I know this was a landmark and all..... and I even envisioned it renovated and with huge glass windows in the spaces where the long indention were with the arched tops, and would have loved to see some rendering that shows what this could have been made into.......But seeing it in the neglected condition it was in for so long, I am not all that sad to see this one be laid to rest.

 

I haven't really discussed my take on this - I think I'm more disturbed by what will be replacing the Columbia Building and the damage to the urban fabric of the immediate area, than anything else. Yes, it's a fine example of historic architecture but put next to comparable buildings (i.e. the Caxton), it's not terribly distinctive. The archway over the entrance, and a few masonry accents here and there and well... I think its role as a solid "filler" building is more notable.

:cry:

And cross posted in the Inner Belt thread - Cleveland Cold Storage is mostly rubble now:

 

Goodbye, old friend.

completely unnecessary

stop right there!  we can fit a parking garage behind that!

 

^but not an "I have arrived in downtown Cleveland Welcome Center"  People just would not know where Tower City was if it weren't for the welcome center.

 

 

@Mayday, I hear what you are saying about the architectural details, I just think with the building look, layout and especially location, it would have an awesome residential renovation. 

Maybe they're numbering the bricks so that they can re-build the Columbia on top of the new garage?

I am so disappointed that this is coming down for a stupid parking garage, oh, and a "welcome center." I agree with punchinpat, that building was prime for a residential conversion.

f'ing idiots

turrible

Proposed demolition on the edge of University Circle...Magnolia Dr is a GEM by the way, surviving most of Case's mansion demolitions in the 1960's-1970's along Juniper, Hazel, Mistletoe, and E.115.

 

Mt. Zion Congregational Church fights Cleveland historic district designation

Published: Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 10:00 PM

Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer By Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A historic, mostly black church braved a bombing that greeted its arrival on the fringe of Cleveland's University Circle in the 1950s. Decades later, the church finds itself in another struggle for acceptance.

 

Mt. Zion Congregational Church, at East 108th Street and Magnolia Drive, wants to tear down two century-old houses it has used for offices and meeting space. Rev. Paul Hobson Sadler said an addition rising in place of the houses would allow the church to expand programs that feed homeless veterans, mentor youth and train the unemployed for jobs.

 

Standing in the way is Councilman Jeff Johnson, who has proposed that City Council designate the church property and adjacent streets as a local historic district, a move that could make demolition difficult, if not impossible. The council could vote on the designation at a special meeting Wednesday.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/07/cleveland_historic_district_wo.html

"You can't fight God and prevail," Sadler said. "He's not fighting me. He's not fighting the church. He's fighting God."

 

Game.  Set.  Match.

 

 

Great, it's barely 8am and I'm already sick to my stomach.

 

 

I wished I hadn't see that photo of the Columbia Building being demolished. It makes me want to go punch someone. And I'll be damned if I'm ever going to set foot in that fucking casino, just like I will never go to Cedar Point or Kings Island after what Cedar Fair did to Geauga Lake.

While I haven't gone so far as to boycott Cedar Point...and I'm sure my more suburban friends will eventually be dragging me to the casino, KJP you really hit the nail on the head.

 

It seems most every positive development comes attached with a striking negative.

^^I'm w/ KJP regarding Cedar Point. I knot up in anger every time I drive past the shell of what was Geagua Lake. I haven't been to Cedar Point since they shut GL down. Although, if I'm being entirely truthful, I hadn't been there before they shut down GL either. 

 

I haven't mustered a whole lot of enthusiasm for the casino, either. Maybe I'm just bitter, and I'll feel differently over time. Maybe if they give me a free stuffed horseshoe and complimentary player's club card from the Stanley Block store....

I went downtown the other day with my parents to show them the Library(which they've never been in) as well as a few other stops. First off they loved the library, it is really beautiful inside. But anyways we parked at a meter and began walking down prospect when I saw the Columbia building half demolished. I had forgotten about it at the moment and it was a depressing way to start the day. But at least the rest of the trip was a good time!

Columbia Building on Tuesday (apologies - it's a cellphone pic at 25ish MPH - no I wasn't driving):

 

I hope the irony of the Huntington Banner being included was intended.

^That was a 'happy accident'. Here's the progress from Prospect today:

 

Thanks for the shots. I hope someone from Cleveland gets some nice clear ones as the Prospect facade crumbles.

Again, this is so sad. I was in Cleveland on Tuesday and it was very depressing to walk by.

I was having dinner on East 4th last night when a guy with his family walking to the Indians game proclaimed, "Hey, check out the great air conditioning for those apartments!" ... referring to the gaping holes in the side of the building.

 

So sad that even to the general public's eye that building was viewed as apartments, when it wasn't, and could have easily been in a few years.

 

I've never felt so disgusted walking downtown as last night, seeing that building being crumbled is so disheartening.

 

What's more incredible is how quickly it came down. So funny how every development project in Cleveland takes years of planning and bickering and stoppages and starts and redesigns, but when someone gets the idea to tear down a historical structure, it's gone 2 months later. Just sickening.

 

 

The Columbia...Homes in Magnolia-Wade Pk district...the Cooper School of  Art.

More casualties in Cleveland's unstoppable march towards blandness.

 

 

Photos from tonight:

 

 

That's about all she wrote for the Prospect Avenue facade:

I shouldn't have opened this thread because now I'm really depressed after seeing those photos.

So...probably the wrong time to say it, but I really liked the color of that Columbia Bldg. brick.  In sharp contrast, the new brick or brick-like substance that goes into our many of our finer new and cheaply built structures looks like crap.

Thanks for the pics MayDay. Unfortunate.

Welcome to Beirut, Ohio

I drove by there last night. If I wasn't driving, my eyes would have been held tightly shut. It hurt so much to see my alma mater treated with no regard. So many memories there.......

Hmmm, I thought I posted the following already, but nevertheless:

 

regarding the brick, was there no way to salvage any of them, or were the owners in such a rush that reclamation was never even a consideration?

Looks like they took a breather so they could remove the rubble:

 

 

Anyone know if any part of the building materials being recycled?

Damn-it  Mayday do you have to keep posting pics of this ;).....

 

For some reason I sort of doubt that they are recycling, just my feeling.  With all the criticism of this teardown, I would think if they were doing any sort of recycling, they would be touting it as some sort of consolation..  Of course I could be wrong.

The old ZBT house on Case's campus is being demolished in a week or two.  It think it was just too beat up to fix.  People knocked holes in the walls on a weekly basis and did a lot of amateur repair jobs.  Its too bad Case couldn't fix it up like the new Alumni House.

 

It is the first picture here:

 

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Zbt_lambda_chapter.jpg/220px-Zbt_lambda_chapter.jpg&imgrefurl=http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta_Beta_Tau&usg=__xhOja-6Y-i42tpZNFQ5BnYZXFT4=&h=293&w=220&sz=20&hl=en&start=52&sig2=geV1lTxkiZRY2-luA5wx-g&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=gdaA0zyX44vfGM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=86&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dzbt%2Bcase%2Bwestern%2Breserve%2Buniversity%26start%3D40%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26ndsp%3D20%26tbm%3Disch&ei=5mgxTq-uO4yNsAK22_zoCg

Damn-it  Mayday do you have to keep posting pics of this ;).....

 

For some reason I sort of doubt that they are recycling, just my feeling.  With all the criticism of this teardown, I would think if they were doing any sort of recycling, they would be touting it as some sort of consolation..  Of course I could be wrong.

 

Yeah, like they actually give a shit...

The old ZBT house on Case's campus is being demolished in a week or two. 

 

I was wondering what was going on here. So, with the two homes over at 108th & Magnolia possibly being razed and now the ZBT house on Bellflower probably being razed...that's 3 mansions in this historic area that we're going to lose.

Despicable.

 

The march goes on and on...

I guess I have mixed feelings about the ZBT house demo.  If UC is really going to emerge as a high energy node of activity, I think we're going to lose more than a few of those old houses as part of building pattern transition from re-purposed suburbia to something denser.

The old ZBT house on Case's campus is being demolished in a week or two. 

 

I was wondering what was going on here. So, with the two homes over at 108th & Magnolia possibly being razed and now the ZBT house on Bellflower probably being razed...that's 3 mansions in this historic area that we're going to lose.

Despicable.

 

The march goes on and on...

 

Did the church get approval to demolish those two homes on 108th and Magnolia?  Or am I thinking of a different demolition proposal?

I dont think so..  I believe they are still fighting about that one... 

^ Good to see that the Stanley Block wasn't "accidentally" torn down by "mistake"

_____

Anyone know if the McDonalds sale has gone through yet with the purchase of the Detroit Theatre in Lakewood? I know a few weeks ago they presented some concepts to the city for the site. I'm assuming it's pretty much a lock that the theatre will be torn down. I'm not sure how "urban" you can make a free standing McDonalds with a drive through and parking look, but it surely won't be pretty.

I havent seen anything since the meeting.  Since the  mayor is so much behind it I think it is pretty much a done deal (although some group was trying to make the market overlap due to another McDonald's and issue (and a hole in their analysis of the importance of this site)).

 

Yeah the site plan is pretty pathetic and depressing.  So likely they will be trying to address a few of the biggest concerns like having a smaller set back and traffic concerns for the sidestreet since the only exit would be there... 

 

It seem the mayor is more appropriate for somewhere like Westlake since he doesnt seem to see the importance of retaining the urban fabric at all. 

Thanks for the pics Mayday.  My eye keeps drifting to the line on the SW banner, "Our Pride Forever"...........unless a well connected developer wants parking

ZBT mansion is down...pill of rumble.

 

No idea what Case/University Circle will be putting in its place.

Cross-posted from the Ohio Foreclosure News thread.....

 

Bank of America is now paying to tear down foreclosed homes

BY TIM DE CHANT

1 AUG 2011 2:17 PM

 

Bank of America has a new approach to dealing with foreclosed homes: Tear them down.

 

With a record number of American's facing foreclosure, that might make your blood boil at first. But if you look into the plan a bit closer, there might be something to it. These homes are the worst that Bank of American has on its hands. The company has selected a relative handful of its most decrepit, derelict homes in Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago and will pay up to $7,500 to local agencies toward demolition costs. That's more than many of them are worth.

 

Bank of America isn't the first mortgage holder to sacrifice its worst properties to a one-ton ball of steel, but it is the first to put some money towards demolition. Citigroup began donating foreclosed homes to housing agencies and nonprofits back in 2008. Fannie Mae started a similar program in 2009. Both have had help from the National Community Stabilization Trust, a nonprofit which works with lenders to get foreclosed homes into the hands of housing organizations. The group has been sucking up as many properties as it can.

 

The 100 homes Bank of America is demolishing in Cleveland are just a drop in the bucket. One report estimates there may be as many as 13,000 abandoned properties in the region, and that it would cost $250 million to remove them all. Another says Chicago has at least 5,000 that are beyond hope for rehabilitation.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.grist.org/cities/2011-08-01-bank-of-america-is-now-paying-to-tear-down-foreclosed-homes

Columbia Building and the Ontario/Prospect corner building are both gone:

And my morning got-that-much worse.    Thanks...  :-(