02.25.10
Posted in Travel Log (US) at 7:36 pm by Benjamin Ross
“The Mistake on the Lake,” the city where the river caught on fire, the home of Drew Carey: Cleveland bears the brunt of more jokes than any American city not known as “Motown.” Most of what you’ve heard is probably true, but this does not mean that Cleveland isn’t worth exploring for a weekend. Located at the convergence between the Midwest and the Rust Belt, halfway between New York and Chicago, Cleveland has exerted its fair influence on the course of American history. The latter half of the 20th Century saw much of this past glory wane, leaving much of the city as historical artifacts of American prosperity. Over the last weekend in January, I visited Cleveland for the first time since my baby teeth fell out. Here’s a photo log from my trip.
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| On July 2, 1796, a settlement on Lake Erie was founded and named after General Moses Cleaveland, leader of the Connecticut Land Company. The first “a” was later dropped, allegedly to make room for a newspaper ledger. The Cleavelend statute stands in the center of Public Square, the geographical center of Cleveland. No word on whether or not local teenagers have ever removed its head. |
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| My host/tourguide for the weekend was Ron Sims II. You might remember him from such films as The Haircut and No Size Fits All. Ron and I lived both lived in Fuzhou from 05-06, and did a fair amount of exploration of the Middle Kingdom together. Long before he was the famous “Black Man in China,” Ron, a native Clevelander, is a well-known Cleveland graffiti artist. Here he is striking a pose next to one of his murals near the West Side Market. |
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| Cleveland, first and foremost, is an industrial city. Although its peak industrial output days are past, a significant amount of production is still occurring on the Cuyahoga River. |
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| Cleveland’s downtown industrial center is known as “The Flats.” Located along the bank of the Cuyahoga, The Flats has seen occasional phases of attempted redevelopment as an entertainment destination in Cleveland’s drive to revitalize downtown. |
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| Sunset in The Flats |
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| Behind The Flats is Downtown Cleveland. Like The Flats, Downtown’s more bustling days lie several decades in the past. Cleveland’s population peaked in 1950 at 914,808, and by the 2000 census, had shrunk to 478,403. Much of this population decline was due to affluent Clevelanders fleeing to the surrounding suburbs. |
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| Cleveland is a prime example of the havoc suburbanization has wreaked on American downtowns. Once a thriving city center rivaling Chicago, much of downtown Cleveland is now empty and abandoned. Despite attempts to revitalize it, as well as three major sports venues in its immediate vicinity, downtown Cleveland remains an urban hole with little integration with the suburbs where much of its former population and economic activity now resides.
As Ron describes it, “Most suburbanites are only Clevelanders on the weekend. They come downtown for a ballgame and then get in their cars and head straight back to their suburban existence. They never leave a very narrow corridor on any trip.” |
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| Much of Downtown Cleveland looks like this: Tall, empty, grey buildings; a few cars; no people. |
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| here’s another |
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| and another…the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland |
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| Tower City Center, this former rail terminal, was the tallest building in North America outside of New York City until 1964. Today, Tower City is the main retail center in Downtown Cleveland, and is also the focal point of Cleveland’s public transportation system. |
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| For a city with so many problems, Cleveland’s downtown is surprisingly well-planned. Public transportation, highways, and tourist attractions are all centered around downtown, and there is convenient pedestrian access to office space, restaurants, and all three sporting venues. |
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| Downtown Cleveland also sports a beachfront along Lake Erie |
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| Cleveland Browns Stadium |
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| Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame |
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| Cleveland is home to a small Chinatown, which was formerly consolidated around this building near 20th and Superior (see the faded letters on building facade). Today, Cleveland’s Chinatown has migrated south to “Asiatown,” where it is mixed with a Korean enclave. Cleveland’s Chinatown is sizable enough to support several exclusively Asian grocery stores, however most restaurants and other business cater to both American and Chinese patrons in order to maintain a large enough customer base. |
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| Still known as Ohio City, the land west of the Cuyahoga River was once a separate city from Cleveland. It was annexed in 1854 and its West Side Market is one of the top attractions for tourists and locals alike. |
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| the main hall at the West Side Market |
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| view from balcony |
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| Anther gem of the Near West Side, Ron took me to Bank News on Clarke, an old time magazine shop. |
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| Much of the floor in Bank News consists of stacks of magazines which look like they haven’t been sorted since the Reagan administration. In the back corner is an old school pornography room with magazines and posters which are probably just as old. Random piles of boxes are littered around the store, and the air is rank with kitty litter. Yet, Bank News is a surviving fossil of the days when most current information was disseminated in physical form. Their selection is massive, with magazines covering every topic imaginable.When paying for his magazine, Ron asked the proprietor, “How’s business?”
“I have no business,” he replied in a thick Eastern European accent. |
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| Most of the Cleveland’s housing stock consists of single family units such as these in the St. Clair Superior neighborhood. As Cleavelanders fled to the suburbs in the second half of the 20th Century, thousands of vacant houses were left behind. Cleveland now is home to some of the cheapest urban real estate in the US. In many neighborhoods, three and four bedroom houses can be purchased for under 100k. |
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| As a response to increasing violence in St. Clair Superior, a local Yoruba woman built this labyrinth next to a local school. Allegedly violence began dropping soon after its construction. Although its designer has since died, the labyrinth survives intact and neighbors still leave offerings of fruit in its center. |
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| Cleveland has a rapid transit system, “The Rapid,” but you wouldn’t know it unless you specifically sought it out. The “Red Line” runs east and west and connects downtown with the airport, but many of the areas serviced by the Red Line are sparsely populated, and generate little ridership. Two other lines, the blue and green, connect several suburban ares to downtown. With only one line serving the city proper, and no free transfers, it would be nearly impossible to rely on the “Rapid” as a primary means of transportation. With a similarly under-equipped bus system, car ownership in Cleveland is practically a necessity. |
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| This is a “Polish Boy,” a Cleveland specialty. A hot dog, often served on a hoagie, is topped with french fries, cole slaw, and BBQ sauce. Add pork shoulder meat, and you have a “Polish girl.” I ate about one of them per day on my trip. Food in Cleveland is cheap, and a Polish Boy typically goes for between $3 and $4 and an extra dollar or two for the Polish Girl. |
Cleveland is not for everybody. If your travel fancies include entertainment, modern architecture, and active street life, Cleveland is not the place to go. But for an extant slice of American industrial history, with an urban Midwestern feel and cheap eats, Cleveland makes for an interesting weekend trip.
For independent travelers, Cleveland is not an easily traveled city. With a sprawled, decaying urban core, and minimal public transit options, it’s not easily navigable for the unfamiliar and the carless. But with friends in the area, it is certainly worth a weekend trip. Only an overnight bus ride from the Windy City, I’m sure I’ll be back again, if anything, just for another Polish Boy.
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jesse said,
February 26, 2010 at 12:58 am
nice, i’ve always been curious about cleveland, and bet it was a fun place to be back in its heyday.
Tom Gatley
said,
February 26, 2010 at 4:17 am
Great piece on the Cleve and some super photos; I spent a day or two downtown last October and it brings back good memories! Did you check out the Great Lakes BrewCo opposite WSMarket and/or the Art Museum? Those were probably my highlights, along with the incredibly delicious mexican restaurant called Momocho – it’s only 9:15am in London but I’d still go for a cucumber margherita if one was forthcoming
michael
said,
February 26, 2010 at 8:17 am
Sounds like my kind of place. I visited Cleveland many years ago and liked it – America with humility and introspection.
wendell
said,
March 1, 2010 at 8:20 pm
I am from cleveland and now I live in Beijing. thanks for the pics and excellent comements on the problems of the city i.e. lack of public transportation. I wish you had a pic of the Clebveland Clinic, use to work there. I love Cleveland and agree wit you..it is not for everyone. I wish the city could get itself together adn return to its former glory. One small fact…in the 1930’s Cleveland was the third major city in the US behind Chicago and the big Apple.
MotorCycle World » Blog Archive » Don’t Miss the Striking Attractions & Hotels of Cleveland
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March 15, 2010 at 2:06 pm
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