surfohio

I don't agree. I think a field house/rec center incorporated into the rebuilding of the East Bank of the Flat would be amazing! Well, that would be kinda cool I suppose! I just remembered...there are sand volleyball courts over at a new bar on the flats west bank, and inside the bar there's a large area for basketball and dodgeball. It's pretty sweet. It's just north of McCarthy's...I forget the name.

Agree with the cafe idea. You cannot go wrong with a stylishly placed indoor/outdoor restaurant. Designed like the Bryant Park grill, it could get use all year round. Anyhow, when I hear of basketball courts or tennis my first thought is that these athletic resources should be consolidated near CSU.

The film has already been shot in Detroit.

Ha ha I know that I'm being sarcastic.

Right. And in my imagination there will be a mix up, and demolition crews will accidentally knock down the justice center. After the entire building is safely evacuated of course.

Anyone gonna miss that building?

No doubt AG isn't exactly run by people with much foresight. You only need to know that they bought a profitable business next door. And instead of continuing to operate that business, which was an asset to the community, they tore it apart for the sake of an empty lot.

From the renderings I'm afraid that this hotel will rival only the Convention Center itself in the battle of who can have the worst street presence.

Plan to re-populate Detroit, along with amusing commentary: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/eyicp/what_about_resettling_a_neighborhood_in_detroit/ I love reddit. p.s. this seems to be dominant sentiment... The reason people can't build in Detroit has nothing to do with desire. Lots of people want to build neighborhoods in Detroit. There have been many revitalization efforts. Including upscale condos with gated communities and paid security staff. The lawlessness and criminal elements are just too overwhelming to overcome. And if you could overcome the crime, the established political order would destroy you through high taxes and eminent domain. The problem with Detroit is the people who live there and the people they elect to run it. You can't change that. Edit: I live in Metro Detroit. There is a ring of prosperity that circles Detroit. Go 15 miles in any direction and you bump into healthy properly functioning civilization. In Detroit they shoot at firefighters. Shops can't exist because they are burglarized daily. You can't establish the very framework necessary for civilization.

I contend a rebirth of Euclid Beach Park, even a more modest, scaled down version of the original would revive the "Beachland" and even surpass the potential for Tremont or Detroit Shoreway. This city is sorely missing a place that's fun, affordable, family oriented and a lakeside attraction. I don't see it turning into Tremont with high end restaurants, but I do see the artists colony staying there for a while. It won't ever be as polished as the west side neighborhoods you mentioned, but as long as the committment is there, the area will grow.

Speaking of ambitious renderings, if the mall truly was that pedestrian gateway to the lakefront then I'm certain the draw would be much much greater.

Opening of the Jake IS my favorite Cleveland memory. The energy downtown was indescribable. I still can't bring myself to say "Progressive Field" without it feeling awkward. Oh, and while I'm here....who remembers John Lanigan doing the schlock-tacular Prize Movie on channel 43!! When I moved here from NJ my new friends in CLE couldn't believe I'd never heard of Lanigan. They were shocked. They thought he was some kind of well known international celebrity, ha ha.

Interesting map of Emerging US Mega Region...enjoy the comments they're pretty hillarious. "Great Lakes Represent!" http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/ev7zn/map_of_emerging_us_megaregions/

Here's a quick "Divey but good" listing: Madison Ave I recommend Trio's, Iggy's (air hockey!), Winchester, Flying Rib (ping pong!) Mahalls Bowling and bela dubby (coffee AND beer). Detroit Ave try 5-O'clock Lounge (great atmosphere) and Merry Arts (sporty vibe, lots of atheletic types). Good luck! p.s. the bars IN bird town where I live, well, I've never set foot inside there....they look absolutely terrible!

-the amazing commercials for opening season at Jacobs field...magical. -the commercials for brand new Tower City Mall "Come on down to the A-ve-nue!!!"

They just had a Channel 3 news segment about Bearden's closing...the road construction has resulted in them losing half of their business. Of course, there was no sign at all of any work being done on the road. Just a bunch of debris and equipment laying around motionless, like always. Really sad.

Interesting survey...really made me ponder the neighborhood. 12. What type of food or service is missing from the West Side Market that you would like to see added? Cooked seafood. Sushi. Burger stand. Some veggie/vegan options. 13. What is one thing we could do to make the West Side Market even better? Outdoor patios, decks, fire pits, pavillion, beer garden, landscaping and anything else that increases the beauty and enjoyment of the property and inspires people to stick around longer.

Just heard on the radio that the ridiculous street construction project is hurting business at Bearden's in Rocky River. There really should be some kind of compensation for small business owners who get clobbered by road "work" that never seems to end. Anyhow, they could use some support right now. I'm dropping by this week. It's a classic place. Here's the site http://beardens-cleveland.com/ p.s. Peabody, did the Siam Cafe with my dad on Christmas. The place was bustling. Excellent, timely service. Dinner was unreal. Absolutely amazing!

Whoa, I had to look upthread to see how the designers planned to take the focus away from the windowless building. Looks like they aren't. But how could they? The blank wall looks enormous, at least right now it is the dominant feature of the park.

Rather than serve as a civic cheerleader for Cleveland, the PD would have served a more vital role had they been vigilant against the incompetent and criminal elected officials who have been destroying the city. I agree with this statement a lot....... And that we do need to take our own problems more seriously. By that I mean we, as Cleveland boosters, should be able to come together at the table and define our problems and what to do about them without someone always pulling a "you're a naysayer, anti-Cleveland" card, and weed the good ideas out of the discussion that can help produce a balance of good for the whole community in general, not just a few. The thing I do not like about the PD, however, is that the writing style is often simply too sensationalistic in such a style that seems to beacon to a lot of the negative or angry suburbanite community, somehow needing its negative opinions about Cleveland proper validated in ink. "Seee.. I TOLD YA SO!!!...It says it RIGHT here in the peper!!!", in other words. Such IS a good formula for selling tabloid-ish type papers, but is not doing its duty to factually and accurately inform. We can do our own constructive criticism here as we should and I have said that again and again, but constructive criticism without offering up an idea for fixing a given situation---and instead tears down with typical negative "woe-is-us...we suck" commentary---is NOT, imo, constructive at all..... It is destructive criticism and that is what this paper has mostly done, and such does little if anything to generate and foster much needed better civic pride. Pride is free and can do wonders for motivating a community to action, when people are taught to actually give a damn about their community, and why they should...what they should be proud of, etc..etc. This is a kind of social responsibility where the paper has failed miserably. That's just how I see it though. And yes, I agree the positive Pit hype is largely over waxed... A spectacular skyline and successful football team can be deceiving. I am there frequently and there are many usual signs of problems and issues all their own...But, just because they or any other place has them is not a signal for us to relax, become complacent and sit on our laurels. We should always be striving for better...and not be content with mediocrity or slack, just because other places have the same/similar issues too....and offer up the usual... "These problems are not exclusive to Cleveland" thing.. Although, I admit, many around here seem to think they are, and maybe that has a bit to do with how the paper has failed to help stimulate civic pride...back to what I was saying above.

I'm thinking maybe business isn't so hot, so he can't afford to hire/maintain the extra help required.

I wouldn't worry too much about the ugly appearance. Eventually the Cleveland Clinic will expand into Scarborough and that will be the end of that.

Outgoing Gov. Ted Strickland plans to stay politically active by supporting a startup liberal think tank whose objective will be to scrutinize every action of the incoming Republican-controlled governor's office and legislature. And this improves the Democrat party how??

Great news. That's quite a building!

I strongly believe that the developers can help avoid "islands of development" by ensuring adequate street presence. Walking between the neighborhoods has to be encouraged in every way possible. You should not have to feel like you're in a no-mans land on a city sidewalk, or worse, in danger of speeding cars...it just really irks me that in this day and age, so many developers cannot seem to grasp this concept.