New World Techno Boy

I'm curious who is building this thing - they've been working on it for the past year that I've been driving downtown and I see activity every day, but progress is insanely and pathetically slow. Seems like two grandpas and some tools working on something at a very slow pace....Maybe a bunch of retired guys that don't care about when the project is done?

One of the things that struck me most about the former Stanley block was how thick and strong the exterior brick walls were... As I watched this amazing block being destroyed, it seemed that the walls were very similar to ancient ruins I've seen in European cities...Decide for your self after looking at these photos...

Ink, Just coming across your original post today for the first time. I'm about five years late... I'm an urban dweller at heart, but your concept of tall buildings in small towns really clicked with me. Your photos and concepts are first class. Excellent and inspiring post. Thank you....

Wow, casually poking around, I couldn't find any other major city that had a census tract that compared to this one..Census Tract 1093.01, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Median Income in this tract is ridiculously low...

I find it very curious that the site demo fencing surrounds the church AND the site plans posted on the City of Cleveland Landmarks Commission site very clearly show Proposed Building 'A' at the current location of the church. (http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/landmark/agenda/2012/11292012/index.php) On the other hand, KJP's recent post provides some excellent information about how removal of the church is a multi-step process and none of the steps are complete... This one is going to be very interesting to watch how it unfolds...

Until I saw the hidden infrastructure of this building (Stanley Block), I didn't realize how special it was. I spent a long time watching the demo and it is etched in my mind pretty firmly. What I was watching was the complete and utter destruction one of the last remnants of old Cleveland. This area was chock full of buildings like this 100 years ago. Buildings that were built by craftsmen and each component was crafted by an artisan, from the bricks, to timbers, to the iron work. This was the last of them... I found myself driving around downtown Cleveland and scouring google maps for something similar. This was it folks, nothing else left of the hundreds of buildings from this era that was in this shape. Yes, we still have the Hilliard Building and the Central Exchange from the 1850's, but they have been completely and utterly stripped and re manufactured. The Stanley Block was frozen in time 50 years ago and made a very interesting specimen to me... Well, all of my friends say, it should have been demo'd. I disagree. It was rock solid and should have been preserved.

I watched the demo for a few hours today. It was fascinating and sickening all at once. Watching the ornate stone facade fall and be crushed, watching the exceptionally strong wooden floors and roof challenge the modern hydraulic tools, watching the riveted iron beams that looked just like the beams in the NYC subway being crunched, watching the insanely massive wooden roof supports, likely made of old growth timber being crushed and pulverized by the tractors of the machines...yeah it was pretty sickening. Why couldn't anything be saved? The bricks? The historic timbers? I have a lot of video and photos, but I can't even watch them at this point. Watching this demo was extremely disturbing and made me wonder a lot about all of the historic structures that have been demo'd before this one... large swath's of the warehouse district, the original Union Terminal project, the flats, the group plan, East 9th street, yeesh... I'm left with the overwhelming feeling that we've destroyed everything that matters and replaced it with nothing that matters......

Thanks for this awesome post. This is the first time I've seen many of these renderings... I've attached one of my all time favorites -

1.) Old News 2.) NOT car free. Look at all of the parking garages included in detailed plan.

I detour my normal drive over the Main Avenue Bridge about once a week and check out the progress at FEB. I was pleasantly surprised to find the new paved road opened this evening. As I rounded the corner to turn onto Old River, the sunset was magical....[/img]

Wow. Zollverein School. I can't help but think the architect of the main MedMart building was influenced by this.... https://www.google.com/search?q=Zollverein+School&hl=en&client=firefox-beta&hs=2Xa&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Lu-JUPf7Oc_H0AHYw4GQBg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1315&bih=800

I still have mixed feelings about the MedMart project. I'm warming up a little bit to the Mall Changes. I was snapping random photos of the area the other night and this one turned out pretty interesting. I think it shows an interesting view of a new building that I consider one of the ugliest structures in Cleveland. Ugly on the left. Beautiful on the right. An interesting pair of book ends. Funny how urban glass towers are what originally attracted me to urbanism when I was younger and now my strongest attraction is historical structures...

This post stirred me to dig up a couple of my favorites from Duluth. The first one is from a -20F day that was awesome. The cold, snow and sun were invigorating. The lake looked like it was being tortured and was steaming mad. Walking outside for just a few moments to take some photos by Fitger's Inn was all I could take. Summer was nice too. The area behind Fitger's Inn will always hold a special place in my heart.

There has been a flurry of visible activity on the job site during the past couple weeks. It is really hard to get good views of anything. However, I was able to find a nice vantage point from the 3rd floor of CPL this afternoon. I can't WAIT to hang out in this area of the Mall when it is opened!

Wow, that was a blast from the past. My company used to have a our back office functions in Duluth, so I traveled there frequently. You actually got a really nice shot of my office building in one of the early frames. I think Duluth is an awesome little town, but it always drove me crazy how many international tourists they were able to attract compared to Cleveland. A former distinction of both Duluth and Cleveland - having one of the highest concentrations of millionaires in the *world* in the early 1900's.

I love this view. I've come across similar views and it took me a long time to figure out why things didn't quite look right. The B&O bascule bridge is on the wrong side! Prior to 1956 the bascule bridge was on the East Bank (as shown in this photo). In 1956 this bascule bridge was replaced with the current one next to the Powerhouse. It is also interesting to note that the B&O tracks follow the path of the Ohio & Erie canal, and this is where the canal used to cross the Cuyahoga (at the location of the bascule bridge). Anyways, thanks for posting this great shot.

A few photos of the tower & hotel basking in the evening sun. A view from Wendy Park.

Ok Sherman, you are freaking me out a bit here - this is several times now that you've posted an awesome post on UO based on something that I've been obsessed with. During the Summer of 2012 I've spent most of my free time researching bridges over the Cuyahoga. I've just found your post now before heading off to bed from a very long day at work. Will read in full this weekend and add what I've learned in my research! Very awesome....

Even worse, my office windows look directly at this project, opposite side of St. Clair. I look over once a day for any signs of activity. All I see is where the sidewalk trees were cut down in the early Summer and are now starting to grow again. Pretty sad. I'll just shut up now...

Well KJP, I've researched this area quite a bit, but you were able to come up with some really great photos and knowledge that I had not come across before. Thanks for this fabulous post. I really enjoyed reading through your commentary!

Sherman, this is one of my favorite bridge stories of Cleveland - I've spent a lot of time researching this area. It is also interesting to note that the Smead rolling road was right here as well, prior to BOTH bridges. The intersection of Eagle and Canal is an awesome place to just sit and think about about all of the changes this area has gone through. Even more amazing, the Ohio & Erie Canal passed right through here too. The tall smoke stacks from Cleveland Thermal/CEI are a nice landmark for identifying historic photos. It is pretty cool to see the Cleveland Thermal site still in operation. This is one of my favorite historic spots in the flats...

Eh, no, Lincoln Building is NOT empty. The entire 6th floor is occupied by over 200 people (I work there) and part of the 5th floor is occupied. Furthermore, four floors of the parking garage are full to the hilt on a daily basis, with a capacity of several hundred cars. The garage was built in 1920 and is of extremely heavy duty construction. It was originally named the 'Ninth Garage', later renamed the 'Auditorium Garage' and then in the 1960's renamed 'Lincoln Building'. I don't think this building is going anywhere in the short term - once the MedMart opens, parking will be a very profitable business.

You're not, although I thought the mirror tower was to be on the other side of E. 9th This might help to show what it would have looked like if the second tower had been built: http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/cleveland/clevelandtrustunbuilt.jpg Thanks clevelandskyscrapers.com :) Eh, wow, that was painful to see. Double brutal nightmare.

Ohio City - West side of West 25th between Jay and Franklin. From the Cleveland Public Digital Library update today. What a huge loss in the Ohio City area. The area facing West 25th is dominated by parking lots in 2012 instead of the awesome brick buildings. I wonder what this area would be like today if these buildings were still around...

Is that big? I mean, how does that compare to other conventions? When announcing conferences/conventions coming to town, unless it's the Democratic or Republican national conventions, please help the rest of us understand what the size of it might be. I honestly don't know. I just saw 2,000 and got excited For comparison, I used to work for a company in Cleveland that was HQ'd in Los Angeles and hosted VERY large biannual shows in Las Vegas - average attendance was between 60,000 and 80,000