MayDay

Also, if you are planning to attend but are just dropping in for a quick drink, let me know. Big difference trying to get a group of 18 dining versus some dining and others just drinking. Thanks!

Well folks, slight problem - Willeyville did their darndest but aren't able to accomodate a group that large (who knew so many would want to attend?!). :-( I'm going to check with some other spots but will try to keep it at a comparable price point and downtown or near-downtown location. We may want to consider a less 'sit down' dinner kind of place which I know could be problematic for those with younger ones in tow. Any suggestions, please send me a PM.

Fantastic shots - thanks for posting them! Nothing better than Lake View in the fall.

Unfortunately, it sounds like Cork and Beans in the Huntington Building's lower level will be closing by year's end. I spoke with the owner who said moving would be a necessity as the building is eventually going to be repurposed but they couldn't find another location that made good business sense. As unfortunate as it is, they had a good long run - hoping for the best for them.

^I think everyone has provided some great information, so all I have to say is thank you for your service and welcome back :)

Okay folks, there were some off-topic posts in this thread that have been removed. For those of you who have been around awhile, when an Admin or Mod makes a post to get back on topic - you're expected to act accordingly.

"There's always talk about lack of retail downtown and when something opens up, there's crickets. A store opens up in Eton and there's five pages. Stores like Tiffany & Co. have global market recognition - it's hardly unreasonable that an internationally known retailer's first northeast Ohio store makes a bigger splash that not many people know of. That said, I looked at their site - I like some of the styles and I'll probably stop in but they need to show where their shoes are sourced from, what brands they carry, provide better details/pics online ...

^Of course, but again - it's best for everyone when those important points are made in the right place the first time :-)

Folks... those of you who have been around a while know when your post is taking a thread off-topic. I know some posted rather lengthy comments in this thread but scroll up, read the title. Then, read it again. For those who want their posts, I can retrieve them from 'post purgatory' - at my earliest convenience.

^It's something that should be taken to PM as was suggested earlier.

^Speaking of, is there a guy dressed in shabby construction clothes (safety vest and all) *still* talking about backing his truck over some rebar and puncturing the gas tank and needs some money for a cab ride? I'm back downtown after a few years and I'm a little rusty on the panhandler roster.

I was fortunate that I had a few days off before I start my new job (which is back downtown, woohoo!) so I took one day to do - yeah, you know the drill. I went out with camera in tow. Yeah, the same view so many of my threads start with: First stop of the day, University Circle. I wanted to see the exhibit on Sicilian antiquities at the Cleveland Museum of Art http://www.clevelandart.org/events/exhibitions/sicily-art-and-invention-between-greece-and-rome. If you're a member of the museum, you have free admission and you would be stupid to miss this. If you're not a member, it's worth the admission fee. Anyway, I had an hour before the museum opened so I did a little wandering. I like the Gehry-designed Weatherhead building at Case Western Reserve - I know not everyone does: For those who prefer a more traditional approach to brickwork: This stretch of Euclid used to be so bleak, and now look at it: The Museum of Contemporary Art anchors the intersection at Euclid and Mayfield: Phase II of the Uptown development on the right: The Museum of Contemporary Art is a fun building to photograph: Phase II of Uptown again: The utility boxes in the area got a lovely artistic treatment: Over to Hessler Street and Hessler Court, one of the more charming areas in University Circle. Hessler Court - it's only 60 yards in length but it's paved in wood blocks, which is very rare: Back over toward the art museum: Inside the new-ish atrium at the art museum are these oversized sculptures of the Chinese Zodiac: The atrium is larger than a football field but it does a great job orienting visitors to the different galleries and even though it's huge, it somehow has a comfortable/intimate feeling whether its a handful of people or a few hundred during special events: Let's keep the locker room humor to ourselves, shall we? :lol: As with all special exhibits, photography is prohibited in the Sicilian exhibit but in some areas, photography is permitted (without flash). I'm a proud member of the museum, and I would highly recommend a visit for anyone who hasn't been - keep in mind, viewing the artwork in the following images is free. Very few museums of Cleveland's caliber can offer this: Armor Court: Armor Court: John Singer Sargent: Louis Comfort Tiffany: Those would be emeralds, pearls and rubies: And they're but a small part of this: Back through the atrium to the Asian galleries: Adjacent was an exhibit on textiles from the Islamic world: Art of the Americas are also adjacent but I didn't spend too much time: On the lower level, an Islamic prayer niche: Works from the medieval and Renaissance eras: Over to the art of Africa: Ancient Greece, Italy and adjacent: Seeing this was a hoot - my book was published by Arcadia Publishing 10 years ago and the gift shop at the museum is selling it: Alright, enough art for now - the under-construction Tinkham Veale student center at Case Western Reserve University: Museum of Contemporary Art - my next stop, after I snag a slice of pizza and coffee from Presti's in Little Italy: Grabbed a table for lunch and had this lovely view of the Holy Rosary Church, *the* landmark and heart of Little Italy: One of Cleveland's best neighborhoods and also one of the best arguments for buried utility lines: Finally over to the Museum of Contemporary Art: There are two stairwells to take - one that's open, and one that's enclosed. The outer staircase had moments that inspired vertigo, and the interior had an installation going on - different colored lights with relevant music playing. The yellow section had "Mellow Yellow" playing - quite rightly :-D MOCA currently has an exhibit of local artists including Dana Depew and Jeff Chiplis: There are some great views to be had from MOCA: Like I said - vertigo-inducing but cool: Time to head downtown, but not without a few more shots: The Global Center for Health Innovation on the left, the Justice Center courts tower in the center and on the right, the site for a new convention center hotel: The War Memorial Fountain: I sometimes forget how much of a beast Key Tower is: Federal Building with its new 'encapsulating' facade underway: It looks shabby now, but hopefully the proposal to convert the May Company building into residential use pulls through: Euclid Avenue with the former Cleveland Trust Tower in the background - it's being converted into a mixed-use complex: A lot of people know about the famous Arcade, but there are a few smaller but beautiful arcades - this is the Euclid Arcade: And adjacent is the Colonial Arcade - together they're now known as the 5th Street Arcades: Speaking of THE Arcade, here is the Euclid side: As quiet as it is in these pics, I've seen it worse: Running out of time, I snap a shot of the rotunda at Cleveland City Hall: Onto East 9th, the former East Ohio Gas building is slated to be converted to residential: The Oswald Companies recently bought naming rights to the office tower at the other end of the block: This stretch used to be home to burlesque, vaudeville and all kinds of nightspots - not so much nowadays: Over to Euclid and East 9th, one of the most active spots for construction and renovation - the Schofield Building is being converted to a Kimpton Hotel: 1010 Euclid is being converted to residential use: The former Cleveland Trust Tower is being converted to a hotel and residential use - the rotunda (in the foreground) is being converted to offices and an upscale grocery store: Looking down Euclid Avenue - the building in the center is the former Atrium Office building; it's now fully occupied residential: The P (Previously) N (National) C (City) tower: Adjacent to the Cleveland Trust tower is new construction of the 8-story Cuyahoga County Administration Headquarters: View from the adjacent parking garage: An often overlooked gem - the United Church of Christ headquarters: Signing off from Parafine Avenue in Tremont - hope you enjoyed!

Nice pics - except for the bat. I *hate* bats.

^I never knew that - thank you!

I'd say it's a mix of overly protective *and* overly empowering, if that makes sense. When I was much younger and even thought of throwing a tantrum in public, I'd get the stink-eye from either of my parents and that was the end of it. Nowadays, I've seen countless parents try to "negotiate" with their tantrum-throwing screaming-at-the-top-of-their-lungs three year old, because god forbid they don't praise them while disciplining them. :roll:

From October 10:

From today:

Case Western Reserve University - Tinkham Veale Student Center, from today:

From today:

From today:

From google maps at 200' - I'm hoping for a significant addition to the skyline *but* the Washington DC Marriott Marquis has almost 1,200 rooms and the footprint isn't that much larger than Cleveland's:

With work and other obligations, my time to get out and take photos and post threads has been curtailed but I finally have enough to throw a thread together. This includes Cleveland, Columbus, Cuyahoga Falls, Leetonia, Lisbon, and Warren - and maybe some spots in between. St. Michael the Archangel church, tallest in Cleveland at 222': Terminal Tower: Key Tower in the morning: Key Tower in the evening: Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood - Arts in August with the Paul Ferguson jazz quintet, featuring Evelyn Wright (if you ever have the chance to see them, do it!) Columbus - beautiful building in need of TLC: Columbus - Short North neighborhood's most iconic mural with bike-share rack: Have to say I was a little shocked to see the 'stars and bars' at a "premium" denim store on High Street. I get the cheeky flasks but the f#cking Confederate flag? :wtf: It was a short weekend trip, so heading downtown: Next up, a weekend trip to my home county, Columbiana County. These pics are from Lisbon, Ohio - specifically Guilford Lake. http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/guilfordlake Salem, Ohio - my hometown. When I was growing up, the area in this photo and adjacent were home to about half a dozen busy manufacturing plants that employed around 500 each. I think it's now down to one or two that employ 500 total :| Even so, there's still some money (new and old) in the area: What was once a point of pride became a sad blight - Ponderosa Park was a combo timeshare campground/resort that hosted nationally known country acts and anyone who "was anyone" had a spot there. I remember my working-class family went to a 'tour' (aka sales pitch) and the rep kept saying 'yes, we've been rather good at keeping the 'undesirables' out' (she clearly did NOT know her audience). Fast forward to 2010, the park completely closed and last I heard, it was being divvied up for fracking rights. http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/mar/20/former-music-mecca-ponderosa-park-is-on-/ On Route 45, passing through Lordstown en route to Warren in Trumbull County: As you get closer to Warren, the scenery gets more and more blighted - I know they were hit hard by the recession but yeesh. Even with all the blight, the legendary Hot Dog Shoppe remains, and was hopping when we visited: Warren is home to Covelli Enterprises, who had franchised a lot of McDonald's in the area (they've since moved on to Panera aka St. Louis Bread Company) and built "The World's Most Magnificent McDonalds" which features a skylit atrium, waterfall, piano player, etc: Back to Columbiana County - next up is Leetonia, Ohio (south of Youngstown, ten minute drive from Salem) - if this small burg of less than 2,000 has ever been lively, I haven't seen it. Still, there are some charming homes and buildings there. Probably one of my favorites but I remember when it and the landscaping were kept in pristine condition - hope that someone can get it back to that. Downtown Leetonia in the distance: Like I said... :-( The former library building: The new library, well outside of walking distance of most residents and a healthy ex-urban setback for a rural Appalachian village :wtf: And I'm the first to admit, my hometown has a great historic downtown but most retail is located on the outskirts of town in repugnant strip plazas. With that, let's head to Cuyahoga Falls - there are plenty of areas that need help, but they've done a really good job of making the riverfront accessible - I wish they had a more built up "downtown": They have a great boardwalk that goes along the Cuyahoga River for quite a stretch: The Sheraton Suites hotel on the right - if you have the chance, the Sunday brunch at Beau's is d@mn good for $20 ($32 if you want a 'bottomless' mimosa or champagne) and the setting is gorgeous: Back to Cleveland via the turnpike: And of course, I have to get a shot of downtown Cleveland, 28 miles away :-) I have to figure out how to get this shot at night with the Arcelor/Mittal blast furnance flame going to town. You know what, let's head back out to Guilford Lake, I could use some peace and quiet - and mist off the lake in the morning: And of course, some shots of the fauna: In addition to peace and quiet, the local lakeside restaurant has decent beer on tap - this time around was Sam Adams Octoberfest - $3 for a frosty 16 oz. mug (oh, and less during happy hour) :-) More of the area scenery: Good times and signing off from Guilford Lake, hope you enjoyed.

Sounds great - thanks for the information and your efforts and welcome to UrbanOhio!

No idea of any solid financing or plans on the CAC, but I would prefer apartments there.