clvlndr

Nice to see all the OC foot traffic... I'm glad McNulty quickly stepped in to grab the Garage. Hope it works out. Kinda wish we'd have something different than another micro brewpub, but this sure beats the alternative (an empty store front). Plus, McNulty's rep is golden.

^I do know, down the street, there has been a major dispute btw Shaker and RTA regarding the eyesore stairs and canopy at the Shaker-Warrensville station. The stairs were in such disrepair, they have been replaced by sloping walkways from the corners of the bridge over the tracks down to the track area, and the stairways have been closed off. This has been the case for over a year and Shaker threatened RTA to demolish the stairwells and canopy within a fixed time period less they take legal action against the transit agency. Shaker's threat was months ago. Yet as of today, the ugly stairs and broken-out canopies remain-- a really eyesore esp given the wealthy neighborhoods immediately nearby. Surprised this hasn't been dealt with.

Yeah, nice pics Clueless... thanks for the update.

Haven't heard anything definite about Constantino's (they still are posting a "Coming Soon" message, both on their website and at the Uptown site), but it looks like they'll be open (soft opening) this weekend -- early next week at the latest... Yesterday, walked by and most of their shelves were stocked; they appeared to be training employees inside. There was still a lot of cosmetic work going on outside, as workers were quickly affixing the last sheets of the white and grey aluminum plates. All Constantino's outdoor signage appears in place.

ZachariahDaMan has been doing this for years. It's his thing -- I find it kinda cool; kinda interesting. (I doubt, personally, I'd have the guts to enter some of those condemned hulks he enters; don't know how he does it). There is indeed a certain beauty in old architecture, most of it in ruins -- it's anthropological studying the ruins and population and commercial shifts in industrial urban America ... I'm hardly offended by it. Quite the contrary, it's uplifting that an educated guy who probably has moved out of/doesn't have to deal with such areas, takes an interest in them where they are not even on the radar screens of most people; these neighborhoods are all but totally forgotten except by the people who still live there.

I stopped in to TK last weekend. It's a bar with a Shtick; but just a bar, and a rather large one, at that. I miss Fat Fish Blue, and TK is a step down imho, but it was packed and that's a good thing to see... As for the outfits, I'm not bent out of shape about them; yes, it's a T&A joint much like Hooters... I guess if you want to take away something, it's that the male waiters/bartenders have got to wear the ridiculous-looking kilts as well; so it's a bit of an equal-opportunity demean-er on some level, unlike Hooters --- NOTE: no offense meant to the proud Scottish culture where kilt wearing is a tradition, but clearly this joint, an American bar, has no real connection with Scottish culture and is only paying homage to the American tradition of providing horny, sports-addicted, beer-swilling men scantily-clad, pretty girls to look at... I do like that the joint has flat screens all over the place; even over the urinals in the men's room; pretty cool.

OK, OK, I'll back down on this one... the underside angle makes the sign look, ah, different. Viewed straight on, I'm sure it's cool, not to mention that Sushi 86 is aided by a greater visual presence on prospering Prospect... Wish 'em well.

It's still early. Last year they played well in June, July & August, then in September......bupkis! We struggled to hit after May. But I really think injuries decimated this team, MTS... Hafner, Sizemore and Kipnis were all hitting well, and all were injured; out for the season -- well, we know Grady and Travis have had their injury issues, but that didn't make it any better. But losing the kid Kipnis, so soon after he'd exploded out of the minors,... really hurt. On top of that, we lose Carlos Carrasco to Tommy John (gone the rest of last year, and all of this year), a major blow to our rotation as Carlos had been pitching well.... I don't like making excuses, but it would be hard for any team to maintain thier momentum after being bitten by such an extensive injury bug to key people late in the season.

^a little weird, but OK... thanks for the update.

Well, we knew Jason Kipnis was a gamer when he came up last year; which is why his premature injury was among the most devastating to the team last year... Now he's showing everybody reason to be so hopeful. Dude swings a pretty bat... He does need to improve his D, but hopefully that'll come. We're playing good ball now. Most of our starters are pitching well, esp. Lowe, Tomlin & Gomez. Our B. Pen, aside from the hiccups in the opening Toronto series, has been lights out... Now, if we can somehow get Jiminez to DO SOMETHING!! Jeez, what a bust, to date...

^The Greektown is by far the best-placed and most impactful of Detroit's 3 casinos albeit the smallest... Yeah, when I went to Detroit last winter, it seemed Greektown was becoming Greek in name only and that the chains were creeping in. I'd hate to see it totally lose it's Greek heritage.

I agree Strap, the casino is one piece to Cleveland's larger downtown puzzle... One thing we can't overlook is that, regardless of the use, it is a huge leap forward for downtown to take a key building at the center of town, as Higbee's is, and convert it from a crumbling, empty derelict, into a (once again) busy edifice. No, it's not the swanky department store we all wanted and what it used to be -- not by a longshot -- but just the visual coming down Prospect or up Ontario, of a huge, elegant grand dame as the Higbee's building brought back to life, and bathed in amber floodlights, is stunning and invigorating in and of itself.

Detroit is a poor comparison. First, Detroit turned to gambling out of despertion; it's downtown was tremendously weak and losing revenue across the river (and national boundary) to Windsor, ONT, which has had gambling for decades. Downtown Cleveland, even before the casino, is considerably stronger, more vibrant and more versitle than downtown Detroit (look no farther than downtown Cleveland's 10,000+ residence and 98% occupancy rate)...Secondly, consider the location and access to the casinos... Dan Gilbert correctly commented that Detroit's casino's, the exception of the smaller Greektown Casino + hotel, are at the fringes of downtown Detroit -- too far to impact the improving, but still struggling downtown Detroit. Cleveland's Horseshoe, as it's been pointed out many times, is at the core of downtown, with superior infastructure: the casino will be built into a gigantic multi-use/air-rights complex connected to rail transit (the hub and direct connection to the airport via the Red line), 2 hotels, a huge shopping mall, an 11-screen movie theatre, an NBA basketball arena and an MLB baseball stadium... not to mention over 2 Million sq. ft. of office space -- all essentially under 1 roof. No casino, to date, will have these advantages... So Detroit's situation is not really comparable to Cleveland's at all.

Nice to see. It's a cute show. Glad to see they'll use some more local exteriors next season, in addition to Great Lakes Brewing Co. which is "the Girls'" hangout (a make believe restaurant -- didn't realize it was called 'Stormi's'; missed the Josh Cribbs' episode).

And let's not forget, Uptown is adding these walkable, urban amenities to a neighborhood that already has a close-knit cluster of top museums, art, performance, educational & medical institutions that is unsurpassed anywhere in this country (and whose project includes yet another great museum)... and all this in a drop-dead gorgeous, park-like setting ... As a person who loves cities and authentic urban experiences as I do, there's a reason why I've never bothered to get in my car and go check CP out... (and why I've visited both Chagrin Falls and Hudson several times, with the latter being nearly as far away as CP from where I live).

One would get the impression that LA's light rail trains aren't equipped to pre-empt traffic signals. If this is the case, it would seem like a relatively low-cost upgrade that could drastically improve service... But then, maybe I'm just spoiled with LA's heavy rail Red Line and Purple Line subways, which are very nice and fast. If cost were no object, I'd still prefer fully grade-separated heavy rail over light rail under almost any circumstances. I think light rail is a good fit for LA's overall sprawl and light density (which, happily, the rapid rail lines are changing ... rapidly). The Red/Purple lines are great for the core, built-up lines that they serve, but I'm cool with LRT covering the vast stretches of LA+close-in burbs that they serve.... I do agree that the LRT's should have traffic light trippers; trains waiting at traffic lights for cars is counterintuitive imho.

Hooray for L.A.!!!!

IIRC the Downtown Regional Connector was origially planned when the Red & Blue Lines were designed, but dropped for budgetary reasons but, later, revived given the need and popularity of the rail service.

...Clearly, because it's in Cleveland's Edgewater neighborhood, not Lakewood! ;) That would be like saying Shaker Square is in Shaker Heights. I figured that you would appreciate that statement. :) Ooops! On nabe slight intended....

Seems the Judge solved the who's-obligated/not-obligated-to-pay, but also put Stanley on borrowed time... at least that's my read. Maloof wants to rehab, but has no money (or sway over the squabling/litigating shareholders). Gilbert holds half the stock in Macron and wants to swing the wrecking ball ASAP. And meanwhile the building continues to fall apart. RIP Stanley Building, for absent a miracle, your days are numbered.... damn shame that greed, selfishness and a lack of cooperation are conspiring to doom a most noteworthy, usable and historic building.

I don't think Constantino's will have too much problem finding patrons. As noted, the area they're drawing on is large, populous and growing... and more importantly, is wanting for quality, nearby alternatives. Right now, it's attached to a building with around 50 apt units (with an equal number in the south/east pavilion across the street, the 3-building Triangle high-rise apt complex, brand new Circle 118 & Coltman 27 townhouses, the rehabbing Wade-Magnolia/UC neighborhood, the 150+ unit Courtyard/Marriott rising a block away, densly-populatged Little Italy, etc... And once Phase II of Uptown is built, along with possibly the Intesa high-rise planned for Mayfield & Circle Dr., the demand for Constantino's will grow even greater. ... and what about all thouse hungry CWRU, CIA & CIM students living in the apartments and houses in the immediate area? ... I'm not familiar with their Lakewood operation, but I think their store in the Warehouse District downtown is a good model on which to predict it's potential Uptown success.

I strongly disagree and actually like the HRC and would hate for it to leave. It's a better quality HRC than most cities and, obviously, it fits nicely with the theme of downtown Cleveland. Of course, I'm always up for improvement, but I would really be down if HRC left the space withouth something significantly better going in.

^Los Angeles is addicted to rail. I never thought I'd live to see it.

But I don't think you can compare whole downtown areas to a neighborhood where the Intesa Tower and the parking lot across the street are the only real large structures in the immediate area. In Minnie and Cincy, people circulate in the walkways to avoid cold & traffic to get from place to place, often to the retail and restaurants (esp in Minneapolis, which has a more vibrant downtown than Cincy). ... the Intesa project only has a large apt/office building to a parking garage across the street... a little bit different.

^Yeah, I'm old enough to remember the old Union Terminal concourse as well, with the slick station-level entrance into Higbee's where there was a soda fountain bar and the boys/mens dept; and then those cool old wooden escalators up to the main floor (where Horseshoe's slots will now be)... I'll bet MTS was one of those kids who ran (in his sneakers) from TT's beautiful (Public Sq. entrance) portico and slid down those long ramps into the train station area... (p.s. I know I did).