I had hoped to get out more to take photos during the winter but with the coldest February on record and other "lovely" conditions, not so much. Ah well, it's finally getting nice out so this thread has a little bit of everything, including some Towpath Trail action.

 

Remember when it looked (and felt) like this? Yeah, I'm trying to forget  :wink:

 

 

 

Over at the Brite Winter Festival. We got there a little too early to see any of the bands playing - I guess a few thousand people showed up later in the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Needing to warm up, we decided to get some ice cream - yeah I know.  :roll:

 

 

 

 

Over to the new Heinens grocery store in the former Cleveland Trust rotunda and adjacent Swetland Building - en route, the Schofield Building is looking pretty good:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back outside to check out on redevelopment - in this case, The Ivory (right next to the Swetland Building)

 

 

Not everything new is old again, some it's just plain new  :roll: Flats East Bank, Phase II:

 

The Hilton at the convention center:

 

View from the company lunchroom  :-)

 

See the ice on Lake Erie in that last image? During the Spring, it occasionally causes some fog:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quick detour to and through Ohio City:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, it's not Spring in Cleveland without the St. Patrick's Day Parade:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yeah, the Towpath Trail - took a little walk on the Scranton Flats section; not as scenic without the wildflowers in bloom but still pretty cool views:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Spring tradition - the Tribe's home opener...  :|

 

 

 

 

 

And on to the next part of the Towpath Trail, the Harvard section of the Ohio and Erie Canal. En route, a little bit of Pittsburgh in Cleveland - Holmden Avenue in the Tremont neighborhood:

 

Demolition is underway at MetroHealth Hospital for a huge redevelopment of their facilities:

 

Here we are - the first section of the trail isn't terribly scenic. It's hemmed in by the Alcoa plant, truckyards, etc. but it gets pretty cool - once everything blooms and there's more greenery it'll be more enjoyable.

 

 

To their credit, Alcoa has a small display showing some work the Cleveland plant has done:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the distance is the Short Line railway bridge; about 140 feet tall, built in 1907 and gets plenty of use:

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to amenities and facilities the vistors center has some interesting artwork displayed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And time to wrap it up and head home.

 

Hope you enjoyed!

 

As always, OUTSTANDING pics MayDay!

Nice! Love the fog pics.

 

FYI: the Short Line railway bridge was built as part of a bypass around the congested rail facilities downtown, but after 1999 it became part of CSX's Midwest (St. Louis/Chicago) to Northeast (Port of NY/NJ and New England) main line. Hosts about 60-70 trains a day. Good thing I didn't bore you with the details, right? ;)

Nice work with all the birds!  Looks like those coots are digging the Scranton Flats.

What a great photo essay! Wow. Lot's to think about, but my main takeway is that some day all of those rough edges in this city are going to be smoothed over....for better or for worse.

 

The Alcoa exhibit is one of the reason's I love this section of Towpath. The industrial landscape is ugly. That is, until it is presented in historical context. And when better understood, well, that's when that grey industrial landscape becomes something beautiful.

 

Finally, the only thing missing in this shot, a functionally developed river front!!!

Wait, no hidden UrbanOhio billboards? And you didn't do an April Fool's joke project this year, MayDay[/member]. You always do such a nice job with both.