metrocity

Red Line Argyle Stop(Argyle Street between Broadway and Sheridan). It's the lesser known Asian area than touristy Chinatown . Mostly Vietnamese, with most other types of Asian food also. Way cheaper than Chinatown, and better food IMO. Get the Pho at 777 or Xe Lua. In the area, Castlewood Street and Ainsle (between Sheridan and Marine Dr)have large old mansions that were once owned by movie stars when Chicago was Hollywood before Hollywood. Essanay Studios is West on Argyle (from Broadway) and made movies but now is a college. Many of the apartment buildings in the area were once Summer hotels for lakefront vacationers that lived in Chicago and wanted escape the dirty Central City. Have a drink around the corner on Sheridan at Big Chicks. Walk over to Broadway and Lawrence to see the entertainment area that has Aragon Ballroom, Riveria Theatre, and the Uptown theatre (closed but due for renovation soon). Also the famous Green Mill tavern is there. If you like to see big old historic homes, check out Buena Park off the Red Line Sheridan Stop. Hutchinson St, Hazel, and Junior Terrace (east from the station toward the lake) also have large old mansions of old movie stars, some in the prairie style done by Frank Lloyd Wright apprentices. Have drinks at Holiday Club on the corner of Irving Park and Sheridan Rd. If you walk back Southwest of there you can be in the area of Wrigley Field and catch the Red Line again at Addison.

World's top ugly buildings worth a visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-worlds-top-ugly-buildings-to-visit-pg,0,7102525.photogallery Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum; Cleveland, Ohio ( Dennis Macdonald / May 4, 2012 ) Even the architect was unhappy with this one. Upon the building's completion, a displeased I.M. Pei admitted himself there's little harmony in these conflicting shapes.

^ Yeah, I heard they finally put the mens Express store out of its misery....I believe it moved out to the street on Diversey. It looked like it opened as a "Structure" store in 1989 and was never touched again! Same with the Victorias Secret. The whole mall looks like the 80's in there, and I swear they are always playing Depeche Mode over the sound system when I'm in there. The theatres and Bally's are always busy, so I guess that is the only thing keeping it on life support.

Great set of photos of one of the best urban neighborhoods in the US! You can technically say that you have pictures of the Lakeview neighborhood too, Diversey Pkwy is the Dividing line between Lincoln Park(south side) and Lakeview (north side). So for example, the Century Shopping Center/Landmark Theatres is in Lakeview (did you go inside...there are no stores left really, it's mostly empty except for a few straggly Limited Brands stores and the Theaters and Bally's at the top).

Good article, and I think I know the girl in the first pic with her dog....from a long time ago. I should look her up on fb. Those comments...esp the guy with an ax to grind over 3C...sheesh

Told all my friends to vote...told them to think of it as a vote for the Great Lakes region and AGAINST Texas! Cleveland is leading now

WTP Lord & Taylor was replaced by the American Girl Doll store. I could see one of those in Tower City and being a big regional draw. The website says they are opening in St Louis which is closer to Chicagos than Cleveland so it seems feasible. (Marshall Fields there changed to Macy's).

Mass Wedding in Cleveland By Michelle Garcia More than 200 gay and lesbian couples participated in a mass wedding in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday, making it possibly the "largest illegal mass wedding ever held," according to organizers.... http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/03/25/Mass_Wedding_in_Cleveland/

^^^You should blame RTA and hold them accountable, events like this are like "Black Friday" for them and a plan needs to be in place to handle crowds. More trains should have been ran with more cars, and bus drivers should have been mandatory on call so they could dispatch reliever shuttle buses to overcrowded rapid stations. It is an epic fail on RTA's part to have just been business as usual. Handling something like this well is how you show the community that you are an indispensable asset that they need to fund. Instead it looks like a bloated bureaucracy that just does the minimum....like going to the post office a week before Christmas and finding 2 employee windows open.

Really, paper schedules for buses and trains are a joke, they never work in the real world. Knowing exactly when it will come using technology changes everything. You have the power to use it efficiently and make decisions based on your time. Should I wait or just take a cab or drive...used to be the quandry. Myself and many and my friends now base our decision on how to go based on those new apps. You might be at a bar or Downtown late at a show and the default was a cab. Now just check your phone and make an informed decision. 25 minutes till the next bus...lets share a cab or have another drink and wait. 4 minutes...ok see you guys later the bus is coming and I want to catch it! I personally have 3 bus lines in front of my apartment building during morning rush. One that is express and runs right by my office in the loop, one that is express and goes slowly once it is on Michigan Ave and one that is just slow and local. If I'm running late there is no question about what to take or which one might be still running because I know, and I am always leaving my house and only waiting a few minutes for which one I want...not standing in the cold forever wondering when the bus will come or if the express is still running. It becomes a "smart" way to travel...instead of a last resort because I'm just broke and have no means to use any other form of transportation except a bus or train. That bus one block over from your house used to be kind of a mystery machine that you knew was there but didn't use...now it's on your phone or computer and telling you when it will arrive. Changes the whole dynamic.

Also I think along the lines of technology, apps on smart phones that tell you when the next bus or train is coming is a complete game changer for public transit. It will change the perception of the lowly bus in the US...trust me, it already has in Chicago.

Oh crap, I forgot one of the highlights, while on Mt Adams sitting in a coffee shop, a small little Irish parade marched by, bagpipes and all. Was pretty cool! Might have been a local church doing it. Mt Adams has got to be one of the best urban neighborhoods in the country, if you took someone and plopped them down in the middle of it and took off a blindfold, they would probably guess they were in San Francisco easily. And just to not stray too far from topic...the steps are an awesome public asset!

We are from Chicago (I'm originally from Cleveland area and my friend is originally from Guadalajara MX). Yeah the portion over the freeway was not the best... mostly because The sidewalk was really narrow and cars on that bridge go fast. Maybe making one lane a separated walking /biking path would be an easy fix...then it would be kinda cool because the views are nice (except for those damn fences Ohio puts up!). The little winding path from 6th to Monastery was cool. Update. the GM called me yesterday, and asked for a description of the guy, he was pretty mad. I really didn't want to get him fired....grr. He did say it really loud too for the whole area to hear which was embarrassing. We were being nice and respectful too, not demanding or bitchy or anything. We aren't really effeminate, so I guess it was because we were 2 guys dining on Saturday night...dressed up...I don't know. Anyway, it really isn't a reflection on Cincy, I think the guy was from Mexico anyway.

Thanks for all the suggestions....the above was what we ended up doing. Not a bad walk at all, I was thinking it would be much harder and demanding. We came down the riverfront route on the return and went across the purple people bridge to Newport then along the levy to the Roebling bridge to cross back over to Ohio. Had a great weekend in Cincinnati, nice weather and everything. Only one bad thing....we overheard a waiter at Boi Na Braza tell his co-worker...in Spanish "that table is a couple of fags". I told the Supervisor on duty that we could understand Spanish and heard the guy....but I wasn't there to get anyone in trouble, I just wanted to let them know what happened and didn't point the guy out. He said he would let them GM know and to expect a call back. Never heard back though :wtf:. That shouldn't be tolerated by the management at an upscale restaurant downtown! Anyway that was the only unfortunate incident...everything else about the city and the people were great! I love Cincy! My bf had never been there and loved it too.

Awesome guys ...thanks! Will be coming from The Millenium Hotel...so very central location

Is it possible to get from Downtown up to Mount Adams via these steps and how would one plan such a journey? I am trying to find some info online but not having much luck. I will be in Cincy this weekend and the weather should be pretty good to do this I think. Thanks in advance for any advise

Hehe, I think you meant Pret A Manger :wink:. I like them but the sandwiches are getting tiny....that's coming from someone that hates giant oversized sandwiches. Speaking of which, Chicago style hotdogs with all that crap on them....they are impossible to eat and gross. Any other sandwich that has too much crap piled on it, that it all falls off when you pick it up. Sandwiches that have too much goopy sauce all over them that squirts out the side. I hate the trend that a good sandwich means piled high with too much crap.

I'm thinking the south branch of the Chicago river...around chinatown and River City (uncompleted stepchild to Marina City by the same architect) The entire Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago is along a huge rail yard north of the main commercial street which is 18th st. Pilsen is the traditionally Mexican neighborhood in Chicago. The stretch of 18th street goes from Halsted to Western...east near Halsted is gentrifying and hipster and it gets progressively more Mexican as you go to the west toward Western Ave. North of that railyard is UIC and the Medical Center area (Rush Hospital and Cook County) and United Center. The heart of Pilsen is the 18th Street stop on the Pink line around Ashland Ave.

^^^ Are you sure that's a "children's" toy :?

Great and Not-So-Great Subway Logos Unfortunately GCRTA is on the not so great list: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2012/01/great-and-not-so-great-subway-logos-world/943/#slide5 "The very heavy type treatment is not only uninteresting, but the ‘R’ and ‘A’ are shaped in a way that makes you anticipate something particularly interesting in the letter ‘T’. But there is not. One might also think there is meaning in the uniquely formed white spaces of the ‘R’ and ‘A’ but there apparently is not. "

Nice to see people that care.

^ I would also add improvements at Summit Mall in Fairlawn to the reasons for the demise of Parmatown. Parmatown was probably in it's heyday in the late 80's and early 90's when it was more of a super regional draw from the Cleveland west and south suburbs, West Akron, Fairlawn, Bath and Medina. Debartolo starved Summit for many years during that time and it was a dump despite the high income demographics surrounding it. That Northern Summit county area was definitely part of Parmatown's draw at one time and there is a lot of money there. Now Summit Mall probably pulls shoppers from southwest Cuyahoga County suburbs as well that would have gone to Parmatown just as SouthPark does.

I agree, the second row of windows really lightens the street presence, huge mistake covering them. I think this hotel is a modern gem.

List of closings http://searsmedia.com/tools/122711_close.pdf Ohio closings listed so far: Kmart 17625 Chillicothe Rd Chagrin Falls OH Kmart 2960 Derr Road Springfield - N'land OH 45503 Kmart 2244 S Reynolds Rd Toledo - Reynolds Rd OH 43614 Kmart 627-701 E Manhattan Blvd Toledo - Manhatn Blv OH 43608 Kmart 1105 North Court Street Medina OH 44256 Kmart 3100 Hamilton Rd Columbus - Hamltn Rd OH 43227

"The Campaign for a Free and Clear Lakefront is a grassroots coalition to remove Lakeshore Drive from Grant Park, and eventually the entire Chicago shoreline." http://foreverfreeandclear.org/