So I took a little drive out west... along the shore (sort of)... here's some music to set the mood:

 

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

 

I was on a time crunch, so I tried to hit some spots, get some good shots, etc. so I know I missed plenty, but that just gives me another reason to make another trip before it gets too chilly :-)

 

Oh alright, it's not the beach - it's the residential component at Crocker Park. For what it is, not shabby - for where it is, meh:

 

And we know the retail component:

 

And of course, outside of that, it's the usual tripe:

 

So onto better things, we head into Bay Village:

 

 

 

Stopping at Huntington Beach - nope, not a lighthouse - it's a water tower:

 

But it's a gorgeous day so like the soundtrack says, let's go to the beach!

 

 

 

 

Back to Lake Road in Bay Village - most of these newer (and larger) homes replaced small cottages:

 

Though a few remain, including this (expanded over the years but still charming):

 

 

Even with the newer oversized "compounds"...

 

There are still some nice stretches of charming older structures:

 

At Bay's eastern edge is Cashelmara, a condo development clustered around the former Lakeside Hospital which was once the home to an industrialist whose company later became Union Carbide:

 

But now we've arrived at Bradstreet's Landing which is at the western edge of Rocky River:

 

Looking west toward Bay Village and Avon point in the distance:

 

Lakefront condos - townhome and midrise, are next to Bradstreet's Landing:

 

 

Zoom in shot of the horizon showing lakefront residential highrises on the east side - Euclid on the left, Bratenahl on the right

 

An ore freighter nearing the Five Mile Crib (called that because it's five miles from the pumping station it serves):

 

Kayakers doing their thing:

 

Let's head further east into Rocky River's Beachcliff neighborhood:

 

 

And finally to one of my favorite lakefront parks, Rocky River Park. Note the elevation changes on the left - there's a nice deck with benches on the upper left:

 

And great access to the water if you want:

 

And a charming residential area all around:

 

 

Just south is a small commercial strip with all of life's necessities - a grocery store, wine shop, and great pizza place! :-)

 

And a cute pocket park with a clock tower!

 

But we aren't finished, so let's zip over to "Old Town" Rocky River with its commercial strip and the Westlake Hotel (now condos) in the distance:

 

And over a bridge we go, hang a left and we're in the Clifton Beach area of Lakewood, where homes range from charming...

 

... to "YOWZA!!!"  :-o

 

 

 

 

One of my favorites, especially during the holidays - they fill that bay window with a 3-story tree!

 

But of course, we're in Lakewood - so let's stop at Lakewood Park. The pride and joy here is the promenade, let's see if it's worth a visit.

 

 

Two of the Gold Coast condo towers are visible on the right:

 

Alright, so the views aren't too shabby ;-)

 

And of course Lakewood celebrates its diversity!  :-D

 

But I leave off with my favorite duo of homes on Edgewater Drive:

 

 

And of course, my favorite "compound" currently listed at $995K:

 

Hope you enjoyed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So cute! I took my parents through that area and they were pretty impressed with that.

Wow, thanks for sharing.

Beautiful photos of a beautiful day. In past years I've taken quite a few bike rides in that area and along the path that follows the Rocky River.

 

Lake Erie has come a long way from its much-maligned days, and is a gorgeous asset. Huntington Beach has a charming old-school atmosphere.

Love it!

We have a tough life up here on the upper west side..

Cleveland is looking good.

Nice Pics! 

At Bay's eastern edge is Cashelmara, a condo development clustered around the former Lakeside Hospital which was once the home to an industrialist whose company later became Union Carbide:

 

That was also where Dr. Sam Sheppard worked... And if you don't know that name, I encourage you to look it up.

 

I loved the Lakewood diversity shot.

 

 

Absolutely beautiful! One of the things I am jealous of Cleveland for is the lake.

Wow. I sometimes forget what a beautiful city we live in-- but usually I don't.

Wonderful section of Cleveland and its metro.... wouldn't mind living there myself :)

 

Now if I could just scrape up about $1 mil or so.... ;)

Mayday, knowing I gave that exact tour myself over the weekend (as usual we must have crossed paths).  Edgewater to Clifton Park to Rocky River and down to Huntington Beach.  I even pointed out "MY" favorite Christmans tree house, the charming yellow house and even the duo, which if you can confirm, one was where Tom Wilson lived.  We actually looked at the house that was for sale next to this.  Nice photos!     

Who said there isnt any famous people in Cleveland? On your drive  you passed George Steinbrenner's old house, Mo Williams House, Patricia Heaton's (Everybody loves Raymond) house.  A little further you get Travis Hafner and Brady Quinn.

Nice pics MayDay

 

 

Who said there isnt any famous people in Cleveland? On your drive  you passed George Steinbrenner's old house, Mo Williams House, Patricia Heaton's (Everybody loves Raymond) house.  A little further you get Travis Hafner and Brady Quinn.

 

Cleveland?  Those homes are not in Cleveland.  What map are you looking at?

Wonderful!

Nice pics MayDay

 

 

Who said there isnt any famous people in Cleveland? On your drive  you passed George Steinbrenner's old house, Mo Williams House, Patricia Heaton's (Everybody loves Raymond) house.  A little further you get Travis Hafner and Brady Quinn.

 

Cleveland?  Those homes are not in Cleveland.  What map are you looking at?

 

*Metropolitan Cleveland area. Sorry.  The west suburbs are my stomping ground.

Burbs of varying urbanity with green residential streets and beach access. Not in Ohio, how can it be!?

still the "best location in the nation!"

So many memories in that tour...  Thanks for sharing

Yowza is right, very nice pics MayDay!

I spent the afternoon, evening and a large chunk of the night at the Lakewood park yesterday.  If that isn't one of the most pleasant areas in metro Cleveland, I don't know what is.  The promenade, which I'll refer to as the boardwalk because we need one here, in particular had some stunning views.

8-) A Honey Hut of Love  8-)

Wow, such a wierd mix of feelings.  A little bit of Miami, New England, Canada (with that pocket park), Lake Michigan.... all in one place!

aww nice. so much changes with the housing and the hideous mall, but so much the same!

 

since you were right there, i hope you at least stopped in at beardens for a milkshake or something?

Nope, been to Bearden's a few times (not really impressed, especially the burgers) and not on that trip.

^ yeah i know its mediocre diner food, but its iconic around there. my dad ate at bearden's like once a week most of his life, he was friends with them -- but really its all about the choo choo train and the milkshakes.

 

anyway again fun thread we usually dont see this neck of the cleveland woods.

I know the pictures are a year old now, but why isn't there hardly anybody at Huntington Beach?  On a nice day, that place is usually jam packed.

Its nice to see this area covered.  It too often gets forgotten on Urban Ohio.

Thanks for reviving this thread. Great pictures should not be forgotten!

So my girlfriend and I sent some time at Westlake today and decided to hit up the Lakeview Park which I had shown her for the first time on Friday.  Because of construction on Lake St., we soon learned that we'd have to make an unexpected detour.  While on the detour, we randomly came across the Rocky River Park along the coast, decided to check it out, and spent the entire afternoon relaxing at this wonderful area.  As I've sort of been discovering/rediscovering Cleveland this summer, I am yet again stunned by how incredible the West Side is, especially with it's access to the Lake Erie, and how much there is to learn about the metro area.  The only iffy part was that there were some little kids swimming behind the rocks in the lake and the waves got pretty rough at times.  Looked like a recipe for injury.