Posted October 8, 201113 yr Part V – Cedar Lee & Fairfax & Cain Park Next, we are heading to what I consider to be the most underrated part of Cleveland Heights. Cedar Lee is where the high school is located and is an ever growing retail and entertainment area. To the south is Fairfax, a nice residential neighborhood that meets up with the Fairmount Historic District pictured in Part IV. To the north is Cain Park, an artsy public park which is known for its art festivals and live performances. Also along Lee is the main branch of the library. And right about that point is where the first bike lanes in CH have been installed. The neighborhood has a grocery store and a 24 hour CVS (the only of its kind in Cleveland Heights). It also has the only fast food drive through restaurant in CH (the Wendy’s pictured below). Of course, one of the main draws is the Cedar Lee theatre which I would venture to guess is one of the better Indie film theatres in the region, if not the country. What I really like about this neighborhood is it has a little bit of everything for people of all ages and interests. With the bars, the 24 hour CVS, and the early morning activities with schools and bakeries, it really is in a way as close as it gets around here to a 24 hour neighborhood. Purely coincidental, but it just so happened that these shots were taken at various times of the day. Part V(a) – Cedar Lee 1. We will start out with a quick trip down memory lane for me 2. The courtyard 3. 4. The science wing addition which closed off the courtyard and the top of the “H” 5. 6. 7. 8. Various residential surrounds the HS 9. 10. 11. As mentioned above… 12. 13. Retail strip on the other side of Lee, across from the HS 14. Now moving south of Lee 15. 16. Remember when theatres used to look like this? 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. There was a recent development plan for this site for condos but it fell through. One day… 23. The city even built a nice garage to accommodate the increased need for parking 24. 25. Name one other McDonald’s that has been transformed into a highly regarded Thai restaurant ;) 26. The backside of the theatre 27. Back out on Lee 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Anybody remember ‘the Firehouse’?…. I always wondered how that place went out of business because it was always packed whenever I tried to eat there. 33. 34. 35. 36. Part V(b) – Fairfax This next part covers the residential neighborhood between Cedar Lee and Fairmount. My sister and a lot of friends live here and everybody absolutely loves it as a family neighborhood. My sister lives way down by Fairmount, but the proximity to Cedar Lee gives her house a 91 walkscore. Right at what I would consider the border with Cedar Lee is the main branch of the library, which consists of the original building and this annex on the other side of Lee… 37. 38. 39. 40. The elementary school gets high marks 41. 42. This church is beautiful, especially when lit up at night, but the constant bells can be taxing (at least I hear that from people who live around it 43. There is a noticeable difference between the residential streets to the east of Lee and to the west of Lee. First, here are some to the east…. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. …. and a sampling from the west 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. Part V© – Cain Park Hopping back on the north side of the neighborhood, there are a few amenities along Lee in the area of Cain Park 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. The park 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. The view from Taylor Rd…. a subject of Part VI 78.
October 8, 201113 yr Awe. memories for me. I remember when fairfax was under construction. We lived in the fairfax community until I was 4. My cousin and brother went to fairfax for a year. Is "the rock" in the courtyard of Cleveland Heights High different? I thought it was "rounder"? When I was in High School and we had a game against CH, that was our (the cousins) meeting place.
October 8, 201113 yr This is the area that converted me into an urbanist in the 1970s. As a kid, my sister and I would be taken to the doctor in a building on Lee Road north of Cedar. When my sister was in seeing the doctor with my mother, my father and I would go for a walk up Lee and through Cain Park, then back to the pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use business district along Lee. Afterwards, our family would return to our house in Highland Heights which was in area that had nothing but 1960s-era split-level houses. No mixed-used districts. No parks. Just houses for a couple miles in every direction. Even back then, I could tell there was a difference between the two -- I loved Cleveland Heights; I hated Highland Heights. After 11 years there, we moved to mcmansion heaven in Geauga County for 15 years. If we didn't have a river valley behind my house, I would have absolutely hated it too. Sorry -- I digress. But this is the neighborhood that converted me some 35 years ago. I will always have fond memories of this area. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 8, 201113 yr I remember the Firehouse restaurant and I agree it was very good and always packed. That building is the "twin" of the one on Noble Rd. Fairfax Elementary (along with Coventry and Boulevard) were built in the 1970s and have the ugly architecture typical of the time period.
October 8, 201113 yr Is "the rock" in the courtyard of Cleveland Heights High different? I thought it was "rounder"? When I was in High School and we had a game against CH, that was our (the cousins) meeting place. You might be right about that, I honestly don't remember.... which is odd because my two posts in that courtyard were usually that bell pretty much dead center off in the distance in #3 at lunchtime or sitting on that wall to the right in #4 after school All that aside, you may be confused. After all, wasn't this the school building you would have visited back when you were at Shaker?
October 9, 201113 yr Is "the rock" in the courtyard of Cleveland Heights High different? I thought it was "rounder"? When I was in High School and we had a game against CH, that was our (the cousins) meeting place. You might be right about that, I honestly don't remember.... which is odd because my two posts in that courtyard were usually that bell pretty much dead center off in the distance in #3 at lunchtime or sitting on that wall to the right in #4 after school All that aside, you may be confused. After all, wasn't this the school building you would have visited back when you were at Shaker?
October 9, 201113 yr I once owned a house on E. Fairfax before I moved to Shaker Hts. I just loved the neighborhood feel. I always downed a pint at the Charles Stewart Parnell before the movie next door. I've since moved to Houston and although there are some interesting neighborhoods in this city, NOTHING here compares to Cleveland Hts.
October 9, 201113 yr Very comfortable. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 10, 201113 yr Very nice. Cleveland Hts is definitely looking like a pretty awesome place. How big is it (geographically)? Shaker and University Hts are also right around here too, right? Are they as commercial as CH? I'm just pretty surprised how many businesses there are in these threads.
October 10, 201113 yr This map shows where the cities are in relation to one another and relative size. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Map_of_Cuyahoga_County_Ohio_With_Municipal_and_Township_Labels.PNG ... and CH is 8.1 square miles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Heights,_Ohio
October 10, 201113 yr Thanks again, Hts121, for yet another splendid set of photos of this affluent and vibrant Cleveland suburb. Over the years so many good things have been said about it; now I'm finally understanding why. And thanks, Loretto, for several helpful links to additional information.
October 10, 201113 yr Very nice. Cleveland Hts is definitely looking like a pretty awesome place. How big is it (geographically)? Shaker and University Hts are also right around here too, right? Are they as commercial as CH? I'm just pretty surprised how many businesses there are in these threads. Shaker is South of CH and UH is East.
October 10, 201113 yr #21 - Ariyoshi will soon be Heights Grill #28 - Looks like a recent trip as work has started on Seitz Agin to convert to The Wine Spot #48 - looks like you went by my street
October 11, 201113 yr Very nice. Cleveland Hts is definitely looking like a pretty awesome place. How big is it (geographically)? Shaker and University Hts are also right around here too, right? Are they as commercial as CH? I'm just pretty surprised how many businesses there are in these threads. SH and UH are both much more residential than CH.
October 15, 201113 yr This is my favorite CH house, well, non-mansion anyway. This is just off S. Taylor Rd. if Im remembering correctly
October 15, 201113 yr Bradford Road, right where it meets South Taylor. There's another cool house with gigantic pillars like that as you go past Coventry eastbound on Euclid Heights Boulevard.
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