Category: Cleveland

Posted on

Cleveland at Night









Here are some pictures I took tonight of the city. The clouds had a pink tint them and at the beginning of my photo session, you could really spot it. I’m amazed by the number of planes that fly into Cleveland. I must have counted at least a dozen of them while I was taking these pictures. One night, I’ll venture out on the Viaduct to take some more photos. My favorites are the Federal Courthouse, Rock Bottom Brewery and the span of the Detroit Superior Bridge.

Posted on

Terror In Tremont?

The following e-mail has been hitting inboxes all around Cleveland. I’m comparing it to a viral video. This isn’t an urban legend, it happened but I don’t know if I totally agree with the sender’s advice. I’ve removed their name but read for yourself.

Dear Friends & Family,

You all know that I am the first person to encourage others to visit
restaurants, venues, and bars in the city of Cleveland. However, I have to
urge all of you to STAY OUT OF TREMONT. Friday night I had dinner at the
South Side restaurant in Tremont. As I was walking back to my car with two
friends, we were approached by 4 young men. They robbed us at gunpoint
with a sawed off shotgun and another handgun.

The three of us are fine and not hurt – thank God. However, we were almost
standing directly in front of Parallax on the main street (W.11th) at 10pm –
never thinking that this would be dangerous. The police are all over the
case and have one person in custody. They also acquired the guns involved.
They know who the other three men are and are very confident that they
will be arrested soon. There has been 6 armed robberies in this area (by
Parallax and South Side restaurants) since October 10th.

We are working with the detectives and they have been great but until they
catch these guys you should all stay out of that area. These guys are gang
members and are not messing around. Please forward this on to anyone you
think would visit this area.

Anyone who knows me knows what I think of The South Side. The Restore Tremont organization calls the neighborhood, dynamic with a fascinating past and an exciting future. It has a tremendous nightlife anchored by The South Side, Parallax, The Treehouse and Lolita. People living around the area have their choice of no less than 20 churches. There are also about a dozen places to do some shopping. The neighborhood was once named University Heights because it hosted the city’s first institution of higher learning, Cleveland University. You’ll notice street names “Professor,” “College,” “University” and “Literary” reflect that history.

I’ve been going to the South Side after work for food and fun for months and I’ve never had a problem down in this area. Police should step up patrols and more streetlights need to be installed.

With the opening of Wal-Mart and the rest of the stores in Steelyard Commons down the street from Tremont, now is crucial time for the Cleveland neighborhood to get together against this sort of crime. Cleveland needs to use this opportunity to start attracting younger and older suburbanites, not scaring them away.

Tremont is no different from downtown Cleveland. Look what happened outside of Spy Bar in the Warehouse District. A man was shot in the street. It’s not out of the question to find a fight on the streets of West Sixth on a Friday or Saturday night. Are the actions of what happens there any different than any other entertainment district in any city of the country?

Look what happened in the Flats. It was once the entertainment destination in Cleveland. Often times when I tell people on flights where I’m from, they often mention the Flats and wonder if it’s still a good time. Sadly, I have to tell them no and what happened to cause its collapse. Hopefully, the redevelopment of the area will happen and bring another rebirth to Cleveland.

So is staying away the answer? I think the way to get rid of this violence is quite the opposite. Why should we let great businesses, like Parallax, Lolita and The South Side, die? Why should we allow an area that shows signs of life to decay? So is staying away the right idea? No! Is being alert of your surroundings a better one? Yes! We shouldn’t allow criminals to pull the plug on what many people have invested their time, money and sweat to create.

Posted on

One Game Away

Well to say Cleveland rocks is a little bit of an understatement. The Indians are one game away from a return trip to the World Series. There is an energy running through the town that we haven’t felt since the Cavaliers made it to the NBA Finals. This has been a great year for Cleveland and Ohio sports teams.

The playoffs are pumping millions of unaccounted for dollars into the Cleveland economy. The Boston Red Sox fans are having problems finding hotels because The Rubber Expo is in town. Anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 people are expected in town for the event. It’s being held at the Cleveland Convention Center.

So Cleveland is rockin’ both on the field and around the city. It’s different to run into someone with the Boston accent but they’re out there.

GO TRIBE!!

Posted on

Rock Hall Nominees

If it involves music, I have an opinion. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released its list of nominees for the 2008 class.

They are:

  • Madonna
  • John Mellencamp
  • Beastie Boys
  • Donna Summer
  • Chic
  • Afrika Bambaataa
  • Leonard Cohen
  • The Dave Clark Five
  • The Ventures

The top five vote getters get induction. There’s little chance Madonna will get passed up. Mellencamp has the same chances. I’d like to see The Dave Clark Five and The Ventures get the nod. The Ventures defined surf music and made a name for themselves without any vocals. I defy anyone to listen to “Because” by the Dave Clark Five and not love it. Their music ranges from the slow harmonic love ballad to the rowdy “Can’t You See That She’s Mine”.

British groups like the DC5 have a place in the Rock Hall but many of them still haven’t gotten the nomination, let alone the induction. How about the Moody Blues. I’m not a huge fan but they certainly have left their mark on rock and roll.

Some 500 musicians, industry professionals and journalists vote on the inductions. The ceremony will be held in New York City again. Not in Cleveland which is something that needs to change. If Cleveland’s good enough to have the Rock Hall, it’s good enough for the induction ceremony. ’nuff said!

Posted on

Warehouse District Spruce Up

I know a lot about the warehouse district. Before D’Vine, Liquid, Wish, Blue Pointe, XO and all of the apartments and condo, the effort was on to fix up the area. The Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation threw “Hats Off Parties” trying to raise money for the restoration project.
Now a bigger push is underway on several fronts. Robert L. Stark, of Stark Enterprises, is planning a multi-million redevelopment. He’s going to build retail, office, housing, and structured parking. The first phase is supposed to be finished by 2009. Stark already has opened a downtown headquarters for the project. Stark has the cash. He developed Crocker Park and it’s thriving in Westlake. Stark told the Jewish News “People want to live in a mixed-use environment and engage in the aesthetics of the urban experience. It’s about that buzz you get in urban places like Chicago and New York.”
Last week, (ironically while I was in Detroit) the Cleveland City Planning Commission approved plans from the Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation to add greenspace, banners, lights (my friend, Brad will love that since he’s moving to the area) and other developments which embrace the Warehouse District’s history. For the cleveland.com article, click here.
Posted on

Cleveland Blogs…

That’s not blogs in the noun sense… that’s blogs as a verb. If Cleveland Rocks then the city also does its share of blogging. A simple search on blogger will turn up around 3,600 profiles from people who claim Cleveland (proper), as I do, as their home.

I grew up Cleveland, suffered through the jokes, the questions on why I would want to live there, watched Cleveland TV, left Cleveland but ultimately came back to live. Will I spend the rest of my life here, I don’t know. My heart will always be here. People who know Cleveland, love Cleveland.

I just can’t believe how many people blog. I don’t know too many other people at my workplace who blog. I’m the recipient of some jokes but I’m okay with that. I’m intentionally linking to Christine’s blog. She’s moving back to Cleveland. Our region needs more of that. We need to stop the brain drain and convince people to stay here. We lose a lot of people to Chicago, the big Cleveland. I dare you to go to the Windy City and not bump into someone from Cleveland.

Cleveland has so many hidden gems people don’t know exist. Everyone knows the Orchestra but what about Ohio City, Tremont, Little Italy and the Metroparks.

Todd’s listening to: Barenaked Ladies – One And Only

Posted on

Construction Chaos Complete

When I lived in Detroit, it quickly became a pain to get back home to northern Ohio to see my family and friends because you’d have to go through Toledo. In 2001, ODOT began construction on what is now called the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway Bridge. It takes traffic over the Maumee River.

The cable-stayed bridge is the largest, most expensive single project in the history of the ODOT. It did not open without tragedy, five workers died during construction. A gantry truss on the main span collapsed in 2004. Four workers died and four others were hurt. That halted main construction for 16 months. Earlier this year, another worker died when platform gave way and he fell from the structure.

During construction, traffic was rerouted through all of the large cement supports. You ended up literally winding through a maze of huge columns. It severely slowed traffic to a crawl. Drivers didn’t have much choice but to take their foot off the gas for their own safety. I dealt with the construction almost every trip home during my three years in Detroit.

Now, I have to say it was worth it. Take a look at the picture at the top of this post. It gives Toledo’s skyline a modern update. It is a little scary crossing it. If you don’t like heights, you will probably want to stick to the inside lanes. On the outside lanes you feel as if you’re floating over the Maumee River. This weekend only four of the six lanes were open and they are still finishing up construction on parts of it.

ODOT’s next big project will be the Innerbelt Project in Cleveland. Ohio has to replace the aging span that crosses the Cuyahoga River. This summer, workers replaced a portion of the bridge because concrete was falling from the bridge. NewsChannel 5 reported on newsnet5.com this about the project in January 2007:

ODOT chose what is called a single tower cable stay for the new bridge.The new I-90 west bridge will be built north of the current Innerbelt Bridge, which carries almost 130,000 vehicles each day.The $275 million bridge is scheduled to begin construction in 2010 and is expected to wrap up in 2016.The entire project could end up costing more than $900 million.

We have a couple of years before Cleveland’s skyline gets a similar look as Toledo’s.

Posted on

Hidden Cleveland

Everyone knows about the Flats, East 4th, and West 6th. On any given night, you’ll find people on the West Bank at Shooters (in the spring, summer and fall), Flannery’s, Corner Alley, Pickwick and just name any of the West 6th places to hang out. There are some great lesser known places to hang.

I already talked about the South Side in an earlier post about Chicken & Waffles. It’s open with a good crowd every night of the week and even late night after a newscast.

I want to focus on the Velvet Tango Room. You have to be careful when trying to find it or you’ll end up missing it. It’s not well marked and it’s practically in the middle of nowhere. The classy martini bar is located on the corner of Abbey & Columbus. Don’t necessarily trust the directions you might get online either. Mapquest will send you the wrong way. We recently went there and enjoyed a night out on the back patio. There’s also a putting green there. The patio feels like your backyard. Inside, you’ll be treated to a live piano music sometimes accompanied by an upright bass. The drinks are pricey but they’re tasty. The atmosphere makes more than makes up for everything. The word, treated, applies at this place. You’ll be treated like you are a VIP no matter who you are. You’ll notice the nightclub almost reminds you of a speakeasy you see in old movies. Definitely somewhere to end a date with someone special. A special spot in Cleveland.

Tucked in the warehouse district is Little Bar & Grill. It’s down Frankfort Ave off of West 6th Street. I’m not revealing too much of a secret here, many people know of it. It has great burgers. It’s a relaxing hole in the wall type of hangout. The downstairs lives up to its name “Little Bar” but the upstairs provides a couple more places to hang.

Everyone also flocks to Panini’s late night, but there’s another secret you may have missed. A new pizzeria opened up on West 6th. The pizza is almost better and it’s not packed. You normally don’t have to stand in line either.

Everyone also knows about Flannery’s but it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t recommend the place. It’s been a long time hangout for me. I even worked there for a short time. After all of these years, it’s still a great place to hang out with friends.
Posted on

The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame City

It’s the city that rocks! Why shouldn’t it? Alan Freed coined the term “Rock N Roll” and this is where ROCK lives!
BNL coming to town this summer. I have tickets and so do my friends. It will be a blast. I have tickets to see the Police. That will also be a blast.
The Rock Hall (left, from Saturday night) packed with people covering the NCAA Women’s Final 4 in Cleveland. A nice VIP party there tonight. Free drinks, hors d’oeuvres and a nice parting gift, a miniature guitar with the Final 4 logo on it. Definately, a keepsake. Cleveland has really gone out for this tourney. The “Q” has been decked out inside and out. I hope the visitors enjoy Cleveland.
Side note, why, oh why, aren’t the induction ceremonies held in Cleveland. It’s ridiculous and shameful that the inductions aren’t held here!