Posted January 25, 201510 yr Found some pictures from 1994 (my 27th birthday party) and 1996 (my 29th birthday party).... For my 27th birthday in August 1994, we rode the Nautica Queen and had dinner while first heading up river and then out into the lake. First, we travel past the recently opened Avenue at Tower City Center, including the new Ritz Carlton Hotel and Tower City office building. But I took this picture because plans were still pending for the massive Riverview phase which never happened... Returning to the lake, we passed this paddle-wheel boat. I don't remember what its purpose was (I think it was a private party boat), but this was its dock on the Columbus Road peninsula... Another view of the paddle-wheel boat. You can see the dock was about where Ohio City Bikes is today. Then, as now, the river was popular with rowers. The Red Line viaduct passes overhead... Good ol' Jim's Steakhouse that had been around for 50 years, about to become a nightclub that would get busted for dealing ecstasy (anyone remember the name)... Yep, that's the Rock Hall under construction in August 1994. It would open the following summer. After that, I noticed a lot more cars with out-of-state license plates in town. My friends and I used to remark often about what states we saw and how many. Construction has yet to start for the Great Lakes Science Center, one of many "bicentennial legacy projects" due to open in the summer of 1996. Other legacy projects were the Waterfront Line, Settlers Landing Park, and numerous bridge lighting projects in the Flats... +++++++++ And we jump ahead two years to 1996. I'm a few months from finding and buying my Lakewood condo where I've lived ever since. The Browns had moved less than a year earlier so this Indians game against the Baltimore Orioles had some extra importance! After the game, we rode the Waterfront Line (which opened just two months before) down to dinner at Dick's Last Resort. Before the game, we rode the Red Line to Jacobs Field that was in the midst of a five-year-long streak in which every game was sold out. One look at that Indians lineup is a big reason why (of course the Orioles' lineup is pretty impressive too which is why they were also in the playoffs almost every year back then).... This view of the right-field upper deck is now an historic image, as it has been removed for a restaurant/concessions area. But back in the mid- to late-1990s, this section was filled almost every night. I sat up there several times back then. They were awful seats as they were angled improperly (you had to look left most of the time, resulting in a stiff neck). Plus the winds were strongest there which made for cold games in April, May, September and playoffs in October. And the sun was in your eyes in the afternoon or early evening. But in the 90s, if you wanted a seat at Jacobs Field and didn't reserve early, this is where you sat. Downtown had experienced a major building boom from the 1970s into the mid-90s. So these were heady times, culminating in the city's bicentennial in June 1996. Several hundred thousand people came downtown for the big party June 10. Google photos of what the Flats looked like that night -- you will be blown away. I have a couple of large copyrighted framed photos from that party that would soon grace the walls of my condo in 1996. This skyline is evidence of that building boom. Little did I know that corrupt Mayor Mike White was bringing that building boom to a halt as I shot this picture. The Flats East Bank was still hopping back then, as my father (died a year ago) took this picture of me (in the Indians hat, with a beer and cigarette in my hands -- both addictions I've long since quit) and my friend Mark Carlson taking in the sounds and energy of the Flats. The Flats was a din of music, boats, trains, and people laughing and yelling. We stood on the riverside patio at Dick's Last Resort which was next door to Max Erma's. These and other chains came to the Flats to cash in on the huge crowds that descended here every weekend year-round, and even many week-day nights in the summer. It's still early on a weekend night in August 1996, so the crowds hadn't yet come. Usually the Flats busiest times were between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. on weekends with nearly all streets completely gridlocked. The Waterfront Line ran until 2 a.m. on weekends. Inside Dick's Last Resort with friends and family for my birthday. At Dick's, the waiters and waitresses would intentionally abuse you and treat you like sh!t. My mother, at left with the latest in cell phone technology, knew it was a joke but didn't know how to handle it so she was calling the waiter all kinds of obscene words in retaliation. Yep, dear old mom who is now 84 years old and still hanging on. She learned those obscene words as an army brat during World War II and while living in Germany during the post-war reconstruction. That's Mark at far left on the other side of the table, wearing a shirt that says "You should see my big dog!" Those are my nieces and nephews sitting across the table. My brothers were there but refused to be photographed! Thanks for taking a trip back in time with me, back to when my interest in cities and especially for Cleveland was growing stronger every year. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 25, 201510 yr I love these! It's weird how few good quality images of cities from the 90s are online. Most pictures are either after digital photography became popular or century old historical photos, but I guess the 90s is still too recent.
January 25, 201510 yr This is why I love this site. You get to relive/experience the past through other people. Thanks for posting! What was the story behind Mayor White and halting the building boom?
January 25, 201510 yr This is why I love this site. You get to relive/experience the past through other people. Thanks for posting! What was the story behind Mayor White and halting the building boom? It was all pay-to-play. White was pretty combative except to those who greased his palms. Sam Miller of Forest City Enterprises was his sugar-daddy and together they blocked a lot of projects that would have eroded FCE's dreams. In the end, FCE neglected the city too. Quite a few other developers who were active in Cleveland in 1980s avoided the city when Mike White took over, like Ferchill and Geis who invested in other metro areas or in Cleveland's suburbs. Meanwhile, White did business with felons like Nate Gray, Gilbert Jackson, Tony George and mobster Jimmy Palladino (but so did Voinovich!). It was a seedy time to be in Cleveland. Here's a decent piece on the White corruption reporting.... http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/city-for-sale/Content?oid=1491411 And an overview of Cleveland in the 1990s.... http://www.teachingcleveland.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=682:cleveland-in-the-1990s-mike-roberts But perhaps the best outcome of the 1990s is that city neighborhoods began to see meaningful housing investment for the first time in 50 years. And White deserves credit for that. Look at this video tour of Tremont in 1995 (note the many vacant lots, condition of houses, cars, and more): "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 25, 201510 yr Great stuff. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 25, 201510 yr Kind of sad that the only change to the skyline in those Jacbos Field shots is the signage on top of the buildings.
January 26, 201510 yr Jim's became "Aqua"... http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/take-the-e-train/Content?oid=1473109 Then I think the sign said "Mega" after that...
January 27, 201510 yr Aqua is the one I remember. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
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