Here is the full building. Built right on the heart of US Rt 42 - Pearl Road. There are also some beautiful turn-of-the-century formerly-country estates nearby.

i believe the traffic circles you find around ne ohio are also a legacy of the western reserve. to be sure they are found elsewhere in ohio, and certainly there are modern versions all over as it was a development trend a decade ago, but they are not so historically embedded as like in ne ohio.

Missed this one from last month....

 

Why is Cleveland different from Cincinnati? It all comes down to history

 

If you look at Census demographics, there are lots of similarities. Average incomes are lower in what would be Western Reserve; poverty is slightly higher. But the percentage of residents who have earned a high school degree is virtually the same. 

 

Western Reserve, however, would be almost twice as dense as the rest of Ohio, with 424 people per square mile. 

 

Here's a breakdown of some other differences between the two states.

 

MORE

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/05/why_is_cleveland_different_tha.html

nobody posted this yet?

 

OMG LOL!

Omg... Just when I thought this concept couldn't get any more ridiculous. This video was posted.

 

Linguistics ARE noticably different in Cleveland, especially (for some reason) folks in their 50s and 60s who have the northern vowel shift - they have a blatant Cleveland accent and it does influence the younger generation to SOME degree but the younger generation mostly sounds like standard American. Only a few in the wealthy east side suburban neighborhoods along with (for some reason) parts of the middle class west side still have that accent within the younger generation. It's only noticeable to an outsider like me because it sounds so weird but the fact is, most people in Cleveland don't have the Cleveland accent. It's just that when you DO hear it, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

I've had long stints in Cincinnati, Columbus and now Cleveland. It's really not THAT different on the North Coast. This is ridiculous propaganda perpetuated by Cleveland.com (i.e. the Plain Dealer.) The motive behind KJP's obscure density numbers of 'Western Reserve' are an attempt to promote and expand rail service in the future. I support rail service and public transportation in general but I don't support this ridiculous 'Us vs. Them' nonsense when it comes to regions of Ohio. The differences are so over-blown. I live in a blatantly progressive community called "Cleveland Heights" and even I have had countless neighbors who during the presidential election had Trump signs in their yard. In fact, there were a couple around here that had DOZENS of Trump signs in their yard during the election. I had honestly never seen anything like that in Columbus.

we can let Puerto Rico join the union and create Western Reserve at the same time.  A 52 star flag will be more balanced than a 51 star flag.

Whether or not some people are willing to believe it, Clevleand is quintessential Ohio.

Omg... Just when I thought this concept couldn't get any more ridiculous. This video was posted.

 

Linguistics ARE noticably different in Cleveland, especially (for some reason) folks in their 50s and 60s who have the northern vowel shift - they have a blatant Cleveland accent and it does influence the younger generation to SOME degree but the younger generation mostly sounds like standard American. Only a few in the wealthy east side suburban neighborhoods along with (for some reason) parts of the middle class west side still have that accent within the younger generation. It's only noticeable to an outsider like me because it sounds so weird but the fact is, most people in Cleveland don't have the Cleveland accent. It's just that when you DO hear it, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

I've had long stints in Cincinnati, Columbus and now Cleveland. It's really not THAT different on the North Coast. This is ridiculous propaganda perpetuated by Cleveland.com (i.e. the Plain Dealer.) The motive behind KJP's obscure density numbers of 'Western Reserve' are an attempt to promote and expand rail service in the future. I support rail service and public transportation in general but I don't support this ridiculous 'Us vs. Them' nonsense when it comes to regions of Ohio. The differences are so over-blown. I live in a blatantly progressive community called "Cleveland Heights" and even I have had countless neighbors who during the presidential election had Trump signs in their yard. In fact, there were a couple around here that had DOZENS of Trump signs in their yard during the election. I had honestly never seen anything like that in Columbus.

 

If you think Northern Ohio is similar to Southern Ohio than you haven't lived in Cleveland long enough.  Give it time...

we can let Puerto Rico join the union and create Western Reserve at the same time.  A 52 star flag will be more balanced than a 51 star flag.

 

hahaha

Whether or not some people are willing to believe it, Clevleand is quintessential Ohio.

 

That's just your opinion, not fact.

This is ridiculous propaganda perpetuated by Cleveland.com (i.e. the Plain Dealer.)

 

I know the differences get confusing, but this has nothing to do with the Plain Dealer. It's all Cleveland.com. The two are not the same.

*******

********

*******

********

*******

********

*******

 

52 stars

4 rows with 7 stars

3 rows with 8 stars

:-D :-D :-D :-D

Whether or not some people are willing to believe it, Clevleand is quintessential Ohio.

 

Really?

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-nations-of-the-united-states-2015-7

That map is stupid. Look how blue Michigan is. I think it's blue - I'm colorblind, all I know is that it's the same color as the east coast. It's considered "Yankeedom." Michigan voted for Donald Trump. It's not hard to engineer maps based on data that conveys whatever point you're trying to prove.  NEO has the worst sprawl I've ever seen, Contrasted by disinvestment in the inner city. Especially compared to Columbus but even compared to Cincinnati. To me, that speaks volumes about the mindset of Clevelanders. It's not as progressive as some folks make it out to be. Again, quintessential Ohio.

^ Again, your opinion.

Omg... Just when I thought this concept couldn't get any more ridiculous. This video was posted.

 

Linguistics ARE noticably different in Cleveland, especially (for some reason) folks in their 50s and 60s who have the northern vowel shift - they have a blatant Cleveland accent and it does influence the younger generation to SOME degree but the younger generation mostly sounds like standard American. Only a few in the wealthy east side suburban neighborhoods along with (for some reason) parts of the middle class west side still have that accent within the younger generation. It's only noticeable to an outsider like me because it sounds so weird but the fact is, most people in Cleveland don't have the Cleveland accent. It's just that when you DO hear it, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

I've had long stints in Cincinnati, Columbus and now Cleveland. It's really not THAT different on the North Coast. This is ridiculous propaganda perpetuated by Cleveland.com (i.e. the Plain Dealer.) The motive behind KJP's obscure density numbers of 'Western Reserve' are an attempt to promote and expand rail service in the future. I support rail service and public transportation in general but I don't support this ridiculous 'Us vs. Them' nonsense when it comes to regions of Ohio. The differences are so over-blown. I live in a blatantly progressive community called "Cleveland Heights" and even I have had countless neighbors who during the presidential election had Trump signs in their yard. In fact, there were a couple around here that had DOZENS of Trump signs in their yard during the election. I had honestly never seen anything like that in Columbus.

 

If you think Northern Ohio is similar to Southern Ohio than you haven't lived in Cleveland long enough.  Give it time...

 

David has lived in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. What parts of the state, besides NEO, have you lived in?

I went to Hessler Street Fair a week ago and it was the most boring, lame Hippy festival I've ever been to in my life. Huge disappointment. In fact, I had to hear a woman yelling, "Smoking Marijuana is NOT Norml!" Are you serious? You decided to come to a hippy festival and felt the urge to speak out against pro-marijuana legislation? What a buzz-kill. In Columbus, their hippy festival, "Comfest" has over 100,000 attendees, probably up to 300,000 and mostly includes folks from the frickin suburbs. Women run around topless because thats legal in Columbus. You get to see painted boobs all over the place! People openly smoke weed everywhere during the weekend-long festival, in Goodale Park. It's 50x bigger with exponentially better bands and an exponentially better vibe. Cleveland is not the Liberal oasis people make it out to be. Columbus much better fits that description.

^ You went on a screed just a few weeks ago about how liberal we are in Cleveland.  Now we are not hippie liberal enough.  Methinks you just like to complain to hear your own voice.

I changed my mind. Sue me.

I lived in Columbus from 2004-2008, and my company's corporate HQ is in Kenwood.  I'm in Cincinnati 3-4 times a month.

 

IMHO It's just different up here. Why are southern Ohioans so insecure about it?

 

Nobody in Cleveland is saying that we are better but the rest of the state takes it that way.  Lot's of insecurity.

Cleveland/NEO is not progressive, whatever blue tint it has is due to old-time union-guy/New Deal Democrats. Big difference.

^^ exactly.  Cincinnati is one of my favorite cities.

^ I have family in Cincinnati and I love Cincinnati too.  It's different.  Not worse just different.

If you think Northern Ohio is similar to Southern Ohio than you haven't lived in Cleveland long enough.  Give it time...

 

I lived in Cleveland for 17 years and southwest OH for 7 now, and I think the "end results" of NEO and SWO culture are similar, but the "means" of getting there are different due to the dramatically different waves of immigration patterns. Lorain and Butler counties are essentially the same thing, but Butler Co. takes its cues from a more southern approach to conservatism while Lorain Co. feels more Maine-y, if that makes any sense. And of course the rest of Ohio (especially the central and western parts) have a LOT more German heritage than NEO (although greater Cleveland obviously has pockets), but there aren't really any active German communities down south other than people with German-sounding last names dressing up in fake lederhosen once a year for Oktoberfest.

 

I get why a lot of NEOhioans see themselves as more eastward-looking than other parts of the state, and there are definitely swaths of the metro that would appear to line up more with an East Coast type culture. I think the large Jewish community, the existence of bona-fide immigrant enclaves within the city, and the old-money attitudes of certain east side neighborhoods help push this view forward. Obviously Cincinnati has a lot of money concentrated in Hyde Park and Indian Hill and Columbus with Bexley and New Albany, but Shaker, Bratenahl, parts of CH, and the Gates Mills/Hunting Valley areas have a certain old-money snobbishness to them that's a little bit different than elsewhere. The fact that there are boarding schools certainly helps that perception (does Cincinnati have any boarding schools?).

 

The Western Reserve "built form" definitely pops up a lot throughout southeast Cuyahoga County and Summit and Geauga counties, but I think the massive boom of European immigrants muted nearly any lingering cultural east coast WASPyness that might have been in the area in the past.

 

That said, I don't really think that these shared traits are enough to argue that that NEO is truly "eastern". Pittsburgh has a lot of similar traits and its built form is even more east-coast but I'm hesitant to call it an eastern city. If we were actually trying to make new states, Cleveburgh probably would make more sense culturally than just gerrymandering a state along the Lake Erie coast. I guess I just can't see how this would help anything but to stroke egos. Every state has cities that don't contextually make any sense with one another. Separating Cleveland into its own state would really only make sense with a complete re-drawing of all state boundaries, because if NEO pulled it off I'm sure southern Illinois would want its own state, and the Texas Triangle, and you'd probably even see Charlotte try to become its own state. I frankly don't see how politically dividing the country along cultural lines would ultimately help with anything. It turns into state-level "nationalism" at that point.

NEO is not progressive, whatever blue tint it has is due to old-time union-guy/New Deal Democrats. Big difference.

 

It's still more progressive than the rest of the state as a whole, and twice as dense. 

but we don't have women with painted boobies running around at hippy fests...

 

hint:  if one wants a taste of "hippy fest" in NEO then you go camping at Nelson Ledges for a weekend.

There are endless examples of disparate cities and regions within states.  Not sure why Cleveland thinks it is unusual in this regard. 

 

If state lines were drawn differently, perhaps Cincinnati would have ended up in the same state as Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, or Pittsburgh.  Big deal. 

^^Yellow Springs beats EVERYONE at hippy fests!  :laugh: Except maybe Oberlin, but I think they've shifted a bit more toward Social Justice Warrior than straight-up hippy nowadays.

Separating Cleveland into its own state would really only make sense with a complete re-drawing of all state boundaries, because if NEO pulled it off I'm sure southern Illinois would want its own state, and the Texas Triangle, and you'd probably even see Charlotte try to become its own state. I frankly don't see how politically dividing the country along cultural lines would ultimately help with anything. It turns into state-level "nationalism" at that point.

 

People have been bickering about this sort of thing all over the world since the beginning of nation-states. You think it's bad here, take a look at Europe.

All of urban Ohio needs to leave Ohio for one very simple reason... rural Ohio hates us.

 

Ohio State House's perpetual message to cities: go to hell.  https://t.co/0whSlyBAHQ

All of urban Ohio needs to leave Ohio for one very simple reason... rural Ohio hates us.

 

Ohio State House's perpetual message to cities: go to hell.  https://t.co/0whSlyBAHQ

 

Or...we just stop gerrymandering our districts (which is coming in a few years) and then elect good people to the Statehouse, and instead of being at each other's throats, all the urban areas can work together to create an urban friendly climate in the state.

I also think it's more of a suburban/urban divided than an urban/rural divide. Gotta convince people that what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Or...we just stop gerrymandering our districts (which is coming in a few years) and then elect good people to the Statehouse, and instead of being at each other's throats, all the urban areas can work together to create an urban friendly climate in the state.

 

Sometimes I think secession has an equal chance of happening.

Cleveland/NEO is not progressive, whatever blue tint it has is due to old-time union-guy/New Deal Democrats. Big difference.

 

Right. Whether or not Cleveland is particularly 'liberal' would depend on what your definition of 'liberal' is. This town has to still be union heavy. Thank God it's over but I dealt with well over a month of construction at the intersection where my house sits. Construction takes forever up here! First they were fixing power/cable lines, then they resurfaced the asphalt (as opposed to concrete so they'll just have to re-do it soon and blow labor on it again in a couple years) and THEN they decided to bust up the sidewalks at the same intersection! The sidewalks weren't even bad!  I'd peak out my blinds and see 5 guys huddled in a circle, eating sandwiches, watching one guy dig a hole. I told my girlfriend I'm sorry if I'm cranky but this has been going on for so long, I can't get any sleep and I'm tired of waking up early in the morning to a jackhammer. She goes, "Now you know what I go through!" I was like, "Oh...  :-o "

Cleveland/NEO is not progressive, whatever blue tint it has is due to old-time union-guy/New Deal Democrats. Big difference.

 

Right. Whether or not Cleveland is particularly 'liberal' would depend on what your definition of 'liberal' is. This town has to still be union heavy. Thank God it's over but I dealt with well over a month of construction at the intersection where my house sits. Construction takes forever up here! First they were fixing power/cable lines, then they resurfaced the asphalt (as opposed to concrete so they'll just have to re-do it soon and blow labor on it again in a couple years) and THEN they decided to bust up the sidewalks at the same intersection! The sidewalks weren't even bad!  I'd peak out my blinds and see 5 guys huddled in a circle, eating sandwiches, watching one guy dig a hole. I told my girlfriend I'm sorry if I'm cranky but this has been going on for so long and I'm tired of waking up early in the morning to a jackhammer. She goes, "Now you know what I go through!" I was like, "Oh...  :-o "

 

So you're admitting that NEO is different than other places you've lived in Ohio?  Kudos to you for finally coming around! 

I also think it's more of a suburban/urban divided than an urban/rural divide. Gotta convince people that what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

 

I don't think you're wrong, but I think the suburban areas are generally more aligned with urban interests than rural areas. People in the burbs often depend on "urban" services and infrastructure, and are thus more likely to support improvements to things like transportation and development initiatives than rural folks whose lifestyles emphasize independence and detachment from urban life. The fact that we spend more on rural transit than urban transit should be proof of this. All of the large cities and metros in Ohio have transit systems that provide coverage to suburban areas. Park and rides, for example, are an urban amenity aimed at suburban residents. These areas are also largely being ignored, in favor of ludicrous rural centric policies.

I lived in Columbus from 2004-2008, and my company's corporate HQ is in Kenwood.  I'm in Cincinnati 3-4 times a month.

 

IMHO It's just different up here. Why are southern Ohioans so insecure about it?

 

 

Cool, I was genuinely curious. I haven't lived in any other Ohio city than Cincinnati. I've visited each of the Cs, but living and visiting are obviously different.

If you think Northern Ohio is similar to Southern Ohio than you haven't lived in Cleveland long enough.  Give it time...

 

I lived in Cleveland for 17 years and southwest OH for 7 now, and I think the "end results" of NEO and SWO culture are similar, but the "means" of getting there are different due to the dramatically different waves of immigration patterns. Lorain and Butler counties are essentially the same thing, but Butler Co. takes its cues from a more southern approach to conservatism while Lorain Co. feels more Maine-y, if that makes any sense. And of course the rest of Ohio (especially the central and western parts) have a LOT more German heritage than NEO (although greater Cleveland obviously has pockets), but there aren't really any active German communities down south other than people with German-sounding last names dressing up in fake lederhosen once a year for Oktoberfest.

 

I get why a lot of NEOhioans see themselves as more eastward-looking than other parts of the state, and there are definitely swaths of the metro that would appear to line up more with an East Coast type culture. I think the large Jewish community, the existence of bona-fide immigrant enclaves within the city, and the old-money attitudes of certain east side neighborhoods help push this view forward. Obviously Cincinnati has a lot of money concentrated in Hyde Park and Indian Hill and Columbus with Bexley and New Albany, but Shaker, Bratenahl, parts of CH, and the Gates Mills/Hunting Valley areas have a certain old-money snobbishness to them that's a little bit different than elsewhere. The fact that there are boarding schools certainly helps that perception (does Cincinnati have any boarding schools?).

 

The Western Reserve "built form" definitely pops up a lot throughout southeast Cuyahoga County and Summit and Geauga counties, but I think the massive boom of European immigrants muted nearly any lingering cultural east coast WASPyness that might have been in the area in the past.

 

That said, I don't really think that these shared traits are enough to argue that that NEO is truly "eastern". Pittsburgh has a lot of similar traits and its built form is even more east-coast but I'm hesitant to call it an eastern city. If we were actually trying to make new states, Cleveburgh probably would make more sense culturally than just gerrymandering a state along the Lake Erie coast. I guess I just can't see how this would help anything but to stroke egos. Every state has cities that don't contextually make any sense with one another. Separating Cleveland into its own state would really only make sense with a complete re-drawing of all state boundaries, because if NEO pulled it off I'm sure southern Illinois would want its own state, and the Texas Triangle, and you'd probably even see Charlotte try to become its own state. I frankly don't see how politically dividing the country along cultural lines would ultimately help with anything. It turns into state-level "nationalism" at that point.

 

Where are these 'immigrant enclaves' in Cleveland that everyone keeps talking about? I've lived here a year and a half and I haven't truly seen any, and I've been around. The closest I've seen to a true immigrant enclave is Asiatown on the east side which is an area everyone seems to overlook, for some reason. It seems like "Slavic Village" is usually the reference point for the outdated 'immigrant enclave' nonsense I keep hearing but - I hate to break it to you, but it's almost ENTIRELY African-American. I love Perogies with sautéed onions on top (they're especially good with sour cream and dipped in brown gravy!) as much as the next Clevelander but that, along with polish boys are about the extent of eastern European influence in the city proper. Little Italy doesn't even seem all that Italian to me. It's a neighborhood where Case students and folks who work at the Clinic can live and enjoy being around a bunch of other White people. I honestly think they can command high rents strictly due to this. It definitely isn't due to quality housing and great architecture or being a neighborhood with great amenities. It looks like a shanty-town that happens to have a lot of staple Italian restaurants. It's actually over-saturated with Italian restaurants. It has less architectural integrity than The Bottoms in Columbus and that's pretty sad. I heard Black people still purposely don't go there because of the racist history of the neighborhood. Living in Cincinnati and Columbus beforehand, I honestly have never seen anything like it until now. The neighborhood is currently only 2% Black. I'll personally never understand why Little Italy thrives. Cleveland is not progressive, no matter how much the liberal elites in places like Shaker openly and vocally apologize for their white privilege and claim to care about the plight of inner-city folk. For the most part, it's a crock of sh!t. This town isn't particularly liberal, at least by my own definition of what liberal is.

Hey look at Mr. I've lived here a while breaking it to Clevelanders thst lots of black people live in Slavic Village.  Thanks for the news flash. Lol.

also hilarious that nearly every day you post about how Cleveland is so different from Cincinnati and Columbus while at the same time trying to claim that Cleveland is no different than the rest of the state. 

If you think Northern Ohio is similar to Southern Ohio than you haven't lived in Cleveland long enough.  Give it time...

 

I lived in Cleveland for 17 years and southwest OH for 7 now, and I think the "end results" of NEO and SWO culture are similar, but the "means" of getting there are different due to the dramatically different waves of immigration patterns. Lorain and Butler counties are essentially the same thing, but Butler Co. takes its cues from a more southern approach to conservatism while Lorain Co. feels more Maine-y, if that makes any sense. And of course the rest of Ohio (especially the central and western parts) have a LOT more German heritage than NEO (although greater Cleveland obviously has pockets), but there aren't really any active German communities down south other than people with German-sounding last names dressing up in fake lederhosen once a year for Oktoberfest.

 

I get why a lot of NEOhioans see themselves as more eastward-looking than other parts of the state, and there are definitely swaths of the metro that would appear to line up more with an East Coast type culture. I think the large Jewish community, the existence of bona-fide immigrant enclaves within the city, and the old-money attitudes of certain east side neighborhoods help push this view forward. Obviously Cincinnati has a lot of money concentrated in Hyde Park and Indian Hill and Columbus with Bexley and New Albany, but Shaker, Bratenahl, parts of CH, and the Gates Mills/Hunting Valley areas have a certain old-money snobbishness to them that's a little bit different than elsewhere. The fact that there are boarding schools certainly helps that perception (does Cincinnati have any boarding schools?).

 

The Western Reserve "built form" definitely pops up a lot throughout southeast Cuyahoga County and Summit and Geauga counties, but I think the massive boom of European immigrants muted nearly any lingering cultural east coast WASPyness that might have been in the area in the past.

 

That said, I don't really think that these shared traits are enough to argue that that NEO is truly "eastern". Pittsburgh has a lot of similar traits and its built form is even more east-coast but I'm hesitant to call it an eastern city. If we were actually trying to make new states, Cleveburgh probably would make more sense culturally than just gerrymandering a state along the Lake Erie coast. I guess I just can't see how this would help anything but to stroke egos. Every state has cities that don't contextually make any sense with one another. Separating Cleveland into its own state would really only make sense with a complete re-drawing of all state boundaries, because if NEO pulled it off I'm sure southern Illinois would want its own state, and the Texas Triangle, and you'd probably even see Charlotte try to become its own state. I frankly don't see how politically dividing the country along cultural lines would ultimately help with anything. It turns into state-level "nationalism" at that point.

 

Where are these 'immigrant enclaves' in Cleveland that everyone keeps talking about? I've lived here a year and a half and I haven't truly seen any, and I've been around.

 

And yet you cannot find a Taco Bell. :wink:

Thank God the Clevelanders on this forum don't reflect the sort of Clevelanders I interact with on a daily basis. I'd end up shooting myself.

Yeah Cleveland definitely has immigrant enclaves... besides Asiatown which was already mentioned there's Villa Hispania/Clark-Fulton and although it isn't as well defined there are some decent middle-eastern pockets on the west side. I don't think anyone views Slavic Village or Little Italy as any more "authentic immigrant neighborhoods" than they do OTR or German Village. It's just branding these days. The difference with Cleveland's is that there are still a number of restaurants and shops that were actually still passed down by original immigrant families, whereas a lot of the "German" stuff in OTR these days is new or some other modern take on it. I think it's bizarre that OTR doesn't really have any true "German restaurant" in the vein of Mecklenburg Gardens for being as German as it once was.

 

Actually now that I think about it, I'll bet one of the reasons you don't see a lot of Eastern European influence in modern day Cleveland or German influence in modern day Cincinnati is because their cuisines are mostly boring. You can only go so far with sausages and saeurkraut and pierogi, even with pierogi being as delicious as they are. If no one is eating your food, you might as well not exist in the collective memory of your city.

There's a pretty strong Arabic community around 117th and Lorain.  Albanian immigrants in Lakewood.  Ukrainian Village in Parma.  Orthodox Jewish enclave in Cle Hts around Taylor and severn. 

Clark - Fulton has a heavy Hispanic presence but I have doubts about whether or not it's actually predominantly Hispanic. Every time I try to load the City-Data page on the neighborhood, I get "This page is having a problem loading" but my impression of the area is that it's actually predominantly Black and White native-born Americans. I don't consider an area to be an immigrant enclave unless it's predominantly a recent immigrant population. Still, even if it's true for Clark-Fulton, this immigrant enclave non-sense is just over-blown. Cleveland does not have much in the way of recent waves of immigrants. I know it's had those waves in the past but those eastern Europeans have since assimilated. It's simply a false narrative to promote the idea of CLE being progressive by welcoming immigrants and having recent settlements. By far the most substantial newer wave of immigrants are those from Somalia who settled in Columbus. Before Somalians were waves of those from Laos and Cambodia in Columbus where there were true enclaves but no one cared to make a big deal about it. These were all more recent waves than waves of foreigners settling in Cleveland. This alleged immigrant enclave nonsense perpetuated in Cleveland is annoying. It's simply not true and relevant in the latter part of the 20th century into the present.

Where are these 'immigrant enclaves' in Cleveland that everyone keeps talking about? I've lived here a year and a half and I haven't truly seen any, and I've been around. The closest I've seen to a true immigrant enclave is Asiatown on the east side which is an area everyone seems to overlook, for some reason. It seems like "Slavic Village" is usually the reference point for the outdated 'immigrant enclave' nonsense I keep hearing but - I hate to break it to you, but it's almost ENTIRELY African-American. I love Perogies with sautéed onions on top (they're especially good with sour cream and dipped in brown gravy!) as much as the next Clevelander but that, along with polish boys are about the extent of eastern European influence in the city proper. Little Italy doesn't even seem all that Italian to me. It's a neighborhood where Case students and folks who work at the Clinic can live and enjoy being around a bunch of other White people. I honestly think they can command high rents strictly due to this. It definitely isn't due to quality housing and great architecture or being a neighborhood with great amenities. It looks like a shanty-town that happens to have a lot of staple Italian restaurants. It's actually over-saturated with Italian restaurants. It has less architectural integrity than The Bottoms in Columbus and that's pretty sad. I heard Black people still purposely don't go there because of the racist history of the neighborhood. Living in Cincinnati and Columbus beforehand, I honestly have never seen anything like it until now. The neighborhood is currently only 2% Black. I'll personally never understand why Little Italy thrives. Cleveland is not progressive, no matter how much the liberal elites in places like Shaker openly and vocally apologize for their white privilege and claim to care about the plight of inner-city folk. For the most part, it's a crock of sh!t. This town isn't particularly liberal, at least by my own definition of what liberal is.

 

Yeah it's ridiculous.  All that stuff from the old world is long gone but people want to pretend it's still around.  You hardly hear polka music in Cincinnati anymore.  Through the 1980s, they had a goddamn polka band playing under a tent at the Bengals games. 

 

I mean, just look at this.  I remember my dad taking me to my first Bengals game vs. the Lions around 1985.  This goddamn Lawrence Welk-looking band was over in the end zone and I couldn't help but chuckle THEN AND NOW:

 

 

 

Though I hate this thread's premise, I'll step up for Cleveland and say they arguably do the best job in Ohio promoting their older ethnic neighborhoods (Little Italy, Clark-Fulton, Asiatown, etc), even if many of those neighborhoods aren't exactly that ethnicity anylonger.  Everywhere in the state has ethnic districts (Columbus arguably has the largest with Northern Lights [aka Little Somalia]) but Cleveland does keep them visible in ways the Italian/German/Hungarian Villages in Columbus or the older Eastern European & Latino districts in the city of Dayton (Twin Towers, Old North Dayton, Linden, etc) should at least attempt.

^^I honestly don't know what's worse, faking that you're in tune with your grandparents' culture or giving up and embracing the country music subculture that seems to have overtaken absolutely everything else.

 

^The fact that the Taqueria Mixteca neighborhood isn't branded as anything drives me insane, especially given the popularity of Mixteca with literally everyone in Dayton.