KJP

Cool stuff. The homes on the hillsides reminds me a lot of San Fran and the stairs of Pittsburgh. I spy a bit of "Nakatome Tower" peeking out....

You live about a block and a half from me. A friend of mine used to live there.

39 And I'm NOT going to update that later this year!!

My family traces way back to Italy, and later to Germany and Wales. The Welsh side of my family didn't stay in Wales for more than 100 years when they left for Ireland to aid in the overthrow of a national leader (I think I still have that trait) and became landowners in Kilkenny. We've been in America for 350 years, so I consider myself an American more than anything else. Here's some fun family history... The Prendergasts settled in the Hudson River valley. In the mid 1700s, my great great great grandfather William Prendergast led a farmers revolt against a lord and a British governor in New York City sentenced William to death. His wife pleaded for mercy and saved him. They had to leave the colony, moving to Kentucky. After the Revolutionary War, they returned to New York state, settling on farms along Lake Erie. Their son James Prendergast chose a spot instead at the east end of Chautauqua Lake and founded Jamestown, NY. My father and grandfather are named after him, James Prendergast.

Great stuff. Keep 'em coming!

^ Great photo of the stairwell! Love looking at it. Not climbing it.

Interesting thing is that Los Angeles didn't exceed Cleveland in population until the 1940 census. The streetcar/interurban systems in each city reflected this. All of the streetcar/interurban routes are shown in the LA map I posted above. Here are the streetcar/interurban routes in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio in two maps... The green lines with hash marks along them are the electric interurban routes in Cuyahoga County in 1918 (the other lines are steam railroads): Oh, and by the way, two of the lines on that map, the Lake Shore Electric from Cleveland west to Lorain was on a double-tracked, high-speed dedicated right of way west of Rocky River to Lorain where electric trains routinely cruised at 80 mph. Same deal with the Northern Ohio Traction & Light, which had a double-tracked, high-speed dedicated line south from Bedford to Cuyahoga Falls. The NOT&L trains also regularly cruised at 80 mph (much of the right of way was taken for State Route 8 ). Here's Cleveland's streetcar system -- quite a bit more extensive than LA's (though this map vastly oversimplified the network): And, since this is supposed to be an Akron thread, here's Akron's streetcar system at its peak:

I think the fact that some Americans couldn't handle the fact that Europeans called their spade cities a spade was interesting in and of itself. I loved the comment by one of the European posters that soulless American buildings "don't hug you" like European buildings do. An outstanding use of words.

That's why I qualified my remarks to avoid another long back-and-forth sharing of clarifications to reach a mutual understanding.

I don't see any problem with that. And perhaps the Times isn't trying to show a long-term trend. Rather, I think the article is showing how a sudden spike has caught the region unpreprepared -- as unprepared as the mortgage applicants were.

The buildings came down one at a time, and over many years. Depending on the Warehouse District area you're willing to count, the first buildings started coming down in the 1950s, but those were closer to West 9th. The demolitions accelerated after the Justice Center was built in the 1970s and continued until just a few years ago when the old Greyhound warehouse was demolished in or about 2000.

Reminder: Next meeting West Shore Corridor Stakeholders 1:00-2:30 p.m. Friday, March 30 Lakewood Womens Pavilion Lakewood Park, of Lake Road at Belle Avenue Lakewood Mayor Tom George and All Aboard Ohio invite you to attend a special meeting of the West Shore Corridor Stakeholders. AAO is grateful to Mayor George for hosting this meeting. Special guest speaker: A very informative guest speaker will be Stephen Del Giudice, Transit Bureau Chief in Arlington County Virginia, and former mayor (1985-1990) of Takoma Park, Maryland. For full meeting details... http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6001.msg170555#msg170555

Just purchased all the train tickets for Europe... York to London (GNER - 125 mph slow by European standards) London to Brussells (Eurostar) Brussells to Cologne (ICE) Cologne to Frankfurt (old route via the Rhine - takes 2 hours, 140 miles) Frankfurt to Cologne (new HSR route - takes 71 minutes, 140 miles) Cologne to Brussells (ICE) Brussells to Paris (Thalys) Fly back to USA the next day. :cry:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2591.0

It's an old thread at skyscrapercity.com but is very interesting thread to read what Europeans think when asked about certain U.S. cities, or just U.S. cities in general. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=206504

You can alway reframe the ranking for Key -- tallest between Chicago and the EAST COAST. Sounds even more impressive that way! The pictures of Philly's skyline don't look that impressive. As someone else said, the angle can mean a lot. I think these views are more impressive...

I've spoken to engineers who absolutely hate the HEP generators (for the unitiated, a Head-End Power generator produces the electricity for the train's lights, air conditioning, heat etc) inside the locomotives, especially the old F40's. The HEP units whine loudly and, while Rob is right about them being loud on the outside of the train, you can imagine what they're like inside the locomotive. Newer locomotives like the P42's have soundproofed cabins, so the HEPs aren't as loud as in the F40's. But you're still in the same metal box as the HEP, so the noise is still pretty loud.

Too bad they couldn't have done that at West 117th and Madison, across the street from the highest-density mode of transportation in town. Welcome CBC! Glad to have you aboard!

Now that I know what a 2x2 block means to you. Thanks for taking the time and keystrokes to clarify.

I'll be interested to hear more about Dollar Bank going to the Galleria. As for a hotel in the Warehouse District, how much closer does the Rennaisance have to be? Or the Ritz? Or the Marriott? The Doubletree once planned for Lakeside between West 3rd and 6th wouldn't have been much closer. Only the littany of parking lots makes these an unpleasant stroll. It's not the distance. It's the scenery.

Some European locomotives, notably diesel units.... France... Munich Germany.... UK BR Class 47.... Virgin's Class 43 HST, an oldie but a goodie (at least in appearance, not in reliability)....

Look at what's happening with the inner-ring suburbs. Lakewood, Brook Park, Brooklyn, Euclid, Maple Heights and others are getting poorer, and people are leaving for newer, made-to-order homes. The inner-ring suburbs don't have much vacant land for new construction. Cleveland does. Unfortunately, in Ohio, economic development tends to happens most where vacant land is most prevalent. Thus, a built-out community has to fall to such depths that buildings have to burn, fall down or be demolished before it can start to come back. We have more tools these days (historic tax credits, brownfield programs, revolving loan funds, etc) to rebuild communities before they get to that desperate condition, but they simply aren't enough to compete with the clean/green land at the urban fringe. And ODOT is all too ready assist with wider highways and new interchanges to fertilize that land with sprawl.

It's not yet on the port authority's website (http://www.portofcleveland.com/), but I got a press release this morning from the port regarding an agreement with Shaia's Main Street Parking LLC. It doesn't say much on what the agreement will allow/create, but I will inquire further.

Mov2Ohio is correct. The Public Square parking lot is owned by a company formed by the Richard E Jacobs Group. Jacobs is Stark's nemesis and is not part of Stark's plans. The Jacobs Group is working on its own to find a user for this property and has not engaged in any conversations with Stark. I don't think I can state it more clearly than that, clvlndr.

If you are referring to this locomotive.... ....that's not a locomotive. It used to be one, an F40PH. Now it's a de-motorized "cabbage" car (cab - baggage). Note the baggage door cut midway down the side of the unit. Amtrak smartly re-used these by removing their engines, adding train-line cables, but keeping the locomotive controls in the cab for use in push-pull service. The train-line cables connect with those running below the passenger cars and the locomotive at the other end of the train that have been similarly retrofitted so the controls in the cabbage can operate the locomotive when running in push mode. Push-pull trains don't have to be turned at the ends of their runs. It saves time and crew costs, and saves money in acquiring cab-only passenger cars. It also improves safety in the event of a grade-crossing accident, as a cab-only passenger car isn't as sturdy as a locomotive and no passengers ride in the cabbage cars. Some decry Amtrak for being "wasteful" but these cabbage cars were a very cost-effective move by Amtrak. Now, if we want to lament the type of locomotives Amtrak is using to power their trains, then that's another matter. But I still don't think it's accurate. These locomotives are as advanced as any in the world for the duties they are being asked to perform, that being 79 mph diesel-powered passenger operations. And, they're made in America at General Electric's plant in Erie, Pennyslvania. Below is the P32AC-DM. It can operate on diesel fuel or electricity (it has a third-rail "shoe" for electrical pickup) and has on-board computer diagnostics to ensure the power plant is running at maximum efficiency and automatically makes corrections to fuel/power flow when it's not. It has one of the most efficient alternating current traction motors available, has in-cab signals that display the track/signal status ahead and the cab is even air-conditioned.... This is a P42DC, also made by GE, and has the same features as the P32 except that it isn't dual mode. Generating up to 4,000 hp direct current, the P42's are more powerful than just about any locomotive out there, except for some of the newest U.S. freight units. It's powered by diesel fuel and is the locomotive Amtrak typically uses on most of its trains. It's every bit as advanced as anything else in the world for the kind of 79 mph, non-electrified service its designed for.... These are GM-built F59's, also a very advanced unit used in non-electrified territory, most notably on the West Coast. These are Amtrak's newest locomotives, manufactured by General Motors' former Electro-Motive Division. I'll put these up against anything else in the world, too.... Another of Amtrak's newest locomotives is the Acela HHP (high horsepower), for use in powering non-Acela conventional cars in electrified territory. I believe there is a diesel version of this unit as well, but I can't recall for sure...