tedolph

Gorgeous building on a gorgeous site. Why is it so hard for modern architecture to match this kind of grandness?

I hadn't seen the first rendering with the white thingy on the roof. Gives it a Jestsons 1950's look. Now I kind of like it. Maybe two white thingys would be better?

This design is boring. As a mid rise, roof treatment can make a big difference. Look at 5/3 building on Superior or the "chisel" building on East 9th. The roof treatments change these from boring to something much better. I know it costs $ but on a building with a small floor plate can it really be that much. Also, it gives the skyline a more exotic appearance, less "Texas" or South East U.S.

Wish they would do this bldg. on Euclid across form Rockefeller bldg.

Jam40Jeff has hit the nail on the head. I haven't lived in Cleveland since the 1980's so my observations are old. Nevertheless I seem to remember that the black community was extremely bifurcated. Educated, hard working, financially successful, middle class (compared to my family) church going blacks who escaped the inner city and lived in Warrensville heights which was almost exclusively black, and the "ghetto culture" left behind in the older inner city neighborhoods and East Cleveland. I had friends (black) living there who were in no way "ghetto culture" and seemed to reject it. I remember exceptionally well maintained lawns and homes. I remember that my friend's dad got a ticket from the warrensville heights police because he parked his motor home in front in the street. I also recollect that the blacks in warrensville Hts. had extreme disrespect for the people left behind in the city and I wont tell you what his family called them. So what I am saying is that at least at that time, the black community was not a continuum from "ghetto" to "middle class" but was either one or the other. The middle class seemed to be politically/socially invisible while the "ghetto" culture got all the media attention. Since then things may have changed but I attribute that more to the decline of the Cleveland economy, especially manufacturing (virtual collapsed since NAFTA) which hit black communities disproportionately leaving less of the black middle class and more of the "ghetto culture" which kind of took over. It seems that we didn't have anywhere near as much of these "issues" when the economy was better. No doubt people are bitter.

Somewhat related. I don't like spending time (i.e. vacationing, business travel) in places where slavery was legal. I am thinking about parts of the US South East, some of the Carribean islands versus the U.S. South West, Mexico, Polynesian islands, Philippines. I can't put my finger on it but even to this day there is something in the air about these former slave holds that makes me uncomfortable. Maybe because the locals have a chip on their shoulder? Maybe something more transcendental? Reverberations of past evil? Any opinions?

Oil IS a renewable resource. It just takes a million years to pressure-cook its ingredients into usable oil. And consider that we're burning six barrels of oil (ie: the stuff that's been cooking for millions of years)for every one barrel of oil we discover. That's up from a 4-to-1 ratio just a decade ago. Lastly, we're burning 85 MILLION barrels of oil per day. That's such an immense number it's hard to put into perspective. Yes, there is a lot of oil. But we are consuming it, dare I say, like there's no tomorrow. Not necessarily-abiotic oil theory

I notice that Governor Strickland's signature is missing.

OK Terminal Tower experts, answer this: Is the road in front of the TT actually a bridge? Old drawings of the pre-construction tower show a double staircase on the inside of the square opposite the front doors of the TT. I know that the second level of the old concourse has an area that faces this way (behind the old rail road car restaurant- Fred Harvey? someone or other). If this is true, then we have an inexpensive pedestrian access to the square from the TT that would support putting more traffic around the "square about" by closing Ontario. Bury Superior, connect the quadrants and done.

What a beautiful building. It evokes such a 19th century feeling of the power of Science. Sad to see it in such disrepair.

I'm not an apologist, however, I hate it when a person preaches from the couch! [*]Who exactly should take over, and what is their plan??. Oh, and keep in mind most transit systems aren't as financial viable as RTA. Most are on the verge of bankruptcy. [*]Everything is disgrace? What a way to make a credible point! ::) [*]Everyone is talking about rail, but is it built and where are "those people" getting the money to build rail. I don't see any rail going up except what was planned 5/6 years ago. Easy, hire Ron Tober

Where do you propose he get the money? Where is it going to come from and what will be cut so that transportation funding can be increased? In this economy what are his priorities? I'm just asking...... Highway construction Higher Education Transfer of wealth payments Secondary education shall I go on?

If you do that its the same as the four individual blocks. The idea is to create CONNECTIVITY at street level. Sorry, I wasn't clear. By adopting the traffic circle idea I also implied closing off Superior, Ontario and routing them into the traffic circle. Everybody could come up into public square through big ramps (concourses) like football players comming into an NFL staduim!

How about go ahead with the traffic circle idea but provide four large underground pedestrian access points to the "square": one through the former concourse level of Terminal Tower, another through Key tower, another trough the BP building atrium, and the fourth from Jacob's parking lot all emerging in the square with Ontario and Superior removed? Everybody else has to walk around.

These bridges are so gorgeous, part of what makes Cleveland special? Do other cities have these types of bridges as well? I have seen some small pedestrian bridges that look like this here in Seattle parks designed by the Olmsted brothers but noting as large as these.

I guess public transit is just not a "priority" for this Governor.

Where is the criticism of Strictland (sp?) on this. I thought he was going to fix transit funding after the Evil Taft was removed. I don't see where his transit policy is any different than Taft. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Yes, but if the move is parallel in a trench this can be done with little service interuption and at lower cost. There must be some show stopper problem with KJP's design that we haven't thought of that forced the superstructure design # 3, no?

They could be moved to the side. The utilities don't have to be dropped 20' but they do have to be moved.

KJP's plan is so obviously "Superior" that it must have been considered in the $60,000.00 plan and dismissed as unworkable. Why would that be? It doesn't seem to be anymore expensive than all the superstructure needed for plan #3 so what did the designers think was wrong with KJP's plan? Also, Terminal Tower was designed to have an underpass to public square. There is currently an area north of where the TT ramps used to be to access a tunnel to the SW quadrant.

The winding staircase was beautiful. Sorry to hear it was removed. What happened to the endowment Rockefeller set aside fro maintenance of this park. I seem to remember in the 70's the city raided the principle to do some street paving. Was it ever restored?

Close Ontario through the square, bury Superior, done. It would be like the square was in the 1800's. What is wrong with that?

If we could drop Superior 20. ft maybe the mound idea would work? I know the south end of the square was dropped this amount when the terminal Tower was built.

Some of the nonprofits in this town have the best development ideas. It is often said in business that you make your own luck. This is one of those opportunities. I hope one or more of the charitable Foundations see this the same way. The return on investment would be enormous. $3 million is really not that much money. A matching grant of $1.5 million is probably all it would take.