MayDay

This is good news and will hopefully entice more airlines (especially the low-fare guys like JetBlue) to CLE. Speaking of, I'm liking the looks of Independence Air - lots of direct flights to D.C. (Dulles) for $59 each way and relatively cheap prices to other East Coast destinations :clap:

"...homosexuality and other forms of immorality something positive, demonstrating that Buckeyes share traditiional notions of sexuality and family..." Here's an idea - wear a sandwich board proclaiming that and spend a weekend at the corner of West 117th and Clifton in Cleveland, or on High Street in Columbus. I'm sure the local 'Buckeyes' would share something with you, that's for sure.

"Why would hostility to gay rights make Ohio backward?" Hostility to gay rights is backwards and bigoted because that suggests: That I don't deserve to be able to see my long-term partner in the hospital without shelling out the money to procure a durable power-of-attorney. Married spouses do not need to do this. That I don't deserve for my partner's will to be carried out without taking extra steps and intervention to prevent estranged family members from challenging said will. Married spouses do not have to be as concerned when it comes to estate settlement. That I don't deserve the same bereavement leave a widowed heterosexual would receive, should my partner die. That I don't deserve any legal recourse if I am fired from my job simply because I am gay. It doesn't matter if I am a professional and productive employee - if I'm gay, that's all that my employer should need. Never mind that my co-workers can proudly display photos of their significant others, or openly discuss their weekend plans, etc. That my partner and I don't deserve the same opportunity to rent an apartment as a married couple. That I don't deserve the 1,049 rights guaranteed by federal law to married couples including survivorship, inheritance rights, taxes on estates, etc. Get the point? There's a reason that hundreds of Fortune 500 companies offer same-sex partner benefits and include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies. They aren't theocracies, all they want are the best people being productive for them and contributing to the bottom line and adding shareholder value - in that sense, why would a state want any different from its own citizens?

"In Kentuky, for example, faith-based adversion to alchohol has resulted quite a few dry countys, or countys in various degrees of dryness..where liquor by the drink may be prohibited but pacakage sales are OK in certain towns and precincts in dry countys." Now why on earth would people ever think that certain areas of Kentucky are backwards bastions of puritannical buffoons? "its a faith-based opposition to something alot of folk feel is just not right from a moral standpoint, as well as maybe a scientific or sociological standpoint." And I reiterate - the last time I checked, there are plenty of poor people in Ohio; there are plenty of hungry people in Ohio; there are plenty of homeless people in Ohio; there are people in Ohio who can't put food on the table for their families... yet 'faith-based' groups find gay marriage so appalling and so potentially damaging to civilization that they divert time and resources away from the aforementioned causes? :stupid:

"Gay marriage will destroy the traditional family that God created from the beginning of time." Someone needs to explain to Ms. Gilbert that heterosexuals have already done a fine job of destroying the "traditional family". Over a 50% divorce rate and not a single one of those divorces involved a gay couple.

Although it doesn't involve new construction per se, I thought I'd add my pics of some projects around the 'lower Euclid' (aka Euclid Avenue between Cleveland State University and Public Square). The restoration/re-use of the WT Grant building into loft apartments (before and after shots - the House of Blues building is next to the Grant Building on the far left of the photo): And the reconstruction of East 4th - they're using granite curbs and if my sources are correct - they'll be adding brick pavers and outdoor/patio dining. The shorter 2-story building on the right will serve as the East 4th entrance to the House of Blues:

rob and zaceman those are great shots of the Swing Bridge! I love the noise it makes as you drive on it - sort of 'announces' that you're entering/leaving the West Bank! And it looks like I forgot to post a pic - the big guys from Lakeside:

From crainscleveland.com: Exploring space By JAY MILLER ... The CDIA is the privately funded group that is leading the effort to make sure the federal Defense Finance and Accounting Service in downtown Cleveland survives next year’s round of Defense Department downsizing. Mr. Nance told the county commissioners that his group seeks office space for the DFAS operation — as much as 800,000 square feet — to make Cleveland a more appealing location. ... http://www.crainscleveland.com/ ................... This could be a wonderful thing for downtown - 800K sq. ft. is slightly more floorspace than is in the Federal Courthouse Tower. I highly doubt we'd see any kind of new construction but anything to get the vacancy rate down would be great. Here's a link showing the proposed sites in question - I'd love to see them get the former Ameritrust complex involved: http://www.cleveland.com/news/agate.ssf?/news/county_plan.html

^Bad for the retail sector as far as layoffs? Yes. However, such a merger would eliminate a lot of redundant branch locations and save a lot as far as overhead. monte, while Provident is a larger regional bank - a merger between Key and National City would be much more significant (Provident is/was around the 57th largest by assets, Key and National City are around the 16th and 11th largest, respectively). And while they do compete in some of the same markets, a merger would create a stronger retail footprint for both. Key has operations in 12 states - Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Vermont, Maine, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. National City operates in 6 - Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. A merger would give National City presence in the West and northeast, and give Key more saturation in the Midwest.

Key has been acquiring much smaller banks than National City - we're talking banks with around a dozen branches at most. I could only imagine if Key and NatCity merged - the clash of egos would be unimaginable! :lol:

Okay, so I patched this thread together from a couple of days - details! The weather has been on/off so here's what I've seen on my jaunts around downtown: Strolled over to the AT Tower garage at East 9th and Prospect - it ain't a pretty structure but it has some great (or not so great if you look at AT Tower itself) views! Back down to street level, this used to be a neglected patch of sidewalk and patchy grass - it's being turned into a small park (aka Medical Mutual Plaza) - a nice touch for the area residents - bit of trivia - Chef Hector Boiardi (Boy-Ar-Dee) got his start in the building in the upper right: Making my way back on Prospect, there's the Pointe building with the Winking Lizard Tavern on the first floor and the Cleveland Urban Design Center on the second floor (an architecture/urban planning collaborative of northeast Ohio's four major state universities): The building behind the Pointe was once apartments - it's now being offered as for-sale condos and there happened to be an open house (one bedrooms start at $80K): Sample views from models: Do my eyes deceive me? Nope - it's the first new construction on Euclid Avenue between Playhouse Square and Public Square since I can remember (okay so it's just a parking deck but hey, it's above street level now!): A quick run down East 6th - catching a glimpse of the Leader Building: Further north over to West 6th at Lakeside: And finally down to the Flats: In case you didn't know why it's called the Swing Bridge: Hope you enjoyed :)

@ monte - here's a pic of Public Square from a few years ago - this was taken from the top of Key Tower by Paul_In_Cleveland, a forumer from SSP, who took this photo laying down and hanging his camera over the edge of the tower - some 800 feet above street level (a much braver man than I!) It hasn't changed that much - the Soldiers and Sailors quadrant (upper left) has looked pretty much like that since 1894. Off to the left you can see the atrium of the BP Tower. The quadrant in the upper right is where the Terminal Tower is located. The quadrant in the lower left is pretty similar to the historic photos as is the quadrant in the lower right. Another view, closer to ground level from the 10th floor of the Society for Savings building: @unusualfire - like Idora Park and other historic 'inner-city' amusement parks, Euclid Beach was affected by suburban sprawl and neglect - however I've heard that some of the rides are in storage and may be put to use as part of Cleveland's lakefront plan - who knows if that will happen.

"oh i know! its actually still there today if im not mistaken. right next to Erieview plaza/tower" Nope - you might be thinking of St. John's Cathedral, which is a few blocks south of the Tower at Erieview. The First Baptist Church once stood at the southwest corner of East Ninth (formerly Erie Street) and Euclid Avenue. The Euclid/Ninth Tower (built as the Schofield building but covered with an awful 'modern' facade) was built on the site. Click here to see it: http://www.clevelandpostcards.com/images/postcards/eastninthcorridor.jpg More info at http://www.firstbaptistcleveland.org/about_history.php Great collection of incredible pics!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone :) I can't believe I left off Toledo (well, it IS the red-headed stepchild)!!! Actually I was debating whether to list some of the cities like you see, or if it should just say stuff like "architecture/urban planning/cities/etc." - that way it would tell a little more about the site without worrying about favoritism towards one city or another. rich - I currently have the size set at standard bumper sticker but this is the low-res version. If you'd like a version better suited for printing, I'd be happy to provide it. zaceman, if you think industrial work is tedious - try working for a bank! Woohoo - let me edit those interest rates!!! :lol:

^Thanks for hosting/posting that. Some comments about my design: 1. It's a rough sketch so placement, type treatment are just conceptual. 2. Obviously the photos would need to be tweaked (especially LeVeque and Carew). 3. The design is a little busy, but I do like the bold font - after all, people need to see and read this at 50-80mph! :)

Well, in very Cleveland fashion - I'll say that the "experts" expected approx. 25,000 jobs to be created with the Gateway project and they fell well short of that goal. But, if the Euclid Corridor project manages to get half of their goal, I'd be happy. I'd also question that the project spurred the renovations of the Statler, Arcade, and the East 4th area but that's just me...

Updated photo from Friday, July 23rd:

From Friday, July 23rd - Stonebridge (Phase III) from the east bank of the Flats:

If you guys do decide to make business cards, let me know and I can send you the native file for the logo (it's in Illustrator and would reproduce much better than the current version).

"I'm sure Mayday is going to make the trip." Rest assured, I wouldn't be (or ever attempt to be) on American Idol or any stupid reality show. Well, except for America's Next Top Model that is - I can't sing for crap but I can sure stand around and look pretty!!! :lol:

"mayday, do you know this girl? is she single?" Nope, that campaign was handled by an outside agency so who knows where they dug her up. Get this though - an irate customer called one of our reps because they were "morally offended" that Key would use her as our spokesmodel - they mistakenly thought she was some hoochie from one of those Bachelor/Bachelorette reality shows. Oh, and I can't believe that the folks at the branch would let the signage slip like that. Oh, and nice pics ya got there! :clap:

More recent pics - the condo tower is in the background: A moving van. In the Flats. With people moving in. Welcome to the neighborhood :) F.E., I've heard the rumor as well but I have yet to see any sort of media coverage. If I do, I'll post it right away. I do know that the developer's dream is to run a small trolley line from the Viaduct down West 25th to the West Side Market.

Yep, Cincy has the Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, designed by Gehry: http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/gehrycin/eastsoutheast.jpg

As far as modern/contemporary buildings in Cleveland, I have to agree with the Weatherhead building. If we're talking older buildings, one of my favorites is the Rose Building:

"I dont like the way they look" Well you ain't exactly a sight for sore eyes, either! Just kidding! :lol: