surfohio

Floating museum tour...Great Idea. And I will lobby for another boat to join the party: The gravy-brown Cuyahoga looks downright clean today compared to the way it looks in the memories Frank Samsel is dredging up. The 77-year-old walks around the landlocked hull of the clean-up tugboat he fashioned back in the early '70s as owner of Samsel Marine Supply Co. on the West Bank of the Flats, swipes a finger along the museum-ready red, orange and yellow paint. More at http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/46/flushed-away

Nice!!

Sad. I always thought this would be an integral part of the lakefront plan. :-( Plan ends to run trolleys, museum in Cleveland 5/26/2009, 9:46 a.m. EDT The Associated Press (AP) — CLEVELAND - A nonprofit group that had planned to build a trolley loop and museum has abandoned the idea and instead will auction its stable of more than 30 trolley cars. Lake Shore Electric Railway Inc. said it may put the cars on the auction block by July, The Plain Dealer reported in Tuesday's editions. The recession has put the brakes on fundraising, and Lake Shore Electric can't ignore debts and mounting costs any longer, said spokesman Mark Ricchiuto... http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-19/1243348176198180.xml&storylist=cleveland

One interesting thing I always remembered....my parents told me that, for a time, when you bought something at Freedlanders your change came not from the cashier at the register, but through a system of tubes that originated from upstairs.

I hear you, it's kind of a catch 22 situation...while the open enrollment does allow practically everyone a shot at a great education, the school will always be mired in the "mid" or "lower" tiers for exactly that reason. And not that the stupid "tier system" is really a good indicator, but yeah, schools get a lot of +/- publicity from those rankings in the major publications. But anyhow... Zips Forever!!!

Completely understood, I didn't mean to imply that was your viewpoint. no one gave you proper credit for this soo.... roflmao! sending letters now.. I dunno...we might wanna check with Surfohio on that one! ;) Hey now, the surfing craze is finally catching on!!! Haven't you ever heard of the Beach Boys and all of their hip songs about Cleveland...lol.

reply from the plain dealer/ Dear Scott, I'm sorry you feel that way. Be assured we are not trying to kill anything, and in fact have repeatedly editorialized for the Medical Mart and also in favor of this location. In addition, I think you must have missed critic Steve Litt's coverage - he very much supports the mall site. It is our job to raise questions about the contract and about the location, and we will continue to do so, given the enormous public investment in this project. Thanks for taking the time to write, Susan. letter/ Dear Susan Goldberg, The Plain Dealer has moved far beyond the boundaries of honest journalism regarding the medical mart project. I am finally convinced that the newspaper is still lobbying on behalf of the Tower City site, or worse, hell bent on killing off this entire project. After so many years of service in this city, It seems quite a shame that The Plain Dealer would do such blatant, irreparable harm to its reputation over this matter. Sincerely, Scott in Lakewood

I personally don't necessarily disagree with you, but I'm not sure how many people would share your sentiment. :) I think that it would be cool to see a working port from my window. Well, I already do to an extent (I live in the northern end of Ohio City). However, I'd also want a nice urban neighborhood at my doorstep. The HoJo provides you with a highway and nothing else. No matter how we romanticize it, the area around the HoJo is decades away at best from any urban-residential redevelopment. Agree, the HoJo is a desolate island.

Actually, I think it would be kind of cool to see the port operations outside my window. Tall cranes, raw materials, railways and international freighters...it's all part of the unique formula that makes Cleveland look like Cleveland.

This will certainly be such a tremendous, positive catalyst for change on that campus. Thanks for the pics!!!

If the county still has to select a design to go with, is it still at all possible to have a part of the structure bridge over the rail and shoreway? The possibility of pedestrian access to North Coast Harbor made rebuilding at the mall site that much more compelling. A new cc along with better access to the waterfront made it a win-win project. Or at the very least, could the cc be built in a way to make this bridge concept a future possibility? At the very least I think we're entitled to know how much this would add to the cost. Somebody should be pushing for this.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/04/port_staff_to_recommend_ehrenk.html Port staff to recommend Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects to design new waterfront Posted by Steven Litt/Plain Dealer Architecture Critic April 06, 2009 23:46PM A nationally respected planning and architecture firm that has designed acclaimed waterfront developments on the East and West coasts is lined up to do the same for Cleveland. Staff members of the Port of Cleveland today are to recommend to the port's Real Estate Committee that Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects of New York should design a new plan for more than 100 acres of downtown waterfront controlled by the port. The assignment, for which the Ehrenkrantz firm will be paid up to $400,000, calls for completing a 20-year vision for the downtown docks west of Cleveland Browns Stadium and east of the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, an area now occupied by scattered warehouses, gravel piles and a pair of cement silos...

Ronayne is solid.

I'm praying the House of Hunan can hold on for just a bit longer, that place is amazing.

Agreed. Nationwide and the design of the arena district did a tremendous job of bringing street life to the area. If the Akron arena is to be built across from the baseball stadium downtown, as is the rumor, making the block as vibrant as possible should be a primary goal. Especially when you compare Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, there is the team shop and restaurant, but most of the structure/parking garages are just one tremendous dead zone (see also, Columbus Convention Center). On the other hand, build the multi-purpose arena with a strong, sidewalk fronting retail component and you can now lease out that space to businesses and get some money back. Fat Fish Blue in Cleveland is a terrific example of how parking garages can work to maintain street presence.

I think there would be plenty of parking available downtown with Polsky's and Oniells there. I'm torn re: the arena issue. The Zips play so well at the JAR, and it's photogenic on tv, but it's so horribly designed. There is no buzz at all about the place. Getting an amazing, new, state of the art facility is tempting. But I would hate to see a "Cleveland State" scenario arise where the basketball team plays in front of 3-4k fans and the place looks empty with zero energy. Any new arena would have to be designed to keep the intimacy and I'm not sure how they could do that.

8-)

"The County Engineer will likely do some of the heavy lifting—it owns an intersecting strip of land under the Main Avenue Bridge which BCbD has designs for a skate park, a boardwalk and wetlands that capture rain water spilling off the bridge." Skate park...boardwalk....wetlands.... People, we are in danger of being a vibrant, coastal city!! :clap:

Only one way to find out lol.

MTS, how do they handle snow removal on those brick streets? I'm wondering what the effect of the plows are on that surface. Would love to see a cost/benefit analysis of how the original brick, cobblestone surfaces hold up. To me, they just appear far more durable. Regardless, I just think they look so much better than the asphalt!! Not sure if they followed through, but the City of Cleveland has considered in recent years ripping off the asphalt top on some streets to daylight the intact brick surface; only if residents on the street requested it, I believe. Good luck with your urban archeology- street cross sections are way cool. A couple of streets over here by us (127 & 128) are Red Brick. A lot of streets in Glenville are brick as well.

Good point, maybe they are cobblestones. Either way, I think of places like German Village in Columbus. The streets look just awesome. Out of curiosity, I'm thinking of doing a little extra curricular excavation on one of the numerous potholes in my hood. I'm fairly certain the asphalt surface was added on top as recently as the 80's. I always wonder when I see those old photos if the streets are red brick or if they're cobblestones. The remaining brick streets in town definitely do add a certain allure to certain blocks.

Hey Zipsrifle, any hot leads on where the best tailgating areas will be? And I refuse to accept "parking garage" as an answer, lol. I honestly hope the school/city don't waste time/money/effort on busting otherwise law abiding citizens who just happen to have an open container of adult beverage!!

Loving the brick streets. After 100 years of so-called "advances" our streets currently look crappier than ever.

I just heard on the radio that Paneras is opening up somewhere in Lakewood. I'm kinda torn on this...I like to hit up the local, non-chains and that's why I love it here. But unless I'm mistaken, it would fill a niche that's not currently being served.

Agree!! Reuse Higbees and revitalize that beautiful, classic building. I am scared to death of the idea of them building a new Vegas style cheese factory that looks completely out of place.