KJP

I'm pretty sure it was the early 90s.

Nah. Just the waterside fuel pumps with the Sohio sign above. It hasn't been that long since the greening of Sohio, but seeing those waterside signs/pumps takes me back much farther....

Thanks Musky!. Glad you liked my conceptual rendering ... http://clevelandplanner.blogspot.com/2006/10/innerbelt-redesign-at-stand-still-2.html I jazzed it up a bit with some additional labels

Get nervous on TV? Hell, that's why they invented print reporters like me! I gotta do a program about el cheapo interior decorating that looks like a million bucks. And what you've done looks priceless, MTS!

Just trying to be accurate. Sorry!

Actually, we started our string much later than the Cincinnati thread, which I believe was first. Others were added later.

There's still plenty of Sohio's around. It's their marine fuel division. They have a boat gas station along the river below the Red Line and another at the Edgewater Park marina that's visible from the Shoreway.

There is a string about the Howard Johnson's somewhere on here. But it's nice to see this thread overtake the one for Cincinnati to become the most heavily used general developments thread for any Ohio city.

I don't get bored of them. I try to keep it in context. Keep in mind that, while this stuff is old hat to us, it's groundbreaking stuff to many readers of the PD.

About 15-20 years ago, my parents knew an executive at Forest City who was fired for taking a risk with a project that ultimately worked out for the project and FCE -- but it sure didn't work for the executive! Apparently his superiors were miffed that they weren't fully informed of the risks involved with the project. He later told my parents that if his superiors were aware, they never would have approved it.

And I was one of the calmer ones at the office yesterday! We were worried that our assistant editor, who covered Lakewood for 11 years, was going to pop some blood vessels! Not sure yet, but it's likely they will stay where they are. However, one of Beck's board members suggested the Giant Eagle site at Bunts and Detroit (since that store will likely close with a consolidation to Tops on the north side of Detroit at Bunts). But this is probably five years off.

Here's my $0.02. Adds only 45 seconds to the travel time through downtown yet opens up a massive development area that can help reimburse the state's costs of paying for the Inner Belt project. But, unfortunately, public officials (like at ODOT) don't think in those terms... More detailed view of access boulevard (scroll right)...

Welcome to Lakewood, Nerd, and glad to see your first post on the forum. But may I recommend that you come up with a more flattering name?!

Interesting forum discussion today by Stark. He was his usual dramatic self. The most interesting part for me is when he said he had approached Bloomingdale's about becoming part of Pesht. He noted that downtown department stores aren't getting involved in "mall" concepts, as the idea of malls downtown is a dumb idea, Stark said. Bloomingdale's officials reportedly said they would come into Pesht if it had the right mix of other retailers. Stark said he hasn't gotten an outright "no" from any retailer he's approached. I took several pages of notes, so there's a lot more stuff he discussed -- though not much that hasn't already been said here. There was a woman sitting behind who may have been a reporter, too, because she took a ton of notes as well. But she couldn't have been a reporter since she was nice looking!

We had heard the same at Sun today, but the jerks at Beck weren't going to say anything official to us until the press conference Wednesday. Umm....Sun's deadline is Tuesday, and we don't come out until Thursday. We should have to wait until Oct. 26 to report the news that Beck is staying put? Use your brains people! Everyone at our office was so pissed at you folks at Beck that we held the article about your 75th anniversary gala. Beck folks can't have it both ways -- We're supposed to oblige you with a supportive story while you withhold a major story from us? We aren't going to magically cause a massive production, printing and delivery system to speed up 24 hours to scoop your press conference! We report the news. Not the olds. We're supposed to wait eight days for the next opportunity to report "Beck is staying"? That's absolutely crazy!! You can't harmlessly bend the rules? This sounds like procedure overwhelming logic. Where's the mutually supportive partnership??

Very innovative. Anything that adds energy and entices people to want to be on the streets as a scene of positive activity is OK with me!

In Dallas, they started a streetcar line on McKinney Avenue not by laying new tracks, but by ripping up the pavement. It revealed brick streets and the old streetcar tracks below, both still in good condition. While some improvements were made, they were relatively modest compared to the all-new construction some cities are having to make. To read more about this gem, check out the following.... http://www.mata.org/ http://www.heritagetrolley.org/TNERJDallas.htm http://www.dart.org/mline.asp

We will have a security guard in the parking lot, and one of the people at the event will be a police sergeant from Lakewood. So we're covered inside and out!

Nope. Forgot about it.

True, but much of what was involved in the Torso Murders was a Depression-era shantytown. It was made out of boxes, shipping crates, and sheds. That's pretty easy to duplicate. And the reason why none of the shantytown exists anymore is because Ness "lost it" and burned it all to the ground.

Damn, I was hoping you were going to be coming into some cash. I was going to hit you up for a donation to All Aboard Ohio -- tax-deductible no less. But even if you aren't wealthy, a small donation is always appreciated... http://www.allaboardohio.org/cms/index.php Or help sponsor a specific activity -- our West Shore Corridor campaign for regional rail service... http://members.cox.net/kjprendergast/LorainFundraiserInvite.pdf http://members.cox.net/kjprendergast/LorainFundraiserRegistration.pdf Included in all registration categories for this event is a one-year membership in All Aboard Ohio!

Have fun and support a good cause at the same time! I invite all of you to join us starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18 for All Aboard Ohio's Fall Rail Cocktail & Buffet, to be held in downtown Lorain at the Black River Transportation Center. Cosponsoring this event are the Lorain Port Authority and the Stocker Foundation. Proceeds from this event will benefit the nonprofit All Aboard Ohio's West Shore Corridor activities. Entertainment and program: There will be hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer, a TV for diehard Buckeye/Wolverines fans, followed by a buffet dinner and an excellent speaker from San Diego California, where they have two types of commuter train operations under discussion for our West Shore Corridor. Plus, there are some very interesting local items and activities up for auction at the end of our event, including a fire alarm system from Cleveland Union Terminal, books on the area's rail/transit history, poster-size maps of Cuyahoga County's public transportation system in the 1930s, plus a locomotive cab ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, an overnight stay for two at the Oberlin Inn, and much, much more! To register, sponsor, or for more information about All Aboard Ohio's Fall Rail Cocktail & Buffet... Click on these links... http://members.cox.net/kjprendergast/LorainFundraiserInvite.pdf http://members.cox.net/kjprendergast/LorainFundraiserRegistration.pdf Feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone else you feel might be interested. _____________________ I hope to see you all this Friday at the next West Shore Corridor Regional Rail Stakeholders Meeting, held in conjunction with the Lorain County Community Alliance. For registration/directions information, see http://www.lccommunityalliance.com/meetings.shtml or call (440) 366-7535. There is no charge for this event. Kenneth Prendergast Director, Research & Communications All Aboard Ohio! 12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505 Lakewood, OH 44107-2189 (216) 288-4883 cell (216) 986-6064 office [email protected] www.allaboardohio.org

Maybe not... The Broadway Limited was allowed just three minutes for the locomotive change at Harrisburg, from steam to electric eastbound or electric to steam westbound.

I think the White Oaks, on Cahoon Road in Westlake, also falls into that category. It was one of the few establishments in the area built as a speakeasy, constructed in 1928. Most other speakeasies were built as something else before the coming of Prohibition in 1920, and then became speakeasies. The White Oaks also has kept its name, much of its original decor and still has that sensation of being "a little secret." You'll love the photos on the walls, a Sun article about it by yours truly written in 1994, and the feeling that the walls in that place are just dying to talk about all that they've seen in the past 78 years -- but especially in the first five, before Prohibition was legislated out of existence in 1933. Just make sure you have a thick wallet before going. White Oaks is NOT cheap!

Here's some Ohio photos. In the 1950s, there were two attempts at developing lightweight, high-speed trains for the Midwest-Northeast. One was the Aerotrain, which operated on several different railroads, including the Pennsylvania RR. The other was the Xplorer, which operated over the New York Central, frequently over their Big Four routes such as between Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. Here are some pictures of the New York Central low-slung, high-speed Xplorer in 1956, as seen at: Columbus Union Station Columbus Union Station, showing how close to the rails the Xplorer was, and thus its center of gravity was much lower so it could take curve faster Worthington The photo credit for this shot also said "Worthington" but I think this also was Columbus Union Station... Then there was the New York Central's Mercury. Its initial service ran between two of the railroad's biggest customer bases -- Detroit and Cleveland. Later expansions of Mercury service came to the Chicago - Detroit corridor and even Cincinnati - Detroit. New York Central saw the Cleveland - Detroit corridor as an untapped market. It was a terrific route for business travelers, among the steel, auto and shipping industries. But the rail service between them was slow -- taking four hours in the 1930s. In 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression, New York Central rebuilt some commuter coaches into snazzy parlor, coach and dining cars, and added art deco streamlining to standard steam locomotives. The result was NYC's Mercury, The Greek God of Speed, which departed from Cleveland each morning around 7 a.m., arriving in Detroit before 10 a.m. and returning to Cleveland in the afternoon. It regularly cruised at 90 mph, and offered the finest cuisine in its diner and drinks in its rear all-glass observation car. That is, until the Ohio Turnpike opened in 1955 and the eventually Mercury faded away... There is a terrific book about the Mercury, by Richard Cook, and can be found at Wings Hobby Shop in Lakewood. It's on Detroit Avenue, near St. James Church.