urban? Yeah... wig stores are definitely going to attract urbanites with disposable income. "just take a look at what has happened to Coventry. It's a shell of it's former self urbanistically." That's because the people who made Coventry what it was have since moved on, for things like... employment.

The thing about Market Square is that you aren't talking about two major through streets like Ontario and Superior. A comparable scenario in Pittsburgh would be placing Market Square in the center of a hypothetical Liberty Ave. and Grant Ave. intersection. I can assure you it wouldn't be quite so sweet if that were the case.

Ask Youngstown about the success they had with closing off Federal Street to create "Federal Plaza". The thriving streetlife (two people) are forumers, btw. It was extremely pedestrian friendly and we were able to walk about with lots of ease. It should be noted that Youngstown has since reopened Federal Street to vehicular traffic. I would absolutely support calming the traffic in/near Public Square with lane reductions, etc. I'm not sure an all-out ban on vehicles would be a good thing.

Folks, that's the Wolstein Group's logo - I have a photo of that sign somewhere (just not readily accessible at the moment).

^I'll check my lottery ticket - honestly, as I drove (well, my S.O drove) through Duck Island today, I looked around at the stretch between Columbus and the Abbey bridge and channeled Bette Davis - "whadda dump!".

MGD - the orange building is the new construction. Linda's Superette is just north of that, and Bounce/Union Station is to the left. CMHA offices are to the south of the new construction in the rendering.

Some people have children, some have pets, I have my camera - so it's basically surgically attached.