metrocity

I think the sameness of architecture is true to an extent, but the monotony can also be attributed to pretty much no topographical features to distinguish most neighborhoods (hills and valleys). You have all this flat land, a city that burned down (and needed to be rebuilt quickly) and meticulous urban planning/land plotting that pretty much led to a very standardized city lot size across most of the city (with service alley in the back)...which in turn led to easy building of the pretty much the same building all over the older sections of the city (using plentiful Indiana Limestone). I have worked on typical first floor retail on commercial corridors and you can practically use the same floorplan from project to project. That said it does change mostly with the time bands of when it was built, or the wealthier areas closer to the lake, or if it started as a suburb and was annexed. As a tourist though, you would have to traverse miles to see a change. There is the newer (1940's) bungalow belt around the older neighborhoods. And as NorthAndre said, you'd be surprised at some of the areas like Avondale with California style deco, or even Sauganash which has tons of Mid-Century googie style architecture. Then there is Beverly Hills (yes there are actually hills) with its Shaker Heights style mansions, Edison Park, and Pullman Flats that look nothing like the rest of the city. My only gripe about the architecture is the abundance of four-plus-ones that seemed to be the only infill that was done in the 60's...those things are ugly. They are the boxy apartment buildings where the entrance usually below grade from the sidewalk, and there is parking on the lowest floor under four stories of apartments above. They usually have some form of cosmetic treatment to somewhat distinguish it from the others (stone work or a canopy entrance of some sort). Always the same sliding casement windows and in wall AC grill adorning the front. Give me rows of greystones anyday over (most) of those things. http://www.fourplusone.org/ http://achicagosojourn.blogspot.com/2010/11/4-plus-1-again.html

^ I agree, after being in Milwaukee recently and seeing some very well done sections along the river (residential and commercial) built up to the waterfront and high density. I wish this plan had more that looked more like that. This (phase 2) looks too much like an adult playground, over planned big mall development.

^East Ohio Gas Company Building I think

I wouldn't worry about that so much, many non-religious families send their kids to Catholic schools in NE Ohio because a lot of times it's the only (more affordable) private school choice around. It's different up here than in the south. They tend to be college prep more than religion heavy IMO. There were lots of kids at my Catholic High School that were not religion affilliated. I don't think they even had to take Theology class (which was taught more like stories than facts when I took it in the 80's). They don't even have nuns and priests at them really because there aren't enough to go around...maybe a few token ones. Being college prep, they are not going to send the students off to college thinking the world is only 4000 years old, or that Adam and Eve really started the human race. They teach evolution and scientific facts about how the world evolved, at least they did when I was there. I have friends that live in the West Park neighborhood that are not religious at all and send their kids to a Catholic grade school.

Awesome! Thanks!

That mall closed a while ago, and I don't think the food court is operating any longer. The big old main entrance was taken over by the UK store "ALLSAINTS Spitalfields" a couple years ago and the corner location (that had inside and outside entrances as a Talbots is now Zara. I think they were trying to put offices in the upper mall floors. I haven't been in Saks in years because it's womens only, but I should go in to see if you can still see the mall from the windows inside. The other big mall on Michigan Ave is "The Shops at North Bridge" with Nordstrom anchoring. There is also a new 4 level mall in the loop called block 37 that sits between the red and blue line subway entrances, but the developer got taken over by the bank and it has languished with a few stores mostly on the first level...though decent stores like Zara, Puma and . There is access to State St Macy's (the original Marshall Field's) through the Red Line station. Maybe Tower Place could turn inside out similar to Chicago Place with multi level street front stores...but then again it is probably protected historically. It's a great location that could offer some sort of first quality retail space to national type retailers if done right IMO.

Michigan City is a dumpy, great semi-intact downtown grid that's pretty neglected with a big outlet mall on the periphery and a casino off the beaten path (and a nuclear cooling tower looming over it all). The South Shore Metra runs down the middle of the street in the Downtown which is pretty cool. There is lots of suburban sprawl big box stuff in those other areas with highway infrastructure investment from the state...I guess I was meaning the pockets of historical traditional parts that dot the area, it all seems very neglected with a high degree of disinvestment (or vision) by the state IMO. Gary is just abysmal, it makes Ohio's version's of the redheaded stepchild (which I think of the Youngstown, Lorain, Sandusky type places) look like the emerald city. Chicagoans flock to the east side of Lake Michigan in Michigan and bypass NW Indiana to vacation every summer weekend. Everybody knows the "nice stuff" starts as soon as you cross the state line into Michigan. It all seems like a huge missed opportunity, and bad planning and investment.

There used to be a huge banner that covered the west facade of that building of sexy women models that said something like "Gary Style". It was for when they hosted the Miss USA contest in 2001-2002. Yeah they hosted that...if that is a big deal?? It was weird, the banner hung there for many years after...probably till it just deteriorated and fell off. Poor Gary. NW Indiana in general has never been able to capitalize on the fact that it sits right next to Chicago (except as its industrial dumping ground). Most of it is a schlocky dump, even though the commute (and taxes) would be so much easier than living in some of the far flung suburbs of Illinois (not to mention having a national park on lake Michigan in your backyard). Even Gary airport could be the "third" airport instead of the Peotone debacle....it's like 30 miles from the loop and has train service. I think it speaks volumes about state government in Indianapolis, it's in a different time zone and not part of the state as far as they are concerned. Indiana doesn't seem to have the wealth and resources to spread around as much as Ohio, and they spend it on the capital city IMO. NW Indiana and Gary are the red headed step child of Chicagoland and Indiana. People from Chicago go there to buy gas and cigarettes.

From 1925 Bank Vault to Swanky Eatery: The Story of Cleveland’s Crop Bistro David Robert Weible 1:51 PM ET A long summer weekend finds me escaping the stifling D.C. heat back in my hometown of Cleveland and in the thick of some innovative preservation work at Crop Bistro & Bar, the dual-purpose restaurant and research and development kitchen of chef and restaurateur, Steve Schimoler, in the heart of the historic Ohio City neighborhood.... http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2012/08/1925-bank-vault-swanky-eatery-story-clevelands-crop-bistro/2991/

^ Breuer Tower already scarred by demolition as Cuyahoga County mulls whether to sell it Published: Tuesday, November 06, 2007, 1:42 PM Updated: Tuesday, November 06, 2007, 3:42 PM http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2007/11/_contractors_are_working_at.html

A recent trip to Cleveland (yes, really) takes Ernie out of meat-and-potatoes land Please...make it stop! :bang: Just write a nice article on Cleveland and don't add the token jab for once, it is REALLY freaking tired. I sent the author a comment asking that he remove it.

I know this nitpicky and weird but I hate the font/logo/graphic design/marketing/whatever Cedar Fair uses. The logo for CP and Kings Island both look amateurish to me with that cartoonish lettering and the little flag dotting the "I"s. I think these mighty parks deserve better marketing and graphic design, it just looks too over-the-top childish (small time park) to me...Paramounts Kings Island logo (before Cedar Fair) just looked classier IMO. Anyway, back to roller coaster wars....

Megabus Crash in Illinois: At Least 1 Dead, 30+ Injured http://news.yahoo.com/megabus-crash-illinois-least-1-dead-20-injured-205734446--abc-news-topstories.html At least one person was killed after a double-decker Megabus crashed Thursday on a highway between Chicago and St. Louis with more than 60 people aboard, said the bus company....

Oh yeah, that's it! Thanks!

I am just curious, was there or is there still an apartment building in the spot below? It was white and modern, probably built late 80's. A friend of mine lived there and I went to a party there before probably in the early to mid 90's. It was a really cool apartment, with big balconies facing downtown and the river. It was 2 floors with bedroom loft space on the upper floor I believe. Anyway, after seeing this plan I wondered if it was still there, I can't see it anywhere on google street views. Thanks!

Tower City really isn't all that big, compared to most malls, so with the casino, if retail starts to take off, it would be pretty easy to fill it back up with "better" stores IMO. We really aren't talking about a "Giant" super mall here...it's a pretty modest size which I think could work in tandem with street level retail . A quick comparison by leasable square footage (mall only, no surrounding sites): Tower City: 367,000 Beachwood 1.1 million Great Northern: 1.1 million Great Lakes: 1 million South Park: 1.6 million Columbus City Centre: 1.2 million Circle Centre(Indianapolis): 786,000 Kaufmann's (downtown Pittsburgh original 12 story store) 750,000 Water Tower Place (Chicago): 729,000 (Disclaimer) The above stats are just from me doing a quick google search of the centers, so I'm not positve the sq ft is 100% accurate.

I would consider Macy's and Nordstrom at Horton Plaza in San Diego pretty much in the heart of Downtown.

Didn't see this posted yet, http://www.weather.com/news/20120629-great-american-state-fair-201206?pageno=3 America’s Greatest State Fairs Ohio State Fair The Ohio State Fair has been a staple for residents across Buckeye State since 1850 except for three years during World War II. During that time, the facility was used for handling airplane parts and equipment. Traditions are key at this fair and are one of the reasons more than 800,000 people come back each year. There are three things that set this fair apart. First up: the butter and cow calf....

Might have been some back offices for Society Bank. That banking lobby was huge with really tall ceilings and wood paneled walls all around and chandeliers and seemed to be more than a branch. In the back up a flight of stairs was a boardroom type meeting space with a full kitchen. Before the Key tower was built they probably had a few locations scattered around Downtown. If someone can get pictures inside the banking lobby might still be there. It was still there while the Dallas shoe store operated. My Dad worked in those buildings in the labs which I saw as a kid when they were operating. That would have been cool to see the place after it closed down.

Don't know about recently, but I can add this....I briefly worked at and helped a friend open a Dallas Shoes Mens Store on the first floor of the far left building in probably 1995. Before that it had been a Society Bank branch since probably the 60's that had not been closed very long because there was still a vending machine in the meeting room with food in it. Anyway, the owner of the store bought some furniture from the owner of the building that I helped another guy get from the upper floors of the building. The upper floors at that time were stacked and piled with all kinds of desks and office furniture, just tons of it stacked to the ceiling. If I recall correctly the upper floors were all one floor between those 3 facades. I still remember this because there were tons of those Steelcase Tanker desks that were popular (and at one point being sold by Restoration Hardware). There were also tons of Herman Miller Aluminum Group Chairs, and I think what looked like Knoll sofas. I always wanted to go back and take a closer look and explore more. It was a gold mine of retro office furniture.

^^^ I was trying to post some pics using Flickr as a host site (using the script above) and when I preview I just get the box with the red x, and when I click on it it takes me to the main page of my photos on Flickr. When I preview should I be able to see the pic? I tried using the instructions from Flickr as well with no luck. I have my page set to public viewing, linking a smaller size...etc. I am using IE9 as a browser (have both 32bit and 64 versions). Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks!

^^ That's a great story, thanks for posting.

Very nice indeed, great job of integrating the old features with a modern update. The security desk is stunning and nicely done!

^That is cool

Also, there are ALWAYS street festivals on any given weekend all over the city. In the early Summer, the Midsommerfest in Andersonville (6/8 - 6/10) is big, and the Sheffield/Belmont (5/26 - 5/27) one also. What weekend will you be here, and maybe I can post the ones going on. Andersonville is worth a trip anyway, lots of galleries and furniture and clothing boutiques. Red Line Argyle Stop or Berwyn and walk west to Clark St.