blinker12

How many old industrial buildings remain on the West Bank? There are a couple of cool ones I can think of off the top of my head. Any that are particularly ripe for condo conversion?

I'm glad this is the first intersection to be built. That gap on Superior between NOACA and the Plain Dealer building/Tower Press always bugs the heck out of me. It's the biggest missing tooth in what's otherwise a pretty continuous stretch of urbanity on Superior from Public Square to the Innerbelt, and into Chinatown. All in all, great news! Thanks for all your hard work this week, KJP. :)

Full article now posted. It answers the gambling question.

They're cool names. I'd like to see us start using some of them again. Also, the area now known alternately as Chinatown, Goodrich-Kirtland Park and Payne-Sterling was once known as "Near Town," according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.

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I think it's time this had its own thread, don't you? Exciting stuff!!! Thanks for the coverage, KJP. :clap: Developers have plans for Flats Thursday, June 08, 2006 By Ken Prendergast West Side Sun News As early as this September, a plan to build up to 2,000 housing units, plus retail spaces, offices, parks and a casino on the Flats West Bank may be announced by a trio of real estate developers. The still-emerging development plan, if realized, would be three times larger than a publicly subsidized redevelopment of the Flats East Bank. Little or no public subsidies are contemplated by the West Bank developers _ Jacobs Investments, K&D Group and Robert Corna Architects. No cost estimates are yet available for the West Bank plan. A formal announcement of the Flats West Bank plan is still months away because the developers do not yet have all needed properties in hand. The developers are also trying to nail down commitments from Cuyahoga County officials to improve the county-owned Wendy Park on Whiskey Island. To live downtown, you need to have more than a New York City-style loft, said Corna, in explaining the need for the Whiskey Island park. You need some open space. He noted that the 340-unit housing development of Stonebridge, built along the old Superior Viaduct by himself and K&D Group, has succeeded because of its proximity to the Settlers Landing park. Stonebridge continues to expand. A 108-unit, 11-story condominium tower is under construction next to the former Cantina Del Rio, which is being renovated into an indoor piazza with shops, offices, a skylight and indoor trees. Corna noted the piazza is already 100 percent leased. He said the proposed Flats West Bank development would fill northward along Center Street to the old river channel, which forms the southern edge of Whiskey Island. A foot bridge over the Norfolk Southern tracks to reach the lakefront, including a future marina, is being considered as part of the plan. Take Stonebridge and Nautica together with a park and marina on Whiskey Island and it will be fantastic, Corna said. The few remaining light industrial uses, located within the Flats West Bank plan, would be moved out and their buildings converted to offices, housing and shops. Much of the rest of the land either has warehouses already converted to housing, is vacant, or is used for parking for Jeff Jacobs' Nautica entertainment complex. Jacobs, an advocate of legalized gambling, is proposing to build a casino at Nautica. His complex already includes Flats stalwarts like Shooters and the Powerhouse. Voters statewide may decide this November if two casinos can be built in downtown Cleveland. Corna said the overall Flats West Bank development can proceed without a casino, but would be stronger with it. We're still formulating our planning, he said. But we're looking at making the (official) announcement in September.

Yeah, that would be nice. In the meantime, I sometimes go to the one at Lorain and W. 65th (bikeable or rapidable) or the ones downtown. I know, not quite the same. As for when the Jay Hotel was last a post office, I don't know. It must have been a looooooooong time ago. I seem to recall the building itself dates to about 1915.

Rode by on my bike today and noticed the front door open -- looks like they've finally started work: You know I had to peek inside, at what appears to have been the old lobby. It was none too pretty:

Thanks for posting musky.

I think the fate of that building is undecided in CSU's master plan. I too would like to see it stay.

^No, it's vacant.

Great news. Can we assume the UH-Atrium project is a go? I'd rather see that building filled than a new skyscraper anyday. In its current condition it has a profoundly depressing effect on lower Euclid.

The area reminds me a bit of East Williamsburg in Brooklyn (not as dense of course). Somewhat blighted Latino/Italian neighborhood with lots of vinyl siding. bizbiz, I didn't feel particularly courageous running down Storer; I don't think anyone looked twice at us! But thanks for the props. :)

^Matter-of-fact in this case, though I admit I often speak of suburbanites with a note of playful derision.

Two friends and I went for a run in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood this morning. Clark-Fulton (sometimes known as Clark-Metro because it is home to Metro Hospital on W. 25th Street) lies on the near West Side of Cleveland, south of Ohio City. Its rough boundaries are Denison Avenue to the South, Lorain Avenue to the North, W. 25th to the East and W. 65th to the West. Of all Cleveland's neighborhoods, it was one of the most devastated by highway construction. I-90 and I-71 gash through the northern and southern sections of the neighborhood. Some of what was lost has been depicted in the book "Cleveland Then & Now." Still, Clark-Fulton continues to function as a point of entry for new immigrants to Northeast Ohio -- primarily Latin Americans. Once largely German, then Italian and Czech, it is now Cleveland's largest barrio, as demonstrated by numerous bodegas, markets and Latin night clubs. While blight is prevalent, many classic Cleveland storefront buildings remain intact along the old streetcar routes of W. 25th, Fulton, Clark and Storer avenues. Those charming old structures, along with innumerable Catholic churches and bars, make it the epitome of "The Old Neighborhood" in Cleveland. We didn't make it to W. 25th, so there are no photos of that street in this thread. Our run started near Fulton and Storer. Running up Fulton toward Clark, with St. Rocco's in the distance. Lois' Place bar. Italian businesses -- and some Italians themselves -- remain. The Italian community is anchored by St. Rocco church on Fulton. A priest ushers Sunday morning churchgoers (including returning suburbanites) out onto the sidewalk. The Pearls -- er, Village -- of St. Rocco's, a new infill development that I think is financed by the church. The other Italian staple in the neighborhood is the famous Johnny's Bar, on Fulton. On the side of Johnny's, a sign for a car wash. Joe De's Pizzeria and Restaurant. Pat's Beauty Salon. Ricordo's Italian Garden Party Center on Fulton. La Fiesta Supermercado, a focal point for the neighborhood's newer residents (though it is way OUT of focus here -- sorry). Guiseppe's Barber Shop, on Fulton, loves Puerto Rico. Martial arts, anyone? On Fulton just south of Clark, an old warehouse has been given new life as offices. Behind that and to the east, another beauty. Heading west on Clark from Fulton. Clark has quite a few missing teeth, but some interesting structures remain. St. Mary's cemetary on Clark. Great Lakes Lithograph. Clark near (I believe) W. 44th. Side of the Bank News building. Classic Cleveland storefronts, now sadly boarded up. Sober Coffee: Sober people, sober place, sober fun. How many pizzerias can one neighborhood support? One of the gems of the neighborhood is this building on Clark, adjacent to a firehouse (at left). Does it still function as a gentleman's club? Who knows... Castro Hardware. Oh, and plants too. The What-Ever Shop. Whatever... El Torito Restaurant and Bakery on Clark. Tattoos, and a turret. Clark near W. 48th. Clark and W. 50th. Bay windows above storefront. Macho Machinery Co. -- don't mess with them! Another gem was the Clark Recreation Center, 5706 Clark, with separate entrances for men and women. These old bathhouses used to be all over the city. The rather forboding streetscape at Clark and W. 61st. The old stone bridge was cool -- it bears the date 1906. A cute house on W. 61st with terraced gardens. Grit lovers, here ya go. Old factory fronting on W. 65th, viewed from behind. As an antidote, here's a pretty old schoolhouse (we think). Now home to what appears to be a daycare. Typical housing stock. We turned east down Storer Avenue, to be greeted by Latin Touch Nite Club! Verlie's Sunday Liquor, W. 46th and Storer. No, we didn't stop in. El Tropical Restaurant. Typical view down Storer. Bethany United Church of Christ in the distance. Holy Sacrament Church and school, Fulton near Storer. We're back to where we started. Saving the best for last, we stopped into Mazzone's Bakery on Clark near Fulton. The counter at Mazzone's. The selections. On the way back home, I snapped a shot of the old Jewish Cemetery on Fulton near Monroe. Practically next door is the Monroe Street Cemetery, established in 1836. The gate looks just like Erie Street Cemetery's and I was told it was designed by the same man. Another view.

^Has anyone disputed that? Welcome to the board, by the way.

Yeah, I find the gay claim preposterous as well. Are there any numbers to back that up?

Well, we have the Downtown Cleveland Alliance bike patrol downtown. They started making their rounds in April, and I think are on the streets 18 hours a day. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

Let's get our facts straight: Playhouse Square is the largest performing arts center in the country (in terms of number of seats) after Lincoln Center in NYC. In terms of cities overall, I have no idea where different places rank in number of theater seats. I'm sure NYC has exponentially more than any other U.S. city. And other U.S. cities have local theater scenes more vibrant than Cleveland's, even though we do have a large performing arts center -- think Chicago, San Francisco, possibly Minneapolis (though I think that rests largely on the reputation of a single regional theater, whose name escapes me at the moment). On a side note, I think Cleveland's most interesting theater is performed outside of Playhouse Square, at places like Cleveland Public Theatre, Karamu, Dobama and (sometimes) the Cleveland Playhouse.

^True. I think Litt's saying we need to get back to those kinds of projects, which were all completed before 1940.

Nice job! Glad somebody posted photos of the Hessler Street Fair.

Oops, that's the part I forgot to mention. We need something all year round. And we need something that lasts longer than 2 hours, and that involves downtown merchants staying open late in tandem with the event. It should be from after work until 10 at least. Agreed.

The new Rite Aid will be a little better than what was there before, as the building will be closer to the intersection and the entrance somewhat oriented to the street. It's still depressing suburban-style architecture, but the sea of asphalt will at least be smaller and less noticeable. At least these things come down like houses of cards. It took them all of about four days to demolish the CVS/SavaLot shack formerly on the site. In the meantime, it would be nice to get the old Rite Aid building across the street demolished and replaced with something more urban, but that would require lots of $$$. We need to start making West 65th a pedestrian friendly corridor -- at least between Madison and Detroit -- so people will consider walking from the W65th Rapid station to Detroit Avenue and the Arts District. It's not a long walk (1/2 mile) but it feels eternal because there are so many parking lots.

These are great starting points but they don't happen frequently enough. Something needs to happen weekly, and on the same night of the week every week, so people know about it -- a lesson from Philly.

I like. :clap: ARCHITECTURE Design excellence a necessity If Cleveland raises standards, city's image will improve Wednesday, May 31, 2006 Cleveland has a legendary case of low self-esteem, born of a half-century of economic decline and a generation's worth of jokes about a certain flammable waterway. Can architecture, urban design and city planning help turn things around? Absolutely. Buildings, neighborhoods, streets, highways, airports and parks send powerful messages to the world about a city's vitality, self-esteem and confidence in the future. The good news is that Cleveland should have multiple new opportunities to reshape itself in the coming decade. For the first time since the economic slump that began in 2000, a large number of significant architectural and urban-design projects are under way or nearing the launch pad. From construction campaigns at the Cleveland Clinic and the Cleveland Municipal School District to the reconstruction of the Inner Belt and the redo of Euclid Avenue as a rapid transit bus corridor, the city has multiple chances to redefine its image, strengthen its economy and make itself a better place in which to live. But the transformation can't occur without a strong performance from architects, engineers and planners, and from the clients, patrons and elected officials who hire them. The problem is that Cleveland's slide in vitality, population and status since World War II has been accompanied by an equally long slide in design standards and achievement. The issue, always visible in the city, gained new prominence in April when the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland announced the six finalists to design the iconic new building it wants to build at Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road. All six contenders were from out of town. More at http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer