Clueless,Ohio

Here: http://www.medcitynews.com/index.php/2009/10/cleveland-clinic-laboratories-loses-leader-gains-revised-plan/

Of course I care about this differently than the average person, because I prefer, obviously, not to see the initial plans come to fruition...But as a UOer I also do not want that to be a pkg lot. I want the OCPM Building back

The initial plans for this site...(the ones that are now either permanently scaled down, or put on the back-burner...which it will be, will depend on the economy) would've greatly affected something over here at CWRU. That's why we know / care about this. The pkg lot was supposed to be a very temporary thing. Now? At this exact moment in time? Maybe the pkg lot will hang around a little longer than expected

^ I think that Jeptha Wade might have something to say about that. But in a way you're right (at least from Cleveland's standpoint)...hmmm Smokestacks and pollution next to downtown...or, trees, colleges and homes next to downtown? Maybe it wasn't planned

Not a correct statement

Yes, exactly. We (Cleveland) got this part backwards... We should've put University Circle / Rockefeller Pk bordering downtown and the heavy industry away from the CBD. Instead we did the opposite. It makes you ask: "what were they thinking??" ****This is what I've been trying to say all along!!*****

Evergrey, Thanks for those words of enthusiasm

Invention is one thing, Access to that invention is something else. Maybe half the families on a block had 1 car !! unfathomable thought nowadays

Most of NYC's population lives on an island. Creates tightness Boston is criss-crossed with waterways. Creates tightness DC--- I love it--- but it's a generally affluent over-grown college town. Thrives on intimate, walkable neighborhoods. All of these and the other old East Coast cities rise to preeminence came before the dawn of the automobile. The bulk of their urban core's residential and commercial structures were not planned around Ford Fairlanes or Model T's for that matter. Places like Cleveland and Detroit--their boomtown years were 1900 and after , more like the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Automobiles! LA is totally an automobile/ highway age city. OK so it's not just flatness. It's landlocked-ness, and certainly the timing of when their growth occurred

I personally believe that A LOT has to do with the terrain. I wrote about this before in The Perception Of Cleveland thread in City Discussions. Quickly summarizing it, Cleveland was planned between the Cuyahoga River, Lake Erie (of course), and Doan Brook---which is on the East Side and about 4-5 miles from the river. The planners essentially located the cultural institutions out there. It seemed perfectly fine at the time...and cities are traditionally arranged around waterways, even though, I know, a Brook is very small. So what this created was a vast expanse between the CBD and the parks/colleges/museums area. The location of present-day Rockefeller Park and University Circle are a result of this. The topography of the Great Lakes region facilitates this because it is flat and allows for this continual horizontal sprawl. Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Milwaukee, etc. pretty much have the same topography, as do cities in other parts of the nation. Conversely, hills and mountains force tighter, denser cities. Exception---Chicago. I truly believe that Cleveland would be a much different experience if Doan Brook had been only 2 or 3 miles from the River. Regardless of how flat the shoreline terrain is. Some will probably disagree with me on this but Cleveland's 1990s "Comeback" was probably (or certainly) a little over-hyped. It's just that things were soo bad in the 70s and early 80s that we did come a long way from that. But there still is a way to go.

I do think that if there is any good scenario for this neighborhood it will be more likely that the commercial structures will survive than the residential do. Also, not really commercial, but some of the churches and their congregations continue to stand the test of time...St. Stanislaus is the epicenter of the Polish community of Ohio, not just Cleveland. It underwent a renovation 10 yrs ago and was said that its interior rivaled the churches of Europe. But with residential it's no secret that this area has a high foreclosure rate, even though some streets / areas are fine while other streets have an abundance: Occasionally ,though, ones like this pop up somewhere (this is by Bohemian Nat'l Hall) The remaining big brick and stone commercial buildings will probably survive long after the homes. They just need continuous tenants and some on-going maintenance. And to be left there...

The OCPM Building that Cleve Clinic just finishd demolishing... the buzz ,at least around CWRU, is that CCF has seriously scaled down their original plans for that location. At this point in time the need for this demolition seems to be unnecessary. The size of what they're looking at building now could've probably gone anywhere around their campus, or somewhere else that didn't require razing buildings. Doesn't this happen a lot? Again, this info is just anecdotal. But in the continued national / global economic slump...it's probably correct.

I love this stuff. It's like archaeological ruins...Beautiful both then and now.

So since it's Halloween I went to check out my favorite house in Cleveland proper, since it reminds me of a good Haunted House...in disrepair and all. I hadn't been over there for a couple years and the house is even in worse shape and it's for sale. It's picture is further down in this post. But since there's been a lot of talk about the "satellite downtowns" of Cleveland , I decided to snap some pictures of the once-great Broadway Neighborhood which generally is comprised of the N. Broadway, S. Broadway, Fleet Ave. and the Slavic Village areas. At one time, it was one of the two most prominent satellite downtowns...the other one being at E. 105 and Euclid. That one has been totally eradicated, no evidence of it. But for Broadway there is an old world vibe still around. It's kind of a forgotten area though, not at all trendy like Tremont, Ohio City,etc. It is a bit rough, that's for sure Eastern Europeans-- mainly Polish and Czech-- were the first settlers of this area and it is reflected in the churches and buildings. Here is a sampling of what remains Starting at the crest of the hill on Broadway around E. 80, with downtown Cleve in the distance Zosia's Cafe...I don't think this location is open anymore. But the phone number has a voicemail to "Zosia's Pierogies" now There's a few Travel agencies that dot the area...there's still some first generation Europeans around here The actual satellite downtown around E. 55 and Broadway The Fleet Ave. area Olga Sarbinowska running for Ward 12 Coucil seat in Cleveland Warszawa District (within Slavic Village) New construction called "The Cloisters" , near St. Stanislaus Historic Church, pictured above The coolest: Across the street: The Bohemian National Hall built 1896 and its modern addition The northern end of Broadway right before the Steel Mills

Great !! nice Mercedes too

I'm diggin' it !

This is good news if it's the building I'm thinking about. That has been vacant FOR YEARS. That's a great WD building...again, if it's the one I think it is.

Great architecture. Reminds me of Clifton Blvd and Lake Rd in Cleveland/Lakewood.

sorry, just did a search and I see that it is Berardi from Columbus...oh well. No Sandvick on this project

Maybe this has been already answered on the forum, but is Jonathon Sandvick still the architect for this project? If he is, then I feel comfortable with what they're doing... given his expertise in preservation and restoration.

sounds good. The more options downtown (or near downtown) , the better.

Cleveland Clinic completes purchase of Cleveland Play House complex By STAN BULLARD This is a small news bulletin from Friday afternoon, The purchase of Cleveland Playhouse has been finalized. more at Crain's: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20091016/FREE/910169975

Unglaublich !!

Here are some pics on the progress of 27 Coltman in Little Italy / UC. It looks like there will be a bunch of these when it's all done. (I know... 27 of 'em) (Circle 118 (no pics) directly across Euclid Ave is coming along too) The McCullough Ctr of the CIA is directly across the Rapid tracks , the upper floors of many Coltman units will have this building within view. The new many-paned green windows look good. Warehouse-y.

Hi! Welcome to Cleveland Try downtown...any of the areas (Gateway, Warehouse District, CSU, E.12th) are suitable and you have access to either the Red Line Rapid (station is at Tower City) or the Euclid Ave. "Healthline" which is a bus system that will drop you off right at CCF--- if you don't always want to drive or can't drive. In the winter it's definitely a great option to getting to work. I work at CWRU and live downtown...I know. Otherwise, I'd try Little Italy (in the University Circle area), Shaker Square, or Cleve Hts.