See below. The same column covered us in 2005 in similarly positive terms. We do tend to forget how good we have it here and it's often affirming seeing things from an outsider's perspective.

There's also a slide show on the Web site.

 

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/travel/20hours.html?hpw

 

36 Hours in Cleveland

 

By BRETT SOKOL

Published: September 20, 2009

 

“YOU Gotta Be Tough” was a popular T-shirt slogan worn by Clevelanders during the 1970s, a grim period marked by industrial decline, large-scale population flight and an urban environment so toxic the Cuyahoga River actually caught on fire. These days it still helps to be at least a little tough; a fiercely blue-collar ethos endures. But instead of abandoning the city, local entrepreneurs and bohemian dreamers alike are sinking roots; opening a wave of funky boutiques, offbeat art galleries and sophisticated restaurants; and injecting fresh life into previously rusted-out spaces. It’s a vibrant spirit best exemplified by Cleveland’s new all-female roller derby league, whose wry name, the Burning River Roller Girls, and home, a former GM auto factory retooled into a 60,000-square-foot sports facility, say it all.

Nice!  Take a hint, Pee Dee!

Great news!  Although I will never understand the appeal of Sokolowski's outside of the atmosphere.  I  have never left there without being very sick the rest of the day, same for my dining companions.  But the article is great and I'm very glad to see it.

See? If other people can say some nice things about us, why can't we? Psssst...  Hear that PD?

My female friend (CBC met her) works at L'albatros. She said she talked to this guy for like 30 min and he had great things to say about Cleveland.  She did a ittle talking up of Cleveland herself.  Love the photographs: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/09/20/travel/200920-cleveland-slide-show_index.html

Since I can't find the "Offical I Love Cleveland" thread, here is an indepth write up from metrojacksonville...very interesting from a perspective of an out-of-towner:

 

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-aug-elements-of-urbanism-cleveland

Eh, that article was pretty much what wikipedia says about Cleveland.

The photos were pretty solid, and managed to capture a good portion of traffic whether it be cars or pedestrians.  But yeah, the text was a combination between wikipedia and the history kiosks.

 

The discussion in the thread by the locals isn't bad either.  Positive and negative represented, seems a whole lot like threads we have here.

 

One note that I thought was nice (maybe even a bit comical) was a youtube link of a local (Jacksonville) artist talking up the Cleveland art scene, at least for the first couple minutes.

 

I have never left there without being very sick the rest of the day, same for my dining companions.

 

I eat there all the time, and nobody I have ever been there with has ever gotten sick.  In fact, I don't know if I've ever been there where anyone else hasn't enjoyed the food.  It's nothing fancy, but it's just good.

I love un-fancy, I'm just saying what my experience has been. I've taken my mother there, my boss and 2 co-workers on 3 separate visits and everyone has felt awful the whole rest of the day after eating there.  I know a lot of people love it, I just don't understand why. 

^ Its freaking DELICIOUS thats why.

whatevs. To each his own. 

Nice article. A wider variety of photos would have made it even better, but I'll take it.

The discussion in the thread by the locals isn't bad either. Positive and negative represented, seems a whole lot like threads we have here.

 

Loretto, what discussion are you talking about? I didn't see any comments on the NY Times page or am I missing something?

My comment and I believe a couple others are in reference to Murray Hill's post linking to the MetroJacksonville site. 

Well I found another positive review of Cleveland.

 

This one from MA:

 

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2009/09/20/features/6108612.txt

Wow, how flattering. 

 

Does anybody know if these reviews are the result of when the Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted (wined and dined) the travel writers? 

Nice article. Why, though does every article I read about Cleveland start off with making a note in the river fire?

Yea I know....  I guess to give it some context...  and since many people seem to refer to Cleveland in this way (this is often what poeple associate with Cleveland even if they really know nothing about the city).

 

Cleveland, a city that has risen from the ashes.....  :|

 

we could all nitpick the choices of course, but overall what a refreshing article. you cant buy that kind of unrelenting positive press in what is basically the nation's newspaper.

 

"...But instead of abandoning the city, local entrepreneurs and bohemian dreamers alike are sinking roots; opening a wave of funky boutiques, offbeat art galleries and sophisticated restaurants; and injecting fresh life into previously rusted-out spaces. It’s a vibrant spirit best exemplified by Cleveland’s new all-female roller derby league, whose wry name, the Burning River Roller Girls, and home, a former GM auto factory retooled into a 60,000-square-foot sports facility, say it all..."

 

^ would it hurt the peedee to take such positive twists as that? at least once in awhile? sheesh.

 

"Although a light rail system connects the airport with both downtown and University Circle, a rental car is advised for reaching most other neighborhoods."

 

light rail, eh? so whos going to write in and correct them? do it nicely - lol!  :laugh:

 

 

This thread deals with positive things about Cleveland, so maybe it fits here.  If not please move to the appropriate thread.  I did a search and could find nothing.

 

Every "favorable" article about Cleveland starts with some reference to the "Burning River" as if Cleveland was the only dirty city in the country in 1969. 

 

I am currently in Seattle on business and when I talk to people I have not met before, I mention I am from Cleveland and many times the response is something condescending and

negative.  Often times it is about the river burning 50 years ago!!

 

Few realize that the river caught fire over 20 times since 1899, and that many rivers and harbors have caught fire through the years, e.g., Boston Harbor, Hudson River, and many rivers in Louisiana (even today).

 

I always think of a great come back - hours after I have left the situation.  I would like to create a list of comebacks for all of us travelers that we can use when we are traveling.  I am tired of having nothing to say in these situations.

 

For example:

 

Grays Harbor WA is one of the 10 most polluted rivers in America

 

http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water_quality/quality1/1-americas-ten-most-polluted-rivers.htm

 

The people in WA would be shocked to hear this, but I can not think of this off-hand when they are laughing about our river.

 

Beaches all throughout the country are more dirty than most beaches on Lake Erie.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-dirty-dozen-12-most-polluted-beaches-in-the-us-2009-7#zachs-bay-at-jones-beach-state-park-1

 

Yet everyone thinks that the only polluted beaches are on the Great Lakes.

 

Any suggestions?

^ I feel for you. Yes, you are right, for some reason, although this has happened numerous times and in many other places as well...and even, if I am not mistaken, in our beloved perfect Chicago! Me, being someone with somewhat of a well rounded stronger eco-background, I can say something about the Chicago River that few would understand unless they were familiar a bit about riparian zones. I have a webpage dedicated to explaining their functions.

 

When I look at the Cuyahoga, as raped as it was in every imaginable way....I still see a river following a natural meandering path....as opposed to (for a great example) the straightened Chicago River which in reality, was made into a channelized ditch. (the fate of many rivers/streams) Sooooo much a wrong thing to do to a river by progressive standards of development these days. It is as murderous an act as any.

 

So, even such a great place like Chicago is not without total fault for killing their streams..and in fact, Illinois in general has been notorious, even more so than Ohio, for killing their rivers and streams. Check with Dr. Larry Page, Ichthyologist  on that one. Don't know if he is in Indiana these days or Illinois. He is premier. You can add San Antonio to the mix, Texas in general as damaging rivers there.... Pittsburgh. The San Joaquin River (California-which has not one native species left last I checked) and many numerous places out west that have levied their own fashion of river abuse on their rivers. New Orleans/Mississippi delta is virtually a dead zone. A delta is a habitat in a river system that should be teeming with life...but thanks to the water being so rich in nitrogenous waste from farm runoff, even lawn chemicals, etc, algae blooms have choked the delta. (Hope your satisfied America with your perfectly green lawns!) For more on that, see www.nanfa.org  None of which makes it right for our river to join those ranks... But the point here is to prove that not everyone has a gold plated A-hol* when it comes to the treatment of their rivers. Each form had its bad impact on the ecology of the river.

 

Why this has stuck on Cleveland on the list to appear that it is the only place where such damage to a river has occurred is probably because a river catching fire is a pretty dramatic headline... and the last time it happened was at a pivotal time for the environment in the USA...a  time when the dawning of the cleaning the environment movement started and so on, and this....a  bad time for the river to catch fire maybe!  Like getting caught cheating on your wedding night! (I wouldn't do that, by the way!) To look at Cleveland as the only place with serious river problems then or even now, is to ignore the bigger issues facing this entire nation. Yes, what appears to be nice and clean even in your most favorite and progressive cities...sorry Charlie, but they have their issues too. They just may come in different forms. Those in-the-know on these issues understand that, now the rest of should better understand and stop singling out Cleveland as the only place which ever had a problem.  Our newest threat to our river really isn't solely so much industry alone..It is non-point source pollution. (every river faces this issue) And that can be something as commonly accepted (although banned in many places for cosmetic uses) commercial lawn chemical services and a host of other constituents.

 

Oh...By the way....need I mention the real truth in the much touted Yangtze river Dam in China. That is just as abusive to a river than anything that has ever happened in Cleveland, no matter what the projected economical benefits for a few. Many have called this a long tern ecological disaster that will only benefit a few. That is another story though.  (search on www.nanfa.org about why dams are a river's execution and have cost us more problems than they were intended to solve.

 

Yes, you are right. We should not be seen this way. As for quick comebacks...let;s think of some. But I hope this helps in beginning to understand that even in those most beautiful places where they think they can do no wrong... Even they poop..and even their rivers face challenges and have had occurrences that can be equally devastating all in their own way.

 

For what it is worth, I think the Mahoning River in Youngstown suffered a greater struggle. How conveniently forgotten is it by the nation, though, that so many of these rivers virtually DIED, so they could have played a major role in shaping the nation. 1/3rd of the steel produced to fight WW2 was from the Mahoning Valley. That's just one point...so it is kind of everyone's moral obligation to better respect these rivers, even if you don't live here. They died, so we can build a nation, so to speak. I don't mean that in a flag waving  military touting way only..... It's just that They were a major role in the manufacturing of so many things that helped shape a nation.

 

Hope this helps! I'm totally with you, though.... It gets stale..old, and just demonstrates one's oblivious stupidity. But this should be a lesson on why a place cannot afford to abuse its environment. As Sen. Gaylord Nelson said..  "The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment..when the environment files chapter 11, so will the economy"  and this label has not helped us at all. We are still living it 40 years later and we are sometimes afraid to say we are from Cleveland.

 

Now you might no why I am called "EC" I have a passion for rivers.

 

I also have a great video posted on the thread about Ohio's beaches being littered and so on. Watch that one about what plastics are doing to the oceans. That should make it illuminating that even in the least expected places...there are problems. Although I will start here...its just not Cleveland that has its work cut out for them in cleaning up all the worlds waters..all eventually connected.

TMH....You have to realize the people who make these remarks about Cleveland are coming from a purely ignorant place and typically are easy to shoot down. Although I haven't lived in Cleveland since I was a child I am a fierce advocate and have the ability to get in anyone's face and make them regret ragging on the Cleve and have done it many times. Although the one come back that really seems to work is whenever they say something bad about the Cleve I always ask "So where are you from?" and no matter where they are from I am always able to say "And you think you have the right to say something bad about Cleveland?" And then I just throw my head back with laughter and they immediately shut the F up. Works every time.

Although the one come back that really seems to work is whenever they say something bad about the Cleve I always ask "So where are you from?" and no matter where they are from I am always able to say "And you think you have the right to say something bad about Cleveland?" And then I just throw my head back with laughter and they immediately shut the F up. Works every time.

 

Me likes! Now what about the people from Cleveland and still live in the region, those are the worst?

 

On a semi-related note NPR had a love letter to the Pittsburgh "Renaissance" this morning because of the G20 meeting tomorrow.

 

(sigh)

 

Someday...

Whats good for Pittsburgh is good for the region

 

If Cleveland did not make such a big deal about the river, no one would know about it, and the creation of the EPA would have been delayed.  We sacrificed our reputation in order to jump start the enviromental movement and enviromental legislation.

 

So when people mention the burning river, thank them!  Then explain to them how proud we are of our leadership in enviromental protection :)

See below. The same column covered us in 2005 in similarly positive terms. We do tend to forget how good we have it here and it's often affirming seeing things from an outsider's perspective.

There's also a slide show on the Web site.

 

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/travel/20hours.html?hpw

 

36 Hours in Cleveland

 

By BRETT SOKOL

Published: September 20, 2009

 

“YOU Gotta Be Tough” was a popular T-shirt slogan worn by Clevelanders during the 1970s, a grim period marked by industrial decline, large-scale population flight and an urban environment so toxic the Cuyahoga River actually caught on fire. These days it still helps to be at least a little tough; a fiercely blue-collar ethos endures. But instead of abandoning the city, local entrepreneurs and bohemian dreamers alike are sinking roots; opening a wave of funky boutiques, offbeat art galleries and sophisticated restaurants; and injecting fresh life into previously rusted-out spaces. It’s a vibrant spirit best exemplified by Cleveland’s new all-female roller derby league, whose wry name, the Burning River Roller Girls, and home, a former GM auto factory retooled into a 60,000-square-foot sports facility, say it all.

Kudos to Cleveland.  This is Cleveland's week for favorable attention from New York, with yesterday's announcement of the Cleveland Orchestra's residency at the Lincoln Center festival.

^^and also some love from Las Vegas.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/sep/24/citys-budding-love-affair-cleveland-clinic/

I think it's kind of cool that we are known for a burning river.  What's more bad ass than completely defying nature.  I think we should catch the river on fire every year for a huge city festival to extricate the city's demons.  We shouldn't allow people's assumptions to define what that fire meant to the city.  Take a negative connotation and make it a positive.

Interesting take W. 28th.

 

Maybe we could have the Burning River festival climax with the burning of the river (or atleast setting some barges on fire). I am imaging something like Burning Man but a lot less freaky. Let me clarify the barges on fire. I am imagining a giant pyrotechnics display with flames shooting 75 ft in the air. I can't imagine how you could safely set the river on fire, from an environmental and personal safety view.

 

Edit: Burning River Roller Girls Definitely sounds more badass than Forest City Roller Girls

Providence does this - http://www.waterfire.org/

And James Levin has talked about doing it as part of Ingenuity

I think it's kind of cool that we are known for a burning river.  What's more bad ass than completely defying nature.  I think we should catch the river on fire every year for a huge city festival to extricate the city's demons.  We shouldn't allow people's assumptions to define what that fire meant to the city.  Take a negative connotation and make it a positive.

 

I really and truly hope you're joking!!! And I really hope others here will exercise enough critical thinking skills to see what is wrong with that logic. There is nothing romantic about a river being so polluted that it ignites from the chemicals. Please... don't go there... Let's not make it look 'cool' because it isn't. We glamorize ignorance, stupidity, and anti-social behavior enough... Let's not make raping the environment seem cool. No, nothing 'bad ass' about defying nature. No, uh uh, nothing cool about a river burning from being contaminated, nor paying homage to it. I doubt people will get the message that it was a travesty if it is made into a festival.... by seeing a river on fire. Instead it will be like "Yeah dude...ain't that cool...the river burns here... huh, huh"  Sure, let's just add more 'fuel to the fire' so to speak....let's have the rest of the nation see how retarded we are when they say... "Look at Cleveland...they actually think that because their river caught fire...it's cool...MAN..how dumb are they!"  Are you asking for more jokes and smearing and twisting it into something we would regret? Especially from the west....  Its simple.. "pollution-Not good...not cool!"

Whoa, that Waterfire program is cool. I hadn't even thought about a permanent installation.

EC, I know how passionate you are about rivers and waterways but I think the point would be to take a negative and turn it into a positive. The Phoenix rising from the ashes.  It would be a nice metaphor for the push for Cleveland as a green and sustainable city. Fire is a very powerful symbol of creation and destruction. This celebration would represent a rebirth for the city. And much like the phoenix it would be representative of the second coming of Cleveland after it's first glory as an industrial powerhouse.

 

Plus imagine the NYT coverage!

I think it's kind of cool that we are known for a burning river. What's more bad ass than completely defying nature. I think we should catch the river on fire every year for a huge city festival to extricate the city's demons. We shouldn't allow people's assumptions to define what that fire meant to the city. Take a negative connotation and make it a positive.

 

I really and truly hope you're joking!!! And I really hope others here will exercise enough critical thinking skills to see what is wrong with that logic. There is nothing romantic about a river being so polluted that it ignites from the chemicals. Please... don't go there... Let's not make it look 'cool' because it isn't. We glamorize ignorance, stupidity, and anti-social behavior enough... Let's not make raping the environment seem cool. No, nothing 'bad ass' about defying nature. No, uh uh, nothing cool about a river burning from being contaminated, nor paying homage to it. I doubt people will get the message that it was a travesty if it is made into a festival.... by seeing a river on fire. Instead it will be like "Yeah dude...ain't that cool...the river burns here... huh, huh" Sure, let's just add more 'fuel to the fire' so to speak....let's have the rest of the nation see how retarded we are when they say... "Look at Cleveland...they actually think that because their river caught fire...it's cool...MAN..how dumb are they!" Are you asking for more jokes and smearing and twisting it into something we would regret? Especially from the west.... Its simple.. "pollution-Not good...not cool!"

 

Whatever man, chill out.

I'm a big "greenie" but I agree, not actually setting the river on fire but taking what we're famous for and exploiting it in an entertaining way. We are already known for this everywhere, wouldn't it be great to capitalize on it and make a "spectacle" event and festival each year to show how far we've come?  I agree with the PP who said like burning man, but less freaky. 

"I really and truly hope you're joking!!! And I really hope others here will exercise enough critical thinking skills to see what is wrong with that logic. There is nothing romantic about a river being so polluted that it ignites from the chemicals. Please... don't go there... Let's not make it look 'cool' because it isn't. We glamorize ignorance, stupidity, and anti-social behavior enough... Let's not make raping the environment seem cool. No, nothing 'bad ass' about defying nature. No, uh uh, nothing cool about a river burning from being contaminated, nor paying homage to it. I doubt people will get the message that it was a travesty if it is made into a festival.... by seeing a river on fire. Instead it will be like "Yeah dude...ain't that cool...the river burns here... huh, huh"  Sure, let's just add more 'fuel to the fire' so to speak....let's have the rest of the nation see how retarded we are when they say... "Look at Cleveland...they actually think that because their river caught fire...it's cool...MAN..how dumb are they!"  Are you asking for more jokes and smearing and twisting it into something we would regret? Especially from the west....  Its simple.. "pollution-Not good...not cool!"

 

 

I take it you weren't a fan of those Mike Polk videos then

Providence does this - http://www.waterfire.org/

And James Levin has talked about doing it as part of Ingenuity

 

Columbus, OH does it too, IIRC.

 

While it would be a neat thing for Ingenuity, I just have to wonder exactly how he'd pull it off.  In Providence, the fires are little piles of wood stacked in these metal baskets anchored to the "river" bottom (it's actually a very long, very narrow inlet of the Narragansett Bay,) which is only like 4' deep and not used by the kind of boats that we have plying the Cuyahoga.  They do, however, have gondolas, which are pretty cool.

Hello everyone!  I used to post here much more often, but a recent move to NYC has limited the time I've had to actually write things down.  I just wanted to share a nice anecdote about what happened to me on the subway today, and I couldn't find the *I love Cleveland* thread or the "Today I Overheard Someone in My City Say" thread.  I teach guitar here in the city now and I was riding home after a lesson when this conversation began...

 

Some guy- "I think it's admirable that you are making a living as a musician."

Me- "Thanks a lot man, it's difficult but it is definitely rewarding"

Some guy- "It's difficult in this city because everyone is always looking out for themselves, and they can't share their work."

Me- "Yeah, I just moved from Cleveland about a month and a half ago..."

Some guy- "Cleveland, that's a great Rock and Roll town..."

Me- "Yeah, and it's different there because there is so much work for musicians, that you can always get your friends in contact with people who will give them jobs."

Some guy - "There's a real sense of community there...I remember I had to go to Cleveland to buy a van and I ended up staying there for about 4 days longer than I was supposed to and just checking out all of the blues and rock clubs."

Me- "There is some real hip stuff  happening there right now."

Some guy- "Oh Cleveland is really hip, I had a great time out there!"

 

Just figured I'd share since it was in New York, with a working musician, and there was no mention of a burning river, LeBron James, layoffs, foreclosures, or anything else negative.  Artists understand that Cleveland is a hip, underground, and respected city. 

Hello everyone!  I used to post here much more often, but a recent move to NYC has limited the time I've had to actually write things down.  I just wanted to share a nice anecdote about what happened to me on the subway today, and I couldn't find the *I love Cleveland* thread or the "Today I Overheard Someone in My City Say" thread.  I teach guitar here in the city now and I was riding home after a lesson when this conversation began...

 

Some guy- "I think it's admirable that you are making a living as a musician."

Me- "Thanks a lot man, it's difficult but it is definitely rewarding"

Some guy- "It's difficult in this city because everyone is always looking out for themselves, and they can't share their work."

Me- "Yeah, I just moved from Cleveland about a month and a half ago..."

Some guy- "Cleveland, that's a great Rock and Roll town..."

Me- "Yeah, and it's different there because there is so much work for musicians, that you can always get your friends in contact with people who will give them jobs."

Some guy - "There's a real sense of community there...I remember I had to go to Cleveland to buy a van and I ended up staying there for about 4 days longer than I was supposed to and just checking out all of the blues and rock clubs."

Me- "There is some real hip stuff  happening there right now."

Some guy- "Oh Cleveland is really hip, I had a great time out there!"

 

Just figured I'd share since it was in New York, with a working musician, and there was no mention of a burning river, LeBron James, layoffs, foreclosures, or anything else negative.  Artists understand that Cleveland is a hip, underground, and respected city. 

 

 

YEAH!

Simulated burning river.  Brilliant.  Expansion/climax of Buring River Fest.  Camera crews from all over the U.S. maybe world would descend on the city.  Contrast with fly fishing in the CVNP, canal basin park plans, twopath trail, residences on the river, rowing clubs, etc. etc.  Someone, get right on it! 

petergriffin, great anecdote, thanks for sharing. Some threads are being cleaned up of "offending" material since the site got a threatening letter from a lawyer about reposting newspaper content, they will be back online eventually.