Free Stamp, Revisted

I am still going through the digital equivalent of a ton of photographs I took while I was strolling around downtown Cleveland last week. It was in February of 2008 when I last wrote about Free Stamp, the huge rubber stamp sculpture that sits in Willard Park, right next to Cleveland City Hall. I thought it was time I went back and updated my photos of this sculpture. This time I decided to have a little fun and artistic license of my own with this under appreciated sculpture. See if you can spot what I call the “mirror universe” version of Free Stamp among these photos.

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Cleveland’s “Fountain of Eternal Life”

Located in Cleveland’s Mall A , which is officially known as Veterans' Memorial Plaza, stands the “Fountain of Eternal Life”. It is also known as the “War Memorial Fountain” or “Peace Arising from the Flames of War”. It is a statue and fountain that serves as Cleveland’s memorial to those citizens who served in World War II and the Korean War. It was designed by Cleveland Institute of Art graduate Marshall Fredericks and dedicated on May 30, 1964.

According to Wikipedia:

The centerpiece is a 35-foot (10.7 m) bronze figure representing man escaping from the flames of war and reaching skyward for eternal peace. The bronze sphere from which the figure rises represents the superstitions and legends of mankind. Four granite carvings, representing the geographic civilizations of the world, are placed around the sphere. On the surface of the polished granite rim surrounding the fountain are bronze plates bearing the names of 4,177 Greater Clevelanders who perished in WWII and in the Korean War.


It is a beautiful sight to see, reaching into the sky with the city’s tall skyscrapers such as The Terminal Tower, Key Tower, and 200 Public Square rising nearby. Here are a few photographs that I just took yesterday – enjoy!

200 Public Square in background

Key Tower in background

200 Public Square in background

Terminal Tower in background, Key Tower on the right, 200 Public Square on the left

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The Great Lakes Science Center

On the Cleveland lakefront, and flanked by Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and the The William G. Mather Maritime Museum, is Cleveland’s Great Lakes Science Center. The GLSC opened in the summer of 1996, and focuses on science, technology, and the Great Lakes environment. It is highly interactive, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the science and be entertained as they learn. The GLSC also includes an OMNIMAX Theater , which projects IMAX films on a huge dome-like screen, making the experience almost like being there, except much bigger than life. The entire museum is a fun place to be for both adults and children.

Thanks to Insider Perks - who has been doing some very nice Cleveland videos lately - here is their short video highlighting the Great Lakes Science Center.

Great Lakes Science Center




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Cleveland Museum of Natural History

One of my favorite places to visit in Cleveland is the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Located in the University Circle area – a hotbed of museums and culture – this museum offers a look into the natural history of the earth and the stars.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History opened in 1920. The driving force behind it was Harold T. Clark, a Cleveland lawyer and philanthropist. The museum’s first headquarters were in a business office in the Lennox Bldg. at E. 9th St. and Euclid Ave, but in 1922 the museum moved many of the displays to the former Leonard Hanna mansion on Euclid Ave. But, having more displays than it had space, and with the Hanna house being affected by highway construction, a newer facility – which is also its current home – was constructed in University Circle. Between 1958 and 1961, the museum opened 5 interconnected units located at the current 1 Wade Oval address, directly across from the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The museum is filled with all sorts of natural wonders, covering specimens and displays of archeology, paleontology, geology, mineralogy, botany, wildlife, and astronomy (which includes a planetarium). According to Wikipedia, here are some of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s most famed attractions:


Extensive examples of Late Devonian Cleveland Shale fish.
Nine hundred monkey and ape skeletons, and more than 3,100 human skeletons (the Hamann-Todd Collection).
The only specimen of the small tyrannosaur Nanotyrannus lancensis.
The holotype of the Haplocanthosaurus sauropod.
The most complete mount of a Coelophysis bauri.
The remains of Balto the sled dog.
An extensive mineralogy collection that includes a moon rock and the Jeptha Wade gem collection.
Replica skeletons of Triceratops and Jane, a juvenile tyrannosaurid.
Multiple mastodon and mammoth specimens.
A cast of an Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, an early hominid affectionately dubbed Lucy.
A new T-rex skeleton that is now on display.

It is a great place for adults and children to learn about the earth’s past, and about all the living things that have inhabited it over the years. My personal favorites from the museum are any exhibits having to do with rocks, minerals, and gems - and the gift shop, of course.









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