I found this article pretty interesting.  From the 10/17/04 Cleveland Plain Dealer:

 

 

19th-century row houses didn't spark trend in Cleveland

Frank Bentayou

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

A small event unfolded long ago in Cleveland's architectural history that might have helped mold the region into a dramatically different shape than we now have.

 

Clinton French, a 19th-century Cleveland dry-goods merchant, constructed stylish, three-story brick row houses at Bond and Rockwell streets downtown in the late 1800s. He lived in a roomy end unit.

 

Park Row was considered "one of the fashion centers of Cleveland," according to historian William Ganson Rose, author of "Cleveland, The Making of a City."

 

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/109791915883180.xml

Interesting.

that was a really good article in the sunday paper, they had some photos of new towhouse rows i hadnt seen before.

Can you find them and post them?

Here is the article about the townhomes/rowhouses from the sunday PD.

Could not find the pictures though.

 

Townhomes rising

More builders and buyers are thinking vertical in Greater Cleveland

Frank Bentayou

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Article Removed

I hope you don't mind...I cleaned that up a little bit. It was kind of hard to read.

 

Thanks for posting it.

You know, there are not that many rowhouse in Dayton or Cincinnati either. The closest Dayton comes to that is the "double". While there are some individual examples of rowhousing in Dayton its not a typical or ubiquitous houseform here.

 

I think the pix that was recently posted of York and Harrisburg shows that the rowhouse seems to be more of an east coast houseform that didn't transfer to the Midwest very much.

It's kinda funny that most rowhouses in Cleveland are new, as opposed to most other cities.

 

The upstairs/downstairs double was the main housing unit throughout the city in the early 20th century. What's really neat is that in Cleveland Hts (I think) they rehabbed one of these, converting it into a side-by-side "townhouse".

Actually..the doubles in Dayton are side-by-side...so I guess sort of a pseudo-row house.

 

The "stacked double " upstairs/downstairs form in Chicago is called a "two-flat" (there are "three -flats", too)...and they are very common. Seems like thats another commonality between Cleveland and Chicago.

the cleveland style stacked double is almost unique to cleveland. it's not like the chicago two-flat versions visually.

 

also, cleveland does have rowhouses, as i recall you could see the kevin bacon movie 'telling lies in america' if you want to see some examples via hollywood. most cities large and small have at least some of them all around ohio. there is no question cinci has the most of all and as always the prettiest looking, but they are to be found to some extent everywhere in the state.

 

the newer versions of rowhouses seem to be coming back in vogue everywhere as the nationwide downtown living real estate fad blooms.

Yes, Cincinnati has a very large stock of row-houses.  And having lived in Brooklyn for over 3 years now, I'm going to miss the brownstones that line so many of our residential blocks here when I return to Cleveland.  I do love to see new housing density in Cleveland, but so many of these projects are just a part of a larger block.  We've yet to see a large, cohesive development of substantial density built in recent years in Cleveland.  The closest we've come (to my knowledge) is the Beacon Place development near Church Square and the Cleveland Clinic.  The Euclid and Chester sides feature rowhouses, but are set back from the road on a smaller, ring road.  The side streets are lined with tight-knit detached units.  Given, I like this development a lot, I would have liked to see it incorporate more commercial and tie more into the existing street grid, rather than setting itself apart.  I'm all for density, but I think we could make more of these opportunities.  For example, adjacent to this traditional urban development, we have a commercial strip mall with great amenities, but it's built like it's in Mayfield or Solon or some other auto-centric suburb.  These modern strip malls were endorsed by the City in the 90s and I understand why they're so important, but I don't understand why they were built with such unattractive form.  (sorry, went a little off the subject there, but I'm still talking about density and urban form...)

 

 

 

 

As for these modern rowhouses in Cleveland Heights, Ohio City, etc...I'd like to see full blocks redone.  We've got beautiful new homes along Lee Road in Cleveland Heights, but they don't fit in with the rest of the block.  It doesn't have to all be one developer...people should be itching to get in on these projects in some of our neighborhoods...creating interesting combinations of style and form. 

 

This being said, there are a few recent examples that I really like, in addition to the Beacon Place development, and that fit in well with their surroundings...

 

---Villa Carabelli Townhomes and Edgehill Townhomes in Little Italy,

 

---The massive grouping (and full blocks) of new Tremont townhomes along Literary, 6th and 7th

 

---Cedarmount Condominiums on Cedar Hill in Cleveland Heights

 

and hopefully many more to come!

 

I'll be setting off on many photo shoots upon my return to Cleveland and I'll do a posting of the "Cleveland Rowhouse," new and old when I can...

On Prospect, there is a set of 4 old rowhouses.  They are beautiful and I was totally shocked when I saw them the other day.  They look as if they are functioning as offices.

Rockport Square in Lakewood should be one of the better examples of infill townhomes that we have in Cleveland. 

 

Some little things can drive me crazy with the newer townhomes that we are building.  Design-wise, I am not in love with the Montana townhomes.  Also, they all have these stark white metal doors that clash with the color scheme of the project.  I am not that impressed with that developer's work in other parts of Cleveland.  The townhomes in the Detroit-Westshore neighborhoods seem to be vinyl-clad. 

i think one might even be a B&B...

I thought those beautiful old Prospect row-homes are the Brownstones B & B. 

 

The stacked double (mostly wood frame with a brick base, though some totally sheathed in brick) are largely a Cleveland WWI phenomena.  The general form (wood doubles with a front porch-over-porch) actually was adopted from the East, particularly New Jersey, but Cleveland put its on stamp on them – while Eastern doubles are rather spindly, ours have incredibly heavy-massed upper porches with the prominent central dormer and curved, decorative brickwork on the lower porch – as I kid, my family used to call them ‘double-dog houses.’  Many are in Buckeye-Woodland which was settled around this time.  Many doubles I see on the West Side tend to be of the Eastern, more spindly style, leading me to think that some architect developer adopted the style, moved east across the Cuyahoga, then made a killing contracting that form over miles and miles of lots during our immigration-driven population boom at the beginning of the 20th Century – just a hunch.

 

Another typically Cleveland type is the 3-story, 6-unit apartments, often grouped near street corners: usually in buff brick with wrought iron balconies in the Spanish style -- many corner units are mixed use, with grocery stores or other retail @ street level.  Again, many are in Buckeye-Woodland and Mount Pleasant.  Cleveland Hts has lots of the latter (particularly near one of their famed commercial districts), but they tend to be in darker brick and don't have balconies.  But the general style, essentially 2 X 2 pushed together 3-flats surrounding a central entranceway/stair, seems very Cleveland-ish … I don’t know whether we founded them, but the sure exist here, per capita, than in any other big city I’ve seen.

 

Even though we are, indeed, mainly a frame house town pushed back from the street with driveways (and few alleys), old row houses do pop up in Cleveland in places and they never cease to amaze me -- they're mainly in areas settled before the 20th Cent -- like Ohio City, Det-Shoreway, Fairfax.  East Cleveland, probably our oldest true suburb (founded, I think, in the 1860s/70s), has a bunch of them... sadly, though, like most of the high density housing in that highly distressed burb, they're crumbling.  Some are truly architectural gems, too; many are on the side streets off Euclid.  One that appears to have been saved/partially restored is that curving, buff-brick row w/ elaborate bay windows, at the corner of Euclid & Superior directly in the heavy vehicle traffic corridor. 

 

Detroit-Shoreway features some extremely long rows (one, I know, marches an entire block!) that have little architectural ornamentation but are still interesting, nonetheless.  In the local vernacular, they're called "terrace homes" and some, indeed, gradually climb sloping land.  Of note are the ones around West Blvd near Detroit. 

 

Sadly, like the E. Cleve rows I mentioned, above, most of the region's rows are in the oldest hoods which, although some old areas are gentrifying, are in poorest income tracts which means they're least likely to be rehabbed and, indeed, many are allowed to simply crumble until they're condemned -- then comes the bulldozers...

 

... One happy exception is the handsome row on W.65th just south of Gordon Square @ Detroit.  Most were abandoned and one was apparently used as a short-term (see, hooker) hotel.  But recently I noted that they've been reclaimed by the City, gutted and are under rehab for future res use, probably aimed at the student/young professional... Jane deserves a bow and a curtsey for this one.

 

Clvlndr, you're right about the terraces.  Cleveland rows old and new tend to be terrace style.  Its really a different type of housing imo, than true rowhouses a la Boston or New York.  Terraces are like horizonal apartment buildings.  They are built as a single building, and then rented out as units.  Unlike a row of individual rowhouses one couldn't remove one of the rowhouses and put in a new one.  They tend to act as single pieces of architecture.

 

I'd have to say that the Prospect Ave. Brownstones are probably the only true rowhouses in Cleveland.  And I'm assuming that they are built with individual fire walls, I don't know that for sure.  Maybe there are none. 

 

I think that the next CitiRama should be a block of custom, individually built rowhouses on a main street somewhere.  It would probably make for difficult construction, however.

clvlndr, good assessment...again, I'm looking forward to getting back to town and checking this all out with fresh eyes!

 

I'm interested in this row near Gordon Square.  Do you know of any photos anywhere?  Is it part of a particular city initiative/program???

Is this it?!?

 

That's the one, redevelopment has started on them.  They are some of my favorites in the city.

ooooh!  very nice!  that whole neighborhood is on it's way to bigger and brighter things in the next 10 years...  it's already got a good head of steam going!

 

btw, are those slated to be rentals or for sale???

How about these ones in Ohio City?  At the corner of Clinton Ave. and West 32nd.  There's more at www.progressiveurban.com

 

They're not the prettiest just yet, but imagine them with a little life inside and a little more mature greenery on the periphery!  Thanks to YSOH for the shots...

 

 

 

One of the townhomes is listed at $750,000.  Amazing.

geez, that's ridiculous!  the neighborhood's great and all, but really, $750k??? 

^ It doubled in value after you and YSOH signed that lease.  Go figure.

Of course, they are huge for townhouses.

Sometimes I think Cleveland's lack of rowhouses has been a real impediment to redevelopment in the city. The wood-frame housing stock in some city neighborhoods isn't much different than what you'll find in the suburbs -- just older and more decrepit. Granted, city houses tend to be more densely grouped, yet sometimes I think they don't offer a living experience different enough from that of the suburbs to attract a critical mass of newcomers. For many Greater Clevelanders, I think it boils down to: Why live in a shabby woodframe house in a crime-ridden, downtrodden neighborhood with few amenities when I can live in a new one in the green suburbs? (An exception to this way of thinking would be in a neighborhood like Ohio City, which offers cute Victorians and apartment buildings.) In cities with rowhouses, meanwhile, the houses themselves offer something novel and charming in their urban-ness.

 

Still, I believe there's hope. All of Cleveland's neighborhoods have dense commercial corridors (e.g. Detroit, Lorain, Euclid, W 25th), something the suburbs can't offer. Perhaps revitalizing these will be the key to luring people back to the central city. Also, Cleveland has more apartment buildings than Columbus or Cincinnati (particularly in Edgewater), as well as old warehouses that could be (and are being) converted to live-work lofts (Midtown).

 

As for the new townhouses, I like some of them, but most I find completely ugly. The biggest problem with many is that the architecture is simply tasteless. Montana Townhomes are an example; so are those pastel, vinyl-sided monstrosities in Detroit Shoreway that they built 5-7 years ago. I can't get into Beacon Place; it seems like a misguided attempt to create a suburban subdivision in one of the city's most urban locations. Why the set-back???

 

On the other hand, the pics above from Ohio City look very nice, and the Franklin Townhomes in Detroit-Shoreway (http://progressiveurban.com/franklin_th/fthIndex.html) could also be cool, though it's hard to tell from the rendering.

 

Finally, while we're on the topic of Cleveland rowhouses, don't forget the legendary Hessler Street! Not traditional Eastern rowhouses by any means, but connected -- and very funky in a good way.

Finally, while we're on the topic of Cleveland rowhouses, don't forget the legendary Hessler Street! Not traditional Eastern rowhouses by any means, but connected -- and very funky in a good way.

 

do you have any pics or links for that? some of us non-clevelanders don't know about them, but you got me curious

Summit,

 

Hessler is located in the hear of University Circle.  The street is made of wooden bricks.  Cool place, but I don't have any pictures.

 

In regards to the new OC townhouses pictured above, I took a closer look at the plan today.  I didn't realize that there is a proposed second phase that would add a new street and bring the total number of townhouses to 38.  That would be very good.

Where'd you find that Wimby?  I'm counting only 14... do tell!

MGD,

 

Take a look at the corner unit pic that you posted. See the small retangular sign just above the huge City Architecture sign? (the one in the middle).  That shows the first and second phase.  Again, all it says is "proposed."  I took a look at the surrounding land.  There is a beautiful 1800s home in disrepair to the immediate east.  It looks like renovation has started on that one.  The overall plan keeps that house, and continues with new townhouses on a large empty lot to the immediate east.  A new street would go N/S and connect with Vine st., with townhouses lining each side.  The entire effect is that the entire block would be lined with the townhomes.  Also, townhomes would go up on Vine  and curl back around to Clinton, meeting up with the present construction.  The image portrays a well-thought out new urbanism-style block. 

 

Hope sales go well so that we could removed the "proposed" label.

do you have any pics or links for that? some of us non-clevelanders don't know about them, but you got me curious

 

Summit, I found this photo on nhlink.net. It doesn't show the whole length of the street, but you get an idea. There are other architectural types present too.

I'll try to take more photos when I'm back in town in the next few weeks!

 

While I'm at it, Ohio City also has some scattered rowhouses. Here's an example.

 

I suspect the reason why Cleveland has wooden homes instead of brick or masonry ones, is that we managed to avoid the rampant fires that destroyed large sections of Boston and Chicago in the late 1800s. Had we suffered a fire, the building code probably would have been adjusted accordingly.

 

A friend of mine from Chicago comes here, sees the wooden homes (especially the up/down duplexes with the double front porches) and says "So that's what Chicago would have had if it wasn't for that damn cow..." I dunno. I prefer brick.

 

KJP

heres an image of that wooden street on Hessler. 

great photo, zaceman...I've been through there about a dozen times, but have never had a camera on me...there's some uncharacteristic density there (for cleveland) and I can see why people are so adamant about protecting its charm

Hessler is definitely Cleveland's most unique residential street.  Just to clarify, Hessler Court is the wood street seen above, and is basically an alley.  Hessler Road is the brick street that one sees in the background of that pic, and is the street with most of the cool residential on it.  It is a mix of townhouses, doubles, singles, and some really cool brownstone apartments.  All of the above front almost directly on the street, with arching trees providing a thick canopy.  It almost feels more like a hallway than a street.

thanks for the hessler stuff, looks interesting!

 

How 'bout this one in Ohio City?  "Clinton Terrace"  I found it on the Visio Architects web site (www.visioarchitects.com)

The first phase is ok (not great), but notice that the second phase got pushed back behind a little concrete "moat", actually a shared drive.  I think they were the first expensive townhouses done in the neighborhood.  I remember people being amazed that they were going for as much as $350-400k.  Five years later the Ohio City Townhouses across the street are starting at $350-400k!

by the way, have we earned an upgrade on the title of this thread by now?  or should we start a new one titled "Cleveland's hidden stock of new and used rowhouses"?

Or "Cleveland's Quasi-Rowhouse, the Terrace".  I like it cause it uses the word "Quasi", which is a fine word, indeed.

what is the origin of "quasi"?  It doesn't seem to be Latin or Greek.  i am not a big fan of the townhomes across from the new Ohio City townhomes.  I hate the whole garage in front concept. But, I'll take them over an empty lot any day.   

by the way, check out the plans on this April 28th (late, I know) Landmarks Commission photo link...they're almost all rowhouses!  Ohio City (47th & Lorain) and East Blvd are featured here...

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/landmark/agenda/04-28-2004.htm#

wimwar, I am assuming that "quasi" is Latin in origin because it is modern Italian for "like" or "similar".

While we're on the topic of Cleveland rowhouses, check out this photo. I found it a couple years ago on the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History site and it has been one of my favorites ever since. It's from an entry on blizzards; unfortunately the exact location is not given; the year is 1913. Beautiful, though, isn't it? If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably somewhere on the near East side, on some block that has long since been razed.

 

HOT!  errr, cool!  That's one heck of a photo there, Blinker.  I could look at that for hours...

 

You'd never know it was Cleveland if it weren't for the power lines and the overabundance of snow!

I know, it looks like it could be Brooklyn or something. I just wish we knew the exact location!

I've had it as my screensaver for months. :)

P.S. It's so funny that we get so hot and bothered over photos like this. hehehee...

i know, we're all dorks...

 

but looking at that picture right now is actually having a cooling effect on me...goodness knows I need it!

While we're on the topic of Cleveland rowhouses, check out this photo. I found it a couple years ago on the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History site and it has been one of my favorites ever since. It's from an entry on blizzards; unfortunately the exact location is not given; the year is 1913. Beautiful, though, isn't it? If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably somewhere on the near East side, on some block that has long since been razed.

 

 

the block may no longer be there, but I bet those pesky overhead wires still stand!   :x