metrocity

^ Sounds like a Landmark Theatre http://www.landmarktheatres.com/

Not in Cleveland, but not that far: http://www.toystimeforgot.com/

Rob, I thought the same thing when I went there...until I saw the cooling towers for the nuclear plant looming over the city. Your second shot has a glimpse. Looks a little too Simpsons and forboding to me. That might be what has scared off any development. I mean, they are right there! Another interesting note, there used to be a huge Pullman rail car manufacturing plant on the site where the outlet mall now stands. I think there is still an office building with restuarants in it near the mall from Pullman. The factory was closed in the 70's and burned down. On another note, when I was there I saw a model railroading (club) storefront on the main street. It wasn't open...and I couldn't get any more info. Would you know anything about it?

^ I know, that is funny how they have those displays "Living in 600 sq feet" when most McMansions around the stores have a living room larger than that. On the other hand, when Home (Depot) Expo opened in the city of Chicago, they had bathroom displays bigger than most city-dwellers Living Rooms. It didn't last long in the city.

^haha, yes! Stay away from the Kenneth Cole chunky black shoes DSW and Macy's still pedals. I only meant that guys under 35 should definitely not wear the pleats. Any age is good though, esp when you are thin.

Word of advice about the style....If he is under 35 and thinner....look for non pleated pants. Slimmer cuts are also in style, the baggy sack suits of the 90's are out! http://video.men.style.com/index.jsp?fr_story=d193285f00e3beffdbe5aec9a86fbd0bab1586a9

If this district includes quite a few vintage furniture stores it would probably do quite well. Antique dealers and mid century modern peddlers flock to Ohio from NYC and the east and buy up whatever they can and take it back and sell it for 3 or 4 times more. Older midwestern cities are a boon for them.. I remember back in college working in a store briefly on Euclid ave, and the upstairs of the old office building it was in was stacked to the ceiling with old office furniture by florence knoll and herman miller....just sitting there rotting. Dealers drool over that shit, and the midwest is way behind on the mid century modern craze. That danish modern dining set sitting in Grandma's living room in old brooklyn is selling for $5000 in Williamsburg brooklyn.

Memory lane anyone (Yes, I had a lot of extra time today avoiding work: Higbee's rocked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV6sI5Lmy98 Southgate USA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4_Vb58q6G0 Sohio weather announcement...remember that weird music? Gold Circle: Horne's and Hill's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVphfR7mPNw Zayre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J14d73-vOo8&feature=related A good montage of Rolling Acres Mall material and footage from opening to present day:

I was only referring to Euclid Ave, which doesn't look that bad and was probably shopped by the general population. The secondary street pics do look bad and boarded up. My main point is that the mix of stores on Euclid was pretty healthy and standard for the time compared to a typical suburban mall or any other US downtown. Not to romanticize, but to put it into context of the day. I think people can't judge it by today's standards because there weren't a lot of mid and higher end specialty stores around to fill in the gaps unless they were local(Although I think I do actually remember a Gap down there). Department stores were king and there were 3 still open. If you were middle or upper class you bought your clothes, housewares, appliances, TV, furniture, toys, wedding dress, got your hair done...etc at a department store, they carried almost everything back then. One question I have though is, where and when where Penny's and Sears Downtown? They had to be down there at some point, right?

Could this be earlier than 1980? I say that because National City Center was built in 1980, but looking down Euclid in the shot that has Kresges, Woolworths....etc it's not there....right? And the buildings on the left side of the street would soon be gone for BP in the early 80's? Most of Downtown did look kinda run down, but the Euclid pic doesn't look so bad. I mean, Woolworths and such were staples in all downtowns....and you can't really see the other stores in between which may have still been other mid range national and local retailers of the time like Thom McAn, Bakers, Stride Rite...etc. The shot just misses the May Company store too which was still open. I see Burrows, which I think was an office supply store and Richman Bros. We also have to remember, national casual clothing specialty stores were not as prevalent as they are today....THE "High End" stores were department stores like Higbee's and Halle's and that was it....and Downtown had them. Most malls through the 70's had pretty much the same mix of stores as downtown (minus the riff raff shops mixed in)....A dept store or 2, Woolworths, Gray Drug, lots of shoe stores and jewelery stores, womens dress stores, men's suit stores, a JoAnn Fabric, A Radio Shack, a Camelot Music, rather large sit down restaurants, and usually a grocery store tacked on the outside. The explosion for fashion retailers like Gap, Limited....etc was more of an early to mid 80's phenomena that eroded the department stores stronghold. All in all, i'd say that the Euclid Ave mix of stores was pretty standard for the time period. I doubt any of those newer fashion stores were interested in locating in most Downtowns until projects like Galleria got underway later in the 80's.

I seem to remember that mural in the early 90's, but not the building on the corner. That is where the Wyndham Hotel is now....right? These pics are awesome btw....thanks for digging them up.

I hate CNN headline news. Used to be good and informative, now it's that busybody Nancy Grace and that windbag asshole Glenn Beck all the time at night. It's complete crap, I don't respect CNN any more than fox news at this point. BBC world news is about the only thing worth watching.

This article fails to point out that Indy is already only 3 hours from 2 stores in Chicago

You guys are lucky, drink prices are such a steal in Cleveland. I miss happy hour :-(...it's illegal in Illinois. Somewhere in Peoria a MADD mother is patting herself on the back.

I love the simplicity of the Shaker style....pretty good shape for an abandoned building

That article is so dead on, I have worked in both city and suburb and all of the points are valid. The idea of a "go-getter" in the suburban offices was who could bake the best cookies. This is so true with 30 and 40-somethings as well. Every freakin recruiter that calls me is trying to hawk some job way the f**k out in the burbs even though I have said repeatedly that I won't do it. All of my friends have the same complaint about recruiters.

I found it hard to believe that the "only" Dillard's store in the entire chain of 330 stores that gets special attention for upscale brands is Beachwood. They don't have one other store at that level or in a more upscale mall in the entire country?? OR are they talking about in the Midwest division.

Nice job! Akron neighborhood pics were a needed addition to the site. Highland Square has always been a cool neighborhood, but the commercial strip is just not dense enough. I know that most were not happy with the recent redevelopment of certain parcels...probably that boring set back building with Chipotle in it. There was a forum: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,6106.0.html

Not sure how it goes in Ohio, maybe this is just an Illinois law/urban legend, but as it goes....If the property owner clears the sidwalk and someone still slips, it is the property owners fault and they can be sued. If the sidewalk is not cleared, it is an act of mother nature and they cannot be sued. How f***d up is that. Most people are good about clearing the walk, but you have the occasional one that never does, and someone will always quote that so-called law/loophole. What really sucks is that I have seen people in wheelchairs trying to navigate in the street because they couldn't pass certain sections of the walk. That's so not cool. Heated sidewalks are always cool too, however someone recently got zapped by one here in the loop that malfunctioned.

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/01/10/news/top_news/doc1f6e1541eb55ac91862573cc00081d03.txt Skybus Gary's ticket to U.S. [email protected] 219.933.3326 | Thursday, January 10, 2008 | 34 comment(s)

I'll bet that greenspace is such a crappy space because it looks like a spot where another department store or something connected to the mall was going to go. If you go in mall, there is a blank wall where that indent is on the outside...would have been the mall entrance??

Could even have potential for huge growth. Pick up a copy of FRAME magazine, and all the innovative designs and new products are coming from Europe...the Dutch and Italians for the most part. Distributors in the US won't rep a lot of the products anymore because of the weak dollar. These things are expensive anyway, but add that to the cost of importing and the exchange rate, and it becomes cost prohibitive. Retail store design and merchandise design in the US has become so super boring, watered down and formulative, a wave of change must be coming for the next generation of specialty stores. The city could encourage radical store design through grants and loans. Like cities that subsidize artists... subsidize local businesses to push the envelope of design and materials use. Imagine the short north would be a showcase of new ideas, exciting designs and hip stores. Design professionals from around the country would visit to get ideas....similar to places like Melrose Ave or Williamsburg Brooklyn.....but in the Midwest.

Seems like every city does that, but what about design? I think what makes Columbus special in the Midwest is the concentration of industries dealing with fashion, store design, retailing...etc. Not just clothing designers or buyers, but graphic designers, furniture (store fixture) designers, interior (retail space planning) designers, marketing professionals, etc.... I am surprised that Columbus isn't known more as a "design" or "Fashion" center of the midwest. Before you all laugh....think about it, what city in the midwest is somewhat known for design/high design standards right now?? Minneapolis is what comes to mind for me....but why? Who knows, but they have that rep. I am not familiar, but OSU must have programs geared toward that industry more than most schools.

:-D Nothing at all...just clarifying that my parents did/do all that and they are much older. One might assume they were more 60's hippies by those actions...but they are far from it in every other aspect...trust me.

1. No Car...use Public Trans, Bike or Walk....or maybe once a month use I-Go car sharing which uses hybrids 2. Own 675 sq ft of space and use it efficiently, therefore I only buy what I really need/use and buy quality not quantity 3. Recycle all I can, including an ongoing charity bag that gets dropped at the thrift store bi-monthly (I only have a set amount of wood hangers in my closet, so when I buy an item, something has to go). 4. CFL's 5. Use natural cleaning products 6. All e-billing...no paper 7. Shop local and patronize merchants that do also 8. Use a small energy efficient dishwasher that uses less water than doing it by hand 9. Try to use sustainable/renewable products and materials when renovating my condo and low/no VOC's And the top ten thing...Have never stepped foot in Wal-Mart Growing up my father always recycled, used a push mower, bought fuel efficient cars and we had solar panels on the roof...so I am kinda used to it. My Dad is not a 60's hippie either, he was born in 1930 and does it because it makes sense and saves money(he is cheap). I think it's interesting how the Baby Boomers were alive during the ecology movement/oil crisis of the 60's/70's, but most seem to have forgotten all about it and are the worst offenders...with big houses and cars. The depression era folks really knew how to save things and recycle just by the nature of the era they grew up in, not because it was trendy.