MayDay

Update from 12/27/04:

"Speaking of Clifton, I've heard a few months ago that a tree median was proposed for the street (i.e., make it into a true boulevard, instead of just a very wide, well-kept road). Is this in the works?" Can't say I've heard about that - do you remember where you heard that? I'd love to see it happen - even if it only slows people down to 40-45mph instead of their routine 50+.

Hmm, I like the proposed Orange Line route but I'd love to see it run up Clifton Blvd. rather than Detroit. I know that there's the West 98th/West Blvd. station but quite frankly, it's 1. too far to walk (or in some cases inaccessible) from the areas north like Lake Avenue (especially in bad weather), and 2. the area around it, particularly Detroit Avenue near West Blvd gets a little dicey and once you go east of West Blvd., it gets dicier, imho.

As much as I'm pro-transit, when I read this: "$1, from 80 cents rush-hour, 50 cents weekend and 65 cents at other times." I live one block from a major route and ride the bus to work 4 out of 5 days of the week - $1.50 each way. $1??? One measly dollar? Sorry but it's no wonder the Cincy bus system is having issues.

It's my birthday (May 1st). It also happens to be the nickname of one of the coolest Bond girls ever - played by Grace Jones.

Having been a member of SSP for six years and counting, I have to say that the good far outweighs the bad. In this case, Matt (the forumer from Denver) has been known for a long time to get confrontational, especially when it comes to his hometown. It's like any other forum with several thousand members - you get some amazing and informative threads, and you get the occasional troll. You learn pretty quick who fits either role and go from there. Seriously, a look at the City Photos section of SSP - especially those by ColDayMan, giovanni sasso, theodore, mrherodotus, and countless others - is enough for me to say I'll be on SSP 'till they pry it out of my cold dead hands :-D

Congrats on losing 40 pounds! (I am reading that correctly, aren't I?)

I can confirm that they're restoring the facades of the buildings on the south side of Euclid - they've cleaned the former McCrory Building and the others seem to be awaiting the same fate. Another update of 515 Euclid:

Well there's grit and then there's outright decay and blight. All of the re-investment that's happened in other Ohio cities has largely passed by Youngstown. Another factor that contributed to the decline is crime - in the 1950s-1970s it was the mob, in the 1980s-1990s, crack cocaine. It's gonna take a miracle for Youngstown to recuperate.

Another update - from Saturday, December 18th:

Folks - there's been plenty of progress - see the 'mullions' (aka lighter steel that holds the glass panes)? Those weren't completely done in my last pic. There's also work going on in the interior of the building - but I'm not climbing up on the Shoreway to take a pic of that!

The Warehouse District's southern border is the north side of Superior so Rockefeller, Perry-Payne, etc. are in the district. But you're right that most people think of West 6th/St. Clair/West 9th... Update of Pinnacle from today (12/15/04):

Carew... 14... bah! :-D

If memory serves me right, the lot that sits at the southeast corner of West Sixth and St. Clair recently sold for around $4 million. Mind you, that's with the current zoning/tax laws that make collecting parking fees more profitable than developing the site. I'm not sure on actual statistics for the Pinnacle's height - I know Crittenden Court and the Rockefeller are current tallest but Pinnacle looks to be a contender for the top 3 if nothing else.

I go by it usually once a day during the workweek - the main core is up and they're working on the ramp. It's up to about the 3rd level of parking level concrete but I imagine the weather has slowed progress. The buildings across the street look like they may be restored to their original facades but the weather is probably affecting that as well.

Yep - the only excavation project larger was the Panama Canal (how that compares to nowadays with things like the 3 Rivers Gorge project in China, I dunno). Remember, they had to dig over 200 feet below street level just to build the caissons (big arsed "stilts" to connect the tower to the bedrock). Not only that, the tower and station are on separate structures so the tower isn't affected (as much) by the vibrations of the trains. Or was KJP referencing the re-configuration of the rapid system? Anyways - as much as I love TODs, you couldn't pay me to live at this Brookpark project. The area is just downright dumpy if you ask me. *Edit* What I would like to see is this station do well, and then lead to other TODs which would include residential as part of the mix.

nsc, I'm sorry to say that the North Olmsted project has been revamped to eliminate the above-retail apartments. I can't recall exactly where I read that but I definitely remember they scrapped the apartment component :(

"other's whoring ways" Hey now!!! Well, at least I'm expensive! :-D

Hey now - I was simply making an inclusive, non-abrasive yet flattering observation. Besides if I really like someone, I sure as heck wouldn't do something so awful as DATE them! ;-) I am NOT urbanohio.com's version of miketoronto!!! :-P

"instead of a good picture, I have a cool one (at least I think so)" Errr, I preface this by saying "in the non-threatening and non-harassing way so I don't offend your sensibilities..." but I'd say that's a good picture (actually there are quite a few handsome gents on this board) :-)

Bette Davis said it best - "Whatta dump!" That courthouse (with the atrocious top) is one of the worst I've ever seen - hideous, hideous, hideous! Great pics, though :)

No, the blue glass is more of a royal blue than North Point. It's almost cobalt-ish depending on what time of day. The other glass is very much like North Point (very slight aqua tinge to it).

Updated pics from 11/28/04 - glass and mullions going up:

"All this is so good for the west side suburbs." Sorry it's good for Westlake's tax revenue but otherwise it's just more retail over-saturation with Avon Commons a few miles west, and Great Northern expanding a few miles to the south, and the redevelopment of Beachcliff Market Square in Rocky River, etc., etc. "not to mention its so perfect looking.. cant wait till everything is open" Honestly, most places look perfect after being open barely one month. In twenty years, I say it will be like the Continent in Columbus. Buildings that are in Crocker Park have a 20-30 year life span - buildings in a 'genuine' downtown have been around for 2 to 3 times that span. Amenities like huge chessboards and water features are nice but now they're pretty much everywhere. There's absolutely NO pedestrian integration/storefront access from Crocker Road itself - yet this is supposed to be part of Westlake, not an 'island'? The point is that the ONLY redeeming feature of Crocker Park is introducing retailers who haven't had a presence in Western Cuyahoga County. Otherwise, it's another inward-facing, dry-vit, faux-Main Street development that makes poor use of an enormous swath of land. This is more of the same unsustainable development that's going to further the 'doughnut' effect that's already happened to other cities. I don't disagree that it offers a quality mix of retailers - but I think as you learn more about how the built environment affects us, you might see where Crocker Park could be so much better.

nsc, now that you mention it - you might well be onto something there