Chinatown is one of Cleveland's most exciting -- and least publicized -- neighborhoods. When I first moved back a few months ago, I was stunned by how extensive the area is, stretching from the E. 20s to the E. 50s and beyond along St. Clair, Superior and Payne avenues. I have heard that it offers the largest collection of Asian retail between New York and Chicago.

 

Making the neighborhood even more irresistible is an emerging population of artists and artisans living in the area's old loft buildings, some of which have been legally rezoned as live-work spaces.

 

Cleveland has had a Chinatown since the 19th century. Early on, it was downtown, in what's now the Warehouse District. It later moved to Rockwell Avenue around E. 21st Street, and then to its present location along St. Clair, Superior and Payne avenues between the E. 20s and E. 50s.

 

I was out this morning taking photos for a class I'm in, and couldn't resist snapping a few extras of the neighborhood to show you guys. It was snowy out, as you'll see in the photos, but I thought that added to the charm. Here, then, is the tour -- consider it my holiday gift to the board! ;)

 

First, "old" Chinatown -- Rockwell between E. 21st and E. 24th and environs.

 

A street sign.

 

The Rockwell streetscape.

 

Shanghai Restaurant, open til 11 p.m.

 

Chinese Merchants Association building.

 

The beautiful mosaic entrance to the Chinese Merchants Association's building.

 

Detail of the building.

 

Cleveland Asian Youth Club.

 

Gold Coins Restaurant.

 

A nice, dense streetscape looking south on E. 21st Street toward Cleveland State University.

 

Welcome to (old) Chinatown sign, seen from the parking lot of Phoenix Coffee.

 

Phoenix Coffee on E. 21st and Superior, a local brewer since 1976.

 

Superior Avenue streetscape looking east from E. 21st. Most of these are live-work.

 

The famous Tower Press building at E. 18th and Superior.

 

 

Now on to "new" Chinatown, reinhabiting a traditionally Eastern European neighborhood between the E. 20s and E. 50s.

 

Evidence of the transition: an Asian seafood restaurant abuts the famous Slyman's deli -- home of Cleveland's largest corned beef sandwich.

 

Vestiges of an old Croatian neighborhood remain (Croatian Tavern at E. 33rd and St. Clair).

 

Asia Food Company, a large Asian supermarket.

 

Inside Asia Food Co.

 

Asia Food Co. customers load their car with purchases. In the background is the old St. Josaphat Roman Catholic Church, which has been freshly converted to an art gallery and artists' studios.

 

Daniel's Home Furnishings, Payne Avenue and E. 27th.

 

#1 Pho, a fantastic Vietnamese restaurant, Superior and E. 30th.

 

The gorgeous Mueller Building, being converted to loft apartments, E. 31st between Superior and Payne.

 

Cleveland hero Dave's Supermarket. This is their first location in the city, on Payne at E. 36th; a new facade is being constructed.

 

Factory Xpress, a clothing store at E. 37th and Payne.

 

A cold shopper on Payne Avenue.

 

The just-opened Payne Commons, featuring Garden Cafe, Koko's Bakery and a hair salon.

 

Next door, Friendship Auto Service.

 

Adaptive reuse in its purest form: A pizzeria becomes a Korean restaurant. Next door is a convenience market.

 

The beautiful Payne Avenue Lofts, just-completed loft conversions at Payne and E. 37th. Half the units pre-sold.

 

Just down the street is this beauty; inquiring urbanist minds want to know when it will be converted!

 

Asian Evergreen Apartments -- housing for Chinese senior citizens, E. 38th and Payne.

 

Shovelworks, a live-work building on E. 40th between Payne and Superior.

 

Detail -- I love this building.

 

Flying the banner of City Artists at Work, an organization of Cleveland artists in the live-work district (http://www.cityartistsatwork.org)

 

Tenant mix at Shovelworks.

 

On the same block, Graphic Arts Centre.

 

Also on the same block, the beautiful Loftworks building, which is legal live-work.

 

North Presbyterian Church, E. 40th and Superior.

 

The Tyler Village building, discussed in another thread, dating from about 1880. At Superior and E. 36th.

 

Right across from Tyler on Superior are more Asian retailers. China Merchandise Exhibit.

 

Next door, Korean House Family Restaurant.

 

Korean House also has a billiards hall.

 

Sweethearts, a new Asian candy store that is just about to open its doors, on the other side of China Merchandise Exhibit.

 

Hi-Low's Pub, serving the area's warehouse employees. Right next to Sweethearts on Superior.

 

Asian Town Center, coming to E. 38th and Superior. I don't like all the surface parking fronting on Superior, but oh well... (http://www.asiantowncenter.com for more info)

 

Tink Holl, Chinatown's largest market, in Man Kam Plaza. The plaza itself is a renovated factory building, on E. 36th between Payne and Perkins.

 

The entrance to Tink Holl.

 

The Chinatown destination probably best-known to whites and suburbanites: Asia Plaza, at E. 30th and Payne.

 

Inside Asia Plaza, a mix of Chinese herbalists, general merchandisers, restaurants and businesses.

 

Inside Asia Plaza.

 

Making a sale at Tak Yuen Tong, a Chinese herbal store at Asia Plaza.

 

A bulletin board at Asia Plaza advertises houses for rent, a piano for sale... and who knows what else???

 

That's the end of the tour. As you can probably tell, I love this neighborhood...

I can't believe the Shanghai Restaurant is still there! I went on a field trip there (following a visit to the venerable Cleveland Art Museum) back in 19... (Well, it was a long, long time ago. I'm old!) when I was in the 9th grade, back before Chinese cuisine was as ubiquitous as it is today. It really had an "old Chinatown" feel to it.

Hurray for this thread, I have been waiting for I dont know how long to see this one.

^ditto! ditto!

 

great work. it all looks fantastic in the snow. some shots made me think harvey pekar was going to come grumbling around the corner -- i love it.

 

a bug in an otherwise cool area is that i am disappointed in the style of mike white's asian plaza and the new plaza to be, i wish they were more urban and street oriented than car oriented. what went all wrong there in the designs i dk. too bad. i hope other new structures eventually make up for it.

 

good to know there is even more visible chinese industry than all that, like auto repair and some other stuff. also, he did not even show the big dim sum restaurants like bo loong. ah heck ignore my nit picking, this is one of my fav nabes in the city, it's booming along, yet is under publicized.

 

great work blinker that thread really put me in the holiday spirit....chinese new year is coming up pretty soon (2006=year of the dog)!

 

Thanks!

Yeah, there are plenty of other establishments I could have pictured, but I only had so much time. As it is, I think this gives the picture of a fairly bustling, incredibly diverse neighborhood.

Interesting.

Awesome... didn't know there was a Chinatown in Cleveland.

Very neat. I think I heard there was a China town but dismissed it like the migget (sp?) town rumor in Cincy.

 

I recognize the "lighthouse" from KJV's post.

^Yeah, the "lighthouse" is the Tower Press building. Legal live-work lofts in an old textile factory.

Great thread.  One of my favorite neighborhoods.

Wow, I never realized Cleveland had a Chinatown.  Great thread!

Wow, I never realized Cleveland had a Chinatown.  Great thread!

 

Again...another neighborhood in the city that people don't know about.  We're constantly throwing our eggs into the "warehouse district", "tremont", "ohio city" basket.

 

The central, chinatown/Asian Village (i thought they wanted to change it to Asian village to entice all Asian business to concentrate in the area?  can anyone confirm??), Upper Prospect, Detroit-Shoreway are just a few nabes with lots going on...yet nobody knows!

 

This is one of my top five complaints about the city.  Exciting things going on, yet its not publicized or marketted!

 

And yes we have one of the largest "china towns" in country, I would love to see some "asian inspired" entry markers and housing for the area.

It's kind of a hard neighborhood to package because it has no identifiable center as compared to the Warehouse District (East Sixth St.), Ohio City (Westside Market) or Tremont (Lincoln Park).  Something of that sort needs to be developed in order to give it that sort of easily identifiable personality (assuming that is a good thing-it's gotten this far without lots of attention). 

 

As for the other neighborhoods you mentioned, Central and Upper Prospect don't really have much going on for anyone looking to come in and visit.  There are very few shops that most people would want to go into in Central, and few if any of interest on Prospect.  There is no nightlife in that area.  New homeshopping is mostly limited to Central's nice but generic Homeownership Zone.

 

I think Detroit-Shoreway is getting quite a bit of publicity.  It has tremendous momentum, and I think anyone who would care probably knows that.  Alot of people just don't care.  But I bet those people probably don't know what is going on in OC or Tremont, either.

I say market and densly develop payne ave from the innerbelt to railroad bridge. Much like w25th near the market has been developed.

Great tour! Thanks!

As mrnyc said - this is a great tour of an area that not many people know about, and there are still spots for the next thread - Tink Holl Market on 36th comes to mind. They were originally located in Asia Plaza but moved out to expand their operations.

 

Excellent job!  :clap:

As mrnyc said - this is a great tour of an area that not many people know about, and there are still spots for the next thread - Tink Holl Market on 36th comes to mind. They were originally located in Asia Plaza but moved out to expand their operations.

 

 

Asian Plaza has been losing some retailers over the last couple of years.  I don't think it is bad news for the neighborhood per se because as you mentioned, Tink Holl Market moved out to expand.  I don't know about the rest, but I think that they aren't as important on balance considering the overall commercial growth of the area.  Asian Plaza will hopefully regain its competitiveness when they get done with the expansions that they have planned.  They are going to be building off the north side of the building to add a larger grocery store space.  They have renderings in the window where Tink Holl was located.

 

BTW- D'Angelo's Pizza didn't become Seoul Hot Pot, they are both still operating in there.  It's a combination pizzaria/Korean BBQ!

As someone else mentioned, a lot of the new Asian commercial construction in the neighborhood is very car-oriented, which inhibits the area's walkability (and therefore its "coolness" factor) somewhat. Yet I would say the continuing loft conversions more than make up for this. Heck, if I can afford it in a few years, I'd look into buying at the Mueller Building. That location is simply superb, and the building itself is gorgeous. I'd be within a five-minute walk of just about everything in this thread -- a full-service grocery store, Asian markets galore, and a five-minute bus ride to downtown.

 

Oh, and X, thanks for the info about the pizzeria. I'll have to drop in there sometime!

^^ Me too, I like Mueller Building, if I had the money. I'm all about wanting this one, because its 'most affordable' without sacrifice of a lot of space. http://www.muellercondominiums.com/Unit220.html

wow, B12!  Great thread!  This is something we've been talking about on here for some time, but no one has responded with a photo tour this extensive!  Great work!  And considering you did it amidst snow storms and finals week makes it even more impressive!

 

And all those comments about how little neighborhoods like this are publicized and how few Clevelanders (let alone Ohioans) know about them... take note of B12's activism... Chinatown and the Live-Work District are on his two Emerging Cleveland tours that will run in the next month!  Talk about putting your money where your mouth is!

As far as a livable neighborhood, I agree that most Clevelanders aren't aware of the options in/near Chinatown. I will say though, that there's one aspect that does get a lot of publicity - the restaurants. Bo Loong, #1 Pho, and Siam Cafe are really popular with most Cleveland "foodies" - check the Food and Wine Forum over at cleveland.com which is mostly suburbanites, but they're definitely aware of the restaurant scene in Chinatown. I've seen reviews for all of the above in Scene, Free Times, Northern Ohio Live and Cleveland Magazine, so it's not like the local media is unaware of it. Remember, once Tremont's restaurant scene took off - investment started pouring in  :-)

Thanks MGD. :)

Most 'holiday' gifts are much less enjoyable...thanks blinker

Well, I feel like a jerk - I didn't get you anything.

 

Seriously, great pictures B12!  You're good at this tour thing, huh?  I can't wait to try out some of those restaurants...I've heard #1 Pho is amazing.  And I just love "Friendship Auto Services" - it puts such a happy spin on an otherwise not so exciting establishment!

 

i was just at Siam Cafe this week.  it was a wednesday night and the place was packed with a lot of suburbanites

Very interesting thread.  I don't think I'm such a big fan of the Asian Town Center either, blinker12.

Edited to include a couple photos of Tink Holl.

Nice update blinker12.... FKA blinkly..... AKA b12 .... currently know as "the Mayor of Chinatown"  :-D

 

Cleveland's biggest asset is its multicultural neighborhoods which are a draw for those living in other cities that don't have the ethnic diversity we have!  I understand that chinatown gets visitors from as far away is mid Penn or Mid Ill.

^I find that hard to believe, as most outside of Cleveland have no idea Cleveland has a small district devoted towards Asians.

I'd bet that if people are coming that far (and I have heard that they are as well), they are coming for the specific stores and such, not for the district itself.  It's a pretty good selection of import stores for the Midwest.

^That seems more reasonable.

Cleveland's Chinatown is geared much more toward Asians themselves than to tourists and people of other races, which is probably why more people don't know about it. That's a mixed blessing; it keeps the area authentic but limits the customer base. As the district matures and continues to expand, I think you'll see it get greater "mainstream" publicity.

Thanks for posting those pictures. That is a cool neighborhood.

yea i have several friends who are asian and are not from cleveland, but they knew of some of the places in chinatown.  id say that many clevelanders dont even know about the neighborhood. 

Interestingly, there's a Little Albania district just east of Chinatown, near East 55th and St. Clair, that saw a boost in ethnic population during and after the 1990s war in what was Yugoslavia. I suspect the ethnic population there has leveled off, but it could be nurtured further by drawing to it more Slavics, Croations and Albanians that are already in country.

 

Imagine just east of downtown, an expanding Chinatown, followed by and abutting an expanding Little Albania. I think that promoting both would be a great way to re-establish some of Cleveland's ethnic neighborhoods.

nice job! I love this neighborhood too. thought very seriously about buying in loft works or Payne ave lofts, but wanted to be able to have more diversity of places to walk around too. I would live to see this area connected by trolley to downtown, ohio city, flats and tremont. wouldnt that be a dream?

new albanian's coming to cleveland? wow thats interesting news to me kjp. it is the first i have heard of any new immigration at all since the russian jews came in to ne ohio for awhile in the 90's. btw, if you see an albanian restaurant, stop in and order a burek and you'll get on their good side right away. very meaty & tasty stuff.

 

my experience is albanian's are or were flocking around the bronx little italy (ny's last real little italy). they opened small storefront social clubs, bakery's and restaurants and took over some combo pizza joints. i think the wave cooled out here too, not sure.

 

i am glad to hear of some recent immigrant action in clevo.

 

 

Back in my urban geography class the professor took census data and showed where all the current ethnicities reside on a GIS map. As expected it was predominantly white on the west side, predominatly black on the east side, a pocket of white where little italy is, asians in the chinatown area, and a clump of unknown at E 55th and st claire/superior general area. Finnaly an answer to that oddball spot nobody could figure out.

I edited my earlier message to note that, in addition to Albanians, the other ethnic group was Croation, not just Slavic.

my understanding and experience is that there is also a few jamaicans around there too.

I'd like to add there are somolians.

 

This area is our own lil United Nations

There is also a Puerto Rican Community in that area.

Great name for a mixed-ethnic neighborhood: The United Nations!

^hehehehe. Good one!

Seriously, one could do countless photo threads of this area. The ethnic diversity is truly astounding, and not something you find many other places in the world. What I posted here barely scratches the surface.

There is also a Puerto Rican Community in that area.

 

Boricuas??  Donde??

 

Great name for a mixed-ethnic neighborhood: The United Nations!

 

I think we should see if there can be some signature Sub Hoods of Sterling Payne.  Similar to how Larchmere is a sub nabe of of Shaker Square.

Chinatown: 12 places to visit

Sunday, January 22, 2006

 

World Cup Coffee Roasters, 2102 St. Clair Ave.

 

Bo Loong Chinese Restaurant, 3922 St. Clair Ave.

 

Siam Café, 3951 St. Clair Ave.

 

Asia Plaza, 2999 Payne Ave.

 

Seoul Hot Pot, 3709 Payne Ave.

 

Artefino Art Gallery Café, Tower Press Building, 1900 Superior Ave.

 

Phoenix Coffee, 2155 Superior Ave.

 

Pho Hoa Restaurant, 3030 Superior Ave.

 

No. 1 Pho, 3120 Superior Ave.

 

Korea House, 3700 Superior Ave.

 

Town Fryer, 3859 Superior Ave.

 

Tastebuds, 1400 East 30th St.

 

 

There also was an article about the Tyler Village development as part of today's PD section on Chinatown, but I posted that article in the Tyler Village string at:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4058.msg72033#msg72033

http://www.cyburbia.org/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=District/Chinatown&page=1&perpage=9&what=allfields&=&action=

 

I found this photo thread containin chinatown pics while surfing the web. Pics are older but contains buildings not found in the orginal. Thought it would be appropriate to throw the link up here

Free Times

August 9, 2006

 

All Bark

More Fiberglass Animals, With Neighborhood Flair

By Liz Logan

 

Chicago had cows, Cincinnati had pigs, Baltimore had fish, Sacramento had lions. We've done guitars, and now Cleveland has 25 dogs named Lucky in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood.

 

With each new city that finds its animal identity, the message becomes clearer: Public art equals fiberglass animals on street corners. Luckily for Lucky, the St. Clair-Superior Development Corp.'s Year of the Dog Project gives the mass fiberglass gimmick a small-scale neighborhood focus and cultural awareness ...

 

More at http://www.freetimes.com/story/560

Looks cool.