And considering the great weather we've had (after such a brutal winter) it's about d@mn time I post some photos - mostly Cleveland, a little Towpath Trail.
Here's some happy warm weather music to enjoy while the pics load:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXpaJMg3q8I
Watch where yer pointing that thing!
This building on Cleveland east side has been abandoned for quite some time but there have been recent rumblings it might be rehabbed. We'll see
Further east - although the Cleveland Clinic does a world of good (literally), like most major urban hospitals they aren't exactly planned to accomodate dense residential and transit use. This is one of their parking lots on a weekend:
Briefly taking it up a notch (aka going to Cleveland
Heights, an eastern inner-ring suburb)
Operative word, briefly - back downtown we go - first to the Arcade:
Over to Playhouse Square:
Coming this week - the world's largest outdoor chandelier - this is the centerpiece of a major 'placemaking' effort. At first it sounded pretty absurd but now that all the pieces are in place, I'm warming up to it:
Ah well, it's always good to get out of the concrete jungle every now and then. I'm nursing a minor knee injury so no rugged hikes, the Towpath Trail will have to do/
There are plenty of places to access the trail but somehow Peninsula always wins out - could have something to do with being able to have a few Great Lakes Brewing Dortmunders and then hitting the trail.
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad - it's on my 'to do' list but not today.
They may not look like much but those are industrial ruins - remnants of the locks of the Ohio and Erie Canal which connected the Ohio River with Lake Erie, which made Cleveland a significant inland port in the mid 1800s.
Her'on de Towpath, one often sees herons... get it?
If it walks like a ... oh for crying out loud, I'll stop with the comedy:
Red-winged blackbirds - pretty sure it was mating season since they were all screeching like banshees:
Turtles and Turnpike - the Ohio Turnpike passes over this area of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park:
Glaring grackel:
Snacking squirrel:
Note to others, this is a six-spotted tiger beetle (ecologically beneficial), not an emerald ash borer:
Time to lock up this trip ... d'oh! Yet another pun
Would I love to get this shot at night, 28 miles south of downtown? Sure. Would it likely be my last as I'd have to set up in the berm on the turnpike bridge?
With that ghoulish thought, let's get back to the city. Here is the superbly Superior Avenue:
I think it was 55F when I took this - but after a brutal winter, I think most people would look for any reason to be outside:
Yes, yes I do - not that it's ever been easy :-)
At one time, East 4th Street was all pawn shops, wig shops and the only full-time residents were the cockroaches in the Wendys at East 4th and Euclid. My how things have changed.
The former May Company department store - may be getting rehabbed soon:
Deconstruction of the old Innerbelt Bridge - more on that later:
The Columbus Road lift bridge in pieces/parts - they're rehabbing the towers and building the new roadway section. Once completed, they'll float that upriver and hoist it up to the towers.
The opening/lighting ceremony for the chandelier is this Friday with a performance by Hot Chelle Rae - I'll be at the Cher/Cyndi Lauper concert
This stretch of Euclid was a dead zone for many years - not so much nowadays:
Down along the Cuyahoga River, Phase II of the Flats East Bank is underway. This will be an 8-story residential building when completed:
A view soon to be blocked by the 374' Hilton Convention Center hotel:
But lets give some love to the Marriott:
Oh alright, Key Tower too:
Standard Building wants in on the action:
A convention center done right - most of the structure is below grade with a grass roof:
Perk Park, perking up for spring... aw geez, sorry folks.
Playhouse Square - amazing how busy this little stretch has become:
Let's not get bogged down by details... no, I think we *should*
It's all starting to get rather pedestrian if you ask me:
This building has seen some major tenants leave for newer buildings but there are rumblings of a residential conversion:
It'll be interesting to see this little stretch of roadway (Ontario Street) get eliminated in the re-unification of Public Square:
One last detail downtown from the Leader Building:
Okay, I mentioned the old Innerbelt bridge - here are some pics from University Road in the Tremont neighborhood:
Playhouse Square's 'mini-skyline':
West 3rd bridge - after being rehabbed/closed/rehabbed/reopened, it's now up and running... well, up if a ship is coming through, down if there's not... oh for pity's sake you know what I mean!
A quick trip to Malibu - nah, just a very contemporary-styled home. Sticks out like a sore thumb and I'm okay with that.
Some of the infill is a little more in context with the older homes in the neighborhood:
Even so, it's a toss-up between the modern and traditional:
This sums it up pretty well:
Over to Professor Avenue, the main commercial strip of Tremont:
"Dendrite" - a newly installed sculpture marks the intersection of Professor/Fairfield/West 10th.
But... what if he has to blow his nose?
This pic shows how close the area is to downtown, and why buried utilities are a thing of beauty:
Still a smidge chilly but people are enjoying the sunshine:
No Guinness for this guy:
The pizza shop/bar of choice for Captain America and the Black Widow (Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson were spotted here during the filming of 'The Avengers' - speaking of, go see 'Captain America: Winter Soldier' - lots of great shots of Cleveland. Our art museum's atrium is the lobby of SHIELD's headquarters
New and old, that's Tremont for ya:
Gonna let this thread ride on out - hope you enjoyed!
CLEVELAND - About April
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