As the weather improves, I've been trying to get out and about more - recently I visited the sky 'deck' at the 9, visited a (new to me) portion of the Towpath, checked out some of the construction going on in Duck Island, and took a walk on the new Lake Link trail. Of course, there are some random photos thrown in for good measure.

 

Might as well start with the Hilton, still plugging along:

 

 

Not that Key Tower ever looks small, but from the roof of the Convention Center it looks ginormous.

 

Some folks not happy with Mayor Frank Jackson - the person in the blue cap never moved the sign away so makes you wonder what they're hiding.

 

The former Board of Education building getting a thorough cleaning:

 

The Garfield Building - a good amount of bricks fell from the cornice not too long ago so they're inspecting to make sure it's stable:

 

Alright, over to the "sky deck" at the 9, located on top of the Swetland Building - it's called 'Azure' but being Cleveland, I'd suggest 'The Cloud Deck' ;-) Fortunately the skies *were* azure when I stopped by:

 

 

 

 

 

The Swetland Building has an "H" shaped footprint so there are seating areas at each 'corner'. Hard to believe this building dodge a bullet twice - once in the 1970s when a twin tower for the Cleveland Trust building was proposed and in the 2000s when the Cuyahoga County commissioners proposed tearing it down (and the Cleveland Trust Tower) for a new administration building:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to ground level, the restored 'Mondrian-esque' windows of the first floor:

 

Not the biggest fan of the name 'The 9' but considering how well they pulled it off I'm not going to complain:

 

Usually some higher-end vehicles parked out front:

 

Next up, a visit to the Towpath Trail - been trying to get out and explore sections I haven't been to so this time it was the stretch between Rockside Road and the Canal Discovery Center. First, gotta grab lunch so we went to the Winking Lizard in Independence - the patio has a great view of downtown:

 

Not that Cleveland's topography is *that* dynamic but it's not completely flat:

 

Onto the trail:

 

 

 

 

 

Always a treat to see a Great Blue Heron:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to head back - it's about 1.75 miles as the crow... err, goose flies:

 

Once again, the heron.

 

Looks like we caught him during his lunch break:

 

 

 

Time to get back to civilization:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright, a few photos of the old and new in Duck Island, located west of Tremont and east of Ohio City. This building will be home to a variety of businesses, including a brewery and a meadery (X, one of our Moderators is the proprietor of the meadery; methinks we'll have to have a mead-up, nyuk nyuk)

 

A local landmark - not sure how long this structure will remain. I know it's old-school and kitschy but there's something charming about it:

 

 

Directly across the street:

 

Typical Duck Island homes:

 

Is this *one* house?!

 

Newer, but 'older' newer construction:

 

 

Duck Island sits in the shadows of the western pylons of the Hope Memorial Bridge:

 

Skyline view from West 17th and Lorain:

 

 

 

 

 

Northern end of Duck Island on Columbus Road - these have been selling in the mid to upper $300K range; not my style but it's a great location:

 

 

Here we are, the Scranton Flats section of the Towpath; the Lake Link trail bridge is over Scranton Road:

 

 

 

 

 

This stretch just recently opened, so we had it almost all to ourselves:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This section of the trail skims Duck Island at a slightly lower elevation:

 

 

 

Hey, we got a mountain range!  :|

 

 

 

 

The next section will continue on to the lakefront - all in good time:

 

 

Let's try to see the Forest City for the trees  :yap:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This section will connect to the northern end of the Tremont neighborhood:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course as we were wrapping it up, the sun comes out - ah well, things are looking brighter  :-) Hope you enjoyed!

 

Wonderful.  Thanks MayDay.

Love the new UO billboard marketing campaign  8-)

Thanks for sharing.  Great to see your eye on things.  It's different that the typical money shots one can find everywhere.

Great angles!

As always, lovely photos. Thanks for sharing