mrclifton88

I was looking at this AMAZING collection of postcards from long ago: http://flickeflu.com/set/72157627247961270 I saw this pictures of the original plans for the Union terminal. While that ultimately didn't get built as it was drawn, what we have today is pretty close. It appears though that there is a double entrance, one like we have now and then one below in the square at a lower elevation. Was this going to be a direct entrance to the trains? While I am glad we have Terminal Tower, I kinda wish we had that grand entrance in the drawings, with the huge columns and double entrances... don't think it'd be possible anymore would it? :-P :-P I wonder if someone could tell me what an entrance like that sloping down under the lobby would lead to today? Are the rapids still under that area? The current design and even the ones proposed in the 3 possible plans for PS seem to block and cover the entrance when it should be highlighted as something grand. I like the wide open view in the drawing. IMHO

From what Ive read it sounds like there are no plans to upgrade the doors to Public Auditorium on the East 6th and St. Clair sides. As you can see from my pics above, the new doors on Lakeside look great. Why in the world can't they just upgrade the whole thing?

What exactly does being nominated to be a landmark mean for these buildings? http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/landmark/agenda/2012/04122012/index.php May Co. and E. Ohio also being nominated...

Yup... too bad... but I have to say it was much closer than I thought it would be

We got a re-tweet from Elvis Duran! Hopefully that helps?

I was able to get a lot of pictures around the whole site yesterday. Hope you enjoy! One thing of note: As you can see Public Auditorium's mall side is being refurbished and already has completely new doors which look great. The Lakeside entrance also seems to have brand new doors that seemed to me to be brand new copies of the historic originals. However the E. 6th and St. Clair sides of the building are in pretty rough shape. The doors are in terrible condition and there are other facade issues. Im wondering, does the rehab of Public Hall end with just the Mall side and Lakeside Entrance? I hope not! It would be so disappointing. I'm also curious what the Ballroom overlook will look like when competed since the railroad tracks are right in front of it. Will there be some kind of barrier or landscaping? Hopefully it will be something a little more exciting than its current state!

They're definitely redoing the front of TC

Who is in charge of maintaining lights in this city? :-P I know earlier in this thread there was discussion of the art installation in Playhouse Square in the RTA median that was out. Well I can tell you that it is STILL completely off. Also I noticed that the exterior lights on the Wyndham are like 90% off. It seems like only a few still work. I know these are small things to some but I think maintaining these aspects make a difference to the whole area! The building owners need to step it up

WOW :clap: the lights are amazing. Maybe other surrounding building owners can take note of what a little cleaning and spot lighting can do for already amazing architecture? :-P *cough* *cough* Landmark Office Towers!

If there has to be some kind of Cineplex, why not update TOWER CITY CINEMAS! I would think the success of the film festival and the other attractions downtown would be reasons to do this.

Especially since it was shoved way in the back corner! Too bad.

The Viking Store in Legacy Village is closing

Supposedly that is the plan, to update ALL cars. It was discussed at the Destination Cleveland Launch event. I posted about it here: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,27144.0.html 8th paragraph

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The whole area is pretty unattractive so all in all you are right, and the fact that these apartments are happening is a great starting point. But all of these surrounding blocks need to be improved all the way to the Wolstein Center and back towards Progressive Field. I guess in this case, a surface lot is a start!

OH GOD :-o Call it green space, call it whatever, its a SURFACE LOT. In an area SURROUNDED BY SURFACE LOTS. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/03/kd_buys_playhousesquare_land_p.html

PRAISE GOD :) I was so excited when I saw this in the paper this morning! I feel like I have to get my car aligned every time I drive MLK. Long overdue, but so glad this is happening!

MTS. Can we please go shopping together? Actually, can I go shopping with your aunt? :) I would love all of these things to be downtown, but we don't even have a single department store! I think that is crucial. However we can't go from nothing, to Bloomingdale's. I've always wondered if there was ever any effort to get something like a flagship Macy's downtown? With restaurants etc. that sort of thing would be a draw BUT it would have to be large and unique to separate it from its suburban counterparts.

Don't forget the planned new high-rise apartment tower and hotel on the Jacobs lot on Public Square! Is it April 1 yet? Sorry, just practicing! :evil: :x Oh no ... I forgot ... I am definitely staying away from here ALL day April 1. I can't fall for it again.

This morning Positively Cleveland hosted the Destination Cleveland Launch Program which was a presentation of results from a 2011 summit discussing how Cleveland is perceived by visitors and what we can do to not only attract visitors but change the way Cleveland looks and feels to them. There were several guest speakers and while most of the information I already knew (we really are so ahead here on UO :clap:) there were some interesting new tidbits. I didn't know where to post this and didn't want to break it up thread by thread so here are the basics of what I heard that was new: The main issues covered were 1. Connectivity & Way-finding 2. First Impressions & Hospitality 3. Attraction Bundling & Packaging 4. Locals as Ambassadors to Visitors 5. Public Transit for Visitors 6. Signature Events Joseph Marinucci (Downtown Cle Alliance) spoke on wayfinding and how this new system was prompted by the casino. The last major wayfinding system put into place was during the Gateway era in the 90's. He said that out of that large number of purple signs, only 11 are still around and mostly that is due to the fact that there was NO maintenance plan put in place. The new system of signs (which are blue and red and I believe have been posted in the Casino thread) will consist of 44 signs throughout downtown. There is a funded maintenance plan in effect and if I understood right all of the signs will be in place by May 14th. Tony Coyne (Group Plan) then spoke about the Malls and Public Square. Basically they don't have a lot of final plans yet but are working with the CC and Med Mart ppl to make sure they have the option to build later and add on. They don't want to be shut out of Mall improvements because of the current construction schedule. Mall C is scheduled to be resurfaced by the end of the month, I believe, and planted on by the end of the year. The edge of Mall B facing Lakeside as we know, will be 27' above grade and from Lakeside to St. Clair the mall was raised 8'. Mall A is maintained by Key Center and the Jacobs Group so there isn't much they can do there but they have been working with Key to add more greenery and some small changes. He did mention a planned water feature on Mall C directly across form the CC entrance. He then moved on to Public Square. Out of its' 10 acres, 6 are either asphalt or pavement. The traffic study for the area is supposed to be released very soon and the more aggressive work can begin but of course there are no final plans as of yet. Terry Stewart (Pres of RRHOF) spoke about the planned Walk of Fame. He spoke briefly about the Inductions; they sold out in 4 minutes and he also mentioned that people often ask why the Inductions can't be in Cleveland every year. He said it would be almost impossible both for the budget and the staff. They need the full 2 years in between to plan and fundraise. The Walk of Fame is to be revealed in sections, since they have to cover the last 26 years of inductees. From this April through May 2014, they will unveil a new group and the plaques will be from E. 17th all the way to the East Bank of the Flats. I don't remember how often BUT on April 4th 2012, the first batch which I believe is this years inductees will be unveiled outside of Public Hall. They are NOT the design shown in the Plain Dealer. They have been redesigned but he couldn't show them yet. Steve Bitto from RTA was the last speaker and I learned the most new info from his part. He was very positive of the RTA and said it should be the preferred mode of travel for all visitors and they are working to make that a reality. Most of the funding is ready for work to begin on the new Mayfield station next to Little Italy. Also, all rail cars were recently mechanically refurbished and now they are in the process of rehabbing the interior of EVERY car. New seats, new floors, etc. Currently, the downtown Trolleys run M-F 7am-7pm but the new C line (Casino/Convention Line I believe) will be IN ADDITION to current hours, M-F 7pm-11pm, as well as Sat-Sun 11am-11pm every 10 minutes. The L-line trolley is also being prepared to run 10am to 6pm Sat and Sun (I don't remember weekday hours but I might have missed them) every 15 minutes. This would serve the Lakefront attractions. All Trolley stops will have a new wayfinding sign system. RTA is in the process of developing a tour booklet for Visitors highlighting attractions and methods of using RTA to get there. Also, a new 1, 2, and 4 RTA day pass will soon be in use. 1 day: $5, 2 day: $10, 4 day: $20. They will be available at Hopkins, hotels, welcome centers, and other tourist destinations throughout town. They have a very attraction design with each card showing a different notable landmark in Cleveland. There are multiple designs for each the 1, 2, and 4 day passes. He rather humorously acknowledged that these new passes are very easy to get and use adding that the current Ticket vending machines have NOT positively received and indicated that he's heard PLENTY about them, :-P he did say that RTA is well aware and working on that situation. Whether that means complete replacement, he did not say. Lastly, he added the importance of the Hopkins to TC Red Line, and how we were the first city to link the airport to its downtown via rail. Hopkins is in the process of upgrading the RTA area, and will be enhancing its signage showing directions to the RTA, as well as installing live LED information systems showing incoming trains, etc. in Baggage Claim and at least the United Terminal for now. I don't know exactly what these are or what they will look like but it sounded like a great addition. Overall it was an interesting program that gave some new bits of information. Here are a couple pictures I was able to snap.

Yes. That's it. It wasn't major, no, but I think still a significant and welcome improvement.

A while back there were plans for upgrading the entire entrance of the Casino all the way to the entrance to Tower City, with new lighting, sidewalks, etc. Maybe they are starting???

Ironically, today at work I overheard two older ladies talking about Tower city. Unfortunately for me, I have to work in the suburbs, which I would leave in half a second for the opportunity to work downtown! Being here though, I often hear negativity about going downtown. I was very surprised to hear one of the ladies talk about recently attending the film Festival, and she mentioned how gorgeous Tower city is and could be. They both were commenting on the casino, medical Mart, and other changes happening downtown, and we're both very hopeful that Tower city would soon attract a better mix of stores. I thought it was very encouraging to hear 2 suburbanites who I wouldn't think would care about shopping downtown, have a desire for Tower city to succeed. I definitely think if there was some sort of transformation, there would be a demand.

Polo? He had no Ralph Lauren store in TC. We had the first Barney's in the Midwest! Our Barney's opened before Chicago. However, Barney's management ran that brand into the ground. IIRC, that letter of intent is what is keeping NM from building elsewhere in Ohio. In addition, I think it keeps them from building in Indiana and Wester PA. There were only a couple of thousand people in Downtown at the time. The Warehouse District was mostly clubs, bars and porno shops. Most of TC traffic at that time was daytime workers, weekend shoppers and bus tours from all over. The weekends were bananas. You mean that letter of intent still holds up today? Not that they're waiting to build in Cleveland, but something like that would still have effects? And thanks for the info about DT population. Sorry if I am stating the obvious but I'm not from here: It seems like TC was ahead of its time. Even though it was a gigantic project, the rest of downtown wasn't yet ready to support it. Even with today's 10,000 or so residents I think TC with its original lineup would do so much better now... I know I saw a picture from the 1990's of Euclid avenue looking down from the BP Building east and the area looked completely desolate and abandoned, absolutely nothing like today. I think so much was put into TC at the time that the rest of town seemed to be forgotten.

"We had a vibrant downtown retail department store business. We had Barneys of New York, and we had Polo. We had the first Disney Store in Northeast Ohio. We had a letter of intent with Neiman Marcus to put a department store in downtown Cleveland." UGH :cry: I have a question, does anyone know about how many downtown residents there were around the time of Tower City's opening?