the best thing about the Asiatown market?....the live frogs available for purchase.

 

You forgot softshell turtles and eels! It's better than the zoo. :)

^  Asiatown, taking the petting zoo to a whole new level.

Thanks for the pics, Clueless! This is my fave:

 

Move the item about the PD building renovation for MCPC, Inc. here:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,3594.msg513237.html#msg513237

Here's new video posted on the Asiatown Facebook Page:

 

http://www.facebook.com/clevelandasianfestival#

Great article on the neighborhood!

 

Everything you always wanted to know about Asiatown (but were afraid to ask)

 

Douglas Trattner

Thursday, December 16, 2010

 

According to the latest census figures, roughly 30,000 Asian-Americans call Cuyahoga County home, a number that continues to rise. Many of these folks live, work, shop and eat in Cleveland's AsiaTown neighborhood, which is loosely bordered by E. 30th and 40th streets and St. Clair and Payne avenues. Located in this dense district are numerous Asian-owned restaurants, markets and bakeries. Here are some of the stand-outs.

 

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/asiatownguide121610.aspx

So Miga and Pho 99:

 

Asian Town Center Scores Two New Eateries

Posted by Douglas Trattner on Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 3:32 PM

 

 

Cleveland's Asiatown neighborhood continues to attract new businesses, with the latest being two new Asian eateries slated to open in the Asian Town Center (3820 Superior Ave.). This is in addition to Saigon Grille, which is opening soon just east of Number One Pho.

 

While Crust and Crumbs fans will be sad to learn that that popular (former) restaurant will not be opening at the mall as planned, news of two replacements should ease the blow.

 

Going into the space originally set aside for Crust and Crumbs is Miga Korean BBQ. Owner Albert describes the restaurant as a "more contemporary" version of Seoul Hot Pot. Six tables will feature table-top grills for diners to prepare bulgogi and kalbi. The marinated meats are grilled and tucked into lettuce leaves for eating.

 

Pho 99 should be ready to go in two short weeks, hopes owner Vinh Nguyen. Located on the ground floor of Asian Town Center, the 40-seat Vietnamese restaurant will specialize in pho, naturally, but also rice and noodle dishes.

 

 

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/01/19/asian-town-center-scores-two-new-eateries

 

 

Trattner writes for competing publications?

the best thing about the Asiatown market?....the live frogs available for purchase. 

 

You forgot softshell turtles and eels! It's better than the zoo. :)

 

i eat or will try anything and everything.

 

or so i thought!

 

i will have to draw the line here:

 

balut eggs

 

:-o

 

So Miga and Pho 99:

 

Asian Town Center Scores Two New Eateries

Posted by Douglas Trattner on Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 3:32 PM

 

 

Cleveland's Asiatown neighborhood continues to attract new businesses, with the latest being two new Asian eateries slated to open in the Asian Town Center (3820 Superior Ave.). This is in addition to Saigon Grille, which is opening soon just east of Number One Pho.

 

While Crust and Crumbs fans will be sad to learn that that popular (former) restaurant will not be opening at the mall as planned, news of two replacements should ease the blow.

 

Going into the space originally set aside for Crust and Crumbs is Miga Korean BBQ. Owner Albert describes the restaurant as a "more contemporary" version of Seoul Hot Pot. Six tables will feature table-top grills for diners to prepare bulgogi and kalbi. The marinated meats are grilled and tucked into lettuce leaves for eating.

 

Pho 99 should be ready to go in two short weeks, hopes owner Vinh Nguyen. Located on the ground floor of Asian Town Center, the 40-seat Vietnamese restaurant will specialize in pho, naturally, but also rice and noodle dishes.

 

 

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/01/19/asian-town-center-scores-two-new-eateries

 

 

 

I'm psyched about the Korean BBQ. I've only had it when I visited family out in LA, but I loved it.

Seoul Hot Pot is also Korean right?  That's been there for quite some time.

Seoul Hot Pot is also Korean right? That's been there for quite some time.

 

Do they do the BBQ, where you have the hot stones at your table? Shows you what I know.

There's an AsiaTown Transportation & Streetscape Plan available in PDF format here:

 

http://www.noaca.org/asiatranspstreet2010.pdf

 

They mention recent successful projects such as Tyler Village, Asian Town Center and St. Josaphat Arts Halls.  Also mentions that the new innerbelt will result in more traffic using the Superior ramps and the importance of revitalizing the area as it becomes more prominent.

 

Superior Avenue is the main road and has seven (!) lanes of vehicular traffic, which is larger than other commercial streets in the city.  It's created a disconnect between north and south.  Plan calls to eliminate 2 existing lanes and adding dedicated parking on each side.  Talks about improving the area with public art, lighting, landscaping, etc...

 

Also a cool idea of making the railroad bridge that goes over Superior near Tyler Village a "Paifang gate" instead of just a boring train overpass.

 

Some interesting demographics about the area:

- 33% of the population in of Asian decent (up 155% from 1990)

- 25% of residents are under 20 years old

- 55% of households are families

- 56% of houses are rental

- 17% of houses are vacant

 

82 business within a 1/2 mile walk:

- 22 Asian businesses

- 9 restaurants

- 44 offices

- 2 schools

- 2 rec centers

- 7 light industrial companies

- 1 used car dealership

- 4 commercial services

 

 

Huge YES to the Paifang gate idea.  It's interesting to put it by the railroad bridge, but I've always thought having it over Superior close to I-90 would be better.  It's meant to sort of be a gateway into the neighborhood and by putting it between Asia Town and Downtown you would create an iconic connection between them.

Just for fun (sorry guys, I'm a huge fan of the Paifang Gate idea!)

 

 

^  Great mock-ups, but the perspective is confusing me.  Isn't the CSU library on the opposite side, closer to the lake?

The CSU Library is off of Chester between 21st and 22nd, while AsiaTown is on Superior between 30th and 40th (generally speaking).  Further north and east, across the Innerbelt trench.

Interesting plan. Overall, good, I think the Tyler village stuff is a bit rough but I'm not too familiar with the area specifically.

 

The Paifang Gate - that would be the most out of proportion Paifang Gate in the world. Not a bad idea, specifically, but I think in that particular size and location, it would be a bit ridiculous - that's a BIG bridge.

archangel - it was a very rough mockup, just to give people who aren't aware of what these look like an idea of it.  Sheesh!

 

 

Also, in the first picture it's not that off...  These gates typical cross over a street (*yes Superior is ultra-wide) and they have to go over the street with an appropriate height (+100').  Either way though, my point was that turning the railroad bridge into a "makeshift" gate would be more of a bookend to Asia Town and less of a gateway.  Ideally, in my opinion, the gate would forge a connection between downtown and Asia Town, and thus would be a free standing gateway you could cross beneath walking east-west on Superior.

What's the latest with"Old Chinatown" on Rockwell? We went a few years ago to the Shanghai Restaurant - finding it the only life available to the public on a Sat. evening.  Now I've read it closed in 2009 - to be replaced by a vegetarian restaurant. I walked there today and found the large building undergoing renovation but absolutely no doors open at noon hour.  In searching the web I find no absolutely proof a vegetarian establishmen ever opened at 2142 or, if it did, it did not last. Large signs with graphic illustrations on the building present great wounding plans for the building as an overall Cantonese and Chinese cultural center, but nothing appears to be open yet. Also, unfortunately, the English in the text could be greatly improved. So again - what's the latest for this strip?  Is a Buddhist temple actually operating already?  What happend to the restaurant?

Finally, can't this stretch of Rockwell be visually tied in to the main AsiaTown? Perhaps through street scaping, signage, lighting, etc?  Certainly there could be signs in each district directing one to the other. How about something done in the connecting area - between E. 24th and E. 30th drawing the two districts together?

archangel - it was a very rough mockup, just to give people who aren't aware of what these look like an idea of it.  Sheesh!

 

 

Also, in the first picture it's not that off...  These gates typical cross over a street (*yes Superior is ultra-wide) and they have to go over the street with an appropriate height (+100').  Either way though, my point was that turning the railroad bridge into a "makeshift" gate would be more of a bookend to Asia Town and less of a gateway.  Ideally, in my opinion, the gate would forge a connection between downtown and Asia Town, and thus would be a free standing gateway you could cross beneath walking east-west on Superior.

 

I wasn't responding to your picture at all, I understand that was a mockup, and it was well done.

 

I am responding only to placing the Paifang Gate in that particular location on Superior. I do not think it's suitable, and it would be out of proportion because of the size of the bridge. If you were to utilize only a portion of the bridge, I don't know. The street is so wide...aren't these gates usually placed in pedestrian areas? For instance, http://www.chinatownology.com/chinatown_archway_poll.html - the largest I'd go is the DC one.

archangel -- sorry for the confusion

 

Yes, the Railroad bridge is enormous...  I will say this, though, converting these overpasses into public art is a fantastic idea and essential to making the streets more welcoming.  That said, it's useless if the "neighborhood" ends, so to speak, at the bridge.  If no one is walking under is then it might as well be a big billboard.

 

I live in DC and the Chinatown one here is very nice, and not as big as that picture indicates.  The estimate was $1M to build it, don't know if that includes the install.

 

Some people might disagree with this, but when I looked through the pdf I was very excited by the streetscapings.  I consider fresh, clean and interesting streetscapes with accompanying urban furniture, to be incredibly important to rehabilitating and connecting neighborhoods.  Especially when trying to combat a negative viewpoint, that many suburbanites and tourists have of cities like Cleveland and Detroit, new granite curbs, red brick cross walks, and signage have an almost magical ability to make people feel comfortable and encourage businesses to expand, develop, and take care of their own appearances.

 

Burnham, I think only DC is getting granite curbs these days....  everyone else has regretably had to value engineer them out of the budget.  :|

Speaking of "connecting neighborhoods," as an addendum to my comments a few posts above, I'd like to see "Old Chinatown" on Rockwell connected on maps with the current AsiaTown. Also connected with streetscaping, lighting, etc. Rockwell has the only older building which originally was designed to look Chinese. And again - I'd like to see at least one sign in each district pointing to the other.  Has anything been done to try to connect the small (basically only one - but important - building with the main AsiaTown district?

Speaking of "connecting neighborhoods," as an addendum to my comments a few posts above, I'd like to see "Old Chinatown" on Rockwell connected on maps with the current AsiaTown. Also connected with streetscaping, lighting, etc. Rockwell has the only older building which originally was designed to look Chinese. And again - I'd like to see at least one sign in each district pointing to the other.  Has anything been done to try to connect the small (basically only one - but important - building with the main AsiaTown district?

 

For some reason your post reminded me that Asia Town could benefit greatly from a Visitor's Center. Make it easy to find, even outside the district if necessary. Staff it with knowledgeable people who have an in-depth understanding of all that the neighborhood has to offer. Offer discount coupons, a book store and event schedules.  Would be an easy way to bring more casual, downtown visitors into the fold. Lure more people who typically head straight back to I-90/71/77 right after Cavs, etc.

Thanks.  However, I'm still trying to find out anything about a vegetarian restaurant in the large building in "Old Chinatown" (i.e. one small stretch of Rockwell on one side only). Did it open and close or never open?  Still planned to open? Is there already the Buddhist temple referred to on some websites?  When is the whole complex to be finished?  What's going on with the museum plans?

Frankly, the whole complex would have more class if the language on the signs were correct. I'm referring to the signs outlining the building's plans. No offense to whoever wrote it, but there are somany in the Asian community who could write the text in perfectly correct English.

 

 

These photos that I took in October '09 show that the banners have been up for a year-and-a-half now... so, no, a Vegeterian resaturant has never opened yet. I don't know about the Temple but I highly doubt it.

There is work going on over there, or at least was. The first floor retail entrances and the garage entrance now have very beautiful doors, in my opinion... picture-taking worthy. That's all I can tell that's different.  A look in some of the upstairs windows, you can see ladders making me think there has been an attempt at renovation. How thorough it is -- at the moment -- is anybody's guess.

Even though many pics have been moved around in my Photobucket account and do not show up on this old thread, there are 3 at the end that show the "Rockwell Chinatown".

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,21433.0.html

It's a shame there's no momentum yet to build more like "Rockwell Chinatown" in the larger Asiatown area.  Try as I might it's hard to get excited about a new strip plaza, however successful it may be.  I hope the area can eventually brand itself through its architecture, to the point that we don't have to tell visitors "yes, this is Asiatown.  You're in the middle of it.  See that tiger statue over there?" 

 

As time goes on, hopefully there will be a shift away from the strip centers and enclosed shopping malls of Asiatown, although many have repurposed the existing brick warehouses in that area or copied that look in the new construction.

In the meanwhile...there is a new restaurant in the Payne Commons (3710 Payne Ave.). The 'Map of Thailand' is open 7 days a week, opens at 11 AM.

Also, the longtime corner fixture at 3216 Payne Ave. --  Eastern Sun Laundry launderette -- is back in operation.

Map of Thailand is going in the spot where Garden Cafe used to be, I believe.  I got take-out from the Garden Cafe a few times and thought it was good, if a bit over-priced.  Plus, I thought the owner was rude.  Anyways, I'll have to try this new place out.

I was in that Asian Town Plaza Sat. and saw there was a lot of art on the 2nd floor on display. Not much security but some nice stuff. Is that the plan  - to fill much of the area upstairs with art for sale?  I noticed new restaurant going in up there, too.

love the gate idea --

 

however, i always imagined a very modern chinatown gate with flashy electronic scrolling and stuff instead of a throwback, symbolizing a modern cle!

I was just at the Map of Thailand restaurant a couple of nights ago for dinner.  Nice decor, but the food was only so-so (looked very nice, but lacking in the flavor dept) and the staff was inattentive, despite our table being the only one occupied in the restaurant.  Nowhere close to the quality of the Thai food at Bangkok Thai Cuisine on Mayfield!

I was just at the Map of Thailand restaurant a couple of nights ago for dinner.  Nice decor, but the food was only so-so (looked very nice, but lacking in the flavor dept) and the staff was inattentive, despite our table being the only one occupied in the restaurant.  Nowhere close to the quality of the Thai food at Bangkok Thai Cuisine on Mayfield!

 

< Slightly OT rant  >This is a Cleveland problem, imo. I've never been so underwhelmed by waitstaff than I have been in Cleveland. I swear if you add 3 or 4 patrons to a Cleveland bar they need to shut it down. When I lived in Boston I'd go to places that were packed to the absolute gill and still have 0 problems getting attention from the waitstaff. Bartenders could actually handle more than 1 order at a time and waitress'/waiters knew how to balance attentiveness without crowding the diner. Why this so rarely seems to be the case in Cleveland is beyond me, but there you go. < / Slightly OT rant  >

 

* let me add that I love Cleveland restaurants food in general much more than any of the Boston places I went, it really seems to be much more of a management issue.

The big question is: is anything going on in Old Chinatown (Rockwell Avenue) at all? I don't see anything going on with the large brick building, now that the new doors are in place, etc. And that is all that is left of the whole shebang. I wish that building could be planted right in the middle of the current AsiaTown - there's nothing in AsiaTown (half a mile away) really like it, with the Oriental architectural details (not much, though - just a hint of it). Is the whole project kaput? Now that I see someone here writes the signs were put up a year or two ago, I'm wondering if it's all over....

Doesn't someone here know?

An even larger question: when is the work expected to begin in AsiaTown - all the design/streetscaping projects., etc.???

As far as I know much of the funding has been approved, as through NOACA.

Cleveland's AsiaTown becoming a melting pot for the larger community

 

"East Fourth. West Sixth. West 25th.  They're more than mere streets. They've become brands, entertainment districts, dining destinations.

Yet less than two miles from Public Square, there's a neighborhood with 20 eateries. It's rich in history. Full of exotic flair. The places enjoy a common bond.

And most important, the area is expanding its brand -- slowly but surely, far from the lights and hype of more talked-about dining districts."

 

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2011/03/clevelands_asiatown_becoming_a.html

I am very interested in the AsiaTown Transportation & Streetscape plan including the Paifang Gate element.  My favorite one of these gates around the country is the contemporary one in Los Angeles.  I have superimposed it on the Superior Ave Railroad bridge to demonstrate what it would look like in Cleveland.

 

That would be just too damn cool! And I think the railroad bridges are a great location for them.

Yeah, I really like that too.

That's awesome.

Looks great!  I still think the Gate should be somewhere alone Superior amidst Asiatown so it can be integrated into the streetlife and people can walk through/under it.  By making it a bookend to the area it will seldom see traffic beneath/around it.  Most of these China Town gates are an entrance to the area, perhaps Superior and 40th area?

That is Superior and 40th.

CORRECTION:  Superior and 30th (a gateway between Downtown and Asiatown).  Or even Superior and 34th, or 36th would still put it along the streetscape and make it part of the area, not just a visual in the distance.  Just offering how chinatowns that I've been to use their gates, they're either the entrance or in the middle, never a barrier at the end.

My guess is that there is not anticipated money for building a big structure somewhere along the corridor, while the railroad bridge provides a canvas for a light installation, painting or sculptural elements. In other words, it would be a lot cheaper. But definitely see your point.

First of all, regarding the PD article - pretty good but not one iota regarding all the streetscape/development plans in the offing.  Again, approx. when might construction be expected to begin?  Does anyone here have a clue?

Second, I was a bit taken aback by the boundaries given by the author. Perkins has absolutely nothing Asian about it; is the author referring to the possibility of some Asians residing on a few streets south of Payne.  There may be a handful, I suppose. Author didn't say Lakeside, though perhaps a few Asians reside north of St. Clair?

 

Anyway, doesn't everyone agree E. 18th is certainly too far to the west? There's basically the one "Asian" building on Rockwell in the 2100s (I'm still trying to find out if anything is currently going on there - no one here has provided an update) and then everything from just west of E. 30th on. Glad the author at least included the little stretch of Rockwell on the map, even though it wasn't mentioned either....

It's interesting in that it appears the north side of Rockwell never was really Chinatown! I've gone back as far as the 1930s City Directories, anyway, and there were no Oriental businesses or residents' names on that side. Really a tiny district (as was a little stretch of Ontario Street earlier). There were a number of Chinese restaurants, organizations, etc. in this tiny stretch on the south side by the 1930s so the author's implying it began in the '50s is late.

 

As for the gate - yes, it should be on the edge coming from Downtown. A little funny if right at E. 30th, though, as Asia Plaza is still to the west.  But I guess that's not that major a problem. :|

 

At this time E. 18th could be considered far west but that may change over time as Asiatown eventually bumps into the Campus District of CSU and its associated housing/residential component. The city is probably thinking long-term. Good. We need connectivity.

 

Perkins has everything to do with Asiatown, it's just south of Payne. It is rightly considered a boundary to the neighborhood. The sidestreets b/t Payne and Perkins contain the shotgun houses that characterize other residential parts of the area and have many Asian households. There are only warehhouses north south of Perkins.

 

The first wave of immigrants were in the middle part of the nineteenth century, i.e. mid-1800s. That may have just been a trickle and probably account for the Ontario settlement. By the late 1920s the Rockwell Chinatown finally was conceived and, by 1930, built.

It's true also that more immigrants came in successive waves after this time through the mid-century.

 

I agree. There is a sizable Asian presence in the residential blocks between Payne and Perkins ... With the exception of East 30th and East 40th, these blocks are majority residential. North of St. Clair, I can't think of too much residential stock at all. I agree that East 18th seems overly ambitious, unless it's just alignment with census tracts, but I think the western boundary of the census tract is the highway.

 

In addition to the cost factor of building a new gate on the downtown end of the corridor, I also wonder if you would run into more headaches with ODOT on this end, as there is a major exit/entrance ramp immediately to the west of the downtown entry into the neighborhood. Personally, all things being equal, I would rather see them take the money it would take to build a new gate near East 30th and redirect that money into doing installations at the St. Clair and 38th, Superior and 40th and Payne and 40th railroad bridges ... three gates for the price of one :) But as of right now, I think the only thing that's being pursued is at Superior and 40th. That being said, it seems like the CDC is interested in other placemaking elements throughout the corridor, including decorative lighting, signage, public art and plantings that all evoke a pan-Asian feel. If the full plan gets carried out, I think the feel entering from downtown would be significantly different, even without an entry gate.

"The sidestreets b/t Payne and Perkins contain the shotgun houses that characterize other residential parts of the area and have many Asian households. There are only warehhouses north of Perkins"....

 

You must mean along the north side of Perkins Avenue are all warehouses, but along the streets going up northward toward Payne many of the houses are occupied by Asian households.

 

Had a nice time at the art opening in Asia Town Center Saturday evening....  There should be more Sat. evening openings and far fewer on Fri. nights.