I didn't find a Cleveland nightlife thread so I started this one. Combine it with an existing thread if there is one.

 

From the Cudell Snippets e-mail newsletter....

 

 

Clifton Martini and Wine Bar Invites You to a Flora Springs Wine Tasting (10427 Clifton Blvd.) on Monday, January 17th at 6PM

 

Founded in 1976, Flora Springs Winery is located at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains in the far northwest corner of the Rutherford Appellation, right in the heart of the Napa Valley. Make your reservations by calling 216.965.0221 or emailing [email protected]. The $35 per person fee includes the Chef's Buffet (Steak Diane, Blackened Tilapia, Rosemary Redskins, Vegetable Ratatouille and Caesar Salad) and five Wine Pours. A great way to warm up on a cold night!

 

http://cliftonmartini.com/Wine_Tastings.html

Battery Park Wine Bar is also hosting an upcoming wine tasting, cut & pasted from the email blast sent out on Monday.

 

Battery Park Wine Bar is going to be having its first official Wine Tasting. The tasting will be held Wed Jan 26th at 7pm. We will be tasting 16 wines for $20 and be serving assorted gourmet appetizers. You must RSVP before Mon Jan 24th and prepay for the event. You can reach us at 216-631- 9463 after 3pm and we will be taking credit cards over the phone or you can stop in and pay via cash.

 

Thank you,

Mike Graley and the Battery Park Wine Bar Staff

http://www.batteryparkwinebar.com/index.html

 

Good stuff. Helps fight off cabin fever.

By the way, a vital piece of information was left off of the Clifton Martini and Wine Bar tasting

 

It is Monday, January 17th at 6PM

http://cliftonmartini.com/Wine_Tastings.html

 

Ooops! Thanks!

Reviving this one rather than starting a new thread.

 

There was a Dixie Electric Company/Mining Company "reunion" Saturday night in the old building at Brookpark and Pearl, which most recently held the Saddle Ridge (country bar).  I knew from the Facebook lists (I was a regular WBITD), but had to work so I didn't go:

 

Apparently they had a huge turnout (about 500 people) but only three bartenders, and the fact that the place has been closed for awhile caused bathroom issues.

 

Two noteworthy things:

 

-This was completely Facebook generated.  "Reunions" aren't just for high school classes on decennial years anymore, and that's largely because of the 'net in general and Facebook in particular.

 

-Make sure all the bases are covered if you reopen a closed building.  Imagine if this had been a "grand opening" and not just a reunion.

 

 

So I came across this horribly cheesy video on Youtube:

 

 

It's before my day but it did remind me of Cleveland's old bar scene in the Flats, which I was just old enough to experience before its rapid decline. While the video above is easy to make fun of, it also says something about Cleveland's nightlife scene at the time since it was featured on MTV (when MTV still meant something).

 

I moved out of Northeast Ohio back in 2002, but I still come back many times a year and usually end up hitting the town while I'm visiting. Cleveland's nightlife has certainly changed since the late 90's when I first started going to bars. Since then I have seen a LOT more bars and restaurants pop up in the west side neighborhoods, The formation of 4th Street, the Warehouse district get less classy, and of course the decline of the Flats. Hopefully we will see a resurgence of the flats over the next decade because it was sure a cool and unique place to party.

 

So anyone have any old school Cleveland bar experiences to share?

 

Some places I have good memories of when I first got a fake ID.....err I mean turned 21.

 

Club 1148 - was actually a later version of that club in the video. Used to go there for college ID night on Thursdays.

Trilogy - used to go to "church" there on Sundays. Huge and gritty techno club with some crazy patrons. Lots of blatant drug use in that place.

Jimmy's - run down flats dive that for some reason I always had a blast at. Maybe because they served 32oz beers?

The Basement - probably the most notorious Flats bar. Always wise to avoid the dentist chair!

Wish - my favorite Warehouse District bar/lounge. Was tucked away and you had to enter the place through a dark alley. Cool three level setup with an awesome staircase. I always wondered why that place closed down?

I would like to see the inner part of the flats become the club and music zone downtown, because the places in the WD just don't stack up, and other places are far-flung. Plus, if/when they build the second Casino, there could be some serious synergy between the two.

Four of my favorite clubs in the Flats in their peak years of the late 80s and early 90s were:

 

> Noisemakers on Old River Road. It had two levels of dance floors, great light and sound system, and always a great crowds in the Flat's peak years. Plus my friends from school would often meet there and get a seat by the windows to watch the then-two way traffic jams inch past the windows, along with neon inside and out the cars (ok, that was new then), people hanging out car windows and general craziness displayed by pedestrians;

 

> Aquilon/The Lift/Smart Bar/Whiskey south of the Center Street Bridge. I loved taking the industrial elevator to the top floor as the music got louder the farther up you went, and then you emerged into this amazing new wave/techno club. My favorite was the lounge seating that had great views up the river and the bridges where you could chill while listening to great mixes of New Order, Depeche Mode, Anything Box, and more. The radio station 107.9 "The End" also broadcasted live from this club on Friday nights which always drew a big crowd and had a long line out the door waiting to get on the next elevator;

 

> And Club Coconuts, north of and across the parking lot from the Powerhouse. This was a wide open, two-level club with balconies overlooking the dance floor below with palm trees and lots of pastel colors and neon -- straight outta Miami Vice. The cover charge was often higher here, so you'd get a higher-class and slightly older clientele who danced to some edgy mixes I'd never heard before. There was often a long line to get inside.

 

> Powerplay, in the Powerhouse. This was a very large bar in the bricked-in basement of the building which had all the latest video games. It was the only place where I ever saw men in business suits playing gyroscopic video games, twirling sideways and upside down while they were blowing up the universe. There were also billiards, air hockey and other table games. There were so many video games that it was a cauldron of sound, with some good music mixed in. It was a sensory overload, which was great for a guy in his low-20s.

Oh, BTW, I just found this from 1995 still floating around from the early years of cyberspace.......

 

http://mw-raves.org/old/lunar/regions/ohio/cleveland.html

 

SCENE HISTORY - Cleveland has always had an extensive underground history mostly due to a slew of dance clubs in the flats. it was clubs like Alterhouse (now defunct), the Aquilon (now The Whiskey, formerly Smart Bar), Noisemakers (now the Boiler Room), and Metropolis (now Trilogy) that basically introduced the techno sound to Cleveland. And it was club dj's like Rob Sherwood, Kevin Tomlinson, Robin Harris, and Scott Forbush that spun at these clubs.

 

The first person to throw an event outside of a club in a warehouse was a promotor by the name of Mike G. His first event featured Super DJ Dmitry and The Lady Miss Kier (before they became Deee-Lite). This happened in '89. He threw a few more events, but they were not raves they were house partys.

 

Then after returning from a trip from LA, Noisemaker club promotor DJ Kevin Tomlinson had a go at it in '91. He along with Robin Harris and Rob Sherwood threw two TRUTH parties in Noisemakers. Over 500 club kids attended this club party. but alas it still was not a rave.

 

The first person who attempted to throw a rave was a college radio dj on WRUW at Case Western Reserve University by the name of Stevie T. He along with fellow WRUW dj Lars Fischer, WUJC dj Mike Filly, and WUJC dj Rob Bertrand attempted the first rave in cleveland on March 20th, 1992. Unfortunately it was busted before it could happen.

 

However one of the dj's that was supposed to spin at that rave - Mike Filly ended up teaming up with DJ Rob Sherwood to form Tone Deaf and Color Blind Productions. It was Tone Deaf and Color Blind Productions along with Ray Gun that threw Cleveland's first official rave - TIDAL RAVE on June 21st, 1992. The event was held at the Aragon Ballroom and featured a live performance by 2 Unlimited. Eventhough 750 people attended the party, they still lost money.

 

Their second event - KOOL AID in July of '92 featured a live performance by Cybersonic & F.U.S.E. and Dj's Joey Beltram, Richie Hawtin, Rob Sherwood, and Mike Filly. The event took place in a warehouse near East 4th & Prospect. almost 1000 kids attended the event & they almost broke even. Seeing that rave promoting was not all that profitable, Rob and Mike went back to club dj'ing at the Smart Bar.

 

One other promotor worth mentioning is Jimmie Allen. Jimmie moved to Akron, Ohio from Germany in '88. It was he along with DJ Loopo and Dan Curtain that threw Akron's first rave - A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT on June 6, 1992. The headliners were Sleepy C and Joey Gruttola (Manipulator).

 

A few underground events were thrown by Mel-Ske-Dredd, Sooper Wack (which wuz Al-X now Tic Tac), Funky Alien Gizmos (now Dreamer Productions), Centrak Lasers, and other promotors. But none were very succesfull.

 

It wasn't until Sleepy C aka Stephen Cinch, Dan Curtin, and Tots threw REBIRTH on August 13th, 1994 to celebrate the opening of Deep Records at the Grays Armory was the Cleveland rave scene brought back to life. 800 ravers were treated to the likes of Josh Wink, DJ Sun, Dave Trance, dieselboy, Bagga Donuts, Sista Spinsta, Jimi Doom, & the Deep Records Dj's.

 

After throwing afterhours at the old church off of Superior St, Spawntaneous made enough money to throw their first party - NO SHIT! on April 1st, 1995. They were also the first production crew to bring west coast dj's Josh & Dutch to Ohio. NO SHIT! held the record for greatest attendence w/ 1200 kids 'til Brian Wheeler of Underground Peace Society threw FAMILY AFFAIR on July 1st thru 3rd, 1995 with 2400 kids. But that was in Canton, Ohio.

 

more to come...

 

+ last updated 3 aug 95

I was hitting up the clubs in the early to mid-90s so my favorites were:

 

The Lift/Smart Bar - as KJP said, getting into an old school freight elevator and riding up to the main floor (all the while the music got louder and louder) was just too cool. Most of my friends liked the 107.9 nights because they played alternative/new-wave up until midnight; I liked it after midnight when the DJs were spinning house tunes. I still have some cassettes packed away, mostly sets by Kevin Bumpers and a few others. The great thing about this place was the healthy mix and vibe it had - everyone was there to have a good time; once it became The Whiskey, the music changed, the decor changed, and the crowd changed and not for the better. The elevator broke down, and then the place really went to hell in a handbasket.

 

Metropolis/Trilogy - I never knew how popular Cleveland's club scene was back in the day until I went to a Disco 2000 night at Limelight in NYC back in 1993. I met a few of the well-known club kids in passing and when I mentioned I was from Cleveland, they went gaga about Metropolis. It wasn't my favorite club but it was the de facto place for the big name acts since it was an old warehouse that could accomodate huge crowds, and have to admit when Centrak had their laser show set up it was pretty kick@ss.

 

U4ia - the gay equivalent to Metropolis - big club in a warehouse; they hosted some of the first fetish-themed events in Cleveland which were something to see (yowza!)

 

Brillo Pad - it's interesting to see how Gordon Square has changed so much since my friends and I would try to find 'that building with the gothic arch doorway' which was the place you would go to, to just dance your arse off to the great house music no one would ever hear on mainstream radio. I remember it as a no-frills kind of joint in the basement, with a similar crowd to Smart Bar but with edgier music. The same spirit lived on for a while at Touch Supper Club but once new owners took over, that sadly went out the door.

 

At the same time, as the article KJP pointed out - 'raves' (although those who enjoyed the scene never called them that, we just said "parties" to deter those who didn't really belong) were a huge thing back then. So many parties, so many way too late nights; one of these days I'll have to scan the old flyers I have laying around. I think I might have some for the 'Family Affair' mentioned in the article KJP posted.

^ I remember and hung out at all of those places at one time or another.  I was just thinking about the Brillo Pad the other day.  What a cool place.  I never drove, so I forget where exactly it was.  What occupies the building now?

I didn't spend much time in Cle during my bar hopping days which would have been during the tail end of the FEB

 

Is that 4/20 rave still held in Colinwood each year.  They used to promote that as the largest rave in the country.  3 warehouses packed with people from all over the country.  I leeft when I saw the teddy bear dancing.  Wawawawawawa

OMG the days of U4ia were some of my favorite partying days ever. Gay guys are truly the perfect dance partners for me. They look hot, they can really shake their tail feathers, you can get as nasty as you want, and then when it's over they don't want anything from you!

Wow,  Cat Thomas.  I knew him slightly through a friend (Paul Strater aka Paul Phillips) that engineered and occasionally DJed at 108.  One Cocky Individual.  Of course, I was biased due to the fact that he cut in front of me for a lady I was chasing (yes, I was aiming high in more ways than one).  Not long after this, I was up in their studios and saw a license under his real name.  I did the math, and suggested that the Buzzard Morning Zoo could do a caricature of him called “Billy the Kitty”.  Paul thought I was serious for a moment, but since he would have got in trouble for me knowing Cat’s real name I desisted.

 

My serious club days started in ’84 at the Mining Company (aka the Mining Shaft, the Sleaze Pit, the Mono Company, the Crab Shack, etc….).  Every Friday Night from the summer of ’84 until around ’87 or so between 10 and 25 of us would stake out the left front corner of the dance floor when the place opened at 8:30pm.  We spent so much money there a few of us once got into a fight with some off duty bouncers and we didn’t get kicked out.

 

Oh, we also spent our share of time at the Akron Agora.  These were the two centers of sleaze in NE Ohio lol.

 

In ’88 or ’89 or so I’d go to 108 nights at Kixx with Paul.  That’s where I met that whole crew, and the abovementioned woman.  Paul dropped a classic line on me when we got off the floor for a slow one, “You always wanted a woman you could look up to, huh?”.  I don’t know if that’s better than when I tossed a phone book on the floor at Gee’s when a short friend was dancing with his new taller girlfriend, but it was close.  Oh, once he had to be on the air at 6am and was highly inebriated.  I got some garbage bags from the club, lined the front seat of my Fiero, dropped his drunken ass off at the station, went home, and set my alarm to listen to the fun.  Amazingly, he coped.

 

Later on, they had nights out at the Mining Company and I’d go to those and get up into the DJ booth, which improved my odds in the club.  :evil:

 

Oh, the Mining Company has been holding re-unions every so often…

 

I'm a little older, but I remember going to Fagan's in around 1979, and also the Warehouse. this would've been in the era when Paul Simon filmed "One Trick Pony" partially in and around some Cleveland bars. But I also liked places that lacked the noise and activity of the Flats. As an aficionado of newspaper hangouts, I hung out on occasion at  The Headliner, on Superior near the old PD.

Four of my favorite clubs in the Flats in their peak years of the late 80s and early 90s were:

 

> Noisemakers on Old River Road. It had two levels of dance floors, great light and sound system, and always a great crowds in the Flat's peak years. Plus my friends from school would often meet there and get a seat by the windows to watch the then-two way traffic jams inch past the windows, along with neon inside and out the cars (ok, that was new then), people hanging out car windows and general craziness displayed by pedestrians;

 

> Aquilon/The Lift/Smart Bar/Whiskey south of the Center Street Bridge. I loved taking the industrial elevator to the top floor as the music got louder the farther up you went, and then you emerged into this amazing new wave/techno club. My favorite was the lounge seating that had great views up the river and the bridges where you could chill while listening to great mixes of New Order, Depeche Mode, Anything Box, and more. The radio station 107.9 "The End" also broadcasted live from this club on Friday nights which always drew a big crowd and had a long line out the door waiting to get on the next elevator;

 

> And Club Coconuts, north of and across the parking lot from the Powerhouse. This was a wide open, two-level club with balconies overlooking the dance floor below with palm trees and lots of pastel colors and neon -- straight outta Miami Vice. The cover charge was often higher here, so you'd get a higher-class and slightly older clientele who danced to some edgy mixes I'd never heard before. There was often a long line to get inside.

 

> Powerplay, in the Powerhouse. This was a very large bar in the bricked-in basement of the building which had all the latest video games. It was the only place where I ever saw men in business suits playing gyroscopic video games, twirling sideways and upside down while they were blowing up the universe. There were also billiards, air hockey and other table games. There were so many video games that it was a cauldron of sound, with some good music mixed in. It was a sensory overload, which was great for a guy in his low-20s.

 

 

 

I realize this thread is over a year old (and I just stumbled across this forum - brand new member) but wanted to comment on KJP's post. The Flats' peak was also the peak of my partying/dancing days, hitting downtown at least 3 to 4 times per month with one friend or another. I agree with your list exactly, and for exactly the same reasons, but might add one more: Metropolis, I believe a few streets up from Coconuts and the Power House. The dark atmosphere, house music and occasional performance artist gave that place a unique feel of its own.

 

I liked going to Coconuts and Noisemakers with friends; both were outstanding places to have fun and meet the ladies. Metropolis could be good on a [more casual] date or with friends, but Aquilon was bar none my favorite when taking a special lady out. Arrive early when the big band was playing and a jacket was required for guys, which gave it a classy touch, then as midnight approached the DJ took over and the music got progressively more and more industrial. If I recall at 2:00 AM they started serving breakfast, which was seriously awesome (and needed) by then!

 

Now of course I am married with kids (and almost 50), but this topic just came up ago a few weeks back with my wife: why don't we have any classy(er) joints like Aquilon in this town any more? I met my wife in Europe so she was not in the U.S. back then and never saw the Flats at its peak, so I've tried describing it to her, but words cannot really do it justice.

 

In any case, I'm pretty sure my dancing days are well behind me, but if I ever dared to try it again a joint like Aquilon would be the one I'd want to take the love of my life to!

 

Peace!

DarylK: Maybe the proposed outdoor club "FWD" that was mentioned a while back will be what you're looking for in the new FEB. However I don't remember many details about it.

DarylK: Maybe the proposed outdoor club "FWD" that was mentioned a while back will be what you're looking for in the new FEB. However I don't remember many details about it.

 

 

 

tradition7:

 

Thank you for the reply. I searched on the term "FWD" within the forum but no results?

 

Was it used in that format, or was FWD an acronym for a longer name that was used in the thread?

 

Hopefully some others will join and resurrect this particular thread!

 

 

DarylK, welcome to the forum! I'm pretty sure I never went to Metropolis. Is that what became Mirage in later years? http://tinyurl.com/o5h976k

 

BTW, in its last few years, Mirage became a mess. Here's part of an article I wrote about it.....

http://www.cleveland.com/westsidesun/news/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1235659300272110.xml&coll=4

 

Yesterday I was having breakfast with former Cleveland Police Chief Bill Denihan who said that, in the Flats peak years circa 1990, he devoted most of his Flats forces to the East Bank. In fact, after the last East Bank club closed about 2:30 a.m., he would set up his forces like a bulldozer at the north end of Old River Road by Fagan's and put his biggest, strongest cops at the front. They'd sweep southward to St. Clair (and possible to Center, as the Waterfront Line and Settlers Landing Park hadn't yet eradicated the roadway through there). Officers removed all of the drunken stragglers whether they'd want to leave or not. Trailing the row of cops would be service crews who hosed-down Old River Road. They were followed by the street sweepers who cleaned up all the gunk that didn't wash down the drains.

DarylK, welcome to the forum! I'm pretty sure I never went to Metropolis. Is that what became Mirage in later years? http://tinyurl.com/o5h976k

 

BTW, in its last few years, Mirage became a mess. Here's part of an article I wrote about it.....

http://www.cleveland.com/westsidesun/news/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1235659300272110.xml&coll=4

 

Yesterday I was having breakfast with former Cleveland Police Chief Bill Denihan who said that, in the Flats peak years circa 1990, he devoted most of his Flats forces to the East Bank. In fact, after the last East Bank club closed about 2:30 a.m., he would set up his forces like a bulldozer at the north end of Old River Road by Fagan's and put his biggest, strongest cops at the front. They'd sweep southward to St. Clair (and possible to Center, as the Waterfront Line and Settlers Landing Park hadn't yet eradicated the roadway through there). Officers removed all of the drunken stragglers whether they'd want to leave or not. Trailing the row of cops would be service crews who hosed-down Old River Road. They were followed by the street sweepers who cleaned up all the gunk that didn't wash down the drains.

 

Metropolis became Trilogy.

 

I spent those years working in the flats and never once saw the police bulldozer mentioned, and DEFINITELY didn't see service crews cleaning the streets at 3 am.  I have pictures somewhere to prove the mess the streets were in every morning, as we would stumble home with sun rising!

 

I think Chief Denihan was exaggerating just a bit....

 

Metropolis became Trilogy.

 

I spent those years working in the flats and never once saw the police bulldozer mentioned, and DEFINITELY didn't see service crews cleaning the streets at 3 am.  I have pictures somewhere to prove the mess the streets were in every morning, as we would stumble home with sun rising!

 

I think Chief Denihan was exaggerating just a bit....

 

 

Yes, Cleburger is correct: Metropolis eventually turned into Trilogy. I think it was Trilogy at the time of its closing (i.e. it did not turn again).

 

I remember Mirage, but I struggle to recall if I have ever been there. I want to say "yes" but have no memory of the interior, so maybe it's only the name recognition that makes me think that.

 

I left the flats at 3:00 or later more than once and I too never, ever, saw the police bulldozer described. It's possible I just missed it, or maybe it was exaggeration.

I'll ask him during what years he supposedly deployed the police "bulldozer."

I'm guessing if any it could have been during an extreme night of the Riverfest or Bicentennial. 

I do remember seeing a large numbering police and equipment gathered near Fagan's when I was out late one night. But the memory is a little hazy, if you know what I mean........

I drove up from Springfield to the Agora a few times 79-81. I heard that place burned down?

P.I.L., The Clash, The Jam, Ramones

I drove up from Springfield to the Agora a few times 79-81. I heard that place burned down?

P.I.L., The Clash, The Jam, Ramones

 

It's still there... There's a music venue, but most of the building is being converted to offices-

 

http://www.clevelandagora.com/

That's a different building.  It was close to CSU, but it burned down and moved to the present location.

That's a different building.  It was close to CSU, but it burned down and moved to the present location.

 

Ah, thanks for the correction.  It's been at the current location literally my entire life, since the fire happened before I was born, so please forgive my ignorance.

^speaking of that, apparantly the agora was originally located near case in 1966 when it first opened. it was there for one year, before it moved by csu. does anyone know where the original agora site was?

^speaking of that, apparantly the agora was originally located near case in 1966 when it first opened. it was there for one year, before it moved by csu. does anyone know where the original agora site was?

 

2175 Cornell Road - corner of Cornell and Random - currently the site of Club Isabella, before that it was Goose Acres Folk Music Center for a long time.

 

http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=AB

^speaking of that, apparantly the agora was originally located near case in 1966 when it first opened. it was there for one year, before it moved by csu. does anyone know where the original agora site was?

 

The original Agora was at Cornell and Random. 

 

The legendary-era Agora, host of events like the WMMS "Coffee Break Concerts" (major local and even national bands playing at 11am on a Wednesday) and the Springsteen 1978 show, was at E. 24th and Payne.  It burned down in 1984, and there were suspicions as to the cause....

The legendary-era Agora, host of events like the WMMS "Coffee Break Concerts" (major local and even national bands playing at 11am on a Wednesday) and the Springsteen 1978 show, was at E. 24th and Payne.  It burned down in 1984, and there were suspicions as to the cause....

 

Considering the owner was allegedly a made man....

The legendary-era Agora, host of events like the WMMS "Coffee Break Concerts" (major local and even national bands playing at 11am on a Wednesday) and the Springsteen 1978 show, was at E. 24th and Payne.  It burned down in 1984, and there were suspicions as to the cause....

 

Considering the owner was allegedly a made man....

 

I knew he was "affiliated", not that he was officially "made".  That may also mean it wasn't just the Belkins and the Buzzards getting all those bands to play at the crack of dawn, rock star time.

I still say that a relevant city needs a nightclub district. (Especially a city trying to shed an image of being boring and having nothing to do and a mid sized city with 3 sports teams with athletes who like to be out. I know, I've been out with them in the WHD many times before)

I completely agree. I am currently living in Baltimore and we have no 'club district' nor do we have any other 'district' downtown. All we have is the Inner Harbor and all that live here do their best to stay away from it. Cleveland has so much going on and so many things to offer downtown I often think that those who live there have no idea how great the city is. I only wish Baltimore had new areas growing into their own that we were worried about existing neighborhoods. Embrace all that you have. You are lucky!

Isn't Charles Street a kind of historic/entertainment district?

I completely agree. I am currently living in Baltimore and we have no 'club district' nor do we have any other 'district' downtown. All we have is the Inner Harbor and all that live here do their best to stay away from it. Cleveland has so much going on and so many things to offer downtown I often think that those who live there have no idea how great the city is. I only wish Baltimore had new areas growing into their own that we were worried about existing neighborhoods. Embrace all that you have. You are lucky!

 

Love hearing from other cities. Thanks!

I completely agree. I am currently living in Baltimore and we have no 'club district' nor do we have any other 'district' downtown. All we have is the Inner Harbor and all that live here do their best to stay away from it. Cleveland has so much going on and so many things to offer downtown I often think that those who live there have no idea how great the city is. I only wish Baltimore had new areas growing into their own that we were worried about existing neighborhoods. Embrace all that you have. You are lucky!

 

I appreciate your comments.  But as much as I agree Cleveland's on a roll, I tend to think Baltimore's ahead of us.  I've heard there have been some crime issues, fears re the Inner Harbor in recent years, but the last time I was there last summer, it still seemed pretty safe and packed with people.  I think the newer East Harbor area, near Little Italy, is a blueprint, but beyond, what we even have planned for our Flats area.  East Harbor has a 30-foot Marriott (?) hotel, numerous office towers, a multi-screen movie theatre, exclusive shops, restaurants, a 24-hour CVS and a Fresh Fields (?) grocery store.  Flats East Bank’s Phase 3 doesn’t even have all that… And Fells Point is a mega entertainment area which is close by downtown.  Ohio City may be Cleveland's closest comparison (and even that's not a good one).  Both areas have their quaintness, but Fells Point is 300-years-old, densely populated and more visited than Ohio City.  Cleveland has pluses over Baltimore in a number of areas and while, yes, the Warehouse District is considered downtown, I still think the aforementioned advantages both downtown and near downtown give B'more an edge... at this point.

 

I completely agree. I am currently living in Baltimore and we have no 'club district' nor do we have any other 'district' downtown. All we have is the Inner Harbor and all that live here do their best to stay away from it. Cleveland has so much going on and so many things to offer downtown I often think that those who live there have no idea how great the city is. I only wish Baltimore had new areas growing into their own that we were worried about existing neighborhoods. Embrace all that you have. You are lucky!

 

I appreciate your comments.  But as much as I agree Cleveland's on a roll, I tend to think Baltimore's ahead of us.  I've heard there have been some crime issues, fears re the Inner Harbor in recent years, but the last time I was there last summer, it still seemed pretty safe and packed with people.  I think the newer East Harbor area, near Little Italy, is a blueprint, but beyond, what we even have planned for our Flats area.  East Harbor has a 30-foot Marriott (?) hotel, numerous office towers, a multi-screen movie theatre, exclusive shops, restaurants, a 24-hour CVS and a Fresh Fields (?) grocery store.  Flats East Bank’s Phase 3 doesn’t even have all that… And Fells Point is a mega entertainment area which is close by downtown.  Ohio City may be Cleveland's closest comparison (and even that's not a good one).  Both areas have their quaintness, but Fells Point is 300-years-old, densely populated and more visited than Ohio City.  Cleveland has pluses over Baltimore in a number of areas and while, yes, the Warehouse District is considered downtown, I still think the aforementioned advantages both downtown and near downtown give B'more an edge... at this point.

 

Very true. Cleveland really doesn't compare to East Coast cities. Its counterparts are great lake cities, Detroit, Chicago, Buffalo, Milwaukee, and Toronto, although we are still unique and much different than all of those cities as well. East coast cities are far denser have have dense residential/mixed use neighborhoods with architecture and density we couldn't dream of. More history too.

As someone that grew up in Cleveland and lives in NYC, Cleveland has tremendous assets that are on par or better than most Midwest cities.  I was in Baltimore for the Browns game and Cleveland has more going on Downtown and inner ring neighborhoods.  Even the inner harbor was not nearly as impressive as in its heyday.  For Cleveland, density will come if the momentum continues to build.  I'm more encouraged about what's happening in Cleveland then I've been since I left in the mis 90's. 

I still say that a relevant city needs a nightclub district. (Especially a city trying to shed an image of being boring and having nothing to do and a mid sized city with 3 sports teams with athletes who like to be out. I know, I've been out with them in the WHD many times before)

 

Disagree.  Why can't you have unique bars, restaurants, lounges, entertainment venues, located in multiple areas?  Honestly, after a while these "strips" become boring and a new and better location is found leaving the previous location a wreck.

I still say that a relevant city needs a nightclub district. (Especially a city trying to shed an image of being boring and having nothing to do and a mid sized city with 3 sports teams with athletes who like to be out. I know, I've been out with them in the WHD many times before)

 

Disagree.  Why can't you have unique bars, restaurants, lounges, entertainment venues, located in multiple areas?  Honestly, after a while these "strips" become boring and a new and better location is found leaving the previous location a wreck.

 

I strongly disagree. Many cities have nightclub "strips". In fact, the cities that are the best at it have multiple ones. The existence of the current strip vs a new one developing is not what causes those strips to deteriorate. It is the quality of the clubs on the strip that is of the utmost importance. In the field that I am in, there is always a negative wrap on Cleveland from people who feel that we don't have ENOUGH nightclubs. No one that I know in the fields that I am closely associated with (entertainment, sports, etc.) ever say that they don't like the fact that we have our nightclubs in a "strip". The biggest complaints that I hear about our nightlife scene is that it isn't big enough and the clubs aren't open enough. Some athletes actually consider the strength of the nightlife as one of the deciding factors as to whether they want to be here or stay here or not (I'm NOT KIDDING). People in the industries I deal with like and want sexy stuff. Sexy stuff is what influences their opinion of the city. Microbrews and sophisticated white table cloth restaurants ain't gonna cut it (not that there's anything wrong with them). You need nightclubs, you need a lot of nightclubs and most importantly you need a lot of GOOD nightclubs. The strip ain't the problem if the choices suck. Also, nightclubs can have a sort of multiplier effect on each other when they are located in the same general location (which is why many clubs in different cities choose to do so). It can lead to club hopping and everybody making money. So it helps most (not all) clubs to be located around each other. So, I don't know what the people in your circle have said to you about it. Maybe you've heard the exact opposite. But in the world I'm in, this is what I'm hearing. Even to the fact that it does play a part in some people's decisions in relation to the city.

^ I couldn't agree more

One problem I see is that as our nightlife districts increasingly overlap with our upscale urban residential areas, it is going to create more conflicts.  The Warehouse District, East 4th, and W. 25th aren't the old Flats (and the new Flats won't be either).  People live near them, and don't really want the sort of issues that seem to pop up around dance oriented nightclubs compared to more low key places.  I think that those sorts of places are going to need to find a new "strip" away from residential, or need to get better at crowd control inside and around their venues.

How popular are night clubs these days? Nobody I know or anyone they associate with like to go to dance oriented nightclubs. They prefer low key bars and restaurants like X pointed out exist in our residential neighborhoods.

How popular are night clubs these days? Nobody I know or anyone they associate with like to go to dance oriented nightclubs. They prefer low key bars and restaurants like X pointed out exist in our residential neighborhoods.

 

They're still very popular. I'm down there a lot so I see it with my own eyes. Also, as soon as a nightclub opens up that is even moderately better than the others (ie: Vada) people go in droves. I know this for a fact, as I've noticed that local celebrities have their events or birthday parties there, national celebrities go there (Fabolous did an event there and the after parties for major concerts are held there, with the performers in attendance at times). I also see it because I occasionally party promote downtown and have had several successful events in nightclubs (I typically will only do an event in a nightclub. And location as in proximity to other nightclubs is a big deal for me. Unless you're a strong stand-out like Vada or Xecutive Ultra Lounge, which cornered the market on celebrity parties before Vada and Rumor opened). So as a person who regularly attends nightclubs and occasionally puts events together in those nightclubs and knows a lot of people who live for the nightlife, yes, clubs are still popular.

 

One problem I see is that as our nightlife districts increasingly overlap with our upscale urban residential areas, it is going to create more conflicts.  The Warehouse District, East 4th, and W. 25th aren't the old Flats (and the new Flats won't be either).  People live near them, and don't really want the sort of issues that seem to pop up around dance oriented nightclubs compared to more low key places.  I think that those sorts of places are going to need to find a new "strip" away from residential, or need to get better at crowd control inside and around their venues.

 

I've always thought St. Clair, between 13th and the 20's would be the perfect strip for this. A nice urban wall on both sides with plenty of available space! Vada picked up on it! (Though, I know residents at the Avenue weren't too happy about it)

Isn't Vada just in the former GRID space?

 

 

 

 

Vada picked up on it! (Though, I know residents at the Avenue weren't too happy about it)

 

Reminder of Flats West Bank residents. "Welcome to the neighborhood. And surprise, you're getting Larry Flynts Hustler Club!"