Map Boy

How many times have I been to Jacobs Field? Not once have I brought my camera! Well, yesterday was special. YSOH and I were hosting some friends from Cincinnati who'd never been to the stadium. I wanted to get some seats with an impressive view of the stadium and city. Front row, upper box, behind home plate...good enough? To top it all off, the Tribe won their fourth straight and we had a great time running around Downtown and the Near West Side and didn't call it a night until around 4am... More to come! (ps: if any new viewers haven't figured this out yet, you can either scroll from left to right using the scroll bar beneath the picture or you can right click on your mouse and select "view image" for the full panorama)

I'm a little disappointed at the response here. I know we've talked a lot about gentrification and whether or not it's a serious concern in Cleveland, but the issue right here is that there has been a precedent set in University Circle and the residents who have been around through it all are simply saying that they should have a voice in the discussion. Of course this means that the likelihood of a developer gliding through the design and approval process becomes less likely, but isn't that a good thing? If we want the neighborhoods to be stable, well built and inhabited by residents who care for their surroundings, then the people who already live there should most certainly have a say in the process. Their property values, not to mention their every day quality of life, are at stake. Now, there will always be people who resist change simply because they are afraid of it. The planning process is there to determine what progress can be made through development and at what cost this progress will come...and to weed out the significant and true externalities from those that are just personal gripes. With people like Chris Ronayne involved and well-meaning corporations and foundations like Charter One committed to uplifting all the current and future residents of the broader neighborhood, I am optimistic that we can see this process through in an efficient, yet holistic manner.

Welcome! Great shots and a wonderful day for it too! Hope to see some more soon!

Great post Uncle! It's amazing how much a place can change in 5 years... When I was graduating, DAAP still seemed like a relatively progressive building. Now, it looks like one of the more traditional buildings on campus! (I'm exagerrating, of course). Basically, the place looks entirely different...with a few exceptions, like the CCM area (I always loved that part of campus) and the Quad (minus the lawn construction). I don't know if I'd even recognize the place if I was blindfolded and dropped in the middle of it!

That's good to know...between these three, they should have Downtown pretty well-served.

First pitch of the home opener! Woo hoo! Paul Byrd's out of the 1st in a cinch!

Awesome shots, MayDay! I loved the zoom on the second shot...you're standing at Public Square, yet Fenn Tower looks to be steps away! Also, in the photo of the Huntington Bank clock, you got my buddy Dave walking by the bus sign...he says he's going to sue for damages...you should've asked his permission! tsk tsk!

Another note from the newsletter: April 19th, 2006 @ the Western Reserve Historical Society The Future of Euclid Avenue: Streetscape, Urban Design and Public Art Updates

The following article is from GCRTA's Euclid Corridor Transportation Project newsletter (vol. 5, no.1, Spring 2006) Sound Portraits Will Connect the Corridor's Past and Present Native American and ethnic histories, commerce, the Industrial Age, Cleveland's revitalization, music, arts, culture, famous Clevelanders, and journeys of the lives of families and business legacies are just a few of the many subjects that the RTA will explore and profile through sound portraits of the people, neighborhoods, and events that have shaped Euclid Avenue. As part of the Euclid Corridor Public Art program, an extensive collection of audio profiles will be preserved and featured in touch screen kiosks located at 19 high traffic and pedestrian areas along the rapid transit route. Cleveland Public Art manages the project, which includes the Corridor's public artists and Cleveland State University. CSU has incorporated the oral history project into its curriculum to enlist students to conduct historical research and interviews of Clevelanders. Ideastream's WCPN 90.3 FM will assist with recording and preserving the audio of the featured sound portraits. The sound portraits are a rare illustration of a first-person look at life, experience and storytelling of Cleveland's past. Artist Jan Brigham, who conceptually created the concept and kiosks' implementation, will add photographs to the stories to create both a visual and audio experience as users begin to marry the past and present. Audio will be Internet-connected so that content can be updated on a regular basis. The system will be designed to support user-choice via mobile technology. "This will be a great vehicle to help Clevelanders learn more about who they are and where they come from," says Greg Peckham, executive director of Cleveland Public Art. "It's like a conversation between the past and the present." ... This is great news! It's funny, though, that the article caught my eye because of the Brooklyn, NY-based Sound Portraits (www.soundportraits.org), who I interviewed with last year. Their programming is fantastic and is used by NPR from coast-to-coast. Despite the obvious similarity of this project to their work, if the RTA project has anything to do with them, they failed to mention it!

Mather is an old hag and should be torn down... (just kidding!) I think that once Fenn and the Education building are built out, Mather will be more connected to the rest of campus. As it is, I've never even been over there. It seems so far away! I think that with the ambitious landscape plan for the Education building, the opportunity to tie into the Mather's gardens will do just what you're looking for...giving a "nod" to the grand olde dame.

What's happening with the big old building on Random Road that currently serves as a gigantic one-story parking garage with 30 foot ceilings? I'd much rather see a deck added to that and the outside spruced up a bit than mess with a landmark building in the heart of the commercial district's main drag. Ideally, I'd love to see the Random Road site developed with some townhomes in front and 3 levels of parking in back...kind of like the plans for Front Avenue in the Flats East Bank. The garage would provide a buffer between the busy railroad tracks and the residential component, in addition to adding much-needed parking. The townhomes would add to the residential character of the street. The whole thing would remove a neighborhood eyesore.

yes, but Mather is set back, so this is the first building on the southeast corner of campus that will come out to meet the street and announce: "You are now at Cleveland State University." The Continuing Ed. building is on Chester, no?

will either of the two existing loops be maintained? this questions came up this morning with a couple people in City Hall who said the new routes don't serve them as well as the old ones...

It is very lovely...they've done a great job with the courtyard and the new addition that connects the cafe to some conference rooms, banquet halls, etc. I've been in there a few times and I'm impressed by it more each time! About the County Engineer's building...I've seen them replacing the stone for months, but I think it looks worse now with the new stuff! Unless they're planning on replacing all of it? I don't know...I guess there could've been something significantly wrong with it that warranted all this work. It just seems like it's a tiny project that's taking them a really long time...and blocking my bike lane!

Funny, I use about 2 of these icons...I guess I'm just too lazy to clean it up. You can imagine what my actual desktop looks like!

The E. 17th Street site as it sits today:

Here are a few snaps from the new admin building (March 31st):

Actually, according to my records, both the Villa Carabelli and Edghill Townhomes are completely in Cleveland. I think MTS is the winner on this one - according to the Future Heights site, half of the units are in Cleveland and half are in Cleveland Hts. If I remember correctly, all the Cleveland ones sold quickly b/c they had more generous tax abatements. I stand corrected. I was just having this conversation again with a friend who said she thought it was split and I checked the City GIS site again and found out where I'd made my mistake... I still believe that the Edgehill Townhomes are all in the City of Cleveland, though.

Moving right along, here we are at E. 9th & Euclid, the future headquarters of Cuyahoga County, Inc: I love E. 12th much the same as I love E. 6th...a blend of new, old and in-between, and tight streets with buildings that bend with them: The view from the stairwell of the Levin College (E. 17th & Euclid): E. 21st & Euclid, the front door to CSU's University Center (with Fenn Tower in rear): Trinity, with the YMCA apartments beyond: Nice buildings and retail with the new administration building under construction: Trinity's courtyard...a lovely place to have your Cafe Ahroma coffee when the get the chairs out: A campus staple, Rascal House at 21st & Euclid: Brothers Printing, undergoing some sidewalk work that may be related to the Euclid Corridor... The Levin College the Keith Building and the gateway to Playhouse Square: That's a wrap! Keep an eye out for others posted on the Euclid Corridor, Cleveland State and County Headquarters threads...

From the end of last week, the following is an assortment of pictures I took while heading into work, from the bus ride, to a walk from E. 6h & Superior to E. 24th & Euclid. There will be more from this stroll posted on other threads that relate to each specific venue... In Ohio City, the corner of West 25th & Detroit: Some Cuyahoga County Engineer's building...they've had this scaffolding up for like 6 months now...what exactly are they doing? Stonebridge: Coming down off the Bridge into Downtown Cleveland, some nice views of the Flats and WHD: The Leader Building (E. 6th & Superior): East 6th Street, looking south towards Euclid: Peek-a-boo! One of my favorite terminating vistas in Cleveland...looking north on 6th towards City Hall: A little Euclid Ave. panorama before moving on:

Already familiar to us, but I figured I'd post it anyway. From Crain's: Case developers revealed By MAYA R. PAYNE 1:43 pm, April 4, 2006 Case Western Reserve University has revealed its short list of potential developers for a planned arts and retail district on eight acres along Euclid Avenue between the Ford/Euclid/Mayfield intersection and East 115th Street. Four developers and their partners responded to Case’s request last December for development proposals, and the university has narrowed that list down to three. The three are Stark Enterprises and Coral Co., Developers Diversified Realty and Campus Apartments, and Mesirow Stein Financial and MRN Ltd. Case did not disclose the identity of the fourth development team that did not survive the first cut. More at crainscleveland.com http://www.crainscleveland.com

easy...Ryan's new! this was his first post! welcome!

just like McMenamin's in Portland, OR...I like

A PD editorial from yesterday... The Flats shakedown Some of those most responsible for the East Bank's long illness put the squeeze on a plan that might restore it to health Wednesday, April 05, 2006 Get this: Some of the slumlords who've helped run the East Bank of the Flats into the ground now say that they are insulted by the offers for their properties from developer Scott Wolstein. In fact, they are so offended that they just might renovate the Flats on their own. These slumlords and their sycophants are even whispering that Wolstein, who owns about 70 percent of the land needed for his planned riverside residential and retail complex, helped kill the Flats as an entertainment destination - perhaps by trying to bring family fare such as Max and Erma's to the land of stale beer, fake IDs and public urination. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

From the Free Times: Cinema Park-Adiso: Little Italy weighs saving an old theater against adding much-needed parking By Michael Gill Sheldon Wigod began his turn with the Mayfield Theater in 1976. Back then the professor and entrepreneur could sell out 500 seats by showing classics like American in Paris, Singing in the Rain and Charlie Chaplin movies. For 10 years, the movie house was the heartbeat of Little Italy. People parked in a lot up the hill, where new housing now stands. But in the '80s, Wigod says, VCRs and cable TV "basically killed revival houses all over the country." The Mayfield went on the ropes. Wigod played more avant-garde films to draw crowds, but one night in 1986 — after a screening of "some sort of Israeli gay movie, or something" — he closed the doors for good. In the 20 years since then, galleries, restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries have made the neighborhood buzz with commerce. So when the Little Italy Redevelopment Corp. began a master-planning process in 2003, planners thought it made sense to replace the aging movie house — built in 1923 and recognized by the Cleveland Landmarks Commission — with something decidedly less romantic: an elaborate parking deck. Architect Paul Volpe, who consulted with the CDC on the master plan, suggests retail on the first floor with a ramp behind it, housing on the second floor with parking and another ramp, and a third level completely devoted to cars. They'd save the marquee and portions of the facade, if possible. But property owners say no one asked them what they thought. "No one contacted me about that plan," says Terry Tarantino, who owns the theater building. "No one sat down with me to tell me what it's about." Tarantino opened his restaurant La Dolce Vita 17 years ago. With neighborhood charm and opera singers to serenade weekend dinner customers, he built it into a landmark of his own. He has ideas about the future of the historic theater, too, and how it fits with the rest of the neighborhood. And it doesn't include parking. "Let's pretend someone offered me a ridiculous amount of money to make it into parking," he says. "I still wouldn't want to do it. It's not about the money." No one denies that the neighborhood could use more parking, but the difference of opinion over how to get it points to profoundly different perspectives on the economic development of neighborhoods. the thing goes on for a bit at http://www.freetimes.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3231&POSTNUKESID=a215a1a0b4ccf04303f74006f3efab66