TMH

Although not a "housing boom", the city of Cleveland has actually experienced a significant increase in new home construction during the last decade. Sprinkled through out the city are thousands of new homes. I took a drive into neighborhoods I would not normally visit last week and I was shocked to see all of the new homes built in the last 10 years. In the Central area there are over 750 new homes. Some are government subsidized housing but most of it is not. In many areas surprisingly/unfortunately it looks quite suburban. This same thing can be seen in Hough, Fairfax, University Circle, Tremont, Ohio City, Detroit Rd, and of course Downtown. In all of these areas new Townhouses, single-family homes, and apartments can be found. Much of this gets overlooked because this construction was unique and did not follow the typical suburban track-home development model. For example, downtown experienced an increase in population from near zero to near 12,000 people. This new housing is in the form of renovated buildings such as the Union Terminal building and new construction such as Pinnacle and Stonebridge. Tremont and Ohio City are covered with newly renovated homes, as well as, new homes, townhouses, and apartment/condo buildings. I am not sure how to classify newly renovated buildings, such as the Bridgeview or Statler Building, but it seems to me that these projects should be counted somehow as part of a housing boom.

The Salvador Dali museum is in St. Petersburg, FL. In their defense, it is my understanding that the Cleveland Museum of Art did not want to devote so much of there space to one artist and so declined the collection when it was offered. The offer was then extended to St. Petersburg.

This thread deals with positive things about Cleveland, so maybe it fits here. If not please move to the appropriate thread. I did a search and could find nothing. Every "favorable" article about Cleveland starts with some reference to the "Burning River" as if Cleveland was the only dirty city in the country in 1969. I am currently in Seattle on business and when I talk to people I have not met before, I mention I am from Cleveland and many times the response is something condescending and negative. Often times it is about the river burning 50 years ago!! Few realize that the river caught fire over 20 times since 1899, and that many rivers and harbors have caught fire through the years, e.g., Boston Harbor, Hudson River, and many rivers in Louisiana (even today). I always think of a great come back - hours after I have left the situation. I would like to create a list of comebacks for all of us travelers that we can use when we are traveling. I am tired of having nothing to say in these situations. For example: Grays Harbor WA is one of the 10 most polluted rivers in America http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water_quality/quality1/1-americas-ten-most-polluted-rivers.htm The people in WA would be shocked to hear this, but I can not think of this off-hand when they are laughing about our river. Beaches all throughout the country are more dirty than most beaches on Lake Erie. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-dirty-dozen-12-most-polluted-beaches-in-the-us-2009-7#zachs-bay-at-jones-beach-state-park-1 Yet everyone thinks that the only polluted beaches are on the Great Lakes. Any suggestions?

In response to tradition7: Similar fears were expressed in Detroit prior to the introduction of casinos. It has been many years now and it does not seem those fears have been realized.

If the casinos and slot machines at the race tracks can keep the state of Ohio from raising taxes, I think that helps the economy in Ohio long term. I also think it makes the state more attractive to conventions and visitors. It adds to the overall entertainment of the area which is probably good. I think the time has past when a casino can really effect an area substantially. The whole gambling thing is over-saturated and many casinos are struggling. When casinos and slot machines appear in Ohio areas like Erie, PA and Mountaineer, WV will suffer and possibly close. They are being totally subsidized by Northeast Ohioans.

Can someone please respond to my question posted earlier? How is Dayton different from Cleveland or other Ohio cities for that matter? I hear doom and gloom all the time. How is this different?

I live in downtown Cleveland and I am continually bombarded by the local media about what a terrible place this is. Occasionally (when I feel particularly strong or in need of a slap down, I'm not sure which) I will read some of the posts on Cleveland.com. These posts usually refer to the total collapse of Cleveland and we should all leave before it is too late!! That is why I have always enjoyed the more mature and informed discussions found on UrbanOhio. I have found the discussion on this particular topic fascinating because I know the people here are not idiots and are very well informed. However this line of discussion could easily be placed on Cleveland.com if you replace Dayton with Cleveland. My question is, are things really that bad in Dayton? All cities in Ohio have experienced a decline the last few years (decades?) pertaining to manufacturing and population. Specifically, how is Dayton different from Cleveland?

In another thread, people re cleaning Edgewater Beach. Perhaps we should get a group together to clean Public Square. Wouldn't that be a slap in the face to the union that won't allow us to pay for a cleaning service (DCA) to pick up trash on Public Square?

As a downtown Cleveland resident, I agree that this is a serious and frustrating problem. I just sent several emails to Plain Dealer Staff regarding this issue. They are continuously defending themselves as not "anti-Cleveland". Well here is a great opportunity for them to investigate, expose this travesty, and actually do something positive for the city. The DCA is privately funded, and in my opinion, doing a great job! Why can't we clean up the trash in our own front yard - Public Square? Of course, this would require the PD to go against a union. Does anyone else have any ideas as to how to solve this problem? :wtf:

I love Cincinnati and my next comment is not intended as a negative to that city, but I have been meaning to ask everyone on this forum the following question. Doesn't it seem strange that after years of being reported that St. Louis and Cincinnati were losing population at the greatest rate in the country (5% per year I think), both cities take the census bureau to court and now they are consistently gaining population? Being in a statistical field, I know that mistakes happen, but it is hard for me to understand how the census could have been so wrong for both cities. I would understand if the mistake was that they were losing population by 2.5% or 1.5%, but to go from the largest decrease to an increase seems odd to me. I am not disputing the increase in population for both cities. I think they are great places to live, but to me this seems peculiar. I wonder what would happen if Cleveland challenged the census bureau. :?

I will be glad to participate and help keep trash out of our parks and our beautiful lake.

For the best Italian I strongly recommend Osteria. It is located in the Warehouse District on St. Clair Ave. between W. 6th and W. 4th. It may be difficult to find the first time because you have to walk down a few steps from the sidewalk and they do not have a big sign. It is truly a "Big City" restaurant both in decor and style. They come from a family that also has a great restaurant in Little Italy. The food is absolutely fantastic, but can be very pricey. For an intimate evening I would avoid Thursdays because they have live entertainment and it can be very loud, especially given that the restaurant is small. It is a great place, check it out. Definitely call for reservations.

The special collections section on the third floor of the original building of the downtown Cleveland Library is one of Cleveland's best kept secrets. It contains original printings of historic documents, archeological artifacts such as Babylonian dice, and some of the smallest printed books (you need a magnifying glass to read) in the world. There is also a large collection of chess sets. This section of the library more closely resembles a historical museum then a reading room. Visitors are always pleasantly surprised and I have never found another library that contains such an expansive collection. The link below lists many of the artifacts in the collection. http://spc.cpl.org/index.php?q=node/5

My favorite beach is Mentor Headlands. It is about 30 miles east of downtown Cleveland. This is a mile long sandy beach that looks like a beach from the Florida Panhandle. The water is clean and the sand is beautiful. For a complete listing of Ohio beaches you can go to: http://cleveland.about.com/od/clevelandareaparks/tp/beaches.htm

As I read this thread, it seems the primary difference with downtown Cleveland today vs. 10 years ago is the attitude toward downtown. As pointed out in several posts above, 10 years ago there was a sense of pride. That was about the time I moved to Cleveland and it is true. People were much more optimistic about the future of Cleveland. Since then I have noticed an explosion of negative attitudes toward downtown despite all of the improvements stated above. I know first hand that in the past four years living in downtown Cleveland has improved. There are more entertainment options, grocery stores, less panhandlers, etc. Still the perception of downtown has steadily deteriorated.

I was equally upset about that paragraph. For the first time in years I posted on Cleveland.dumb pointing out how blatantly false and negative that paragraph is. This is so typical of the PD. Who at the PD is responsible for inserting statements like that into every article? Why must they always insert some type of prapaganda convincing people that downtown is a terrible place? I remember reading an article a couple weeks ago by Phillip Morris (who I generally like) about how we have to take back the downtown. The intent of the article was OK, but he had to start one of the paragraphs with the line "Garbage blew through the deserted streets of downtown Cleveland". Boy, that paints a positive picture. As I have stated in other posts, my wife and I live downtown and love it. It is safe, clean, and beautiful, but you would never know that if you get your information from the PD. I am so tired of this type of propaganda that I am at a loss as what can be done to combat it. Does anyone have any ideas as to what can be done? Can we coordinate with the mayor or some councilman? Are there specific people at the PD we could meet with? Can we sue the PD for slander? I am only have joking with that last question. As a downtown resident I am totally frustrated with the way my home and neighborhood are being portrayed and I resent the fact that somehow I need to defend and explain why I love living downtown. (Now that was a run on sentence!)

This is interesting given all of the media attention paid to the murders in Perk Park. I have to admit that I have begun ignoring the local media and I apparently missed this murder when it happened. The obvious question is: why did the Plain Dealer not spend a week asking people whether they feel safe in Richfield. I can only imagine what the Plain Dealer would have done if the murder of a hotel clerk occurred in downtown Cleveland? Why the double standard in coverage from the PD? What is going on? I am very tired of this. Here is the link followed by the story: http://www.fox8.com/wjw-news-murder-suspect-pleas,0,1740855.story Man Pleads Guilty in Richfield Motel Murder By Dan Jovic | [email protected] March 2, 2009 Richfield, Ohio -- - The man accused in the brutal murder of a front desk clerk at a Richfield hotel has plead guilty to the crime and will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison. According to Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh, Dannis L. Lindsey, 46, of Brecksville Road in Richfield, plead guilty to one count of aggravated murder, one count of aggravated robbery, three counts of tampering with evidence for destroying or concealing his clothing, shoes, and the knife he used in the stabbing death of Bonnie Nevener. Lindsey, 46, an ex-con, was a co-worker of Lindsey's at the Holiday Inn Express on Brecksville Road .

My one complaint about many of the mainstream discussions about urban life is that they seem to be controlled by the suburban perspective. This is particularly obvious in the Plain Dealer where all of the columnists life in the suburbs. Obviously, if you love suburban life (and that is most people I know) you will not love urban living in the same way that I do. We could have thousands of article about how suburban life creates racial prejudices and stunts the growth of young minds in terms of understanding the world. But that never seems to be the topic. Instead the discussion is always about downtown what???? you name it.

My wife and I just canceled our daily subscription. I am soooo tired of reading this negative slant. We live downtown and we are tired of explaining to our friends and family that we do not live in constant danger. I travel a lot and have lived in many cities throughout the country. In the 10 years we have lived here, I think the PD has done more harm spreading its propaganda than any single entity I can think of. When I talk to local people about Cleveland (or when I used to read the PD), I can not believe they are talking about the same city I live in. Something has to be done to change this constant stream of propaganda. Maybe some of the articles written about Cleveland should be written by reporters who actually live in Cleveland or at least know and understand Cleveland!!!

You forgot that we are also one of the "fastest dying" cities. The PD is definitely slipping. :-D

This thread and especially the last post reminds me of many of the comments on Cleveland.com. Stop with the conspiracy theories. Most people outside of Cleveland or people in Cleveland who have attended conventions in other cities can see the logic of placing the convention center next to Tower City and the Medical Mart in TC. There are arguments for the existing convention center that make some sense, but obviously they were not compelling enough for all parties involved in this project. I am happy that it will be downtown and not in Midtown or University Circle.

I always thought that having a little bit of our New England Charm from the past was a good thing. For those who don't know our past, we were originally part of Connecticut?! I think.

Regarding the issue of a campus for EATON, I remember after 9/11 many were talking about the end of the skyscraper. Could this be influencing the design of the Eaton expansion plans?

Just on a whim, I decided to review Charlotte.com to see how they were reacting to this story. I can not find any mention of this ranking or of Charlotte being a miserable city. If Cleveland had made the top 10 on this list, you can be sure it would be front page news in the PD. I have to wonder how this difference in newspaper coverage impacts the attitude of an area and thus impacts its development. Most people appear to be constantly negative in this region, where as, in areas like Charlotte they seem to be very optimistic.

This may be off topic for the current thread, but it seems to me that a major problem with downtown retail in general is that downtown has a difficult time attracting female shoppers. If you look at the three stores that are closing - two womens clothing stores and the Body Shop. These stores generally cater exclusively to female shoppers. (I really don't want this discussion to become a gender bias issue, etc.) If you look at men's clothing stores and shoe stores, there are several downtown that appear to be doing well. In the PD article they mentioned Brooks Brothers as doing fine, which I always thought catered more to male shoppers than female shoppers. There are men's clothing and shoe stores scattered around the downtown area in the Huntington building, across from the Wyndham hotel, on St Clair, in the Warehouse District, Tower City, Euclid Ave. near CSU, and I think even in Galleria, to mention a few. :?