A few quick notes on my visit to Cleveland.

 

This was my fourth trip to the city.  The previous three were with my late partner, the last two, in 1996 and 2004 being the most memorable.  So returning was bittersweet as certain locations had memories, since these visits were more of a “we” thing than a “me” thing.  Also, its been about a year since he passed, so that was in my mind, too.  Ironically I was at the same hotel that we stayed at before, the Renaissance at Tower City (where that Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference was held). 

 

So some places were richer in memory than others, thus perhaps more melancholy for me.  The Rock Hall and Voinovich Park was one. I walked the park as the sun was getting low, but didn’t visit the Rock Hall.  The Erieview Galleria was another (where he bought a leather coat at a now-closed Eddie Bauer).  Erieview now has that Hungarian museum, which would have been interesting, but I didn’t have time for it this go-round.  The other location was the old Euclid Arcade, where we had dinner at a long-forgotten restaurant called John the Waiter.  There still is a restaurant in the Arcade, but it’s quite deluxe (associated with that hotel, I think).  Their cocktail lounge has an excellent interior, sort of a sophisticated, abstracted allusion to rust-belt urbanity.  A jazz combo was playing when I stopped in. 

 

Yet, this trip was about creating new memories.  Henry Miller once said ”Our destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things”.  So it was with this trip to the Great Lakes cities…to see things, feel things, anew. 

 

So less about me and more about Cleveland.

 

A Random Golden Hour Walk Downtown

 

The golden hours are those late afternoon hours before twilight, when things are just aglow in the lowering sun.  This was my first walk in Cleveland after checking in (got off to a later start in Buffalo).    A random walk east and toward the lake.  I used to be negative about downtown Cleveland (and still am about parts, mainly that Group Plan area), but have pretty much changed my mind about the place.  Walking down Prospect I noticed how Prospect and Huron, I think, develop angled intersections that sort of define and extend downtown, with the AT&T tower as an accent.  So downtown sort of has this eastward linear reach,  with fairly substantial high rises, and a lot of residential conversion.  That’s one thing that struck me about Cleveland, the aggressive residential conversions in the center city..a trend that has seriously caught on here.

 

Euclid is, of course, the main street, but Prospect and Huron are pretty neat downtown spaces in their own rights (not to mention the connecting arcades).  9th, I think, is remarkable.  It is like a Chicago Loop or Near North Side busy street, all banks and a mix of older and newer modernist high rises.  It has a certain energy to it. 

 

So I continue walking, past the theatre district and working my way north and east, north of CSU campus along the diagonals of St Clair and Superior and their parallel streets, working north via the numbered side streets. 

 

I think I encountered some of those “first/last houses” I posted about last year (using Louisville), the first houses one encounters out of a downtown. On 25th or 26th Street I think.  Walking this area one sees a few of these older survivors, either converted into commercial use, or older commercial buildings when this area might have been more mixed or residential.  I was paying a lot of attention to vernacular architecture on this visit, so more on that later.

 

As it is the area reminded me a bit of that part of Chicago south of the Loop to about, say, McCormick Place, the way that part of Chicago used to be, which is old loft factories (like the old Cuneo Press along the lake.  Cleveland has these loft industrial buildings close to the lake too), and lower commercial/industrial things, and that steam/power plant, with a mix of of surface parking.  Looked like a mix of light industrial and business-to-business business as well as CSU and government things.  Also notice some Asian things (like a Chinese business association).  I guess if I had kept on walking I would have crossed that freeway cutting and been in in Asiatown.  Not today, though.  Noticeable here is that the streets sort of end in the downtown skyline..the taller buildings along Euclid and in Erieview blocking the vistas, making the downtown loom more.  Impressive. 

 

I should also note that I recall Clevelanders posting here take issue with comparisons with Chicago.  Coming from a native Chicagoan such as myself these are a compliment.  But Cleveland is a place unto itself, where comparisons operate in only a very general way given how this city has developed such a distinctive quality all its own, such a powerful genus loci.  A certain metropolitanist  je ne sais quoi Maybe places are more “like Cleveland” than vice versa? 

 

Anyway….

 

I finally made it to Lakeview Avenue, and a big parking lot overlooking the lake.  Brick or cobblestone streets here, I think.  One should note that Lake Erie is always a presence in the city, in the streets closer to the lake, since the city is on that elevated bench or bluff.  It’s this way here, it’s this way downtown, it’s this way in Ohio City.  One can always look down a street out into the blue vastness of Lake Erie to the sharp horizon line.  Sort of poetic and evocative the way the lake is such a presence.  And when on the lake the scalloped shore out to the west helps to define the water space a bit, too, actually accentuates the vastness. 

 

So….

 

I followed Lakeview into the Erieview area and down to the lake at Voinovich Park, then returned, as noted above.  The room was bathed in light reflecting off the yellow brick of the Terminal Tower (not much of a view but the room was postivley glowing in that reflected golden late sunlight.

 

A Brief Note on Tower City

 

But, before I close, a note on Tower City.  This was impressive when I visited in 1996, again in 2004, and remains impressive.  Unlike a few other downtown shopping venues we all know this one has remained a viable retail destination, mostly leased it seems (and with recognizable stores, too, like Brooks Brothers and Jones New York and Victoria’s Secret), and with a lot of foot traffic.  Perhaps having the Rapid station on-site helps?  And such an impressive sequence, to arrive via the Rapid; exit the train, ascend into the shopping concourse, pass past the elevators into the grand lobby of the Terminal Tower, then pop out into the premier public space of downtown, Public Square.  Excellent. 

 

Coming in the next few posts: drives, more walks, and a couple of transit rides (two Rapid rides and the Healthline), coffeshops, bookstores, and restaurants, plus three unexpected bars.

 

Nice review. Thanks 4 sharing.

Interesting observations, I can't wait for you to elaborate on the "first/last houses".

Great start, looking forward to the next post!

Thanks. Nice write-up!

wow awesome stuff thank you for sharing!

Nice write-up for sure, but I have to disagree about Tower City. It certainly is no longer a viable shopping destination. I find it hard to believe you think so after your trips is 1996 and 2004. So many retailers have left.

'Viable' and 'booming' are not the same thing.  When it first opened, it was booming.  Now, it is viable.

 

Great narrative Jeffrey.  You have a talent with your use of words.

Nice write-up for sure, but I have to disagree about Tower City. It certainly is no longer a viable shopping destination. I find it hard to believe you think so after your trips is 1996 and 2004. So many retailers have left.

 

Please excuse this brief off-topic turn here:  Can you tell me how many vacancies exist at Tower City Center?

I don't think viable solely means empty vs. filled storefronts, esp when many of those stores are empty/almost no customers most of the day.

Nice write-up for sure, but I have to disagree about Tower City. It certainly is no longer a viable shopping destination. I find it hard to believe you think so after your trips is 1996 and 2004. So many retailers have left.

 

Please excuse this brief off-topic turn here: Can you tell me how many vacancies exist at Tower City Center?

I cannot. I can however say that in the year that I have been here, I have seen Johnston and Murphy leave as Well as Charlotte Russe.

 

I work out at the gym there and walk past what used to be the old Banana Republic and J. Crew every day. A furniture store and art gallery filled those spaces when I moved here last year. Now they are both empty.

 

I do not have specifics. Just general observations and an opinion.

 

I guess as a traveler one might see it as a "destination"; However, I feel many residents here feel otherwise.

Nice write-up for sure, but I have to disagree about Tower City. It certainly is no longer a viable shopping destination. I find it hard to believe you think so after your trips is 1996 and 2004. So many retailers have left.

 

Please excuse this brief off-topic turn here: Can you tell me how many vacancies exist at Tower City Center?

I cannot. I can however say that in the year that I have been here, I have seen Johnston and Murphy leave as Well as Charlotte Russe.

 

I work out at the gym there and walk past what used to be the old Banana Republic and J. Crew every day. A furniture store and art gallery filled those spaces when I moved here last year. Now they are both empty.

 

I do not have specifics. Just general observations and an opinion.

 

I guess as a traveler one might see it as a "destination"; However, I feel many residents here feel otherwise.

 

Once Tower City is connected to the Casino (which it appears it will be), I think that the tenant mix will change and the vacancies will dwindle.

that was really nice, whens the next one coming

Thanks Jeffery for your thoughtful impressions!

55th Street to Slavic Village.

 

I came in on 55th, thinking about going to that Slovenian Country House, but it was too late, and  I decided to skip that place and drive down to Slavic Village. 

 

55th is sort of inner city snaggletooth.  Seems a lot of institutional and low density stuff on this street.  But I wanted to take a spin through this area that was around the old St Alphonsus parish, since I recall it showed up as a vacancy hot spot. 

 

Well, that neighborhood is gone.  Very pockmarked with vacant lots.  Later in the week Kucnich, in his remarks, mentioned how the foreclosure crisis destroyed Slavic Village, which was probably this area.  They have a pretty cool city councilman, though, Tony Brancatelli, who was on one of the panel discussion I attended, discussion how they used various data sources to go after speculators preying on the neighborhood.  Still, this area is a mess.  In fact I recall Broadway was pretty shabby even from my earlier visits.

 

I think I worked my way further south, on 65th and then maybe Broadway, to get to Fleet Avenue and the St Stans area, which seems to be called “Warzawa”, not “Slavic Village”.  This area was not quite as pockmarked, mostly intact, it seems.  I did stop in at one of the restaurants on Fleet, which had this buffet set up, but had second thoughts, and instead walked up to St Stans.  I noticed there was a coffee shop on this street!  Had my self a cup, and saw they had Krispee Kreme donuts as the pastry (vs the usual vegan oatmeal bar or something like that).  You have to love that.  Nice to see someone trying.  We don't even have neighborhood coffee shops in Dayton...

 

Anyway, this area seemed still pretty viable even though I could see some vacancies.  Heading west on Fleet one can see a lot of active heavy industry (steel and aluminum), so the place still has that happening.  Then I found my way to 25th to head downtown.

 

Health Line to Little Italy

 

Walking around downtown for lunch and breakfast I kept hearing the “ding-ding” of those gray Healthline hinged buses.  Seemed like a pretty frequent service.  So I skipped out early on the last day to take the Health Line to Little Italy.

 

Easy to use.  They have ticket kiosks, and the loading is like a train vs a bus, off a platform.  On the bus, automated stop announcements, and you can see where you are via the graphics at the stations, or stops.  The bus was pretty crowded, too, so this service is being used. 

 

Got to see more of Euclid.  I can see a few old mansions survive, and the incongruous Dunham Tavern.  Yet the street is a blah, gray wasteland of commercial uses and parking, with some bulking-up at the Cleveland Clinic.    Beyond the park and Severance Hall things get maybe busier, but still could be better.  I got off on one of the stops near Mayfield.

 

Walked Mayfield, and had dinner at one of those Italian restaurants, Guarino (?) with the lace tablecloths.  So old school!  Actually pretty good food, too..Ravioli and Carpese (tomato) salad.

Also noticed a very busy bakery.  I made a point of walking the side streets north of Mayfield.  Maybe it was the white frame houses, maybe it was that this area is built on a hill, maybe it’s the density, with the rear units, and the houses coming right to the street, or maybe it was the fresh changeable weather coming in off the lake, but I was really getting flashes of San Francisco here, unexpected memories of North Beach and the Castro and Mission in this area.    The place is really special. 

 

I walked back on Murray Hill, which has its own picturesque thing going on as it has the accent of that church tower up in the cemetery has visual accent, though the build-out became more conventional (ie not as dense) the further you got from Mayfield.  Murray Hill has retail every so often, and I stopped in one of these, a coffee shop that was really a tea house, very funky inside.  Aglebra Tea, was it?  Run by arabs, I think.  Got an iced tea, and walked to the rapid station down where that highway drops down from the hill to MLK Blvd.    Took the Rapid back to Tower City. 

 

I wonder if the Rapid is more….rapid?  Seems Health Line has a lot of stops...both people getting on and off and the stoplight kind.  But I guess what sells this is that it’s so frequent.  I think 10 minute headway or less during some times of day. 

 

Return to Little Italy & Comment on the  Mayfield/Euclid area

 

I couldn’t get enough of Little Itally so returned on my last day.  I wanted to get some Italian cookies at that bakery.  So I parked down on Murray Hill and walked to Mayfield.  The church bells were ringing and people walking to church.  This was so cool.  Yeah, this could be the Mission or parts of Columbus Avenue in North Beach, near that Italian church near Telegraph Hill.  Celevland as the San Francisco of the Great Lakes.  Who knew?    But maybe I’m just too enamoured of this neighborhood, as a model of what the Urban Great Lakes could be,  the activity and street life here. 

 

Walked back along another side street, south of Mayfield, parallel to Murray Hill, I think.  Not quite as dense, it seemed, as the side streets north of Mayfield.

 

What a disappointment Mayfield is west of the railroad viaduct, to where it meets Euclid!  Seems like there is a big opportunity to re-develop this area more on new-urbanist lines, extending the type of streetscape one finds in Little Italy down Mayfield and along Euclid, putting in mixed use of retail and housing, and maybe even classroom space for CWR.

 

Seems like this is a big urban infill opportunity, since there is such a successful model right under the viaduct in Little Italy.

 

Thanks Jeffery

You show your true colors there Jeffrey!  East-sider!  My2cents will say you barely touched the east side since you didn't hit up Shaker..  Actually, others will tell you that there is a lot on tap in what you saw lacking.  They are going to add a new mayfield red line station there by Little Italy and it will be much nicer than it is now.  I guess they just got the Tiger 2 funding for it this week..  I'm surprised you didn't take in more Cleveland Heights just up Mayfield Rd while you were over there.  Maybe that isn't gritty enough?  But I was really expecting you to hit up the west side instead of giving the east side all the attention.. 

Much of Euclid and Mayfield from their intersection through the rail viaduct that crosses both of them is in the process of redevelopment.  There's a lot planned there, apartments and retail of course, but also a new building for the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art and and expanded Cleveland Institute of Art.  See this thread:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,11359.0.html

 

It's interesting that Murray Hill reminded you of San Francisco.  I'd never thought of that.  I knew someone from small town Pennsylvania who thought it reminded them of home, and I agree with that.

 

Thanks for another set of interesting observations!

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on Cleveland and very sorry for your loss.

Jeffrey,

 

It is refreshing to read an unbiased and well-thought out review of what you've seen.

 

Regarding the stretch of Mayfield between the tracks and Euclid, I agree with you. As X mentioned, there are big plans for that area. University Circle Incorporated has large plans for the huge surface lot next to the tracks. I know that they've kicked around thoughts for a project that would include a grocery store, CIA dorms, offices, a parking garage. They've been working on this for a few years now. On the other side of the street, a new 8-10 story hotel should be under construction within the year. Near the corner of Mayfield and Euclid, the huge Uptown project broke ground last month. The new Museum of Contemporary Art should break ground before the end of the year.

 

 

They are going to add a new mayfield red line station there by Little Italy and it will be much nicer than it is now. I guess they just got the Tiger 2 funding for it this week..

 

 

Actually, the TIGER II funding is for the University Circle-Cedar station replacement at pretty much the same site.

 

The new Mayfield station is already funded and awaiting approval from Norfolk Southern before construction can begin (Hello, NS! Anyone home??).

 

Thanks again for another nice write-up. I like Little Italy and Slavic Village (the area around Fleet is its center) very much. And while the downtown and UC ends of Euclid area very much in active recovery, the middle section between East 40th and East 79th is lagging. But keep an eye on that area. It will look very different in the next 5-10 years, as will the section of Mayfield between Little Italy and Euclid -- as others have noted. So many development seeds are just starting breaking up through the soil, nurtured by the HealthLine.

Did you go to Lakeview Cemetery? Great just to walk through...

But I was really expecting you to hit up the west side instead of giving the east side all the attention

 

This is why I feel I just scratched the surface.

 

The reason I crossed the valley at Fleet is that I was going to drive out into the west side and down into the famous Parma.  But it was getting late and I didn’t want to hit rush hour traffic, and wanted to walk downtown at  bit before the  sun set (see above post). 

 

The idea behind this trip was to either walk places or take the Rapid to places where I could walk.

 

I should also say my SF impression from Little Italy was sort of a fleeting thing, yet suprising.  I can see the PA mountain town comparison, too (see Rob Pence’s Johnstown pix).

 

Walking the Flats and the three (unexpected) bars

 

I walked the Flats three times.  Both sides of the river.  East bank was those late afternoon walks that ended up at night.  West bank was a morning walk, which gets a separate post.

 

The old nightclub district is forlorn.  The lonesome wind was whistling and tumbleweeds blowing (if they had tumbleweeds in Cleveland).  I don’t think anything is open there anymore.  A weedy lot, a derelict “water taxi” sign and a tumbledown wood dock are images that stick with me of this sad spot, and that the façade of one old building looks like its sagging somehow.  I noted that the Flats isn’t  half as big as the action now uphill in the Warehouse District, but for its time it could have been intense (before my time). 

 

I did  notice that there is still a big industrial supply place in business on the east side of the street (probably was there before the place turned into an entertainment zone) and  at the lake end there is this big empty space with a lone concrete silo and some big piles of dirt.  Maybe this would be a good location for a Portland-style infill project, to build a new neighborhood extending the Flats north to the lake?  And it has the light rail waterfront line….which seems a train to nowhere .  I guess the idea of a Flats station was to serve nightclub patrons and tourists?  I did notice some new apartments and townhouses on a hill down from the Veterans Bridge approach, so maybe there is a residential redevelopment effort going on?

 

The more interesting part of the Flats is deeper in, south of that defunct nightclub district.  I guess this is the “Oxbow” area, beyond that little park with the log cabin.  Old buildings lining the streets, mixed in with vacant lots and parking, under the Veterans Bridge.  This area is quite picturesque, what with all that high iron (the bridges of various types) , gritty industrial, and old 19th century relict building streetscapes.  Patina of Place.  And the Rapid rumbling overhead every so often and the skyline and bluffs as a backdrop.  And a river runs through it. 

 

One of those old buildings was The Flatiron (“bar # 1”), which was this rather fun Irish bar.  They had live music, this guy playing guitar and bodrahn and singing those old Irish tunes, taking requests and bantering with the audience, getting wilder as the night wore on (and as he had another pint…).

 

I noticed that these industrial places in the Flats are still operating, some of them.  I heard machinery humming in a factory near some big concrete silos.  Also noted there is an old-style pre-concrete elevator still on the river.  Think I saw that from one of those high-level bridges.

 

Back down in the Flats, wandering along the river, wandering along the river, it was getting difficult to tell what side was “east bank” and what was “west”.  Some streets were blocked by bridges being closed (or “open”), in other cases the street started on the east bank than ran across the river on drawbridges to the west or south.  Not to mention all the railroad bridges (the “Flats Industrial Railroad” I guess…I saw one of their locomotives parked).  It seems quite a few of the railroad bridges are left open, in some cases because the railroad itself is gone.  I got as far as that fire station on the river.

 

I was trying to find a scene that I remember from my ’96 trip, being down in the Flats and the Terminal Tower complex looming high overhead on its bluff, lit up at night.  I wonder if I just imagined it, or my mind edited a memory to make the scene more vivid than it was in real life, taking what was already a dramatic vignette and enhancing it.

 

I think I might have found the location where I made the glance out (at that time) the car window and caught the image.  Maybe the parking lot of that marine service company across from the fire station.  Seems like it would have been the spot. 

 

That was far as I penetrated along the Cuyahoga.

 

On the way back, just across another drawbridge, on a corner and hill, was another bar with a gallows humor sign “Collision Bend Tavern”, showing two ore boats running into each other.  Got to see what this place is about.  There’s the door.  “The lady or the tiger?”

 

This was “bar #2”.  Turns out it wasn’t quite the rough dive bar it seemed as it had a mix of characters.  Hipsters, regular Joes, business types.  One guy I sat next to was a business type, impeccable in his blue blazer and tie, but for all the work looking and talking like an older version of Dennis Leary.  He told me the story:  The place is run by an old guy and his wife (guy was bartending).  Every drink is $2.  Beer, shots, whatever. $2.  And it’s  open until the bartender gets tired and wants to go home.  And its only open on Friday evenings, apparently just to keep the license active.  And they had a hot dogs and stuff buffet spread.  It was busier today because the place apparently just got a write-up in the paper. 

 

I ordered a beer and shot of schnapps.  Bartender said he hadn’t opened the bottle in five years so tell him if it’s still good.  It was.  Other (younger) guy sitting next to me told me to check out this place called Hooples, or Major Hoople or Mott the Hoople.  Hoople something.  That it was up the street and across a bridge.  I guess up toward Tremont.  And they had live music sometimes.

 

Walked up to Hoople.  Bar # 3.  Also a busy place.  No band but still a lively partyesque scen with the same open, outgoing conviviality I found in those other two bars.  Some regular had his birthday, but he was already cut off (said the bartender when I offered to buy him a drink).  The crowd here was older, my age and older, I think, and the place had this big picture window overlooking the skyline, where you can drink and look out over the city. In the back patio they apparently project movies or TV on a bridge pillar (don’t recall what bridge).  So hung out there a bit, and they called me a cab to take me back to the hotel.  Enough for that night.

 

So, a walk into the Flats.  An abandoned entertainment district that had three bars that probably pre-dated the entertainment district era. 

 

I don’t really know what’s planned for this area.  On one of my other walks, back from Tremont across that “Hope Bridge” (the one with the art deco figures holding vehicles), I noticed, below, there was a lot of vacant space in the flats, the areas I was walking or nearby.  Maybe these are all brownfields.

 

But it seems like something could or should be done with that old entertainment district closer to downtown.  It seems like such a good location.

 

A final note. In my hotel room at night ..i am a light sleeper, and I heard late at night a ships horn, or so I imagined, signaling to those Flats bridges to open, so a laker can make its way upriver.  You realize you are really in a port city hearing that sound, very poignant and romantic.  More on that later.

 

Did you go to Lakeview Cemetery? Great just to walk through...

 

I walked through the Erie Cemetary(?) at dawn, after bkfst at Erie Island Coffee.

Lakeview Cemetary is off Euclid Avenue a little east of Mayfield Road and extends south all the way up the hill to the Cleveland Hts Border (where Euclid starts running parallel to Mayfield).  Its is much, much bigger than the cemetary I believe you are referencing.

Beautiful write-ups.

The Flats East Bank (FEB) project (which is awaiting financing, there is an entire thread on it here) is what the empty area with piles of dirt is.  There used to be many more older buildings there (that housed the famous/infamous Flats East Bank of the old days that were so well known) which were torn down to make way for this project.

Lakeview Cemetary is off Euclid Avenue a little east of Mayfield Road and extends south all the way up the hill to the Cleveland Hts Border (where Euclid starts running parallel to Mayfield).  Its is much, much bigger than the cemetary I believe you are referencing.

 

Yes, I'm assuming he's referring to Erie St. Cememtery across E. 9th from the Jake...errr Progressive Field.

 

You'd know if you saw Lakeview, it's amazing.

 

http://www.lakeviewcemetery.com

 

http://www.lakeviewcemetery.com/garfield.php

 

http://www.lakeviewcemetery.com/wadechapel.php

 

Keep 'em coming, your writeups are very well written and great to read!

The more interesting part of the Flats is deeper in, south of that defunct nightclub district. I guess this is the “Oxbow” area, beyond that little park with the log cabin. Old buildings lining the streets, mixed in with vacant lots and parking, under the Veterans Bridge. This area is quite picturesque, what with all that high iron (the bridges of various types) , gritty industrial, and old 19th century relict building streetscapes. Patina of Place. And the Rapid rumbling overhead every so often and the skyline and bluffs as a backdrop. And a river runs through it.

 

Hear hear.  Maybe my favorite part of the city.  But redevelopment is a dangerous game- the Flats has been losing its 19th century charm at a pretty alarming rate.  That "Patina of Place" is impossible to replicate but also awfully hard to monetize in a super weak housing market like Cleveland's.

Flats East Bank...I think this was that "Pesht" thing that KJP was posting on?

 

I mentioned Erie Island Coffee. 

 

I should say that Cleveland has a fairly well-developed coffee shop market compared to Buffalo (and especially compared to Dayton).  I am wondering about this, whether there is a market cut-off point or if this is a cultural thing.

 

Anyway, for Cleveland...

 

For the mornings and lunch I was mostly at Erie Island (since they opened so early) and the Phoenix in the Warehouse District.  Phoenix is nice, they have an emphasis on fair trade coffee, too.  Both of these are, apparently, local chains, but they seem to have the concept down pretty good without seeming "chain-y" (Phoenix moreso, it still seems like an indy, quasi-bohemian place).  Both sell these large cardboard "high volume" containers, which I never saw before.

 

I followed MayDays advice and made it that coffee vendor in the West Side Market and walked up the stairs for the overview.  They made me a mocha, which I usually dont order, but I felt like some "hot chocolate" that morning. 

 

There is another coffee place near the market, next to the Flying Fig.  I went there for "dessert" after dinner at the Flying Fig.  This one has tables and chairs outside.

 

Then there was that coffee shop in Shaker Square, Deweys, which appeared to be an outgrowth of this popcorn store, which is connected back to the coffee shop.  Deweys was very well patronized.  I was lucky to get a table.

 

And there was Civilzation in Tremont.  In an old storefront with one of those pressed metal ceilings.  This place also had tables and chairs outside, well-used.  Very cozy inside even with the high ceilings.

 

One thing I noticed is that nearly all of these coffee shops, but especially Deweys and Civilization, had a lot of flyers, cards, and handouts and free papers for things in town.  Algebra Tea Shop, which I mentioned upthread, had these too.  This is something that is very scarce in Dayton (but which you do see in Cincy and Louisville() and what I miss here.  The way these coffee shops are also information centers, almost little community centers, where you can take a quick pulse on what's up in town via some tangible graphics/print media. 

 

Yeah, yeah, I know there is the internet now, but I still think this info-center/cultural connection aspect is one of the selling points (for me) for this scene.  It doesn't "make money", but it adds to the "brand promise", or something.  Hard to put this into words.

 

The Cleveland coffeeshop scene performs this information center role quite well.  That's how I found out about some gallery things, and this neat project:Designing a Better Cleveland, put out by Cleveland Public Art. 

 

Now how cool is that?  That an arts group does programming and a publication on urban desgin?

 

Anyway, enough about the coffee shops.  More walks.  Since I mentioned Civilization the next one will be to Tremont.

 

 

 

 

Well at least you had good sense to come to Shaker Square.  :clap:

Flats East Bank...I think this was that "Pesht" thing that KJP was posting on?

 

No, "Pesht" was the nickname for the project proposed for the surface lots between Public Square and the Warehouse District.

 

I am impressed you got to as many local coffee shops as you did.  I think that Cleveland has a "better than average" coffee shop scene.

Yes, Cleveland is fortunate to have many cool independents.  In many other markets the big chains like Starbuck's came in early and monopolized most of the others (thats mostly all there is in DC)

That didnt happen so much in Cleveland, where there is certainly more of a local emphasis (in the city and near suburbs anyway).

 

Im spoiled by it everytime I am back there...  Imagine a coffee shop that makes their own baked goods (or that are made by a local bakery!) only to come back to DC with the option of... Starbucks.. and if Im lucky Caribou (still a Nat. chain, but not so bad) 

 

Yes Cleveland is fortunate to have many cool independents.  In many other markets the big chains like Starbuck's came in early and monopolized most of the others (thats mostly all there is in DC)

That didnt happen so much in Cleveland, where there is certainly more of a local emphasis (in the city and near suburbs anyway).

 

Im spoiled by it everytime I am back there...  Imagine a coffe shop that makes there own baked goods (or that are made by a local bakery!) only to come back to DC with the option of... Starbucks.. and if Im lucky Caribou (still a chain, but not so bad) 

 

 

I go out on a limb and say the reason why our coffee scene is better is Arabica.  They had a huge and loyal following before starbucks blew up and spread nationally.  In addition, Clevelanders are territorial and will give a local love over a chain based on the product.

I often think we just get overlooked by the chains.

I often think we just get overlooked by the chains.

 

Why?  I know in the 70's/80's there was an effort to purposely keep chains out of Cleveland to help spur development of local businesses.

I know (and to our benefit) most of the Cleveland areas didnt fulfill the initial criteria for a Starbucks to locate there (the old saying, "you know a neighborhood is officially gentrified/made it, when a Starbucks opens up)..  or to us, "a neighborhood that could be anywhere USA......"   

I know (and to our benefit) most of the Cleveland areas didnt fulfill the initial criteria for a Starbucks to locate there (the old saying, "you know a neighborhood is officially gentrified/made it, when a Starbucks opens up).. or to us, "a neighborhood that could be anywhere USA......"  

 

Yes.  Starbucks is, incidentally, one of the businesses that does the most in depth analysis for picking it's locations.  They run a lot of data and do a lot of mapping of demographics, spending patterns, surrounding competitors and complementary uses, transportation patterns, etc.  Conversely, a lot of businesses have a location strategy no more sophisticated than "locate as near as possible to a Starbuck's".

Downtown alone has a lot of coffee. 3 Starbucks i think, 2 Arabicas, 2 Phoenix Coffees, Erie Island Coffee, A.J Roccos, Moko Coffee, Cafe Ah Roma, a couple Caribous. What else am I missing. I think we might have around 15 to 20 coffee shops with only about 5 being chains, 3 of which are Starbucks.

Well at least you had good sense to come to Shaker Square

 

Keep watching this space for more on Shaker-land.

No, "Pesht" was the nickname for the project proposed for the surface lots between Public Square and the Warehouse District.

 

The way I see it you only need to fill one block of that, the block directly west of Public Square.  That one block needs some tallish buildings (doesn't have to be Keybank or BP tall), to define the space of Public Square.  Or maybe one tower, and then some lower high rises.  What's interesting is the three tallest buildings downtown front Public Square.  If there is to be a fourth it should also be on the square. 

Since I mentioned “Civilization” lets head over to Tremont.

 

Tremont

 

Getting to and from the place was half the fun.  Unfortunatley I didn’t take as good of notes with Tremont since I was heading there to visit Visible Voice books and was a bit worn from already walking Ohio City.

 

Tremont seems a bit hard to reach since it’s tucked in behind that freeway (I recall I had to work at getting there by car during a windshield tour type of visit during one of my earlier Cleveland visits).  This time I walked down Abbey Avenue from Western Market. 

 

Abbey crosses the Rapid line, but there is a second bridge, a longer one, over this ravine or valley that opens into the Cuyahoga “industrial valley”.  This smaller valley is also filled with factories and a railroad.  It sort of curves off to the west…don’t know how far into the city it goes.  I realize that Cleveland must have a few of these, in various states of urbanization or development.  The most famous is the Kingsbury Run valley due to it’s connection with Standard Oil, but that’s east of the Cuyahoga, not here…and Kingsbury has that railroad yard for RTA and a wooded side valley visible from the train…the one with that old suspension footbridge.

 

Anyway, crossing this valley, and on the left is this big loft factory building, then the freeway, which wasn’t as awful as I though it would be (expecting a big paved wasteland interchange like they have in downtown Dayton or Louisville). 

 

Beyond the freeway is that Polish place, Sokolowskis, and Tremont proper.

 

Tremont can be confusing since the neighborhood has two street grids, a diagonal one and a north-south one, which meet at I think 10th or 11th Street, which I followed down to the park and Civilzation coffee house, which I already mentioned in a previous post. 

 

Tremont is “like” a East or North Dayton neighborhood with the somewhat wider (compared to Buffalo) streets and the frame houses.  Unlike Dayton there is more variety, more a mix of building types (like apartments, I think) on some of the streets.  Also more trees, it seems (which made me think of Chicago side streets).  Noticeable, too, are the little neighborhood retail things, like corner stores (or mid-block stores in some cases),  many which have been gentrified in various ways.  It’s almost like a vision what could have happened in parts of Dayton if the money and desire (ie desire for city living) was there; sidestreet corner-store retail buildings in Dayton usually don’t survive as restaurants or gentrified things, even in gentrifying neighborhoods like South Park and Oregon. 

 

Yet, oddly enough, the place seemed less gritty than I imagined.  I recall that this neighborhood was featured in the Deer Hunter.  For some reason it seemed smaller and more intimate in that movie (maybe because of how the film was shot or the cinematography).

 

Anyway, back to Tremont.  Make it to Civilization, which has an excellent location on the corner near that park.  Tables were out and mostly full, and it was warm, so I sit inside near the window.  An exceptionally warm, comfortable space, very good vibes here.  After coffee at Civilization I try to find the right street to get to Visible Voice (which was tabling at the conference).  VV is in one of those mid-block corner stores, and is quite good for a small bookstore, akin to Carmicheals in Louisville in that they keep a limited selection but have a certain niche-market focus, meaning in this case a somewhat progressive/political cast (Carmicheals has maybe a bit of a feminist pitch, but also a limited mix). 

 

Ended up buying “The Nation guide to the Nation” there (which would be hard to find in this area...maybe Joseph-Beth would carry it).

 

After doing the bookstore thing I did the flaneur thing like I did downtown, just wandered around the neighborhood.  I worked my way to the south, or maybe east, till I reached that Russian Orthdox church with the onion domes.  Here, as in parts of Chicago (like my old neighborhood), and in Dayton (Xenia Avenue at St Marys, the little “corner store” neighborhood retail clusters a bit more, forming a small commercial district.  In this case I noticed a candy store, wine place, maybe a restaurant.  There was a wedding at the church, too. 

 

At the church I had a decision point.  Do I head toward the Cuyahoga valley or do I work my way back to Abbey?  I noticed some newer stuff beyond the church, but was more interested in the older parts of the neighborhood.  I walked back on one of those streets with the academic names…Literary or Professor.  What I though was interesting here was how low-key things are.  There is a lot of gentrified retail space, but not that much foot traffic (this was Saturday afternoon), so the place still keeps a quite low-key feel during the day.  Maybe things pick up later, more around dinner time? 

 

Walking back some more I notice yet another wedding, this time I think a Polish one by a Catholic church.  Which makes me realize that this neighborhood is somewhat unlike the type of one-ethnic-group places you’d see in Chicago, that there is a mix here.  Makes me wonder if the place actually had a clustering within the neighborhood, say, Poles on one end or one group of blocks, Russians on the other, and so forth.  Probably an interesting social history here.

 

Notice that there still is an ethnic presence here, the Polish Veterans hall is still in business and there was these guys hanging out in front of the side door to it.  Seems that this street (10th or 11th) had more bigger buildings..apartments and storefronts? 

 

I finally did dip down toward the edge of the Cuyahoga Valley, walking past a bunch of new apartments and townhomes.  Seems the streets closer to the valley are being reconstructed or infilled with this new housing stock, some with excellent views over the Cuyahoga, some toward downtown.  Eventually made it back to Sokolowskis and the freeway.

 

On the way back on Abbey I noticed there is a sort of unnamed snaggletooth neighborhood between Tremont and Ohio City,  just a few streets.  Looks like it could be a good redevelopment opportunity?

 

I took Maydays’ advice and returned downtown via the Hope Bridge, that loooong walk over the Cuyahoga valley, with the downtown skyline to the left, in the afternoon sun.  You could see houses and yards and woods down below, interesting to see these humble places with such a spectacular setting.  Lots of opportunities here for infill stuff.  Also, the big empty fields of the Flats were pretty visible too. 

 

Believe it or not I was not the only person on this bridge!  Saw three cyclists, too.  The Veterans Bridge gets more foot traffic (and cyclists), and seems designed for this with the wider sidewalk.  Yet you can walk across that Hope Bridge…but don’t be afraid of heights. 

 

Bookstore Digression

 

One thing I noticed about Cleveland (and Buffalo) is that people must still read there, or there must be somewhat of a literary/intellectual/progressive culture in both cities.  Independent, quirky bookstores still survive on the Lake Erie shore.  And they, some of them, apparently do events and programming.

 

For Buffalo, two I liked:

 

Rust Belt Books:  A new favorite, probably one of my favorite bookstores now.  More a used bookstore but some new.  I got a copy of Andy Merrifields bio on the situationist Guy Debord there.  Something I’d never find down here.  Also some german language things for my Ma.  Rust Belt has a performance space in the rear where they host various things, including little theatre.

 

Talking Leaves Books.  New books, but a broader selection.  Architecture and design section was particularly good.  Good magazine rack. They even had a book, sort of a catalogue, related to the 2010 Internationally Bauaustelleng, which is dealing with issues faced by smaller declining cities.  I was surprised to see this in a general-purpose US bookstore.

 

Both of these have a lot of free info and flyers and such on events in Buffalo.  You saw the same in Clevleand bookstores. 

 

For Cleveland, the ones I went to:

 

Visible Voice.  I already mentioned it.  But I should also mention they do programming, like readings, music, etc.  They are sponsoring a bus to that parody rally in Washington.  A bookstore like this would never, ever survive down here. 

 

Loganberry.  This is a specialist used bookstore.  No politics or current affairs (or very minimal),  but an outstanding arts section, local authors, a bindery (I think), and a room full of lit and theatre stuff (including foreign language books).  And an antiquarian section in the back.  This place is the comfy chair/Persian carpet kind of bookstore vs Visible Voice, which is lighter and more blond wood.

 

Mac’s Books I found this place during a quick visit to Coventry to see if the “Communist bookstore” is still in business (it is), since I didn’t see them at the Columbus ComFest this year.    After spotting Mac’s I parked and went for a look.  This is another mixed new/used bookstore.  Seems they have a loft or upper level for SciFi, but their basement has the non-fiction used books.  Main floor has the new books + magazine section (and a plethora of local free things, flyers, newsletters, events, etc).  Mac’s also has sections on judaica, which I havn’t seen since visiting Seminary Co-Op Bookstore in Chicago.  Got a copy of Robert Reich’s new book “Aftershock” there.    Mac’s is connected, it seems, to either a coffee shop restaurant next door.  And a neat feature are these colossal sized portraits on Cleveland authors high on the wall behind the cash register. 

 

You have got to love towns that have good local bookstores and coffee shops.  So urbane!

 

@@@@

 

Coming up (but not in this order):  Ohio City, foody things, the Bells of St Malachi, Shaker-land, looking for Wendy Park…

 

Shaker-land.  Oh no.  :)

 

Did you take pictures?

^^ You may be interested to know that Tremont has not one but THREE active Polish veterans halls.  They're all in the northeast quadrant of the neighborhood (the part that contains the historic district.)

 

That "snaggletooth" neighborhood between Tremont and Ohio City is called Duck Island.  I believe there are pictures both on the forum and the UO main page.  It's technically in the city's planning area for Tremont, but it's de facto a separate neighborhood.  The residents there have a long history of resisting any form of redevelopment that hints at gentrification. 

 

Thanks so much for the enjoyable and thorough reviews (and more to come?) of your visit.

 

Glad you enjoyed it...  Just wondering though...and this is just a trivial peeve, but doesn't anyplace remind anyone of Cleveland... or is it Cleveland reminding them of everywhere else? Let's enjoy the particular city we're in for the given day and delve into it for its own unique offerings. I would not go to Rome and say to the locals. "It reminds me of "x"  I'd just experience it as the individual place it is. I know, I know, I am nit picking...this is nothing personal... Great thorough review and seems like a nice time.  :wink:

 

That "snaggletooth" neighborhood between Tremont and Ohio City is called Duck Island.

 

...interesting name since I didn't see any islands in the river, and the place doesn't seem to reach the river.  It's an island, for sure, though. 

 

I'm sort of interested in that side valley that had those factories in it.  How far in does that go.  And was Tremont always sort of isolated?  I also seem to recall that this was where Dennis Kucinch lived when he was a kid or at some point in his life. 

 

 

Living Large in Shaker Square

 

Easy to get large in Shaker Square, what with all the food options.  But more on that later.  I decided to do the railfan thing and ride the Shaker Rapid the end of the line and back, but also to make a stop at Shaker Square and walk around and get dinner. 

 

Shaker Rapid is the light rail line, so the platforms are lower in the stations..noticed the mixed high & low level platforms.  Fairly interesting ride as you get to see some of the city this way.  I noticed that the median widens near the end of the line, and I seem to have heard or read that this line was to extend out into Pepper Pike or maybe out to Chagrin Falls?    Are there plans to extend the lines further out?

 

The stations beyond Shaker Square seem like little flag-stops, really more like bus or streetcar stops (which makes sense since this was sort of a streetcar, vs that other  Rapid, which is more like the L, except without a third rail.  I do wonder why they bother with those two ‘Green’ stations at the end of the line.  Maybe just one would do?

 

The neat thing about this excursion is I get to look closer at the buildings.  I had driven around here before but couldn’t give my full attention to the scenery.  So some housing notes….

Those old Shaker Heights houses are different take on period styling, particularly the colonial/georgrian ones.  They look like a hybrid, almost, with art deco/moderne touches and moves.  Very distinctive.  Also, seems there is more mock tudor/craftsmen stuff nearer to Shaker Square. 

 

Noticed a “Coventry” station and was wondering if the Coventry shopping area was walkable.  Not enough time to find out today.  So, on to Shaker Square.

 

Noticed the apartment buildings approaching Shaker Square, both directions.  Nearly all of them seem to be a colonial/geogrian style, except I saw this funky curved-front modernist mid-rise thing just before Shaker Square, on the south side of the tracks.  Neat, and makes this area unlike any other I’ve been to.  This apartment stuff continues north of Shaker Square up to Larchmere.  Remarkable how consistent this development is.  Maybe all developed by the “Vans”…so they controlled the style and density over a large area around the square?

 

Shaker Square itself was excellent. Great planning by the Vans (I guess, or their architect).  You leave that little station (with the short order restaurant in it…very old school to have a eatery like this at a transit station!) and follow the sidewalks directly into the shopping area, where you can make a loop of the Square and back to the station.  Very Nice!  I notice the Square has a lot of upscale stuff, particularly restaurants.  But also a supermarket (and a little passage next to it to a bus stop in the rear), and a movie theatre.  This is really, really good, true walkability and it’spossible to be carless here without much hassle, it seems. 

 

My destination in Shaker Square was Balaton, a Hungarian restaurant, and “dessert” at Deweys.  This was a rainy day, but the rain had finally stopped by the time I got to the Square.  So,  I walked up Moreland (past blocks of those old apartment buildings) to Larchmere. 

 

Larchmere is a city busy street, but I think in Cleveland Heights?  Lots of stuff here, but I just walked up to the city limits sign, crossed and headed back.  As I was crossing I saw the Terminal Tower ending the vista west down the street.  Cool.  Wonder if this was planned?  Briefly stopped into an import clothing store, then continued on.  Looks like antique shops, galleries, little taverns.  Went to Loganberries again (see upthread) and did quite a bit of browsing (bought a “history of German cinema” in German for my ma).    Noticed that this area is pretty solid in that there’s new construction, a new mid-rise, right off Larchmere near the city limits sign.

 

Finally back to Shaker Square to Balaton.    Another wonderful little white-tablecloth ethnic place, quality food, bright interior due to the big windows, done up in ethnic décor. Excellent place and a good value.  I did not have goulash or cabbage rolls but tried something different, a stew, Lecsó Kolbássza.  Should have had dessert here, too (you just know it’s going to be good).  Next time maybe. 

 

After that, for coffee and one of those biscotti things at Deweys, got a sunny window table to write some cards & notes.  Thinking it’s so civilized here….good food, a good bookstore, a coffee shop, essential shopping (supermarket) in walking distance, and very easy access to rapid transit. 

 

Then, back to the station to catch the train back to Tower City.  I think this station might have more frequent service since that Van Aitken branch curves in here, so you get more trains.  Seems I was seeing a lot coming through here. 

 

Riding the Rapid

 

…takes some getting used to.  I like that farecard machine they have, but it’s a bit odd that you can get on the train without paying?  Seems you swipe the card after you leave the train at Tower City.  And the card has to be activated each day.  I bought a multi-trip card and didn’t know that.  Imagine my surprise when the card wouldn’t read at the turnstile.  Transit cops jumped right in, showed me how to do this and what the story was about the activation. 

 

Another nice thing at the Tower City (and Ohio City) station was they have a time display saying how many minutes the train is before reaching the station.  Makes the waiting easier, and I never had to wait very long.

 

Also, the Rapid is used.  I was riding the one to Ohio City/West Side Market at odd hours, like early Sunday and around 8 PM at night, and it still had riders.  During the day the cars were not totally packed, but where pretty full (same for the health line).    The lines seem to run with reasonable frequency…every 15 minutes or so?  Or something like that.  Seemed the health line was more frequent, though.

 

My experience with the health line(which I ride several times a day) is that its pretty crowded during work hours, I have to stand most of the time. 3:00 pm is the worse time, cant even get on sometimes. After workhours it is a little bit easier finding a seat. It remains crowded into the later hours calming down around 8 but still has a good amount of riders. But yeah traveling west at around 3 can be a pain, either standing very tightly compressed or not even being able to enter the bus. Traveling east is way easier.

Thanks for continuing to post these ... Really enjoying the read!

 

A couple of quick observations:

 

- Larchmere is a predominantly Cleveland mini-nabe, although the northern blocks are in Shaker Heights (there's this weird little peninsula of Shaker Heights on the north end of North Moreland for two blocks, followed by Cleveland Heights). One of the things I love most about Cleveland and other upper Midwest, Northeast and mid-Atlantic cities is how distinct they are and how much they differ over even a few blocks. The Shaker Square is a great example. You have one very distinct feel along Larchmere, then another along Shaker Blvd. and Shaker Square and then another along Buckeye and another along Kinsman ... all within one half-mile north-south. There is also a difference in stock, character, etc. running east and west over the same distance, although north-south, you can really feel distinct neighborhood cultures, which is why Larchmere and Buckeye are rightly identified as their own respective neighborhoods, rather than part of Shaker Square.

 

- Unfortunately, the Coventry station is not in close proximity to the Coventry commercial corridor. Not to say you couldn't walk there from the green line station, but it probably wouldn't be the preferred choice, even by public transit (for that, the #7, #9 or #32 bus would put you in much closer proximity.

 

- I love your assessment of the stations/environment along the Green Line. I would note two things ... The Blue Line stations south of here have a slightly denser, more urbanized feel (at least for me), particularly around the Lee station and the Warrensville Center station. Second, I think one of the really special things about the Green Line is the South Park stop, which is about a block away from the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. Founded in the mid-1960s, the Nature Center was a successful citizen protest strategy to prevent a large-scale freeway from cutting through the area (immediately north of the Larchmere area). Today, the Center is steward of 600 acres of parkland along a bird corridor that hosts more than 200 migratory species each year. Along with the Superior stop in East Cleveland, I would argue that this stop has closer access to parkland than any other in greater Cleveland ... and I don't think most Clevelanders, even east side suburbanites, realize this. A truly hidden gem, although I believe the Nature Center is trying to do more to promote the transit connection.

 

- I find the trains and the Health Line to be used throughout the day, although I often find the Health Line to be PACKED, even at nontraditional hours (e.g. westbound at 11:30 p.m. on a Thursday evening, when it more or less becomes a booze cruise for Case students) and even given that it's running every five minutes during peak hours.