i love those things, i hope they do that every year and make them bigger and have more

From what I understand, that's the purpose of the auction. With any luck, they'll be able to auction the dogs off to fund future years of the program. There was also some talk of reserving one dog (and one of each future year's animals) as the centerpieces of a St. Clair-Superior Chinese Zodiac garden. At any rate, if the CDC gets sufficient funding, we can look forward to Pigs, Rats and Oxen in the coming years!

I saw 2 today while shopping at the Asia Food Market on St Clair-they look great. A colorful treat in the minimalist industrial area.

The October issue of Cleveland Magazine rates Chinatown as Cleveland's most underrated neighborhood!

 

Great foot, great art: Cleveland's Chinatown neighborhood, just east of downtown, is waking up like Tremont and Ohio City did a decade or two ago. Maybe the turning point came when artists took over the old warehouses and the city welcomed them by making their live-work spaces legal. Now, art-hops includ open houses out east at spots such as Convivium 33 on East 33rd Street, a deconsecrated church turned gallery. Meanwhile, Superior Avenue at East 31st Street has become a Little Saigon, with the trendy restaurant #1 Pho facing off against Superior Pho facing off against Superior Pho (formerly Pho Hoa), its friendly competition in the Golden Plaza next door. Older favorites such as the huge, open-late Chinese restaurant Li Wah at East 30th and Payne and Siam Cafe at East 45th and St. Clair still offer some of Greater Cleveland's best, most adventurous Asian food. Korea is represented too, by the out-of-the-way Seoul Hot Spot on Payne and Korea House on Superior. The neighborhood's art project this summer - cleverly painted ceramic dogs standing near landmark businesses, celebrating China's Year of the Dog - is only the latest sign that creativity is remaking Chinatown. St. Clair, Superior and Payne avenues between E. 30th and E. 45th Street.

 

Elsewhere in its Best of Cleveland section, bubble tea is named Cleveland's best sipping beverage (the magazine notes its availability at Koko Bakery, Payne Avenue and 37th) and the sinfully delicious Town Fryer's (Superior Avenue and 38th) portable confessional booth is named the best place to sin and atone. Meanwhile, readers named Slyman's (St. Clair Avenue and 31st) the best corned beef citywide. Me thinks Cleveland has Chinatown on the brain!

Cool!  :mrgreen:

So, do we want to brand this neighborhood?  Do we want to market it more as a whole?  Or do we like the way it's going just fine?  So, I guess it's a question of organic growth versus planned growth...

St. Clair Superior, MidTown and The Quadrangle are working collaboratively right now to establish a neighborhood-wide strategic plan. They are still in the initial steps of the planning process but are currently considering a number of branding proposals from design firms. In the end, they hope to launch a separate neighborhood website, establish a neighborhood name (Chinatown v. Asia Village v. Near East Village) and commission a number of unifying public art elements (distinctive street signs, storefront signage, banners, public art, possibly even a Chinatown gate). And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I think a lot of interesting things are going to come out of this process, particularly if these efforts are incorporated into expanding efforts around the Live-Work Overlay District (the district lines of Chinatown fall almost completely within the Live-Work overlay) and the Design District.

wow, fantastic! thanks for that 8SoG!

Oh God.  Please no gate.  I think that is so tacky.  I do think the area should keep its sub-areas.  I love the Asian Village name instead of ChinaTown.  Its unique and something we need.

Oh God.  Please no gate.  I think that is so tacky.  I do think the area should keep its sub-areas.  I love the Asian Village name instead of ChinaTown.  Its unique and something we need.

i like asia village too. So many places start breaking ot down...Japan Town, Korea Town etc. So this would be more forward thinking to call it Asian Village instead of China Town

I'm personally a fan of Near East. Not sure I like Near East Village; if asked where you live, saying "Near East Village" sounds like you're commuting from NYC. But Near East pays homage to the neighborhood's history (according to one of the CDC reps, the area was originally called Near East Village), gives people unfamiliar with the area an immediate geographic orientation, is consistent with existing descriptions of Cleveland's "Near West" and could provide some unique-to-Cleveland branding, playing on the whole juxtaposition between the Far East and Cleveland's own Near East.

^ funny that you call it that, b/c now that I think of it I already call the area "the near east side" kind of like "the near west side" . I always qualify my preferences for a part of town by this "near" thing.  such as I like the "near east and west side best" . When you say "near east" are thinking in terms of geogrpahy to downtown Cleveland. or a play on words the Far East (being Asia)/ Near East (being our cleveland asian area) ?

^ funny that you call it that, b/c now that I think of it I already call the area "the near east side" kind of like "the near west side" . I always qualify my preferences for a part of town by this "near" thing.  such as I like the "near east and west side best" . So when you say "near east" are thinking in terms of geogrpahy to downtown Cleveland. or a play on words the Far East (being Asia)/ Near East (being our cleveland asian area) ?

 

edit: nevermind I see what you are saying. did you edit?

I might have ... I have a bad habit of sneaking in those last minute edits unannounced  :-)

Oh God.  Please no gate.  I think that is so tacky.  I do think the area should keep its sub-areas.  I love the Asian Village name instead of ChinaTown.  Its unique and something we need.

 

I like the gate idea. I've seen gates used in Washington D.C. and San Francisco's Chinatowns and they unify and define the area better, which is something our Chinatown needs badly.

 

Can you imagine this in the middle of Payne?

 

I'm also in favour of anything that is not "Chinatown". Giving it that name would just generate unfair comparisons between Cleveland and other cities and discourage Asians of other nationalities.

^ funny that you call it that, b/c now that I think of it I already call the area "the near east side" kind of like "the near west side" . I always qualify my preferences for a part of town by this "near" thing.  such as I like the "near east and west side best" . When you say "near east" are thinking in terms of geogrpahy to downtown Cleveland. or a play on words the Far East (being Asia)/ Near East (being our cleveland asian area) ?

 

I like that, but you have to have "the" preceding it... ie: "The Near East" since no one says just "Far East." They say "The Far East."

 

I'm sold on "The Near East" (without the word "side" at the end).

ahhh. so key word is "The"?  gee you'd think you had some background in words or something.

instead of a gate put up a big towering post with bruce lee, sonny chiba, chow yun fat, jackie chan, jet li & wushu pics all around it and some ninja death stars stuck into it. now that would be ef'ing cool.

instead of a gate put up a big towering post with bruce lee, sonny chiba, chow yun fat, jackie chan, jet li & wushu pics all around it and some ninja death stars stuck into it. now that would be ef'ing cool.

 

I know I'd love it if the city promoted racial stereotypes :P

If expense was not an issue, I would love to see a "signature gate" for The Near East (definitely digging the name). Instead of a traditional gate, how about a dragon that looks out over the lake from St. Clair, dips into the ground, reemerges in a more traditional arch shape over Superior Avenue and reemerges again to finish on Payne. Just an idea ... my larger point is that we should invest in a gate that a) is distinctive from the gates of other "Chinatowns" and b) that pays homage to a variety of Asian cultures.

I think it's important to retain Chinatown or Asian Village as a name, because those would have immediate associations for people and make clear that there is a strong Asian presence in the area. The nabe could also be referred to generically as the Near East Side (or "The Near East," if we insist), much like Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway and sometimes Edgewater are referred to as a whole as the Near West Side.

 

Chinatown's biggest problem is that it lacks density and walkability. Things like gates and signage can help in an overall streetscape plan, but first I'd like to see developers in the neighborhood get away from building parking areas for each establishment and come up with a plan for district parking that would encourage people to walk down Payne, Superior and St. Clair and truly explore the neighborhood. This makes sense not only from an urban design standpoint (more people on the sidewalk = greater vibrance and better perceived safety), but from a business standpoint. If people walk by more than one establishment, they're more likely to buy stuff from more than one place.

^ I absolutely agree. Walkability remains an issue in the neighborhood. That being said, despite inhospitable roads and the antiquated surface lots that plague not only Chinatown but the entire city, I've noticed some strong (by Cleveland standards) pedestrian density on Payne between about 30th and 38th.

 

District parking and other physical improvements with a pedestrian orientation are absolutely necessary start. I also think the participating CDCs could be capitalizing on the density of restaurants, bars, galleries and retail to create some pedestrian magnetism. Outdoor markets/bazaars, art walks and trolley tours/walking tours (including some with Asian language tourguides) would almost certainly increase pedestrian traffic in the neighborhood and create some consumer demand for pedestrian-oriented physical improvements. Moreover, signifying elements like signage should increase foot traffic for a) a neighborhood that many Clevelanders are unaware even exists and b) the large proportion of businesses that are tucked into nondescript buildings, e.g. Superior Pho and the tenants in its building, the Korean Market and adjacent tenants at 38ish and Superior and the number of businesses in the Asia Plaza complex.

 

Very good points though, Blinker, and certainly gives me some pause about the neighborhood name. I'm perplexed now, as they all have some downsides (Near East is too general and doesn't generate top-of-mind awareness of an Asian presence; Chinatown is exclusionary to other Asian nationalities; Asian Village sounds a bit like a development, particularly given the many shopping strips that already have Asian in the name).

Oh yes, those are great ideas for increasing pedestrian activity (markets, bazaars, etc) -- can you imagine big outdoor food markets in the summer? Maybe in one of the Dave's parking lots? Yum.

 

The pedestrian activity that currently exists is heavily concentrated around Dave's Supermarket. Much of it is people walking from the parking lots to the store and vice versa, though I do see some people venturing over to Tink Holl or down to Payne Avenue Commons (perhaps for some bubble tea). Better signage, programming and lighting would certainly help build on this.

 

As for the name, maybe we don't have to worry about it much. People will call it what they will, and whatever is most functional will stick, right? I know we still need a name for marketing efforts, in which case maybe "Asia Town" is preferable to Asian Village.

I think using gates as signage is an excellent idea. I would suggest something that incorporates "welcome" (in this example, the squares) in several different languages to reflect the fact that well, it's more "Asia Town" than "Chinatown". Thus, you'd have "Welcome" in Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc. I imagine the gate itself would have to be designed to include different stylistic elements as well:

 

instead of a gate put up a big towering post with bruce lee, sonny chiba, chow yun fat, jackie chan, jet li & wushu pics all around it and some ninja death stars stuck into it. now that would be ef'ing cool.

 

I know I'd love it if the city promoted racial stereotypes :P

 

race huh wha? those are very popular chinese movie stars. you went over my head like a crouching tiger hidden dragon character - woosh!

I remember from some work that I did in Seattle's International District (a similar Pan-Asian neighborhood) that gates, dragons, and red and gold were seen as symbols of China exclusively by members of other nationalities.  I don't know that it's possible to modify them so that they could be inclusive of the other Asian groups living there, let alone the substantial European, African American, and Puerto Rican communities living there.  Also, I wonder where a gate could go.  It seems that there is no one main entrance to the neighborhood because it is split along three major East West corridors and not really joined by any active cross street.  Perhaps East 30th needs to be remade to create a central axis for the three other corridors.

instead of a gate put up a big towering post with bruce lee, sonny chiba, chow yun fat, jackie chan, jet li & wushu pics all around it and some ninja death stars stuck into it. now that would be ef'ing cool.

 

I know I'd love it if the city promoted racial stereotypes :P

 

race huh wha? those are very popular chinese movie stars. you went over my head like a crouching tiger hidden dragon character - woosh!

 

Martial arts stars are not exactly the epitome of Asian culture, despite what most of the media portrays. I mean it's kind of like assuming the ladies who work in Koko's Bakery go around playing Pokemon, karate chopping people and eating dog after they get off work :bang:

Looking at the pix in the thread header Im reminded of that area south of the Chicago Loop..toward McCormick Place and Prairie Avenue, before it was gentrified.  This neighborhood really does have a "Chicago" feel to me  (maybe its the snow and the big brick factorys).

 

 

Also, this is pretty close in, it seems, based on the pix showing Cleveland State in the distance. 

 

I guess this would be some of the older housing stock in the city, huh? 

I was at the Cleveland Wine Fest this weekend and came across the tent for Studio of 5 Rings, it is above the futon store in Chinatown and bills itself as "Downtown Clevelands only Winery, Gallery, and Karate Studio" . Talk about mixed use. I actually tried the wine, and some were good, some ok. Low sulfates which is good for migraine sufferers. the grapes are from Calif.  and the wine made right here in Ctown. Even better they have free wine and cheese spread on Fri's to show the featured artists work. This is worth checking out!  :drunk:

http://www.studioof5rings.com/

A name that already rings with people, like Chinatown, usually only rings because it has been done before. And, as said before, it won't fit the item you're trying describe because you're forcing a square peg into a round hole (ie: there's more than just Chinese in Chinatown).

 

But if you use a new word like "Xerox," "Panasonic," "Kleenex" or "Brownfield," and explain it with a marketing campaign or some other means of repetition, it will become inseparable to the item it was designed to describe. It is like building the hole around the round peg.

 

Use the phrase "The Near East" in a marketing campaign for the area just east-northeast of downtown and it will soon become applicable to that area -- and nowhere else (even throughout the U.S.). But if we want to borrow someone else's name for purposes of expediency, that's too bad.

Is Cleveland's China town like an actual ethnic neighborhood or is it like 5 chinese establishments in a row so they're like "lets make it a district".

David, The area is heavily Asian. See the photos at the start of this thread if you haven't already. I've been to the Asia Food Co. (a supermarket) a few times, and I was a minority there. Most customers are Asian, and speak in their native languages. And, the last photo in the opening message gives a pretty good indication of the neighborhood's ethnicity...

 

Is Cleveland's China town like an actual ethnic neighborhood or is it like 5 chinese establishments in a row so they're like "lets make it a district".

 

Chinatown is sort of a sleeper district, in my opinion. It's always extremely busy but I'd say 90% of the people who frequent it are Asian immigrants and there are very few suburban visiter types like you see in Little Italy or Ohio City. It's a heck of a lot more than just a few Chinese takeout places, although a lot of people would never realise it. There are bakeries, hairsalons, grocery stores, drycleaners, restaurants, merchandise stores, all owned, operated, advertised toward and utilised by Asian immigrants.

Old Chinatown (along Rockwell, off of E. 21st) is more of what you're describing David ... a single row of Asian-front buildings. "New" Chinatown, on the other hand, encompasses about 10 city blocks along three major east-west thoroughfares, so it is a pretty substantial chunk of land. It also has a large Asian population ... according to REDIS, within a one-minute drive of my place in Chinatown (roughly CSU to the lakeshore, from the east side of downtown to about E. 48th), the population is 32% Asian. There are 21 restaurants in the same area; many of these offer Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese fare. There are also a number of Asian-styled grocers, Asian beauticians, an Asian DVD store ... the list goes on and on. Cleveland's Chinatown is fo' real.

instead of a gate put up a big towering post with bruce lee, sonny chiba, chow yun fat, jackie chan, jet li & wushu pics all around it and some ninja death stars stuck into it. now that would be ef'ing cool.

 

I know I'd love it if the city promoted racial stereotypes :P

 

race huh wha? those are very popular chinese movie stars. you went over my head like a crouching tiger hidden dragon character - woosh!

 

Martial arts stars are not exactly the epitome of Asian culture, despite what most of the media portrays. I mean it's kind of like assuming the ladies who work in Koko's Bakery go around playing Pokemon, karate chopping people and eating dog after they get off work :bang:

 

umm, so why would chinese people be anymore into a japanese cartoon that you or me?  :wink: btw eating dogs and cats is a real thing in some parts of china, korea too --- there is nothing racially loaded about that, it's just what they eat there.

 

i am going for the youth. youth and the creative class. put up a traditional arch for the bakery ladies and thats what you get. besides, it's been done to death in chinatowns elsewhere. my point is not really that particular idea it's just that....well can we get 'stupid fresh' here and be interesting for a change instead of copying some arch, esp so many eons after the fact of chinatown in cleveland? sure an arch is fine, but something/anything fresh to promote the district would not hurt either. so maybe my ninja death stars part is a bit over the top. ok, so hows about an arch incorporating video scenes? something with a more exciting modern twist instead of deadly dull traditional. thats all.

 

arches aside, i really liked x's idea to promote a 'main drag' like on e30th too.

 

 

 

I hate the idea of an "arch" but individual markers on each corner could work.  East 30 could be used as a "pan asian" gateway and maybe 45/50 street could be used as "international blvd" for the area.

 

But this doesn't help if there is no significant programming for the area on a wider scale.  Why no city wide pr campaign about traditional ASAIN holidays and celebrations.  These things raise the interest in the area.

 

As stated, this area is the "next" thing.  Now only if we could move/relocate all the buildings from hamilton going north to the lake, the area would have a "front lawn".  wishful thinking on my part

I just read an article on construction going on Rockwell Ave. to revitalize Cleveland's Chinatown and thought I'd see if anyone has any pictures and/or updates beyond the article!

 

Stroll up a once-desolate Rockwell Avenue, between East 21st and East 24th streets, and you may have to dodge Cantonese-speaking craftspeople busily at work.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/08/reviving_old_chinatown_whateve.html