mike

Thanks, KJP. Yeah, you're righta bout that apartment building, which I was asked to not mention by name because of the local implications of the, uh, municipal powers that might be required to get it. But that was absolutely on the mind of the authors of the study--replace it with a parking deck. Wonder if anyone has the cojones to take up that charge in Lakewood any time soon. Your idea of putting other facilities on the top goes even farther in a good direction.

Hello, KJP and everyone. If this doesn't look like potential, I don't know what does. Here's a link: http://www.freetimes.com/story/4256 Landmark Choice Beck Center Has Chosen a City. Now the Next Debate Can Begin. By Michael Gill Bob Dobush lives at the theater, and not in any metaphorical sense. The collector and restorer of antique radios keeps an apartment above the long-vacant Hilliard Square theater in Lakewood. He bought the landmark in 1998 to save it from the wrecking ball. Behind the theater's Hilliard Avenue door stands the decaying glory of a bygone era, an ornate lobby and staircase. To the right you can see light at the end of a tunnel — a retail arcade that stretches through the building, all the way to Madison Avenue. These days the spaces are stacked with boxes of old radios and spare parts. Broken cakes of fallen plaster dot the carpet. Inside the auditorium the eyes can't help but be drawn up into the expanse — past the frescoes, past a balcony to a vaulted ceiling, and an endless gallery of architectural details. Depending on your age, you might remember time- warping while the Rocky Horror Picture Show played on the screen, or maybe porno, or art flicks, or, if you can remember more than three decades ago, mainstream movies. These days, like the nearby Variety theater on Lorain, or the LaSalle on East 185th, and so many others in and around Cleveland, the Hilliard sits empty in magnificent decay, defying entrepreneurs and dreamers to figure out a way to use it. Right after Dobush bought the Hilliard, he turned down a purchase offer from one of the drugstore chains — the new owner would have razed the building. Dobush wants to find a buyer who will see it for the architectural landmark it is, and preserve it. Now opportunity is near the door, but whether it knocks will depend on a few local decision makers getting together with the same vision. First among them are the trustees at Beck Center for the Arts. Their announcement last week that the organization —courted by Crocker Park developer Bob Stark — will stay and build new facilities somewhere in Lakewood came as great news for the city. It's also probably one of the best chances Northeast Ohio will ever have to rescue an old theater and return it to active use — not just to patch it up and open the doors, but to restore it, fill it with creative activity, and make it the neighborhood anchor that it once was.

Thanks for the welcome, KJP. I think rather than find someone (or the city--ha) to write a big check and get a lot of work done, the city would gain the most by figuring out (and who does this I do not know, but the Cultural Gardens fed. would be a good start) how to capitalize on the grass roots involvement and therefore the catalytic effect the gardens could have. In otherwords don't just spend the money to get it all done, but figure out ways to motivate the multitude of ethnic groups and nearby property owners to act in their own best interest. Inspire them, and let them do their work. That could be work on the individual gardens, or it could be improving or redeveloping property along the edges. East of the park are magnificent houses with that magnificent view--some in condemnable condition, many beautifully maintained. Seems to me that neighborhood is on the rise. West of the park, more modest homes are in advanced decay. On a dead-end street along the eastern edge just above the African American garden are a series of houses--brand new construction never completed--that have been broken into and vandalized. That's where the opportunity is.