MayDay

I'll add captions later - just a few shots from a Sunday outing and a reminder of why I love Cleveland so much :-) My favorite view of downtown Cleveland - sort of; we didn't have time to park so I could snap a pic from *on* the Columbus Road bridge. Ah well. Damned blur, but the off-ramp by the soap box derby has a good view of all of downtown: Views from the Harp patio: Off to Wendy Park @ Whiskey Island - I love how the approach looks forebodingly rural. The sand volleyball courts were busy - perfect day for it: And of course, plenty of people on the water: Great views from just east of the volleyball courts: Shooters was hopping that day: Last time we were here, this little strip was filled with litter - nice to see it cleaned up: Lots of boat photos in this thread - just a heads up: See the cement silos on the right? If they ever convert them into residential like the following photo, my @ss is moving in asap! Anyway, there was a line of clouds that kept threatening but they stayed south, so it was meant to be: More aquatic craft: The still-abandoned-but-shored-up former Coast Guard station - designed by the same architect who designed City Hall. Boat shot: More boats - oh, and one of those moments where I become six years old (aka "OOOH LOOKY!!!") - an inbound ore freighter, the Sam Laud: I just love the variety on the water: Hey, it's the Goodtime III! Like I said, watercraft of all sizes: Ernst and Young tower - part of the Flats East Bank project; it's not envelope-pushing architecture but it's nice to see a tower crane downtown after all these years: Another shot of the Coast Guard station: More watercraft: At this point, I was getting nervous about the weather: But all that stayed south of the Lake: Good times... these are the good times Shout out to the boat nerds (hope I'm using the right term) who tipped me off that another big ship was coming through - this is the Dorothy Ann; I believe it's about 606' long - and they're BACKING out of the Cuyahoga! The folks on the Goodtime III were loving it: A little more love for the Sam Laud: At this point, I was full-on ADD - "SQUIRREL!!! SAM LAUD!!! DOROTHY ANN!!! SKYSCRAPERS!!!" I'm thankful I missed the over-diagnosing thing that kids go through nowadays: It cracked me up to see this dog just loving being on the water - my dogs *detest* water to the point they'd probably manage to levitate over a puddle if they could: And that wasn't the only aqua-dog that day - wait for it... I believe the phrase is "sh!t-eating grin": Anyway, back to boats, skyscrapers and whatnot: Lots of stuff going on at Wendy Park: There's that aqua-dog again! This guy dropped his lunch a few times but finally snagged it: Did I mention the flightpath for Burke Lakefront airport goes right over this area? Apartment/condo towers of Lakewood's Gold Coast in the background: That's it - hope you enjoyed :-)

^As if I just went there and took one shot - yeah, there's a photo thread coming down the pike :-)

From near the former Coast Guard station

Yep, that's a dated (but nice!) pic from the top of the Lakeview Terrace apartment tower; it's a often-used stock photo.

"Im not sure how developing this site would allow for things like a container store and such when there are already so many other half empty shopping centers and re-develop-able land nearby and all over." Agreed.

Lots of good stuff in this thread; interesting that they considered other routes and makes you wonder what could have been. Thanks for posting these!

^That was a proposal which would have been built on the lowrise office building on the northeast corner of 9th and Prospect.

I was hitting up the clubs in the early to mid-90s so my favorites were: The Lift/Smart Bar - as KJP said, getting into an old school freight elevator and riding up to the main floor (all the while the music got louder and louder) was just too cool. Most of my friends liked the 107.9 nights because they played alternative/new-wave up until midnight; I liked it after midnight when the DJs were spinning house tunes. I still have some cassettes packed away, mostly sets by Kevin Bumpers and a few others. The great thing about this place was the healthy mix and vibe it had - everyone was there to have a good time; once it became The Whiskey, the music changed, the decor changed, and the crowd changed and not for the better. The elevator broke down, and then the place really went to hell in a handbasket. Metropolis/Trilogy - I never knew how popular Cleveland's club scene was back in the day until I went to a Disco 2000 night at Limelight in NYC back in 1993. I met a few of the well-known club kids in passing and when I mentioned I was from Cleveland, they went gaga about Metropolis. It wasn't my favorite club but it was the de facto place for the big name acts since it was an old warehouse that could accomodate huge crowds, and have to admit when Centrak had their laser show set up it was pretty kick@ss. U4ia - the gay equivalent to Metropolis - big club in a warehouse; they hosted some of the first fetish-themed events in Cleveland which were something to see (yowza!) Brillo Pad - it's interesting to see how Gordon Square has changed so much since my friends and I would try to find 'that building with the gothic arch doorway' which was the place you would go to, to just dance your arse off to the great house music no one would ever hear on mainstream radio. I remember it as a no-frills kind of joint in the basement, with a similar crowd to Smart Bar but with edgier music. The same spirit lived on for a while at Touch Supper Club but once new owners took over, that sadly went out the door. At the same time, as the article KJP pointed out - 'raves' (although those who enjoyed the scene never called them that, we just said "parties" to deter those who didn't really belong) were a huge thing back then. So many parties, so many way too late nights; one of these days I'll have to scan the old flyers I have laying around. I think I might have some for the 'Family Affair' mentioned in the article KJP posted.

Agreed that people forget that stores open and close with regularity in every city for every reason. As far as what didn't work, I think that's along the lines of "what's the best place for pizza in town?" - you'll never get the same answer, and everyone has their own agenda/opinion. I can say this much - they did a lot of things right; they advertised (print, online, social media, special events), had a lot of great products (some might say it was on the pricey side - I think some items were, but not all), and the space itself looked fantastic and set a standard for those who might open a comparable store in the future. The sales people who *did* have a good grasp of customer service (in my mind, is a dying art) were great and I hope they do well. "Did the people who ran DU know what they were doing?" I don't think that question is "begged" at all (see above) - I just think there were a lot of factors weighing against them; it's easy for anyone to second-guess.

From Wednesday, August 8th: From the Innerbelt Bridge: From the Shoreway/Rt. 2 westbound:

^NO. :-)

^Agreed - jjames, do you have a source or was that just chit-chat?

Alright folks, we've moved discussion of the Dredgers Union store from the East 4th construction thread to here.

I think the melodramatics are unnecessary - I'm sure rockandroller was making a rhetorical comment based on the flak she got for posting comments about her visits. There's nothing wrong with sharing less-than-stellar experiences; not everything at DU was my cup of tea, and a few times the sales team completely ignored me - there were also times where I was 100% happy with everything from the service to what they were selling that day. No one here was ever hoping the store wouldn't succeed, and I think it's as Danielle said "It's just that, sometimes, those that are at the front end are the ones that are the casualties. The ones that pay the price while opening up things for other people." I truly hope they're able and willing to make another go of it in Cleveland. For those saying they can go to Target and get 6 to 8 items for the 1 or 2 they'd get at DU - keep in mind what you bought at Target was likely made in China (or increasingly, a lesser developed country where labor is more cheaply procured and materials not as scrutinized), trucked to a Chinese port city, shipped to the West Coast, trucked to a distribution center in Ohio and finally to the shelf where you picked it up. Think of the fuel that was used - and then look at gas prices at your next fill-up (and of course, the environmental impact of shipping items thousands of miles). I fully admit I shop at the big box stores as a necessary evil, but I go out of my way to find 'Made in the USA'. I also know money's too tight to mention, but cheap on the price tag doesn't mean we don't pay for it in other ways - just sayin'.

Unfortunate to hear this, though I'm glad they made the effort - I picked up quite a few items there. I don't see that space staying vacant for too long, though I wonder if it would be more retail - time will tell.

As X mentioned, threads like this in the Projects and Construction section are for discussion of ... Projects and Construction! With that, this thread will be pruned - for the newer folks, please try to keep threads on topic. For those who have been warned in the past, it should come as no surprise if you've earned some time off.

This thread has been pruned - folks, if what you've written isn't related to actual news of lakefront development, think before you click the "Post" button. Thanks!

This thread is locked until there's significant news.

For those who feel the need to repeatedly take threads off-topic, take it to PM or start your own blog; the Admins have been tolerant long enough.

Want to share speculative ideas? Take it to PM :-)

Folks, this isn't the place for "what if" thoughts - get it back on topic.

Just catching up - great shots!