surfohio

Agree!!

Darn, I am in Manhattan right now....keep us in the loop EC!!!!!

I think the wallscapes are fantastic. I wish Cleveland would soon follow suit. Screw ODOT.

Thanks for posting.....don't know how I missed this earlier. Great job using Baltimore, Old Alexandria, etc. as model concepts. (now if we can only see Fells Point, Baltimore as a model for what's left of the Flats) Very exciting to consider all of the possibilities!!!!

Jake, here is my entire quote and I stand by it. "On the other hand, if the arena is buried in the heart of campus the possibilities for spinoff development just aren't the same. This is one reason the JAR sucks so bad. The fan experience of walking past frozen and locked Olin Hall or even the open Student Center, no matter how nice it is, just isn't exciting to me. Even if built on the periphery of campus, I'm not sure how being built along a one-way Route 8 access road is beneficial. I suppose Exchange St. does have businesses that would benefit and serve Arena visitors, I just don't see anywhere near the same upside as with the potential renaissance downtown." Please don't read any ill will or sinister intent by it, it's just my opinion. Reread my entire post if you care to do so. I support the Zips every way I can and I love UA. I went there for grad school and undergrad.

Headlands! Such an amazing place with the beautiful lighthouse and quite a unique system of sand dunes. I want to amend my "absentee landlord" comment with regards to Headlands, they certainly take much better care of the beaches there vs. here in Cleveland. C-Dawg I wonder when we're going to turn the corner from wetlands mitigation to actual talk of restoring some of that 90 percent that has been lost.

EC that clip is alarming...plastic is truly wreaking havoc both aesthetically and much more so biologically. Plastic is viewed as "cheap" and so prevalent, but then the real costs that we all bear with regard to cleanup, that externality must be factored in to the equation. And then consider that nobody knows the extent of the harm involved. The litter issue, I just hope that can change here. You have Australia which is so culturally in tuned with the water, and here in Cleveland you simply have a good number of people without any "beach etiquette" with regard to trash...but that can change. It's like I have some older friends and relatives who still throw cigarette butts out of the car window or on the sidewalk...they just grew up doing that without any regard. Once people take a broader look at their actions, no matter how small they are perceived, there will be an improvement. Kingfish, I've heard that PC's beaches are pretty good.

C-Dawg thanks so much for posting this. Because I spend a lot of my time in the water, I've been contacted by several people regarding this issue. It's disheartening, yet not exactly shocking, how Ohio has been so prominently linked with this news release. This is the type of story that absolutely no one wants to hear. But we have to know the truth, only then can we properly go forward and find solutions to these problems. The state of Edgewater Park in CLE is an example for all of these. C-Dawg you mentioned the archaic combined sewers, so awful. Jpop these need a complete overhaul, I'm not sure there's any other way around the issue. EC you mentioned litter, mostly plastic, which washes up courtesy of the Cuyahoga River and sewers at an alarming rate. For too many people, the site of garbage in the water and on the sand is a first and lasting impression. Then there is the larger issue that is a culture of indifference and neglect. We live in a state, as C-Dawg mentioned, where agriculture rules. With a legacy of industrial pollution. Where public access is sorely lacking. Where the Dept. of Natural Resources is located 150 miles away in Columbus, acting much like an absentee landlord. Where some people at Edgewater absentmindedly leave their garbage right there in the sand just ten feet from a garbage can. Many in the Cleveland area have been understandably divorced from the beaches for years, but this has to change. It's been my passion to help grow the beach culture, to help spur public and private investment in our shoreline. We need to help educate the public that our beaches deserve respect; that they can truly become a clean, safe and beautiful refuge for everyone. Scott www.outofplacemovie.com

Blake, since you're from Columbus you should check out this post: I'm not averse to seeing it built downtown at all. Actually, I think the downtown proposal would be viable IF the arena were: 1) incorporated into the existing fabric of downtown 2) while preserving the historic buildings on Main St. and 3) it was adjacent to new dorms in a renovated Mayflower Hotel Now I've really gotten to thinking about all of this... To me, the most important aspect of the new arena is overall fan experience. The opportunity for spinoff retail in the form of bars and restaurants should be a high priority. Downtown is possibly on the verge, very near that tipping point of becoming a special, thriving urban destination filled with residents (students!) and visitors around the clock. A downtown arena, done the right way could very well help anchor a growing entertainment district. And I believe there has been talk of integrating restaurants/bars and shopping right into the Main St. arena proposal, as with Quaker Steak and Lube and Gordons Sports Bar inside Quicken Loans Arena in CLE. On the other hand, if the arena is buried in the heart of campus the possibilities for spinoff development just aren't the same. This is one reason the JAR sucks so bad. The fan experience of walking past frozen and locked Olin Hall or even the open Student Center, no matter how nice it is, just isn't exciting to me. Even if built on the periphery of campus, I'm not sure how being built along a one-way Route 8 access road is beneficial. I suppose Exchange St. does have businesses that would benefit and serve Arena visitors, I just don't see anywhere near the same upside as with the potential renaissance downtown. Here's a scenario that I believe is worth looking into with our own situation....It's like the difference between the Nationwide Arena vs. the Schottenstien Center down in Columbus, just on a smaller scale. The Nationwide Arena District, home of Blue Jackets Hockey, is downtown and there are a great number of places to go before and after any event. Tons of shopping, bars, theaters, restaurants, residents and street life. The Schott, home of Buckeyes Basketball is in the heart of OSU's campus, but it's lifeless, surrounded by landscaping, grass and parking lots. Nobody tailgates there (do people ever tailgate for basketball?) or ever hangs out around there unless it's immediately before or after an event. It's sterile, just a big nondescript building on campus. If you're not familiar with them, the links can help show the difference in what an arena/entertainment district can do: Schott http://scottdo.files.wordpress.com/2009/06...tein_center.jpg Nationwide http://www.arenadistrict.com/ It's the spinoff neighborhood around the Arena District, including the AAA Clippers Ballpark that make it one of the best fan experiences in the country. It's all about good planning, and what is most beneficial. To be honest, for the amount of space a new arena would take up on campus, I might rather prefer an area of quiet solace for students like a reflection pool, wetland area or even a grass field for intramurals. I don't see how dropping a place like the Schottenstien anywhere on campus really helps. Drawing arena visitors to check out our campus is a good point...but again, I just cannot envision how an on campus arena maximizes the fan experience at all. I guess any plan that could better integrate and spur outside development is the plan that really makes the most sense to me. And right now I think downtown has, by far, much more potential for positive cooperative growth. As long as everything is well planned out and the arena says "UNIVERSITY OF AKRON" on it, it will be a tremendous positive step for our school even if it's located downtown, just a few blocks off campus.

Okay here goes: Surfing on our Great Lake, the ornate ceiling at the Public Square entrance to Tower City, West Side Market, The Beachland Ballroom, University Circle, Coventry, Sokolowski's University Inn, the stadium formerly known as Jacobs Field, Great Lakes Brewing, the Flats circa 1992 (RIP) and last but not least, my local slice of friendly coolness that is bela dubby beer/art/cafe in Lakewood. As for the future, hands down, reconnecting with the lakefront is the key. But any project that preserves our architectural heritage comes in a close second.

I opted to de-snark my reply, but yeah, I surely sent them some feedback.

Edgewater can be sketchy at times, be carefeul of the guys parked backed in at upper lot, shady weirdos out cruising. But overall the Park is okay. Very nice actually. I've noticed a lot more "normal" people visiting there the past few years. It really is an asset for the city that should be receiving a lot more investment.

Brain gain: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12744992?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com O'Brien: Valley's one-time godfather of multimedia is leaving for Ohio By Chris O'Brien Mercury News Columnist Posted: 07/03/2009 12:00:00 PM PDT Updated: 07/06/2009 06:10:37 AM PDT Click photo to enlarge Marc Canter, outside his Walnut Creek home. (Chris O'Brien) The first time I met Marc Canter was about eight years ago when I invited the multimedia visionary with a reputation as an anarchic personality to lunch to discuss the dot-com bust. "You are welcome to buy me lunch anytime," came the swift response. We met at Luna Park, a gourmet diner he picked in the Mission district in San Francisco, and from the moment he appeared, he did not disappoint. He plowed through the door, a giant man, mostly bald with a goatee and wearing a loud, button-down Hawaiian print shirt. ...

Agreed, this is going to take years...the positive side is we have a Port director who appears to recognize the value of the waterfront.

I am honestly quite surprised this carousel was never a consideration for the Flats East Bank.... http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/07/euclid_beach_carousels_resurre.html Euclid Beach carousel's resurrection still in limbo for now Posted by Laura Johnston/Plain Dealer Reporter July 05, 2009 08:00AM A carousel horse, which spun for 60 years at the famed Euclid Beach Park, rests Saturday in the Western Reserve Historical Society Museum. Like 53 matching horses in storage in Macedonia, it was saved from auction in 1997 and is waiting now for some group to someday, somewhere rebuild the carousel. Euclid Beach nuts have measured, down to the inch, where the carousel once stood. It's an uninspiring spot now, a ring of grass and sycamore trees overwhelmed by an asphalt parking lot. Yet a wire of white lights, grown into the trunk of a sycamore, hints at its legendary past...

Hmm, a gallery or museum thats all about food!!!

Oh man, the sins of the past will forever haunt our City. Reading that first paragraph of the history of the Cleveland Aquarium is absolutely gut wrenching... "By the beginning of the 1940's Lake Erie was becoming too polluted for swimming and so the city closed the bathhouse (future aquarium) and the beach. Then the area occupied by the beach became part of an enormous landfill project which ran for miles along Cleveland's shoreline from downtown eastwards. Most of this landfill was in the form of trash and garbage, thus a motor trip along Lake Shore Drive treated excursioners to the smoke and smells of burning garbage....

quote Doug Price, co-owner of Willoughby-based K&D Group, which owns the Embassy Suites at Reserve Square downtown, said a convention center hotel belongs on the back burner. “Hotels that are here have paid the price to be in the market,” he said. Paid the price Doug? Interesting choice of words there....

re: new off campus housing, nice article. Lots of negativity about the cost/construction of course but I like this comment: I happened to be downtown on Saturday night, and it was buzzing. Lots of outdoor dining along Main St., an abundance of cabs, multiple areas of activity....Students want to live where the action is, and at long last, it's downtown.

Thanks K&D, for helping to illuminate how business is really done.

This situation has now reached Twilight Zone proportions...

Don't worry too much Peabody, the Flats won't be as crowded with strip club D-bags when they finally open Kahoots II on Euclid Ave.

Those commercials (and billboards) are fantastic. One of the reasons the imagery is so effective is that Michigan's coastline is simply breathtaking; miles of large sandy beaches, 100 foot dunes, open access to the water and beach culture in abundance. We just don't have those same resources here...anymore. But an effective Cleveland campaign should capitalize on our greatest strength, the diverse little neighborhoods that make us a mecca for cool bars, current music, restaurants and cafes.

It's pretty evident that many of our city leaders absolutely do not have a grand vision for Euclid Ave.

Oh heck yeah, I'll be there. The Akron-Kent rivalry is one of the great things about living in Northeast Ohio!!! Speaking of the football games, is anyone going to head up to the new stadium for the annual battle for the wagon wheel? If that isn't a sell out then I'm not sure what will be. There's so many UA and KSU alms in NEO.