MayDay

Geez, you people are picky! :wink: I'll fix the title shortly. For now, here are some renderings (yes, I was at Pride as well - sorry the pics are distorted but I had to shove two queens out of the way):

I went to check out the condos in the Water Street building, and lo and behold was a big-arse rendering for Flats East Bank:

70s adidas zip-ups are great. 70s adidas tube socks? Not so much. :lol: Here is a photo from a recent booze cruise:

"When other groups have large gatherings or festivals they should be able to fly their flags too." They can and they have and they do.

"But back at the bus stop, some said they wished the flag "wasn't there." Although this is a bit of a generalization, the residents of the city of Cleveland should be damned grateful for the gay community. I'd love to see how well Ohio City, Tremont, Edgewater, the Warehouse District, etc. would be without the millions invested over the years by the gay community in commercial and residential structures. I'd really love to see Cleveland's tax base without the contribution of the gay community. "On the week of gay pride events in Cleveland, the flag just may symbolize a growing political acceptance of the alternative lifestyle. Considering how many gays work for Channel 3, it's shameful that this phrase was allowed to be used. Alternative to WHAT?

Hmm, Trattoria was alright but neither the food nor the atmosphere really wowed me. There are better places in Little Italy but they might be hard to get into. Btw, there is a restaurant in the Stonebridge complex called Ponte Vecchio - I've heard some absolutely awful stories about the service so I'd recommend against them. The ONLY redeeming thing about the place is the view.

Not a dumb question at all - but no, there are no places to eat in any of the towers. There used to be back in the day, but not anymore. I can vouch for Vulpster's suggestion of the Metropolitan Cafe. If you can snag a table by the window or on the patio, (be sure to ask when you make reservations) you'll have a great view of downtown. Make SURE you ask for the West 6th side, not St. Clair. http://www.hydeparkrestaurants.com/metro/index.htm It's a nice looking spot but the prices aren't too outrageous. Pier W in Lakewood probably has the best view, however it gets a little pricey. I've also heard of some service issues there.

Best Coffee Shop - Civilization (Tremont) Best Restaurant (food) - Waaay too many options, but I'll ditto Minh Anh (Detroit-Shoreway) Best Restaurant (atmosphere) - Flying Fig Best Diner - Diner on Clifton (Edgewater) Best Bar - South Side (Tremont) - they have Great Lakes on tap, btw Best Shop - Flower Child (Edgewater) - a little pricey though Best Neighborhood - Edgewater Best Bus or Rapid Line - The Red Line, if only for the graffiti Best Summer Event - Cleveland Orchestra @ Public Square Best Abandoned Building - not sure if it's completely abandoned, but the Westinghouse warehouse near West 58th.

^True, not the easiest of tasks but that's when I invoke the power of "my people". If we can't make a good dinner recommendation, we lose our membership card ;) jar3232, one good thing about ethnic restaurants is that they often have plenty of vegetarian options. Here are a few suggestions for ethnic spots that still have some decent (albeit quirky) ambiance - not all are in Cleveland proper. #1 Pho in Chinatown (Vietnamese) - closest to downtown Cafe Tandoor in Westlake (Indian) Lemon Grass in Cleveland Heights (Thai) Anatolia Cafe in South Euclid (Turkish) Any of the above are just under the radar so you should be able to get reservations. Let me know if any of those sound potentially appealing. "EDIT: I know poor planning on my part..." Do NOT beat yourself up - the fact that you're asking relative strangers for help (granted we happen to be knowledgeable) says a lot :-)

Just a word of advice in the "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" sense - if you know a special occasion is coming up, make reservations 2 to 3 weeks in advance. Fortunately, Cleveland's a smaller market and making plans 'the week of' isn't always an impossible thing. Fahrenheit in Tremont Flying Fig in Ohio City Baricelli Inn in Little Italy Johnny's Downtown Pier W in Lakewood Let me know if you'd like info about any of the above. I have to ask - do you know if she prefers certain food?

Wow. Just - wow.

Yep, looks like she's topped off. Two pics from today: From the eastern end of the Detroit-Superior Bridge: From the Shoreway:

Oh, WE know...

Another downtown gym is Fitworks - it depends on what all you want. I'm not a spa/pool/sauna user nor do I need a track, so the downtown Fitworks suits my needs. http://www.fitworks.com/locations.asp One word of advice - do NOT hesitate to go to one place and when they ask you to sign up, tell them "______ was willing to sign us up for $10 less a month - can you beat that?". Negotiate them down and don't be afraid to walk.

"Courageous???" Yes. The area in question has seen a spike in crime over the past few years, especially near Storer Avenue. I don't understand the shock and surprise whenever someone dares to suggest that an area might be potentially dangerous.

If it's just you and the fiance on the tour (sans grandmother), I can recommend the following: For late dinner/drinks in downtown, go to Tonic http://www.tonicpittsburgh.com/. More restaurant than bar, but they have some funky martinis, great appetizers, etc. Try to grab a table by the window. For a cultural whirlwind, check out the Carnegie Institute, adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh. http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/carnegie/index.htm The art museum and museum of natural history are must sees. If your fiance likes jewelry, make sure you see the gemological exhibit. http://www.carnegiemnh.org/exhibits/hillman.htm Here is an overhead of the complex: For art/culture/funkiness, you have to see the Andy Warhol Museum, which is north of the downtown "Golden Triangle" (across the river). http://www.warhol.org/ For a fantastic view or two, go to the Cathedral of Learning (catty-corner to Carnegie Institute). It's the 535-foot gothic skyscraper, so you can't miss it. Go into the lobby, find the elevators and go up as high as you can: The lobby: The view: Finally, the Mt. Washington overlook is an amazing view of the city. Not sure of exact directions to get there, but maybe one of the Pittsburgh residents can help: One word of caution - in my experience, Pittsburgh is NOT the easiest city to navigate. The combo of poor signage and the topography makes it difficult to get a fix on a map. You'll want to go online and print out a few maps just to familiarize yourself with the area.

"Stop watching American Idol, OK folks? And switch over to freakin' the Discovery Channel" Sorry, I'm devoted to America's Next Top Model (FAR more redeeming than American Idol, imho) but even I know what a turbine is (and does), and how a windmill functions, thankyouverymuch.

"There was no intent to turn our inspectors, through this ordinance, into the fashion police," Conway said." Why do they say "fashion police" like it's a bad thing? "It would be nice if we could legislate good taste," he said. "But the problem is: Who decides what's good taste?" I'd be happy to volunteer! :-D

Oh, I'm sure you're completely alone there :wink:

"My nephew and I love that music!" No offense but do you and he suffer from some sort of disorder? Maybe I-love-minimalist-casio-keyboard-crap-itis? Whatever the web designer was drinking or smoking when they decided "yeah! this music's PERFECT!", I want some! :drunk:

KJP, you're absolutely correct. However, please refrain from beating me (as a representative of "my people") to the punch when it comes to retail-speak. ;-) But yes, KJP is correct - Cleveland does indeed have some quality retail but we have a ways to go before we can even say comfortably that we qualify as a secondary market for high-end retailers. Some of it has to do with the fact that population-wise, we aren't large enough (Detroit metro is significantly larger - check the tenant list at Somerset Collection in Troy), some of it has to do with other cities in the region, some of it has to do with socioeconomics - there's no exact science but those are just some of the factors. Fyi, Gucci, Barneys, Fendi, Calvin Klein and a few other high-end labels were at one time in Tower City - but we all know too well what happened there :|

Although Soho originally became known as an artists' haven, most of the artists were priced out of the area a while ago. A lot of the art galleries have given way to stores like Banana Republic, J. Crew, Pottery Barn, etc. Sure the galleries are there but they no longer represent the creative/artsy types who gave Soho its cache. The lifestyle of Soho as you knew it is now to be found in the Meatpacking District (and Brooklyn for the more up-and-coming types). Soho and Tribeca are now derided by the "creative" types as being yuppiefied. The typical built environment of Soho consists of 4-8 story historic warehouse buildings (usually with cast-iron facades). Here's a pic of a very typical but beautiful building in Soho: That said - I personally like the Trump proposal, and his approach in the video on the web site is targeting the demographic that likes the perceived edginess of living in Soho, enjoys trip-hop/downtempo, etc., but have the financial wherewithall to buy into such an upscale property. Is it out of context with 4-8 story warehouse buildings? Absolutely - but as someone on the skyscraperpage.com forum said - "if people don't like a tower being built in Manhattan, they have an entire continent ready to be filled with their mediocre low-rise hovels" :-D

"Not to sound like a smart donkey, but the CHEAPEST townhouse here is 242K. How many of you/people can afford that? Kind of takes the middle class out of the picture real quick. Is there really the average income here to justify this? At a generous 6.75 interest (which is about to jump again) that takes the monthly payment to 1,573 a month. This does not take into consideration condo/townhouse fees, which I am sure there are. That is A LOT of money." Keep in mind that in addition to a 15-year 100% tax abatement, there are a lot of incentives (e.g. below-market interest rates, first-time homebuyer loans) offered by banks as part of CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) programs. That helps take the sting out of the overall cost. You also have to consider that while a $1,500 monthly house payment seems like a lot (which it certainly is to me) for the Cleveland market - it's not that huge on a national scale, especially for property in the heart of a major urban center. I think there's a bit of a learning curve for lifelong northeast Ohioans - 1. we've had it cheap for a lonnng time, and 2. the space we occupy tends to get smaller as an area urbanizes. Sure, you can get a lovely beautiful 1,500 sq. ft. home in Westpark for the same price as an 800 sq. ft. condo at Stonebridge but like everything, there's a tradeoff.

"Now thats a cool pic! Is stone bridge 5 topped out yet, or are there a couple more stories to go?" I could be wrong, but I believe that for all intents and purposes, it's topped out - but ONLY on the northern side. This edited version of the rendering shows the approximate progress (at least from what I can tell). As you can see, they're up to the top, but the wavy sections aren't there yet:

From Tuesday (aka 666 day):