Another [relatively] hidden downtown architectural gem is the old Midland Bank lobby in the Midland Building, now called the Van Sweringen Arcade. Easy to find from the Prospect entry. Photo here: http://www.landmarkofficetowers.com/arcade.htm

 

oh! I have one! There is a BEAUTIFUL event space sort of behind Hyde Park. It's owned by Sherwin Williams and can be rented out for events. It's called the Van Sweringen arcade. I just discovered it last year.

 

http://www.savvydiner.com/custom/114/

 

LOL...Rockandroller, meet Straphanger!

 

Looks like tedders55 got his wish!

Ha!  RocknRoller wins for finding a better photo.

 

It's not exactly a secret, more of a tip, but I'm a big fan of the bathrooms adjacent to the Renaissance hotel ball room.  Best pseudo public bathrooms downtown, IMHO.

Ha!  Who needs George's iToliet App when you have Urban Ohio!

Interesting. Hidden indeed. Observation at WSM? Where can I find this one? 

 

 

Something came to mind today....when I was in it for the first time in a while, yesterday.... 

 

The Huntington Building. Most of us know the splendor of the lobby areas.... BUT, how many people have ventured below the street level to see the labyrinth of hallways all with storefronts? The design is beautiful....there is a history of the building window...and many small stores still in this area. It is like a series of indoor mini underground streets!

 

can anyone go down there

Yes, anyone can go there.

 

LOL, I totally missed that StrapHanger and I were talking about the same place.

Is the Lemon Tree Cafe open in there?

Here's a secret: Gaelic Imports on Pearl Road in Old Brooklyn makes some of the food sold by local Irish restaurants, such as the Harp and Sullivan's.  However, Gaelic sells it at a significantly reduced price.

There are still some remnants of Italian culture remaining in Collinwood.  The most visible are on Ivanhoe Rd.  Last weekend, my brother and I stopped at Messina Bakery and Mirabile's Italian Restaurant and Lounge. 

 

EDIT:  Another hidden gem is Baker Candies on 16131 Holmes Avenue in Collinwood.  The best "whips" in the city!  Also the same street as the Slovenian Home.

I have a restaurant hidden gem.  Bronte Bistro at Joseph Beth Booksellers at Legacy Village.  Lovely little restaurant with great food & an interesting menu.  Every month they feature a few new recipes from cookbooks carried by the bookstore.  So nice to have an affordable dining option at Legacy with excellent food & service w/ no waiting.  They have great hours too.  http://www.josephbeth.com/bronte/home.html

here's a nice list of ethnic spots other and links -- including places like krusinski's meats and seven roses deli in slavic village:

 

http://cleveland.about.com/od/foodstores/tp/Cleveland-Ethnic-Food-Markets.htm

^ Nice list for a largely underrated area.

 

 

On the topic of restaurants.....  This is not exactly a big secret... But never really heard about on UO..  a couple little genuine Italian spots that remind me of 1970's Italian restaurant eating...  "Bucci's Brick Oven" at Southland...sort of hidden in part of the complex that has seen most of its tenants vacate probably due to an over saturation of retail in the area (cannibalization) and "Cafe Roma'" near W. 130'th and Loraine Ave.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g54956-d394217-Reviews-Cafe_Roma-Cleveland_Tennessee.html

 

 

Oh, and on a non-food related topic.... E. 89th St. Historic District.

Oh yes!  Bucci's at Southland - terrific food!

 

 

Oh, and on a non-food related topic.... E. 89th St. Historic District.

 

 

good call on that -- its between chester and hough.

 

there is a picture of an e89th st house here among this great list of other historic places, many of which are little known (hmm, a future photo thread inspiration?):

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_Cleveland,_Ohio

 

There's a bigger, more well-known Bucci's in Berea, they do a pretty good business.  We tried the Southland one a couple of times but it just wasn't our fave.  That area is SO tough to keep a little business like that going, I hope they are doing ok.

Cleveland Cinematheque (University Circle)

 

http://www.cia.edu/2ColNavPageBuilder.aspx?pageid=125

I have another "hidden gem" street, and it's surprisingly on the University Circle/Cleveland Clinic border.  I give you little tiny Newton Ave (in between E. 97th and E. 101th):

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=9795+Newton+Avenue,+Cleveland,+OH&sll=41.595846,-81.547134&sspn=0.008457,0.019248&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=9795+Newton+Ave,+Cleveland,+Cuyahoga,+Ohio+44106&ll=41.511775,-81.619577&spn=0,0.019248&z=16&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=41.506885,-81.619615&panoid=EyefVX7x7aOhy0AH2PIipA&cbp=12,60.75,,0,13.57

 

This area has incredible potential with it's proximity to UC and CC, and with saving historic buildings and building new residental.

Thanks, i did not know about that street.  It is right across from where Case's new performing arts center is.  It looks like it is in good shape too on google street view.

Exactly the kind of little streets that are such little gems. Great addition, MH!

Newton Ave. is a great little street.  Imagine the block parties. 

 

The whole area around that block is a historic district, I believe.  But the surrounding blocks are nowhere near as intact.  I wonder if Newton was built after the other streets, where the housing stock is crumbling.  Take a look at this pitiful site, how the City allows this stand is beyond me -

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=41.507726,-81.617528&spn=0,0.009624&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.507728,-81.617637&panoid=26E2t7lwjBk280NYbe9X3A&cbp=12,195.77,,0,0

 

To be honest, there is so much land for development in that little neighborhood, it almost makes me nervous that it would be prime bait for some type of non-residential function.  Newton Avenue would become the new Hessler Ct.

Looks as though many houses were removed. The remaining homes are actually not bad at all. The area has lots of room for residential infill. I was thinking the same in that Newton could become the new Hessler. Hopefully the clinic will not decide to build more parking lots on the vacant spaces.. I see a mix of residential and a few community gardens for providing fresh local food...hence fostering a real community.

I wonder if Newton was built after the other streets, where the housing stock is crumbling.

 

It looks to me as if the remaining houses on the other streets were built in the same era (early 1900s).  It's just that the other streets seem to have more common wood-frame houses that are a dime a dozen in Cleveland, whereas Newton Ave. has craftsman bungalows, which people were more likely to want to preserve.

Did anyone mention The Baseball Heritage Museum in The Colonial Arcade?... Or is it the other one... Well, I know its in one of the smaller arcades. Just wanted to mention it if it has not been. There is also a fantastic radio heritage museum on the lower level.

Newton Ave. is a great little street.  Imagine the block parties. 

 

Especially when this guy arrives:

http://g.co/maps/m5uv

^ Toooo funny!

Love the suspenders.

You know in his head, he's got this going on

 

I wonder if Newton was built after the other streets, where the housing stock is crumbling.

 

It looks to me as if the remaining houses on the other streets were built in the same era (early 1900s).  It's just that the other streets seem to have more common wood-frame houses that are a dime a dozen in Cleveland, whereas Newton Ave. has craftsman bungalows, which people were more likely to want to preserve.

 

I just biked there yesterday morning. The housing stock on Newton (bungelows densely packed together less than 20 feet from the curb) is unique to the neighborhood. As Etheostoma Caeruleum said, the rest of Hough is mostly (which has a lot of green space, probably the most I've seen in any neighborhood in the city) is apartment-style [3 floor] public housing (prominent in the late 20th cent) and older single lot colonials. 

Good thread.

 

- Maybe not for forumers, but for the general population, pretty much the entirety of Asiatown. One of our coolest nabes, and I would guess that at least 50% of northeast Ohioans don't know it exists. Koko Bakery = Particular Yum. China Merchandise Exhibit = Particular Kitsch.

 

- As an overlap with the above, the relatively quiet live-work movement on the Near East Side. We now literally have hundreds of artists living between E. 18th and E. 55th. Some of the buildings are higher visibility, like Tower Press and Loftworks. Others are a little more DIY in nature, but artists have created STUNNING live-work lofts. If you haven't had an opportunity to check them out, take a look at Keith Berr Studios (in the East 30s; they're very private, and I don't want to identify location, but the inside of the building is absolutely STUNNING), 1400 E. 30th, Josaphat Arts Hall (E. 33rd), ArtCraft (E. 25th-ish on Superior), Hamilton and 53rd (where you can get a raw 1400 sq. foot space with 14 ft. ceilings for $450 a month ... http://cleveland.craigslist.org/apa/1276196729.html). And check out this BEAUTY of a renovation at St. Clair and E. 40th ... eat your heart out, Chelsea: http://cleveland.craigslist.org/apa/1290895814.html. These are just a sampling of dozens of buildings that have gone live-work. Not just an east side phenomenon (check out the sprawling W. 78th Street Studios, for instance), but St. Clair Superior definitely has the majority of the live-work market.

 

- Tyler Village gets its own bullet. If you haven't visited, or if you haven't visited lately, you need to RUN over to the E. 30s.

 

- The primarily industrial warehouses north of Lakeside, from E. 32nd-ish to E. 55. These are still primarily operational industrial buildings, but I know live-work has finally started to make the transition to this side of Lakeside. Stunning lake views. Intact, narrow corridors of buildings, with a weird ghost town feel. Amazing.

 

 

amazing indeed! i was just in town over the last few days and had some time to drive/walk/transit around these areas a bit and your comments were absolutely spot on. asiatown and the near eastside gentrification or should i say redevelopment really is a tsunami of awesomesauce.  :laugh:

 

the best part about "the relatively quiet live-work movement" is that it is beginning to move past that phase and call more attention to itself with complex/street friendly coffeeshops, pubs and the like. reminded me of the early days in NW bushwick or NE w'burg or northern greenpoint. can new construction around these warehouse nodes and even streetlife be too far behind? anyway, it was very impressive to see. i took some pics hopefully i can work up a photo thread out of it.

 

i hope young people in particular take every opportunity to at least check out artcraft/loftworks, etc. warehouse conversions when they can, it might be an eye-opener and better yet a game-changer for some.

 

 

***

 

as for my own secret tip -- not sure if i should say this or not, i'll delete if need be, but you can walk into the gateway hilton, take the elevator up to the top and you get some great cityscape views (even tho it is thru glass).