Clueless,Ohio

Ich verstehe nicht alle diese verrueckte Nachrichten!

EDIT: I fixed some of these photos, some funky things have been happening to my pics when I try to re-size sometimes I took most of these pics back in early October. I wasn't going to post them...then I decided I was going to post them around the Chinese New Year (usually in February). But I took a wrong turn today while looking for a building in the Superior Warehouse area and stumbled upon something that is hopefully good news for Cleveland's AsiaTown. That's further down in the post. Cleveland's AsiaTown lies roughly between E. 30th & E.40th , and roughly between Payne & St. Clair just east of downtown. For the most part it is within the bigger St. Clair-Superior Neighborhood, which is a working class nabe with Slovenian/Eastern European roots that is now one of the most diverse places in Cleveland. This is the Payne Ave. area. Much of the Asian community lives in the suburbs, but the grocery stores and retail places are located here in the city. So most of the newer places are set back with plenty of parking to accomodate all those who come from all over Northeast Ohio and elsewhere. This is just off Payne at E.30th. The residential streets are narrow and usually one-way. The houses are modest and close together and almost are like small separate neighborhoods. Cleveland Chinese Christian Church Superior Ave. area. There is a sizable Hispanic community in the area. I'm gonna take a guess and say this is the only place in Ohio that you'll see this. A great Vietnamese restaurant, #1 Pho. I took this pic in early October...I don't know if this has opened yet or not. I don't know what's going on with this place. Ladies who work at the Korea House restaurant on Superior. So over to the ORIGINAL Chinatown on Rockwell Ave. (in the East 20s) built in 1929-30. This was the scene back in October...boarded up (as it has been for decades) with the old restaurant facades as reminders of the past. The following pictures are the way it looked today. There are development banners up and down the original Merchants Building and ,more importantly, in the empty barb-wired parking lot across the street. Did anyone know about this?? Has this been in the news at all?? Maybe there are no concrete plans and this is just a way to gauge support for a rebirth of the Rockwell Ave. historic area? Lets hope it happens!!

Very good pics Columbus looks great.

I believe ZDM's thread on "what buildings will be demolished..." has been absorbed here into this thread. I happen to have some pics (sorry, I did not resize these) to contribute to this and a website that talks about this... http://www.gcbl.org/planning/innerbelt/clevelands-architecture-in-path-of-innerbelt These first 3 are of the Broadway Mills building near E.9th & Carnegie (IMHO this is gonna be the biggest loss) This is the trapezoidal gas station next to the B'Way Mills (this is way cool...cannot find these anywhere) This is an example of what they're probably calling "nondescript" (to me it is absolutely NOT nondescript...I do not know if this exact bldg will be lost, but it is in the general vicinity of B'Way Mills) This is the 1400 E.30th Building ("Tastebuds" Bldg) in the Superior Warehouse District. A terrible loss it will be. This is a picture of only half of it.

Richard Fleischman Architects is moving across the street (or from somewhere nearby) to the 1st floor of the Osborne bldg. Here's sth from the DCA (go to page 2): http://www.downtownclevelandalliance.com/uploads/What%20We%20Do/newsletter/Downtown%20Clips%20Archive/2009_9_September.pdf

Straphanger I was going to send you a PM but your inbox is full :-) Yes I do realize that GM was very much desired by early 20th century Clevelanders and they sort of morphed the village center back to its nascent appearance. At one time there was some bonafide industry (1800s-style) going on down there at Old Mill Rd and the Chagrin River area. It's interesting because Holsey Gates had mill operations in Bedford too, and I'm guessing that at one time (a short time) GM and BF were probably peers in "industry". Their evolutions since then are completely different. Now BF is an aging inner-ring heavily commercialized and developed suburb whereas GM has reverted back to a more "rural" and bucolic village. BTW, that Victorian in BF is still lived in by the great-grandson of the founder of GM, of course he is now a very elderly man himself. I was able to talk to him...he was raking leaves in the front yard. Absolutely pleasant and down-to-earth. He did tell me that the house will become property of the Western Reserve Historical Society when he passes on.

Breuer house is still for sale http://www.howardhanna.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MLSName=NorthernOH&PRM_MLSNumber=3057326

The Breuer home is for sale, I believe...unless it's been sold. I know it was for sale anyway. After I posted this thread I realized there was a caption that I wanted to put in but forgot. Maybe everybody already knows this ,but in the GM "retail" section there is a close-up of a door...brick bldg...with a flag. The store is called Cindy Halle. It's a woman's clothing store owned by of course Cindy Halle. It is the last remnant of the venerable Halle's Dept. Store downtown. I'm pretty sure some of the Halles have always lived in GM.

A few weeks ago a drive through the Cleveland Metroparks took me to 2 different towns along the way: Gates Mills, OH. This village looks little different than it did around 190 years ago. Set in the idyllic Chagrin Valley on the east side, it is Ohio's most New England-looking town... A LOT of Greek Revival / Western Reserve architecture. Also pictured (as close as I could get) is the only Marcel Breuer RESIDENCE ever built in the state of Ohio. Bedford, OH. This city is an inner-ring east side suburb. Even though it is heavily commercialized and industrial (its biggest claim to fame now is having Ohio's largest automobile shopping strip), it has retained its historic town square and has some nice residential. The founder of Gates Mills built one of the prettiest houses around just off the town square of Bedford. the North Chagrin area An early school building Post Office Town Hall Cuyahoga County Library Some of the retail Pedestrian bridge and arboretum Chagrin River St. Christopher's church Village homes Chagrin Valley Hunt Club more houses Marcel Breuer house Yes this house is a small Gates Mills cottage but the trees are E-NORMOUS and the lightposts are as tall as the house A couple pics from the South Chagrin Metroparks on the way to Bedford Entering Bedford Bedford's beautiful old town hall (now a museum, I believe) Historic Dunham house old rail station retail on Broadway Ave...the main strip Mr. Gates' Bedford Victorian more houses in the older part of town Metroparks entrance not far from town square Broadway Ave. (original) commercial strip Driving back to downtown, the sunset from Cedar & Taylor Roads in Cleveland Hts

Cleveland Indians name Sandy Alomar Jr. first base coach By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer November 17, 2009, 4:37PM CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sandy Alomar Jr. is coming home This is good to hear... more at: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2009/11/cleveland_indians_name_sandy_a.html

Toledo looks great. Even though I've made the Cleveland to Detroit road trip several times, I was never able to stop and explore Toledo. Looks like that'll have to change.

Great pictures ,especially of the cornices of Cleveland. There are a lot of beautiful cornices throughout the city. The Taylor Dept. store bldg is getting its top replaced...good shot of that work-in-progress. The Schofield bldg (with its top still covered) should have one of the most elaborate cornices in the country, once it is finished. It may even be too big and elaborate to even be called a cornice. I almost forgot...that cornice on the City Club Building is so delicate looking , I'm surprised it has held up so well for a bldg around 100 yrs old. ***** CCB was built 1903, amazing condition. Unless someone knows if its exterior was restored at some point, I don't recall anything like that.

Thanks for the pics of Grandview. I spent a lot of time there...my aunt lived on Broadview (can't remember the cross street) and my cousin bought his first "starter" home on Ida(?). They have since moved to other parts of Columbus. I remember going to the Big Bear store in a shopping complex nearby. I also remember going to Spagio(?) when it first opened...is that still there? It's looking good.

^Yes, I've been there a couple times...near some of my family members' digs. This may not be easy for west siders to get to, but for those of you in Cleve Hts or Shaker or other east side communities...it's within reasonable distance. It's so good, I'd drive cross-town anyway. GREAT pizza, authentic italian pizza. Owned by the Quagliatas. http://www.crostatas.com/

This is brilliant KJP. Is there a real possibility of this happening in, say, the next 10 years? I never knew all of that infrastructure was built in the 1920s/30s. Amazing!

THis is in Cleveland near E.9th & Carnegie. I think this bldg is sadly scheduled to come down for the new Interbelt Bridge. You can't tell from this shot but it is very beautiful. BONUS: to the right of the bldg...that's Central Viaduct streetcar tracks and remnants of a brick road. The viaduct over the river is long gone of course. I'm not excactly sure what this says. Barr Dan Co.?? sth about upholstery...I tried googling but got nowhere.

I love any pics of Detroit. (It's my second fave city...after, of course, Cleveland) Ditto this for your Old Redford thread...

Nice pics. Even though the Transit Center is car-oriented, it looks good. Your close-ups of food always get me hungry...

The language is Czech: "Clean and durable/longlasting for chewing. Pleasant/agreeable and sweet for smoking." Thanks for the translation!

Wonderful intact commercial strip. Gotta love "Bimbo's" Pizza...

Not as interesting, but a sign nonetheless...at W.80th & Detroit (in Cleveland).

I thought this was pretty interesting... the dichotomy here is great...West Virginia Mail Pouch tobacco with Polish or Czech writing as well. It's in Cleveland at E.55th & Broadway. The building is 120 yrs old, I guess the wall sign must be at least 100. Not too bad of shape.

Plans for Cleveland's new convention center and medical mart are changing By Laura Johnston, The Plain Dealer November 06, 2009, 4:00AM "The unanticipated costs -- coupled with stalled negotiations for additional downtown property for the medical mart -- have forced the developers, Chicago-based MMPI, to reconfigure much of the project." UH-OH! more at: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/medical_mart_proposed_for_new.html

Looks like a nice place

I'm not sure if this is the right thread But I will put Soldiers and Sailors Monument info here... Early this morning while it was still dark the interior of the Monument was lit up, so all of the recently-restored stained glass windows and their detail were shining brightly. Maybe some who were out Wednesday night were able to see this too, I just happened to see it early (today) Thurs morning. There is still a lot of construction equipment around the site...the entire job is still not complete. I don't know if the interior will always be lit up from sundown to sunrise but it sure should be. I will be very happy when this fantastic Cleveland landmark is finished.