Urban Ohio: I am looking for constructive feedback here - something is not jiving and I don't get it...

 

A lifetime Cleveland resident, I have traveled to Duluth, MN 20+ times over the past 10 years and it is a cool little town that I always enjoy visiting.  Duluth has a tourist area named Canal Park that reminds me a lot of the Cleveland Flats.  However, things are VERY different in Duluth - specifically, who is staying at the plethora of hotels in the Duluth Canal Park area...

 

It seems there are visitors from all over the world, flocking to Duluth to watch big freight ships enter and leave the port and watch a single lift bridge.  That's it.  Nothing we don't have in Cleveland, but somehow Duluth has attracted  a HUGE amount of international travelers to watch these ships enter and leave the port and keep several hotels and restaurants in good business.  Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall - every time I visit the hotels are full of International tourists...

 

Cleveland has the huge freight ships, MULTIPLE lift bridges, swing bridges,  the available land, the hotels, why can't we attract the international travelers and become a destination for this type of thing?  I have a vivid memory of hundreds of International tourists in Duluth watching the lift bridge go up and down, standing in amazement, taking photos and me thinking, uh, I can see this every day in Cleveland at many different places and no one gives a crap...

 

References for thought: 

 

Cleveland lift bridges and ships: http://www.flickr.com/groups/13603077@N00/pool/show/with/5054729779/

Duluth Canal Park: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_Park_%28Duluth%29

 

Thoughts?  I have some of my own which I'll share at some point...

 

Greg

 

 

 

it is a good point, but Duluth is also the largest port in all the Great Lakes. They have more traffic than we do.

interesting observation for sure. how do these touristas even get there? tour groups? from msp i take? it seems like a pretty isolated place. i guess i never thought of big groups of international tourists being so interested in going so out of their way for that kind of thing. then again the mich locks get a lot of tourists too. yeah cle should take more advantage of its interesting riverfront. for starters, someone should put the two remaining hullets back up somewhere good and visible to all.

I've only been to Cleveland once, briefly, but I've spent a bit of time in Duluth and its environs.  I really like Duluth in the summer - feels a bit like San Francisco, but midwestern.  Winters, no thanks.

 

Yeah, the lift bridge attracts tourists, and it is unique in the world (I believe), but you also have to remember that Duluth is the gateway to a really amazing (and fairly under-marketed) area of the country.  The north woods are spectacular, especially along Lake Superior.  Then there's the Boundary Waters, and the light houses, etc.

 

I'd be interested in knowing what nationalities you saw at the hotels in Canal Park.  MSP has sizable Somali and Hmong communities, and Duluth has long been a weekend getaway destination for MSP residents.  Could be that those communities have also recognized the allure of the area?

I agree that Duluth is a gateway to a lot of beauty to the north and west, and that it has a much more impressive, and busy, port. But there certainly is an opportunity to market Cleveland to architecture and engineering buffs. There are few cities with a greater and more diverse collection of bridges. And where else do you have freighters navigating oxbow bends amid those swinging and lifting bridges, and sharing the water with sculls? Plus, there's great architecture, the arcades, museums and all manner of other attractions.

Looking at google maps... Duluth has it's lake front in that area setup for tourism.  The barrier island has sandy beaches / grassy parks and a long walking/biking trail.  All the freight loading happens to the west of it and doesn't interfere with your view and use of the lake.  It's also the most western point of the great lakes, so you could sail from the Atlantic to there.  The lift bridge is in the tourist area and people can drive/bike/walk across it. 

 

Cleveland's only lift bridge near the lake front is a train bridge, so no user interaction with it.  Wendy park is near the bridge, but the park is damn near hidden from anyone that doesn't know how to get there.  Most of the other lift bridges in Cleveland no longer function.  The only ones that I can think of that still operate and are puplic accessible are the Carter and Columbus street bridges.  Both of these bridges are back in the industrial areas of the flats and not easy to find either. 

 

Duluth is surrounded by huge national forests.  People may come from all around to tour the forests and see the animals.  After a week of that, you look for the big city around and head into town to get back to civilization.  When you get there you may go out to eat and ask, “What else is there to do here?”  Your server may tell you, “Lots of people go and watch the lift bridge…” 

Hehe, as I figured, 98% of the Cleveland fanboys don't get it.  Cleveland has some incredible scenes and sights that tourists all over the world would love to come and drool over, but no one  (International) knows what we have and no one is promoting it (Internationally).  If someone happens to end up here, they might, by chance,  find the awesome store/information booth at the corner of East 4th & Euclid.

 

If we don't encourage foreign visitors we are losing.  This is low hanging fruit.  A simple advertising campaign focused on foreign countries could bring an incredible amount of tourists to Cleveland. And further growth to our growing but VERY fragile economy.

 

Taking it a step further, I firmly believe that Cleveland has failed to focus on bringing new immigrants to the area and that is why the inner city and now inner suburbs are dying.  This is how the city was made and it happened naturally at first, but now it must happen by design, but it is not...

 

New World Techno boy

 

I haven't been to Duluth, and this is just a guess, but,

 

Could these visitors to Duluth be European visitors who came to the U.S.A. to shop at the Mall of America?

 

Taking it a step further, I firmly believe that Cleveland has failed to focus on bringing new immigrants to the area and that is why the inner city and now inner suburbs are dying.  This is how the city was made and it happened naturally at first, but now it must happen by design, but it is not...

 

The rise and fall of urban centers in America's Rust Belt is a little more complicated than that.

True, but there are three business districts in Mpls (all several blocks long) which were saved largely and without question by immigrants and they serve as an anchor for a dozen neighborhoods. Cleveland clearly one-ups Columbus and Cincinnati with Asia Town, but could and should do much more for at least a couple of other neighborhoods, which are in close proximity to stable ones. The reason being that less people are going traverse a bad neighborhood to get to a good one, especially an up-and-coming one

Taking it a step further, I firmly believe that Cleveland has failed to focus on bringing new immigrants to the area and that is why the inner city and now inner suburbs are dying.  This is how the city was made and it happened naturally at first, but now it must happen by design, but it is not...

 

The rise and fall of urban centers in America's Rust Belt is a little more complicated than that.

  Yes, the challenge for Cleveland is much more complicated than trying to bring boatloads of immigrants ashore, as  happened in the past.  Those Cleveland immigrants came to the city because of jobs, especially in manufacturing.  Today, the beguiling image of America as "The Melting Pot" of all humanity isn't nearly as strong, and those manufacturing jobs all seem to be in "The Far East."  Yes, Cleveland's ideally situated for an upturn in Great Lakes trade--but those new ships best be filled with raw materials or products to sell rather than merely jobless immigrants.  Perhaps the receding Arctic ice will allow for increased trade with either Russia or other northern European countries that have been denied an easy and safe passage into the St. Lawrence waterway much of the year.

Ethnic enclaves aren't really healthy for a city, even big ones like NY and Chicago.  The novelty of a group of people being centralized in one area has proven itself more of a disease than a cure to cultural segregation.  I'd prefer to see an ethnic group and the economic assets that community brings to be spread across the city, as Cincinnati is seeing with Asian businesses on the Eastside.  Living next door to a Mexican is much more culturally advantageous than driving to a Mexican enclave, eating at a restaurant, then driving home.

Apologies,  Urbanohio.com fans,  I get pretty fired up about Cleveland and I made some condescending comments yesterday, but got only positive comments back.  I think that is a statement to what a great group we have at Urbanohio.com.  I realize the problems we face are insanely complex and have no simple solutions, but sometimes I get carried away thinking about what seems like simple solutions. 

 

For all the Urbanohio.com members that responded positively to my negative comments, kudos to you.  I have some faith that we will make things work and most people will be happy :)

 

New World Techno Boy

Ethnic enclaves aren't really healthy for a city, even big ones like NY and Chicago.  The novelty of a group of people being centralized in one area has proven itself more of a disease than a cure to cultural segregation.  I'd prefer to see an ethnic group and the economic assets that community brings to be spread across the city, as Cincinnati is seeing with Asian businesses on the Eastside.  Living next door to a Mexican is much more culturally advantageous than driving to a Mexican enclave, eating at a restaurant, then driving home.

Please explain you contention that ethnic enclaves aren't healthy for a city. It contrasts with all of my reading and experience. Immigrants ALWAYS settle in enclaves. They may spread out later, but initially they always settle together to build a mutual-aid community as they get established and bring vitality to a place, often settling in -- and revitalizing -- troubled neighborhoods and commercial strips, keeping a city alive and thriving.