MayDay

Looks like they're most of the way there - photos from yesterday: Someday we'll be able to load up on pierogis at Sokolowskis and then grab a refresher at Hooples - some day :-)

Some photos of the construction around Duck Island: West 19th and Smith Court: West 19th: West 17th and Bradford: Columbus Road: For those in the know - what's going on with the former bakery, the adjacent green house (that's been art-bombed) and the brick home facing West 20th? The brick home looks like it got new windows, but if the green home and the bakery are coming down... seems to be taking a while?

Today from Voinovich Park.

^Stark was there, and they're a sponsor as well. www.icsc.org/2015RECON

Just a collection of images from recent weeks - starting off with some significant construction and redevelopment projects downtown (and downtown shots in general); then over to the 'Rooms to Let' artspace event in Slavic Village where artists showed installations in abandoned homes and finally running the course with the Cleveland Marathon. Work has been keeping me busy lately but hopefully I'll be able to get out and get a more diverse mix of shots. The construction crane for the Hilton hotel is visible, and a photobomb by an ore freighter: This is located in Duck Island, between the Ohio City and Tremont neighborhoods. Legend has it that bootleggers would 'duck' from the police in this section of town - there aren't many ducks nor is this on any sort of island. Looks like this is the next home to be torn down - lots of new construction in this area: Downtown, looking north on East 6th street toward City Hall: The Hilton hotel under construction - more on that later: The Jesse Owens statue in Fort Huntington Park - Owens moved from Alabama to Cleveland when he was nine years old. He went on to compete in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, winning four gold medals and debunking Hitler's "Master Race" BS: Heading over to the Flats East Bank - kind of cool how the new is meshing with the old: A little bit of everything down here - transit, new construction, etc. Cleveland could use more of this - eight stories of mixed-use goodness: And okay, a little more love :) The Schofield Building - slated to become a Kimpton Hotel: At one point it looked like this: Now that warmer weather has arrived, people are out and about: Back over to the Hilton: The former Board of Education building, being redeveloped into a Drury Plaza hotel: But it's not all sunny and new - over to Slavic Village. This neighborhood was one of the hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. It still has good bones but whether it can get back on its feet remains to be seen. With that, area artists have discovered that vacant homes can make for great blank canvasses and display their work at 'Rooms to Let' - almost like a pop-up version of Detroit's Heidelberg Project. Some of the installations are a little out there, but some are pretty cool. Like I said - good bones: Oh, did I mention the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra has a residency in the neighborhood? Here's a quartet, performing during 'Rooms to Let': Inside the first 'art space' house: Over to the next home: This installation was an homage to the 'babushka' culture of the area's residents (many of whom have moved or passed away). Although the area is called Slavic Village, many Eastern European cultures were represented back in the day: Not all the homes in the area are in rough shape, so here's hoping: Next, the annual Cleveland Marathon - I'm not a runner; well, if there's a FABulous sale at Nordstrom I might pick up the pace and if I'm being chased by a pack of zombies, I'll reconsider. The people-watching at these can't be beat - obviously there are the hardcore runners but then the others... I guess it's just their "thing": Hope you enjoyed!

In all fairness, there's a *lot* going on in that photo - I had no idea there was a bridge from Scranton Road over to where Tower City now stands, and what's going on with the bridge/street stuff between Huron and Prospect?

Nice view of the construction from the Azure sky lounge in the Swetland Building:

Some crane spotting from over the weekend - the building itself won't be visible from these vantage points, though (Terminal Tower blocks the view in image 1, Key Tower in image 2)

There's been 'demo of signage' meaning the billboard that stood on the site has been removed.

Folks, please make an effort that your comments are worksafe and won't trip the standard profanity filters.

They sure do... http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/08/crane_operator_sways_high_abov.html

From today.

^No, just guessing but I'd say it's probably a good 50' or more shorter than the Justice Center.

My understanding is the Tremont crimewatch group on Facebook no longer allows NEOMG employees to solicit information for information and stories; the rationale being they can do their own legwork. As far as the recent robberies, I wouldn't say par for the course - but every couple of years there's been a cluster of incidents, usually perpetrated by one or two people and almost always from outside the neighborhood. I can't recall any of those where the perp wasn't caught - in 1999, two hoodrats stupidly tried to rob the Treehouse, one was put out of our misery, the other went to the clink. Tremont's a high profile neighborhood so it attracts attention - criminals see opportunity, reporters see headlines, etc. It's not isolated to Tremont or Cleveland - for example, Chicago's posh Lincoln Park neighborhood experienced something very similar in summer of 2012.

We have threads for speculative retail discussion - please use them.

^I was going to say - that's quite the narrative of the economic realities of a lot of small towns. :|

I think it closed in 2008, the building had some issues with the roof and then the neighboring building began to fail.

I knew the Tan-Fastic building and the beige building to the left were coming down but the news about the Butler Museum branch (gray building on the right) is troubling. It was built as an annex to the adjacent bank (not shown) and then in the early 1990s, Youngstown's Butler Institute of American Art opened a branch there - I was a volunteer there. It's really sad as one of downtown Salem's redeeming qualities is/was the intact business district - if this keeps up, there won't be any 'there' there. :-(

eastvillagedon[/member] , check your PM inbox.

I had hoped to get out more to take photos during the winter but with the coldest February on record and other "lovely" conditions, not so much. Ah well, it's finally getting nice out so this thread has a little bit of everything, including some Towpath Trail action. Remember when it looked (and felt) like this? Yeah, I'm trying to forget :wink: Over at the Brite Winter Festival. We got there a little too early to see any of the bands playing - I guess a few thousand people showed up later in the evening. Needing to warm up, we decided to get some ice cream - yeah I know. :roll: Over to the new Heinens grocery store in the former Cleveland Trust rotunda and adjacent Swetland Building - en route, the Schofield Building is looking pretty good: Back outside to check out on redevelopment - in this case, The Ivory (right next to the Swetland Building) Not everything new is old again, some it's just plain new :roll: Flats East Bank, Phase II: The Hilton at the convention center: View from the company lunchroom :-) See the ice on Lake Erie in that last image? During the Spring, it occasionally causes some fog: A quick detour to and through Ohio City: Of course, it's not Spring in Cleveland without the St. Patrick's Day Parade: Oh yeah, the Towpath Trail - took a little walk on the Scranton Flats section; not as scenic without the wildflowers in bloom but still pretty cool views: Another Spring tradition - the Tribe's home opener... :| And on to the next part of the Towpath Trail, the Harvard section of the Ohio and Erie Canal. En route, a little bit of Pittsburgh in Cleveland - Holmden Avenue in the Tremont neighborhood: Demolition is underway at MetroHealth Hospital for a huge redevelopment of their facilities: Here we are - the first section of the trail isn't terribly scenic. It's hemmed in by the Alcoa plant, truckyards, etc. but it gets pretty cool - once everything blooms and there's more greenery it'll be more enjoyable. To their credit, Alcoa has a small display showing some work the Cleveland plant has done: In the distance is the Short Line railway bridge; about 140 feet tall, built in 1907 and gets plenty of use: In addition to amenities and facilities the vistors center has some interesting artwork displayed: And time to wrap it up and head home. Hope you enjoyed!

Or, forumers could consider - "just because I *can* post, does it always mean I *should*?"

^ Baltimore Air Coil?