So since it's Halloween I went to check out my favorite house in Cleveland proper, since it reminds me of a good Haunted House...in disrepair and all. I hadn't been over there for a couple years and the house is even in worse shape and it's for sale. It's picture is further down in this post.

 

But since there's been a lot of talk about the "satellite downtowns" of Cleveland , I decided to snap some pictures of the once-great Broadway Neighborhood which generally is comprised of the N. Broadway, S. Broadway, Fleet Ave. and the Slavic Village areas. At one time, it was one of the two most prominent satellite downtowns...the other one being at E. 105 and Euclid. That one has been totally eradicated, no evidence of it. But for Broadway there is an old world vibe still around. It's kind of a forgotten area though, not at all trendy like Tremont, Ohio City,etc. It is a bit rough, that's for sure

 

Eastern Europeans-- mainly Polish and Czech-- were the first settlers of this area and it is reflected in the churches and buildings. Here is a sampling of what remains

 

 

Starting at the crest of the hill on Broadway around E. 80, with downtown Cleve in the distance

 

Zosia's Cafe...I don't think this location is open anymore. But the phone number has a voicemail to "Zosia's Pierogies" now

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a few Travel agencies that dot the area...there's still some first generation Europeans around here

 

 

 

 

 

 

The actual satellite downtown around E. 55 and Broadway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fleet Ave. area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olga Sarbinowska running for Ward 12 Coucil seat in Cleveland

 

Warszawa District (within Slavic Village)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New construction called "The Cloisters" , near St. Stanislaus Historic Church, pictured above

 

The coolest:

 

Across the street:

 

 

 

The Bohemian National Hall built 1896 and its modern addition

 

 

 

 

The northern end of Broadway right before the Steel Mills

 

 

Awesome!

Wow, thanks for sharing.

Depressing.

Nice job! I'm pretty sure I've never been in that part of the city. Despite the hard-times aura of the place, there are some wonderful buildings that look fairly intact.

Interesting.  If they just cleaned up that holy mess of wires it would be a HUGE improvement.  Is this the area once known as "Goosetown"?

Aww. Broadway looks like it could possibly benefit quite a bit from some streetscaping andf traffic calming improvements. Install some raised medians with trees, curb bumpouts, add more plants/flowers, nice street lamps, sharrows, bike racks, scooter parking, metered parking for cars (under the condition that meter revenue will go back to Broadway), and of course some actual crosswalks. With those investments entrepreneurs and developers will certainly be more likely to consider improving this business district.

Thanks for the pics!

 

Yes, Broadway and E. 55th is an area which would look GREAT with some reinvestment into the area.  It is the one example which I can think of on the east side which is an INTACT satellite downtown, as the ones located at E. 55th and Euclid, and E. 105th and Euclid were demolished long ago.  There's some great building stock still standing in that neighborhood, and who knows:  as Slavic Village was at the center of the foreclosure crisis, maybe the neighborhood will become the testing grounds for a new type of sustainable urban living in the city.

 

Once again, thanks for the pics!

Innnteresting.

Broadway/Slavic Village will always have a soft spot in my heart.  My grandparents lived on E55th just north on Fleet, and in the mid 80's it was still safe enough to ride bikes as a tot in that area.  Unfortunately with the closing of the Riverview public housing in Ohio City, many of the residents from there moved directly into Slavic Village within a year or 2 and the place has gone down hill ever since.  Broadway and E55th was once Cleveland's second largest retail district, and while much of it still remains I feel it is only a matter of time until more significant demolition occurs.

For a few years in the early 2000's there was a bit of momentum going for the neighborhood, there were even illusions of Slavic Village becoming the next Tremont except possibly more dense and diverse.  However, with the aforementioned foreclosure crisis hitting the neighborhood hard, most of that momentum has subsided.  I have hope for the area though as it has in my opinion has the most potential and retains a relatively significant density.

It is hard to pin point exactly what would save Broadway.  I thought when Third Federal opened their new headquarters at 71st and Aetna, it would be a huge shot in the arm for the district, and get it going. However, there was very, very little spin off from it.  To me, it seems like one of those neighborhoods that is too far off the beaten path, along the roads least travelled in Cleveland, which sares people away. 

^True. The area could go with the Tremont/Ohio City/North Collinwood route and transform downtown Broadway into an arts district... however we all know that the change takes years.  That may help change the "perception" of the neighborhood in the short term, however, which could help the most. 

 

I remember a gang in the neighborhood which was taken down early in Jackson's administration.  Has the crime in the neighborhood declined?  Perception can only go so far... if reinvestment actually occurs, crime is obviously a deterrent.

Despite its great "bones", that neighborhood will never recover... at least no in my lifetime.  And I am OK with that.  Geographically speaking, it is exactly where the ghetto (and every major city has more than one) should be for several reasons - far from the lake but not too far from downtown and UC, close to the projects, and lots of public transportation and highway access.

Wow, great photo tour!  Still several old world businesses clicking along and lots of intact commercial building stock.  I agree that this neighborhood is going to be tough to turn around though; its psychological distance from downtown is huge, unlike Tremont and Ohio City, so even Cleveland-style low grade "gentrification" seems pretty unlikely.  Who knows, maybe the commercial stuff will outlive all the residences and will be a nucleus for redevelopment in 50 years...

^Yep, that's probably what's going to happen seeing that Slavic Village had over 1900 foreclosures between 2006 and 2008.  This neighborhood will be a great urban experiment in the reuse of land within a true urban area.

BTW, excellent thread! Two things have to happen before this area can come back. First, greater awareness of its existence (things like this thread would help), secondly, get rid of the gang elements. Crime will always occur, but gangs are a festering cancer on a neighborhood.

What a shame.  Imagine all those homes used to be filled with families, kids walking to school, etc.  Now this.  I used to visit a guy (Bob) who lived near Fleet Avenue in the 70's and it was getting rough then, but nothing like it is now.  I don't think crime is the problem, I think it is the end result.  The problem is lack of working class jobs; something someone with a high school or less education can succeed with.  Even then, Bob had to drive out to Solon to work in the factory I worked at.  I can't believe that there are not any light industrial jobs we could attract to Cleveland.  I believe we are not really trying.  If we did, most everything would reverse itself, including crime.

Great photo tour. There is some tremendous architecture there. Unfortunately, in our state, a neighborhood has to hit rock bottom before it can recover. And if any road could use a BRT, it's Broadway, to improve access to downtown. To me, it seems the no-mans land (er, wasteland) of highway interchanges, post office and railroad tracks along Broadway from I-77 northwest to Progressive Field is a bigger barrier than the Cuyahoga valley is to Tremont and Ohio City. A BRT along with some screening/landscaping, highway caps and other amenities might provide a more attractive psychological linkage along Broadway between Slavic Village and downtown.

 

EDIT: upon further review, I might want to run a Broadway BRT north on East 55th then to Woodland to downtown as it would serve the new Arbor Park Village, Tri-C Metro, and the East 55th Rapid station to enable connections to University Circle, Shaker and the west side/airport. There is nothing to serve along Broadway in the wasteland I noted above.

It won't get any better until the crime and gang problem is eased and erased eventually. This part of Cleveland probably will never come back in my lifetime. I just hope the city doesn't turn into the next Detroit. A city council women said in the Plain Dealer that we have 15 yrs to get on track or we will be the next Detroit. I really hope that doesn't happen, because Cleveland is a true city with so much.

It won't get any better until the crime and gang problem is eased and erased eventually. This part of Cleveland probably will never come back in my lifetime. I just hope the city doesn't turn into the next Detroit. A city council women said in the Plain Dealer that we have 15 yrs to get on track or we will be the next Detroit. I really hope that doesn't happen, because Cleveland is a true city with so much.

 

Don't read the Plain Dealer.

This is one of the most "quintessentially Cleveland" photo threads I've ever seen!  I love it!  It really brings across the "sense of place" of Cleveland's neighborhoods... distinctive Cleveland housing vernacular... ethnic totems... commercial enterprises of yesteryear and today... Bravo, Clueless, Ohio!

nice pictures. lately my work has not taken me down broadway as much as in the past. I have many mixed feelings about the neighborhood. In one sense, clearly depicted in the media, it it is very destressed. In another view, there are quiet, tidy streets with peaceful churches and authentic markets (where the best suasages and pierogis can be found). I don't have any answers, but wish this community the best as it exibits some special qualities.

It won't get any better until the crime and gang problem is eased and erased eventually. This part of Cleveland probably will never come back in my lifetime. I just hope the city doesn't turn into the next Detroit. A city council women said in the Plain Dealer that we have 15 yrs to get on track or we will be the next Detroit. I really hope that doesn't happen, because Cleveland is a true city with so much.

 

As others have said, crime is a symptom not a cause. And has few people have understood, the best social program is a job.

My friend lives in the old Board of Education building on E. 63 just north of the Village.  It is a nice building and they did a nice job converting it into rentals.  I don't know the exact measurements, but I'd guess the ceilings are 15-20 feet, with large paneled windows in his main living space (he has a corner unit).  It might be considered a studio (?) because, although it has a separate bedroom and office, the walls separating the rooms are probably only 10 or 12 feet high.

 

This is it -

 

http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=41.475853,-81.646727&spn=0.00086,0.004812&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=41.475852,-81.646725&panoid=XFGXIruJXVDtW5vkrVj_FQ&cbp=11,322.94,,0,5.08

 

The building is secure and they have a gated parking lot.  Sad thing is that there is a large park across the street and I don't think anyone in the building uses it.

 

I thought the owner of this building also owns the complex on the southeast corner of that intersection and had some aspirations for redevelopment.  If you pan over on the link I posted, there is a sign saying something like "New Housing for Cleveland", but I can't make it out completely.

My mom lived over there when she first moved to Cleveland.

... Who knows, maybe the commercial stuff will outlive all the residences and will be a nucleus for redevelopment in 50 years...

 

I do think that if there is any good scenario for this neighborhood it will be more likely that the commercial structures will survive than the residential do. Also, not really commercial, but some of the churches and their congregations continue to stand the test of time...St. Stanislaus is the epicenter of the Polish community of Ohio, not just Cleveland. It underwent a renovation 10 yrs ago and was said that its interior rivaled the churches of Europe.

But with residential it's no secret that this area has a high foreclosure rate, even though some streets / areas are fine while other streets have an abundance:

 

 

 

Occasionally ,though, ones like this pop up somewhere (this is by Bohemian Nat'l Hall)

 

 

 

The remaining big brick and stone commercial buildings will probably survive long after the homes.

They just need continuous tenants and some on-going maintenance. And to be left there...

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of the most "quintessentially Cleveland" photo threads I've ever seen!  I love it!  It really brings across the "sense of place" of Cleveland's neighborhoods... distinctive Cleveland housing vernacular... ethnic totems... commercial enterprises of yesteryear and today... Bravo, Clueless, Ohio!

 

Evergrey, Thanks for those words of enthusiasm

excellent work -- this is the full cleveland.

 

Interesting. If they just cleaned up that holy mess of wires it would be a HUGE improvement.

 

if those wires weren't around town looking like that r. crumb would never have had a career!

 

As others have said, crime is a symptom not a cause. And has few people have understood, the best social program is a job.

 

Can the city hire the local unemployed to clean-up and rehab the area?  Kill two birds with one stone.

 

^ I don't think there's a possibility of something like that happening anytime soon.

The neighborhoods of Slavic Village and Broadway cover a lot of ground, plus the city doesn't have any "disposable income" right now for new hires ... as most cities (pretty much all governmental agencies in general) are cash-strappped.

 

Here is a website with some info on the neighborhood

 

 

As I have recently poked around this neigborhood.. I have discovered that there is far more enthusiasm for it than one would have thought; far more interest and unique discoveries. The new Arcadia book about the neighborhood/area is really nice...also the visitors center at Mill Creek.  If such was the choice now......I'll take a newly energized Bway.S. Village neighborhood anyday over Tremont.  Not taking anything away from Tmont, though, I like it.... but just too 'faddish' for me for lack of a better way to put it. By the way, that large house is gaining a lot of interest from buyers who see turning it into a Bed and Breakfast and is on "This Old House." I learned that it was in good shape inside--all original.