Category: Flats

Posted on

The Flats Flattened

I was out biking today. I couldn’t resist (more on that later. btw, Kevin, I really owe you big!) I wanted to see what the East Bank looked like from the other side of the river. Check out the pictures above for yourself. It is amazing. I think the Basement is one of the buildings still standing. I am sure it’ll be gone soon too.

While looking for a map of what would have been the old East Bank of the Flats, I stumbled across the Wolstein’s Group’s website of what the new East Bank of the Flats will look like.

Posted on

Fireworks Over The Flats

A packed Superior Viaduct. Some people came out around 4:30pm to stake their claim. They may have been entertained by looking into the apartments and condos.
One of the first big crowd pleasers. A lot of “ooohs” and “aahhs”.
We had great seats from my balcony.
It’s amazing how they can make the fireworks so colorful.
One of the last big displays before the grand finale. It was a great show. Thanks to everyone who made it happen.

Posted on

I Don’t Know Jack…

or at least, I won’t get to see him when he plays Blossom Music Center tonight. If you read my blog, you know I appreciate his music. One of my former co-workers at KGBT in Harlingen turned me onto his music. She told me about this “Banana Pancakes” song and I checked the Internet for it and I instantly like it. Thanks, Marcy.

I’d thought of going to the Kokua Festival but it was in May. That month is during a ratings period so that was out. It would have been nice to jet to Hawaii and spend time there while seeing the big festival but it wasn’t to be.

He’s got a bunch of shows around the states coming up then he’s off to Europe to play a bunch of shows. How cool would it be to see Jack Johnson in Den Haag?

A couple of my friends figured I’d be at Blossom for sure tonight. One of them who found Jack Johnson through me will be there and with free tickets to boot. Boo!

Instead, I’ve got an appointment today with a non-profit organization. Later, I’m attending a meeting for the Flats Oxbow association. I have a couple of projects/issues I want to get addressed and hopefully someone will have some answers.

Besides, it’s supposed to be much cooler tonight. Who wants to stand outside watching Jack Johnson at Blossom anyhow? me… I’ll just have to hope that someone posts the concert online for me to download. Jack allows his fans to do so legally.

Posted on

Cleanland: My Town

I don’t need to tell you again how pleased I am with the location where I live. It gives you breathtaking views of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame city even though I can’t see the building itself.

You can see the Terminal Tower, Key Tower, the building formerly known as the BP Building, along with the rest of the Cleveland skyline. From a different side, I can see the Main Avenue bridge, the river and the lake. From yet another view, I can see the Veterans Memorial Bridge. I do have one problem, complaint, concern. It’s what you don’t see in the picture from my balcony. It’s somewhat of an eyesore. Under the Superior Viaduct, there’s a bunch of brush and trash.

Today, I called Flats Oxbow. One of the things the organization does is to work to promote the Flats by a number of different ways including promoting continued “mixed use” of the Flats. That mixed use includes business and residents. Since I’m now a resident, I contacted them about my “concern”. They gave me the number of Jacobs Investments who owns the Nautica complex. I’m hoping they can clean up all of this brush and trash. If areas look beautiful, people tend to respect them more. You can see a lot of trash right now along Elm Street.

There is a lot of beautification that could go on right now. I want to be part of that effort. I’m going to take a little initiative and clean up some of the trash myself. A green St. Patrick’s Day jacket has been sitting out next to a tree out my window since mid-March. Several pieces of construction material also has lined Elm Street since before the snow hit. It’s not on Nautica property so it’s fair game for a little clean-up.

So what’s part of the solution? Coming up in May, Flats Oxbow is participating in RiverSweep. I’m in the process of getting more information and the people at Flats Oxbow are working to get a group of people together to canvas this area. I’m going to spend three hours of my day that morning to help make Cleveland, Cleanland.

Anyone else got three hours they can donate? There is live music and food served after the clean-up!

Posted on

Now This Makes Me Downright Mad!

You’ve read my article about the new businesses coming to my building. 2020 Martini Cafe Lounge, the Mocha Fusion Coffee Lounge and Market on the Square will all open Friday for business.

The owner, Twyla Garrett’s success story is one any Clevelander or anyone from Northeast Ohio should be proud of.

Just today, Kimberly Gill interviewed her on NewsChannel 5 at Noon. This morning, the Plain Dealer featured her new business and story in the Business section.

This is where my anger comes into play. Read the article and then continue down the page and browse through the comments. One of them you’ll read is from me. I’ve never posted on cleveland.com before but I couldn’t help but put my two cents in on this subject. Brad, I hope you’ll weigh in on the subject as well with your comments. The same request goes for anyone else who’d like to banish the negativity that some people spread around Cleveland.

So what do we have to do to get rid of this sort of problem, support the people who work to change Cleveland with their money, intelligence and sweat. The entertainment complex opens in the old Cantina del Rio this Friday night at 7pm. Stop by and at least have a coffee!