8ShadesofGray

I actually kinda like them both; I worked in City Hall for a while when Campbell was mayor and Jackson was Council President. They're very different kinds of leaders, which I certainly don't think is a bad thing for Cleveland (alternating leadership styles from time to time). One thing I'll say in defense of Campbell is that, as much as people complained about her neverending publicity efforts, I think this also worked to increase the visibility of initiatives in Cleveland. Between the two, I would definitely choose Jane to promote the city outside of the region; I can't imagine Frank Jackson would wow the U.S. Conference of Mayors, etc. That being said, I've heard Jackson is up to some interesting stuff - I just wish he'd share it with us! If Ronayne (Chris; Natalie did some interesting things for the city as well) was the man behind the curtain, why don't we just elect him?

Welcome, mrnovember! I hope you enjoy Cleveland as the rest of us do; it's a great city that works its way under your skin and into your heart. All of the options noted so far are good ones. Again, I would highly recommend coming to Cleveland before your move, or scheduling several days of looking before committing to a place. One of the best features of our city is that its ethnic/cultural diversity, which has produced a number of highly unique city neighborhoods, all that offer different "feels" and different amenities. And for $2,000 a month, you'll be able to rent just about any upscale unit in any upscale building in any neighborhood in the city. In addition to several places in close proximity to Terminal Tower, there are a number of great neighborhoods that are accessible by train, which you can access directly from Public Square (below the Terminal Tower complex). Ohio City is a fun, quirky neighborhood. A little further to the west, Detroit Shoreway is also accessible by train and is home to an emerging cultural district and EcoVillage, a node of sustainable/green building principles. A little further to the west is The Edge, which is home to many late-night diners and vintage shops (accessible by both train and the 55 bus). On the east side, the most train-friendly neighborhood is undoubtedly Shaker Square. It's also the densest neighborhood within the city proper, is culturally diverse and is home to the nation's oldest planned outdoor shopping area. Both Ohio City and Shaker Square are home to some great farmer's markets (although the West Side Market in Ohio City, by all means, eclipses all other farmer's markets for both atmosphere and offerings). All of these neighborhoods are within 15 minutes of Public Square via train. That being said, there are a lot of great options downtown and I wouldn't want to dissuade you from investing there ... it just depends on what kind of "feel" you want in your neighborhood. In Cleveland, you can pretty much find any scene! Please, please, please don't live in the suburbs!!! If you need more help and don't have time to visit before your move, I'd suggest contacting the Living in Cleveland center, which will be happy to share information about both rental and purchase opportunities here: http://livingincleveland.nhlink.net/. Or check out Downtown Digs: http://www.downtown-digs.com. As for winter, as a transplant, I don't think it's quite as bad as people claim ... we have similar weather patterns to most of the upper Midwest and upper East Coast. That being said, the first winter will be daunting, and then you start to get used to it. Some tips: 1. Something no one tells you about is how much SALT this city pours everywhere. Cleveland is very good about getting the snow off the roads quickly, but the salt they use to do so stains both shoes and carpets if you don't clean it off pretty quickly. 2. Snow is less of a problem (in my humble opinion) than freezing rain, which can range from slush that gets you cold and wet very quickly to hard little pellets, which can really sting. Umbrellas don't stand up to freezing rain very well, as our strong lake winds often blow this precipitation horizontally or carry your umbrella away or destroy it. I'd recommend, in your arsenal, a large rain jacket and a scarf. 3. The worst month for me is February. In November and December, the snow is actually kind of beautiful. After several months of it, though, it starts to wear on you, and spring seems to drag in getting here. If you need a warm region vacation for a winter reprieve, I would definitely plan it for February or early March. 4. Don't be afraid of all the winter warnings. While it will be an adjustment, millions and millions of people have survived here for more than 200 years. And we're pleasantly rewarded each summer, when Cleveland's weather, coloring, lake breeze and people make this a truly beautiful place to live. Sorry for writing a novel, but I hope it's helpful. Keep the questions coming; we love to help!

^^ Agreed. I suppose the only rationale might be that it would give a jump start to ECP development spin-offs, as it would create a centralized body of consumers right along the corridor. I just hope they're working on redeveloping the locations around Ontario & Lakeside/St. Clair concurrently; it's not like this area is teeming with activity as is (when I worked over that way, it seemed like most people headed over toward Public Square for meals, etc.). If the county pulls out without something else going almost immediately in, that western border of the Civic District is going to be a ghost town!

A thread for all our Onion, etc. humor. Actually, this Onion editorial was just too good to pass up ... Sometimes I Feel Like I'm The Only One Trying To Gentrify This Neighborhood By Eli Kearney August 23, 2006 | Issue 42•34 When I moved into this neighborhood, I fell in love right away. Not with the actual neighborhood, but with its potential: It's affordable, there are nice row houses all around just waiting to be filled up by my friends, there's lot of open space to be exploited, and plenty of parking. Plus, this area has got a great authentic feel and, with a little work, it could be even more authentic. Perfect, right?

Franklin College of Indiana, BAs in Political Science and Public Relations Levin @ CSU, Master of Public Administration Currently do research, public policy work and programming on behalf of artists and arts and culture organizations in Cleveland. It's great, but my heart's in community development ... If I could just merge the two, I'd be one happy camper.

^^Okay, put in context, I'm suddenly a MUCH bigger fan of #3. Can we still have a green roof and windmills? :-)

^^Agreed. If you're going to get rid of an architecturally significant building, at least replace it with an equally significant building. Height is not as much of an issue to me; actually, I think I like #5 the best, as it seems like there was real intent to draw attention to the gem of the Rotunda; while 3 and 6 weren't terrible, they just don't work as well visually for me. I still say, when in doubt, restore and renovate!!!

Hundreds gather on West Side to mourn 5 victims of violence John P. Coyne (Cleveland) Plain Dealer Friday, August 25, 2006 They came to remember and to pay homage to five people whose lives were cut short by acts of violence. Bullets ended the five lives on Cleveland's West Side this month. Four died along a short span of Detroit Avenue. The other died a few miles away ...

It is indeed St. Paul. Just found metrocity's photo online.

The abortion banners are loud and proud over Cleveland, lately. I certainly hope they don't adversely impact Christy's Cabaret, the business that usually flies banners over our fair city. Personally, I think the banners are a little distasteful, but I fully support the group's right to make their point. The guy's got a point - shocking photography has had a history of leading to social reform (although if it were 100% effective, could we as a society permit famine and disease to go on in Africa? Could we turn our collective back on the suffering experienced by the citizens of New Orleans? Or the urban poor anywhere? I digress ...). I guess what I find more offensive is banning controversial photography, particularly the administration's ban on photographing coffins coming back from Iraq.

Peoria, Illinois? Based primarily on your comment that you could "double your pleasure" ... Wrigley Jr. is headquartered in Peoria. But the photos of Peoria I've looked at COULD be a match.

^Of course you have license. :-) I guess I just disagree; there are plenty of legitimate areas that win that title in my book. Nowhere downtown really fits that bill for me. I used to walk Superior from Tower City to E. 21st, and my only awkward encounters along the entire stretch were actually at the southeast corner of E. 9th and Superior. That being said, I would hardly call that prominent location skid row.

^It's been a couple years; I think it was filmed in 2002 or 2003.

According to word I got yesterday, Forest City has moved Lake Erie Artists to another spot, so while you'll still find them at "The Avenue", it won't be in the J. Crew spot (at least according to my sources). I would highly recommend it, though. It's a self-run collaborative of several dozen artists, and a good percentage of their work would be appropriate as "living room art". I think that, without doubt, your best bet is to participate in the upcoming Urban Gallery Hop, which is taking place in mid-September. For $5, you'll be taken by trolley to art galleries all over the city. You'll also be able to pick up the Sparx Gallery Guide, which will give you a better idea of what kinds of collections each gallery offers. Definitely worth the time and nominal charge; if nothing else, it's entertaining. http://www.cleveland.com/sparx/galleryhop.ssf

That's my original neck of the woods. I know exactly what you're talking about. It's not a bad city, per se, but it does seem to lack a certain degree of authenticity. If I had to sum up the city in one word, it would be "sanitized". Beautiful photographs, though; makes me think I'm due for a trip back to the cornfields.

That's absolutely amazing. And what a powerful message of the direct economic benefits of arts and culture as the levy approaches!!!!

I would hardly call it a "skid row", actually. I work at Superior and 21st and live in the E. 30s along Superior. I think it's a great area with a lot of promise for the next few years. The PD looks out its window on the Tower Press building and a drycleaning establishment, and it neighbors the always kitschy Daffy Dan's and the sadly underused but visually interesting "Old Chinatown", followed by a number of other artist loft buildings, Phoenix Coffee, and across 90, the first few blocks of "New Chinatown". I cannot imagine that the presence of social service organizations, like the welfare building or Mental Health Services is going to be a serious deterrent to individuals interested in living in proximity to the CBD. The Warehouse District seems to still be kicking, despite ever-present panhandlers and proximity to some high-profile acts of violence. And as for CMHA housing, Ohio City seems to be doing quite nicely, despite a myriad of public housing units, including Riverview adjacent to its major retail mode. As one of the poorer cities in the nation, and with a relatively small downtown nighttime population, I think we need to realize that downtown housing will by default lie in proximity to the less privileged and to the social service agencies that serve them. And in my opinion, that's not really a bad thing.

Carmel is pretty, but I don't know if I would necessarily call it a success story; while perhaps well-designed, it's still indicative of the problem of urban sprawl. Carmel is located approximately 20 miles north of downtown Indy and is home to a growing number of wealthy, white Hoosiers. Between 2000 and 2005, the Census Bureau estimates that Carmel's population doubled, while Indianapolis' population fell. Per capita income in Carmel is about double the national average; Indianapolis' is on par with the national average. Carmel is more than 90% Caucasian; Indianapolis is more than 30% minority. So while I commend them for their design standards if they've actually improved (Carmel always struck me as kinda cookie cutter when I was over that way), I think it's reflective of a really disappointing national trend ... building new and well-conceived infrastructure for the haves and neglecting or outright interfering with infrastructure for the have-nots. Sorry, didn't mean to rain on your guys' photos; I'm sure it's a nice place in its own right. As far as that area goes, I'm personally a fan of the architecture/preservation in my alma mater city - Franklin, IN, about 20 mins. south of downtown Indy, and in Greenfield, to the city's east.

There was a competition to design racks back in 2001 (Viktor Schreckengost was one of the jurors). A number of racks were selected and apparently installed at test sites around the city (I swear one of the designs looks exactly like the racks installed in front of Arts Collinwood's facility). At any rate, not sure if these designs have been tied at all to the current rack installation or if the city is indeed seeking sponsors for them. You can read more about the competition and see the prototypes by going to http://www.clevelandpublicart.org/, clicking on Projects and then on the photograph of the bicycle rack.

Not to complain about a great thing, but I hope the bike racks aren't as ugly as the ones shown. If so, I'm currently signing up Urban Ohioers to covertly decorate them under the cover of night.

^It might be equally effective for us non-breeders to adopt out-of-state and "nurture" the children into a love of Ohio cities.

Okay, well it's been said elsewhere, but it's really starting to upset me enough that I need to vent ... Is there any way that we can pull the Plain Dealer back from its Armageddon coverage of our city??? I moved to Cleveland in the midst of the Quiet Crisis revolution, and for a NEO newbie, it fell like the sky was on the verge of falling. The series did point out a number of very real problems locally, but the tone of the articles seemed defeatist and scant in covering the many remarkable things that people are doing to address these issues. Perhaps most importantly, the coverage focused almost exclusively on local problems, with little attention to potential solutions. And now I feel like that tone is back with the newspaper's coverage of the American Community Survey results. Nuances like confidence intervals seem to be far beyond their grasp. Moreover, the paper seems to be reporting on statistics that aren't even there - noting that the city is getting poorer when we're still a couple weeks away from having economic data released. I can practically see editors frothing at the prospect of another round of Cleveland doomsday reports; from the PD's coverage, one would suspect that Cleveland will be some apocalyptic wasteland by 2010. I've previously worked in communications and my undergraduate degree is in journalism. I understand that media outlets have an ethical obligation to avoid boosterism and to present facts about their community, even when those facts are unpleasant. But in my opinion, their coverage is bordering on overreaching, and the perceptions that they perpetuate about Cleveland's impending doom will do little to build the confidence of a community whose largest problem is that it lacks confidence. So after three days of covering data from a small sample set, ignoring the limitations of the data and making outlandish claims that the available data does not support, can we PLEASE give it a rest?

^ Only until they get the damn District built; then it's Cleveland's Near East. Take that, American Community Survey!

From what I understand, that's the purpose of the auction. With any luck, they'll be able to auction the dogs off to fund future years of the program. There was also some talk of reserving one dog (and one of each future year's animals) as the centerpieces of a St. Clair-Superior Chinese Zodiac garden. At any rate, if the CDC gets sufficient funding, we can look forward to Pigs, Rats and Oxen in the coming years!

Free Times August 9, 2006 All Bark More Fiberglass Animals, With Neighborhood Flair By Liz Logan Chicago had cows, Cincinnati had pigs, Baltimore had fish, Sacramento had lions. We've done guitars, and now Cleveland has 25 dogs named Lucky in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood. With each new city that finds its animal identity, the message becomes clearer: Public art equals fiberglass animals on street corners. Luckily for Lucky, the St. Clair-Superior Development Corp.'s Year of the Dog Project gives the mass fiberglass gimmick a small-scale neighborhood focus and cultural awareness ... More at http://www.freetimes.com/story/560