metrocity

Shooters deck or a rooftop before the weather gets bad! I really miss how easy it is to be outside in the summer in Cleveland relaxing and drinking...sigh...I'm jealous...carry on

Rob, I am sure you know...but for other folks, the history of Beverly Shores...a developer was trying to lure folks to a resort community there and brought five homes from the Chicago Century of Progress fair by barge and plopped them down to spur interest. It failed and the "future" homes are still there but in not such good shape. I highly recommend to anyone that finds themselves in that area to check them out. http://www.nps.gov/archive/indu/History/Century_of_Progress_homes.htm

Some views from the 78th floor of Trump tower

Great tour. Did you go into the Century at Clark and Diversey? Weird vertical mall that used to be happening in the 80's and early 90's...with Le Chateau, Contempo Casuals and other hot 80's chains, they used to pump alt music over the sound system and every store sold doc martins. All that's left is the limited brands holdout stores, Bally's and a thriving Landmark Theatre. Love Sinbad's btw.

Wasn't it 50/50 Lime and Grapefruit? I used to love that. They used to still make it under the Canfield's name here in Chicago, but I don't see it too much anymore. Wasn't as good as Cotton Club's version though :-P

Yeah, I was surprised at that article given how cosmopolitan Canadian cities are, however the article alludes to the fact that the whole idea is new to them and it sounds good on paper. After a few years of working in one of these bunkers you feel like you are in the movie "office space". I think the whole generational thing is true to a point, there are plenty of people no matter what generation that would be content working on one of these campuses the rest of their lives, but it does seem that boomers love that crap the most. I think it is more of issue on the way that progressive cities are developing, and where the most educated workforce and go-getter types want to be. We already see a major return to urban areas in the larger US cities, and companies are following that trend. Many of the Chicago companies that abandoned the city years ago are now looking at expanding in the city because they can't lure the people they want to the suburban campuses. I have worked in both suburban Chicago and Downtown and there is a marked difference of the type of employee that either one attracts. Suburban offices have a lot more complacent and content people, and Downtown has a lot more of the go-getters. Call a recruiter in Chicago for a job and they will give you a ton of suburban companies that want you. Tell them you want to be in the loop and there is a lot less to choose from. When I read the articles about Cleveland not being able to attract enough high skilled talent, I wonder how many people come for an interview from outside the region, see the boring campuses and politely decline. The company sits there and scratches it head wondering why they can't attract talent and blames the region and it's lack of an educated workforce. How about a new HQ downtown, AND an expansion in Beachwood for the future.

AMEN! Those old timey light poles are going up in every city it seems! The new ones on Euclid also look like they might be meant to control "light pollution" which seems environmentally responsible and forward thinking. Not sure if they actually serve that purpose though :?

View from an outsider....I work at an international architecture firm in Chicago, and quite a few of the architects and the partners have traveled to Cincinnati to see the Zaha Hadid CAC. As far as nationally noteworthy architecture, that one seems to have the most attention and recognition right now among the field. It has a "must see" buzz about it.

I see that you like abandoned buildings too due to some of your threads. Check out these "future" homes in Beverly Shores Indiana if you have time. http://www.northwestindiana.com/traveler_fair_homes.htm They are from the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, and were moved by barge on lake Michigan to Beverly Shores after the fair by a devoloper that was promoting his land subdivision there. It failed, and the houses sit rotting. They are cool, but be careful about going inside, they are now on Federal Land (Indiana Dunes National Park) and owned by the US govt. You can easily walk around them though, and I went in the Cypress House through an unlocked window.

Oh yeah, when you get about 50 miles or so from Chicago, tune into AM 780 WBBM. They do traffic every 10 minutes on the "8's". Taking 90 or 94 is a tossup, they both get you to the same place (though 90 has tolls and the skyway toll bridge). The traffic report can help you decide.

^Good advice. Ditch the car for sure. Not sure which way you'll be coming, but I 65 from Indy where it meets I 94 and I 80 I 90 (Indiana Tollway/Chicago Skyway) is a complete construction mess. Do some research and don't come through during rush hour. Rush hour starts around 3:00 pm on Fridays. I don't have any advice since I don't drive it, but I was through there on Megabus a couple weekends ago from Ann Arbor on a Sunday night and the delay was 2 hours. I have heard that 94 is worse than 90. I have also heard that there is a freeway like spur that runs close to the Steel plants and casino's around Gary that will breeze you right around the delays to the Skyway. 90 and 94 eventually merge and become 90/94 and are called the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago in case this sounds confusing. On Parking, plan to arrive in the afternoon when everyone is still at work, and parking should be ok, might even be able to park closer to DePaul.....however I think they start class this week, so maybe not. Watch out for permit only streets. On permit only streets, there are usually a couple of (secret) non permit spots with no parking meter on side streets close to commercial corridors (near Halsted St or Clark by DePaul for example). Watch for temporary street cleaning signs tied to trees. Watch all signage when parking and make sure the curb is not yellow. Don't park your car into a yellow curb area even a little bit. You will get ticketed if you park at all illegally. Your car will be a target for parking tickets because it will have out of state plates, and no city sticker. If you are coming in the weekend of the 19th, 20, 21....watch for special Cubs parking restrictions in the hood that Punch recommended. There is a game each of those days, and Wrigley is down the street. If you are coming this weekend, no worries, they are out of town. Also, fold in your mirror on the street facing side if possible. On some of the narrow streets, a kid and a U-Haul = no mirror. Do not leave ANYTHING visible in the car...make the interior look like the cleanest car on the block....no sunglasses, bags...nothing. Bumping bumpers is completely normal and acceptable when parallel parking. If you are anal about your car and are shocked when you see this happen....find a garage and pay to park. It will be expensive though. Not trying to scare you, but the parking police are ruthless on the north side. If you follow this advice, and are certain that your spot is legal, you should have no problem and not find any surprises after your car-free weekend.

While standing in line at Corner Bakery, corner of Jackson and Michigan Ave in Chicago Loop: male1 - (to his friends) How far is Union Station? male2 - I think six blocks or so...really far...I mean to walk male1 - wonder if the train goes there female - I don't think so male1 - I tried looking at the buses, but I couldn't figure it out. As far as I can tell, they all go down a street....right? female - I think some of them turn. male2 - yeah, and do they even really come? male1 - Let's take a cab.

The only time I have ever dealt with her she came into a store I worked at in Randall Park. A young African American woman I worked with waited on her not knowing who she was (neither did I). Tubbs-Jones asked the young girl about her life, and she told her how she was aspiring to get into college despite having a young baby to take care of. She was impressed by the polite, hard working young girl, and while being rung up, introduced herself. She gave the girl her card and told her about a program that would help her realize her dreams, and to call her office the next day. The young girl ended up going to Kent and living in family dorms. She did really seem to care.

Exactly! I have worked on and am currently working on such budgetless projects from this region. They will do custom sizes of materials just so it will be not off the shelf. Instead of a standard 12 x 24 travertine tile, they want a custom 12 x 20....why, because they can I guess. They kept the height of this a secret because they know the next guy is on their heels. It's a silly race, but very profitable for us.

Looks like a dream job....shoehorned in a room at a 2' x 3' desk with a keyboard, a monitor, a stacking chair and co-workers wearing all black.

If you are interested in Ghost towns at all, Rogues Hollow is weird and interesting place, in Wayne county. Lots of other little towns with old downtowns around there that have benefitted from Akron sprawl too like Doylestown, Wadsworth and Canal Fulton.

I want it! And I am not joking. "A Saarinen chair by Knoll approx $165" "Cone chair by George Tanier approx $199" And the list goes on! Was it actually built, or was the "tour" virtual... so-to-speak. I'm thinking not because I can't find anything else about it

The newest green countertop is paper based and they are actually quite nice and interesting http://www.richlite.com/countertop/ Also, anyone replacing countertops, be aware that granite and concrete are really heavy compared to the laminate that you are probably replacing. Many homeowners are installing industrial grade appliances (AGA stoves for example), solid hardwood cabinets and heavy countertop materials and the floor joists in the home were not built to handle that weight. A reputable architect or interior designer will tell you if the floor needs reinforced before such an installation can take place....but I have heard a lot of horror stories.

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/26270774.html?page=1&c=y City gets wheels turning on bike initiative Signs, road markings to promote bicycling in UA neighborhood By Bob Downing Beacon Journal staff writer Published on Tuesday, Aug 05, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or [email protected].

Crazy!

In Chicago I get chastised for even that and get "It's just plain cart" I also say "Call off work tomorrow". Supposedly it should be "call in sick", or at least I am always told. And in the donut world, what I always thought were Cream Sticks, are called Long John's I had a roomate in college that said buggy, he was from Trumbull as well.

What a great tour of an area I know little about, thanks! I love it that this thread contains those two examples of iconic buildings that, try as you might....you can NEVER disguise an old Lawson's or Red Barn.

A-freakin-men. cta has been playing that game for years, and now I am on about 1 bus per week that breaks down. On one trip a few weeks ago, 2 buses broke down and the 3rd one I got on got stuck on Mich Ave behind another broken down bus and couldn't back up to go around. You can only fix a 20 year old bus so many times before it just won't work anymore, and if the new ones aren't ordered years ahead, you are screwed.

Great pics! I wonder what happened to the Ebony/Jet building window? And I have also wondered what happened to the big sign on top?? Lots of festivals going on: http://chicago.metromix.com/facets/events/date.relative.thisweekend/type.listing.event.fair_festival

Completely agree, Ybor was much more interesting before the cleanup and mall-ification. A college friend moved there and I used to visit for cheap trips to Florida. She lived in the strangest named section of town I have ever seen...it was called "New Suburb Beautiful" and had signs actually stating that name similar to the Cleveland ones that announce Little Italy or whatever. It was a neighborhood of the city that was actually not too bad and kinda walkable...I think it was near Hyde Park. I was also surprised to find out that getting to the beach takes longer than I thought. She lived right by Tampa Bay (Bayshore Blvd), but we hopped in the car and drove 45 minutes to get to an actual beach....Clearwater(which was actually kinda cool back then). I think it has been "cleaned up" now too and is boring. Tampa is pretty bland, but in somewhat defense of it, isn't summer there like winter in the north...nobody goes outside because it's so dreadfully hot.