Cleveland’s Free Stamp

Poor Free Stamp; shunned by the company that initially commissioned the work, and almost destroyed because of a closed-minded member of Cleveland City Council, it’s as if no one wanted it. But, it’s always been a favorite of mine because it’s big, it’s bold, and it’s a survivor.

For those of you not familiar with Free Stamp, it is a large sculpture, designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen, of a giant rubber stamp with the word “FREE” (backwards) on it. Oldenburg and Van Bruggen are well known for their sculptures of common items done to giant proportions. (Check out their web site for some examples of their work, here.)

Free Stamp’s problems had nothing to do with the quality of the work. The problem was with the interpretation of the work by a large corporation and local bureaucrats, and the sculpture’s battle to find a home where its art could be appreciated.

Here’s the story. In the early 1980s, Cleveland’s Standard Oil Corporation (SOHIO) was given the approval to demolish the old Standard Oil of Ohio building on Public Square. The company wanted a work of art outside its front doors, which is right across from one of the City’s historic landmarks, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Upon seeing the area with which they had to work, and considering the style of their art, Oldenburg and van Bruggen suggested creating an enormous stamp. The current design of the stamp is not what they originally proposed, which was an upright, self-inking stamp, with a red handle, large enough that people could actually walk inside the stamp. SOHIO nixed the idea citing high maintenance, so the design was retooled to look like a hand stamp on an inkpad.

Of course, the next question was what words to have on the stamp. The artists thought of something that would make a statement, yet also be something that may realistically found on a rubber stamp. Since there were space constraints as to what word could properly fit, Van Bruggen suggested the word “Free,” which would represent liberty, independence (a reflection of American ideals) and to make a positive statement in the center of the Public Square of the city.

But, nothing here ever goes without a hitch. As construction on this new design began, SOHIO underwent a management change as British Petroleum assumed increased control of the company. New management didn’t like having pop-art at their front door, much less one that had the word “FREE” emblazoned on it. (Like we would think petroleum products would ever be free or we would never be free of them?) Then, when the artists were given the opportunity to relocate the stamp, they balked, and work on the Stamp was halted for several years and pieces of it were placed in storage.

Later, when BP management questioned why the company was paying so much to store a huge stamp, interest in Free Stamp resurfaced. Mayor George Voinovich invited Oldenburg and van Bruggen to Cleveland in hopes of selecting another site.

According to the City of Cleveland’s web site,

“Although the Cleveland Museum of Art was considered, the artists wanted their work to be seen in the heart of Downtown and set their sights on Willard Park for its proximity to Public Square and because of its location to Cleveland’s government offices.

Placing the Free Stamp in Willard Park immediately drew opposition from Council President, George Forbes, who did not support the idea of the City of Cleveland accepting a rejected work of art and displaying it right outside of City Hall. Once again, the artists had chosen their location as part of their artistic statement and were unwilling to compromise their artistic integrity. This time, they threatened to destroy the work entirely if the City did not want to display it.

Before the artists could act on their threat, Election Day 1989 had passed and newly elected Mayor, Michael R. White, and Council President, Jay Westbrook, expressed their interest in this unique work. BP America finally decided that it would donate the Free Stamp as a gift to the City and offered to maintain it in its new location. City Council accepted this generous gift and the Free Stamp was brought out of storage and redesigned to accommodate its new space.

The lawn at Willard Park inspired Oldenburg and van Bruggen to alter the position of the Free Stamp so that it would lie on its side, as if it had toppled over on someone’s desk. Van Bruggen felt that the new design reflected the Free Stamp’s history as it was “flung” from Public Square only to “land” in Willard Park. Production on the Free Stamp resumed and it was brought to Cleveland in pieces to be assembled in its current spot.

The Free Stamp was officially inaugurated on November 15, 1991. The Dedication reads:

Free Stamp
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen
1991- Planted Steel and Aluminum
Gift of BP America
To the City of Cleveland
Michael R. White- Mayor
Jay Westbrook- City Council President
Dedicated 11-15-1991”

And today it is still there, sitting proudly in Willard Park. Sometimes in the summer you can see kids climbing on it, and often it's being photographed. It may not be a huge icon for the City of Cleveland, but it does serve as a great reminder that we are indeed, FREE.

Free Stamp - Aerial Views

Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, here!

Ameritrust/Breuer Tower: Its Fate In Question, Again

Previously, I’ve written in this blog about the Breuer Tower (AKA The Ameritrust Tower) and its architectural significance and ownership status. (The blog entries can be found here and here.)

Recent events again put the fate of the Ameritrust/Breuer Tower in question. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the city has rejected K & D’s offer to buy the property. The Plain Dealer states that if the county does not get a bid within their deadline, the plan to tear down the building could proceed. Here’s the Plain Dealer’s report:

“Cuyahoga County rejects K&D Group bid for Ameritrust tower
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Joe Guillen and Michelle Jarboe Plain Dealer Reporters

Cuyahoga County has rejected a developer's offer to buy the downtown Ameritrust property, jeopardizing a vision for a $200 million complex of hotel rooms, residences, new office space and stores.

County commissioners will reopen bidding for the property next week but won't reduce their $35 million asking price for the buildings at East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue.

Last month, the K&D Group, a Willoughby-based owner and manager of apartments, emerged as the only interested buyer. The company planned to put down $20 million, with the balance paid through a $15 million loan from the county.

In its conditions of sale, the county asked for all $35 million when the deal closed.

After weeks of review by the county's legal counsel, Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan said on Friday that K&D's bid was "noncompliant."

"The $35 million we wanted was more of an if-come than a reality," Hagan said of the offer.

"We didn't feel comfortable about where the $15 million was coming from."

Reached Friday, K&D's chief executive officer declined to comment on terms of the bid or reasons it was rejected.

"We submitted a bid that we felt we could do. We looked at it as a real estate deal," Doug Price said.

"We gave it our best shot."

The developer's bid raised red flags almost immediately, as K&D's offer included a check for $250,000 - only half the required deposit.

In the wake of the subprime mortgage meltdown, banks have tightened lending, and securing money for such a major project isn't simple, Price said.

The lending climate not only affected K&D's bid but also will factor into a follow-up offer - if the developer makes one.

Price said any future salvo from K&D would depend on what the county asks for in the second round of bidding.

Commissioners officially plan to put the property back on the market at their meeting next week. A new set of sale conditions hasn't been completed.

The county is expected to consider offers in which buyers will not have to pay the full sale amount when the deal closes, Hagan said.

Prospective buyers will have 30 days to hand in bids. Hagan said he is hopeful the county will get a new bid.

If not, the county will proceed with its controversial plan to tear down the Ameritrust tower and build an administration building on the site.

The county bought the property in 2005 for $29 million, including $5 million for a parking garage.

In addition to money spent buying the property, commissioners have approved more than $33 million in contracts to build the administration complex. The county has spent $8.8 million of that money.

Work was suspended late last year when the county decided to sell.

Bay Village Mayor Deborah Sutherland - a Republican running this year for a commissioners seat - has been a regular critic of the project.

Sutherland said the breakdown of the deal isn't surprising.

"Look at how the commissioners have handled the project to this point," she said.

Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones said he expects the county will reach a deal with K&D.

"It's our intention to immediately go back out with another bid that gives greater latitude to K&D and other developers," he said.

Lou Frangos, a downtown property owner who partnered with K&D on the bid, remains enthusiastic about revamping properties including the Ameritrust Tower, designed by noted Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer.

If K&D bows out, the Frangos Group still would be interested in the complex.

"Since we've turned in this bid," Frangos said, "I think each of us has had a tremendous amount of interest from investors outside of the city wanting to participate. And I'm still very excited about it." “

The article from the Plain Dealer can be found here.



Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, here.

The Cleveland Press

I was going through some childhood mementos the other day and found one of my prized possessions as a child – my Paper Mate pen that I won in the fifth grade for winning my grade school’s Cleveland Press Spelling Bee. I started thinking about how I used to come home from school and sit down and read the afternoon newspaper. Full disclosure – I always started with the comics section. Our household seemed to be a Cleveland Press household, because with 6 kids in the house, I don’t think anybody – including my parents – had time to read a morning paper.

Anyway, it got me thinking about the days when Cleveland was a two-newspaper town, and even as a kid, I always felt that The Press was the ONLY newspaper that was good enough for me to read.

The Cleveland Press was part of a chain of newspapers founded by Edward Scripps. The Press was first published in November 1878 as the “Penny Press” and was only a small, four-page paper. The name was shortened to “The Press” in 1884, and took the name “The Cleveland Press” in 1889. For many years, the paper was THE daily newspaper in town. According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:

“By its 25th anniversary in 1903, the Press was Cleveland's leading daily newspaper. In 1913 the Press moved into a new plant at E. 9th and Rockwell (the present BancOhio Bldg. site). As it entered the 1920s, the Press neared 200,000 in circulation and maintained its political independence by proposing the city manager form of government for Cleveland and supporting Progressive candidate Robt. La Follette for president in 1924. Louis B. Seltzer became the 12th editor of the Press in 1928, and under his 38-year stewardship the Press became one of the country's most influential newspapers. Seltzer readjusted its original working-class bias into a less controversial neighborhood orientation, stressing personal contacts and promoting the slogan "The Newspaper That Serves Its Readers.""

A black mark on The Press’s record came in 1954, when it became overzealous and biased in its coverage of the well-known murder case involving Dr. Sam Sheppard. Years later, the U.S. Supreme court heard an appeal on the case, and granted Sheppard a new trial. One of the reasons for the reversal was the prejudicial publicity of the first trial, The Cleveland Press being at the heart of the problem. (I can see that the news media never learned any lessons here.)

In 1960, the paper purchased and merged in The Cleveland News, and became the city's only afternoon newspaper. A few years later, under Thomas L. Boardman, the Press’s readership declined (along with other afternoon papers in the US), and it was passed in circulation by The Plain Dealer in 1968. Scripps-Howard sold the paper in 1980 to Cleveland businessman Joseph E. Cole (Cole National Corporation). Cole introduced a Sunday edition in August 1981, and later a morning edition in 1982. But, it was too late for The Press, as advertising losses, coupled with a lackluster economy, forced the folding of the press later only a few months later.

If you’re interested in seeing some of the old pictures from the Cleveland Press, visit this web site, The Cleveland Memory Project.

These days, even with all the available news sources on television and the Internet, I still like to read the newspaper. Luckily, besides getting The Plain Dealer, I also get the News Herald. It’s nice to have a second (local) opinion. And that’s what I miss most about The Cleveland Press.

Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, here!

The Euclid Corridor Project

Did you know that Euclid Avenue is part of the longest road in the United States? Yes, US Route 20, known as Euclid Avenue in the Cleveland area, stretches from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon, with a length of 3,365 miles (5,415 km).

In Cleveland, the longest road in the US is getting a much needed facelift. It isn’t just a simple repaving of the street and new sidewalks. The project will mean the addition of a BRT – Bus Rapid Transit – with dedicated lanes. These new vehicles will have exclusive lanes with a traffic control system, and the vehicles themselves will be environmentally friendly, using clean-burning fuels and batteries. There will be new methods for collecting fares that will make boarding much more efficient, and all platforms will be level and be ADA accessible. The surrounding “streetscape” will be completely redone, with beautiful sidewalks, landscaping, and passenger stations.

Even more important than the new look of Euclid Avenue will be the ability to move people through this traditionally busy area. The Euclid Corridor Project web site says, “The Rapid Transit System will connect the central business district (the region's largest employment center) with the University Circle area (the second largest employment center) and major cultural, medical and educational districts. The idea of the Rapid Transit System is to provide the quality of rail transit, while benefiting from the flexibility of buses.”

I was at Public Square in November and took a walk out to look at the work being done on the project right near the square. Construction was still going on. I’d have to say that it was a mess and quite difficult to navigate on foot, and looked even more impossible by car. However, I could see some of the materials set out for the new sidewalk area and I think it will be beautiful when it’s completed. I can understand, though, that many businesses have been hurt badly by this project while work goes on. But in the long run, this will be a huge improvement for the city and will make traveling down Euclid Avenue much easier. This should translate to improved business conditions, better than before construction began. By the way, this project was funded by tax dollars – federal, state, and city – so it belongs to you.

The Euclid Corridor Project web site has project news and updates, several pictures of the progress, and a video download of the project overview. Since the video is available for direct download, I’ve embedded it below for your viewing. If you want to download the video directly to your computer, you can find it the Euclid Corridor Project web site,here.

Project Overview



Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, here!

Those (Annoying) Local Cleveland Area Commercials

You can’t get away from them even if you tried. They’re commercials for local Cleveland area businesses. Some of them only seem to come out in the wee hours of the morning. Some get repeated ad nauseam during the morning news shows.

The question is – do they work? I suppose only the companies can tell you for sure. But one thing I will tell you, some of them will stick in your mind whether you want them to or not. Case in point, a commercial from the 1960s for aluminum siding that sang out the phone number “Garfield 1 – 2323.” I still can hear that jingle in my head after all these years, just like it was yesterday. I never knew anybody who actually got aluminum siding from them, though.

Fast forward to the present time, and you may find that the new crop of local commercials are more memorable for the wrong reasons, maybe because they annoy, maybe because they are just…odd. Here’s some of them, and why they may annoy - or entertain – you.

Fred Martin Superstore
“We’re the Fred Martin car guys – We know cars!”
My opinion: Stop yelling at me! Thank you.

Spitzer
“Our world revolves around you.”
My opinion: This slogan has been done for so long and in so many ways (some of them not so well done), that I can hear the slogan even when they don’t actually say it. I also still see the face of Del Spitzer saying the old slogan, “I want to sell you a car now!” It makes me feel older than I really am. Of course, recent commercials feature Allison, reminding us to “tell them Allison sent you.” Sorry, I still see Del. Never bought a car from them.

Sheraton Furniture
I don’t like commercials where the people trot out their kids to help sell their stuff. But, I actually have bought furniture from them because, well, they have very nice furniture. But those kids in the commercials almost made me not want to even go there. They may think that it’s their location next to train tracks that keeps people away, I think it’s those kids.

Regency Windows
“I’m gonna save you a lotta money!”
No, thank you. For some reason the windows always look like they are made of plastic. And Mikey just gets on my nerves because he yells. Why must people yell at the viewers?

Norton Furniture
“If you can’t get credit in my store, you can’t get credit anywhere. My name is Marc – and you can count it!”
For someone like me who is an early riser, one can’t possible miss Marc’s commercials that usually air at odd hours. “Now, seriously,” you can’t possibly NOT watch one of his commercials when they come on. They are the most bizarre commercials ever made, and he does change them often to keep it fresh. I am compelled to watch, but not to buy furniture. Still, weirdly entertaining.


So do they work? I still don’t know. But the fact that I could sit here and write all this information without having to look anything up for reference or confirmation is scary. They will stick in your head like a traumatic experience. And maybe for some people, it helps them to buy.

For your enjoyment, here’s a string of Norton Furniture commercials, from YouTube. Admit it, you are compelled to watch.



Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
here!

Cleveland's New Avenue District

Artist Rendering of The Avenue District

When I was working downtown in the Tower at Erieview, my view directly below and to the east was of a dismal parking lot. Thankfully, the parking lot is now becoming The Avenue District, which, as their web site states, “will be a walkable neighborhood weaving seamlessly with The Theatre, Gateway, Civic, and Lakefront Districts and right next door to Cleveland State, and the Galleria. It will satisfy the need of urban dwellers looking for a downtown neighborhood that offers culture, entertainment, convenience, and accessibility.” By the way, don't confuse the Avenue District with The Avenue at Tower City. They are blocks apart, with The Avenue at Tower City being the shopping area by Terminal Tower.

Over 400 residential units are planned for The Avenue District, including penthouses, lofts, and town homes. Avenue District literature has loft starting at $232,390, town homes starting at $246,750, and penthouses ranging from $600,000 to over $1 million.

Building is well underway. I snapped a few pictures while I was in the area recently. It looks like it will be a great improvement over that parking lot.

The Avenue District's web site can be found here.

Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, here!

Cleveland’s Local Mid-Morning Talk Shows: A Waste of an Hour

Remember the 1950s-1960s “glory days” of Cleveland’s locally produced television shows? There was The Gene Carroll Show, Polka Varieties, Mike Douglas, Captain Penny, Barnaby, The One O’clock Club, etc. Of course, we only had three to four channels to choose from (if antenna reception was good) so we took whatever we could get and learned to love it. And even though they called it the “glory days”, it didn’t mean that the programming was very good (I was young, I hated most of it).

In the 1970’s, there was the Morning Exchange on WEWS, which provided quality local interest programming. And then…NBC’s Today show kept expanding its time slot, and cable happened, with almost endless channels choices. Local programming seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. It should have stayed there.

Both WKYC Channel 3 and WJW Fox 8 have two mid-morning talk shows, Good Company (WKYC) and That’s Life (WJW). Both really are nothing but time-fillers, although one of the two programs is marginally better.

I’ve watched both shows a few times over the last few months. I have to admit that I had to force myself to do it because these types of shows don’t interest me to begin with. But after hearing so many negative comments about them, I had to see them for myself.

Let me get this out of the way right away: Good Company is probably THE most boring hour of television I have ever seen. The primary hosts, Andrea Vecchio and Michael Cardamone, are stiff and bland. When I looked at the bios for both hosts on the WKYC website, I didn’t see a lot on on-camera experience, and I think it shows. It is hard to explain, but I almost felt uncomfortable while they were interviewing people. They didn’t seem relaxed themselves and everything seemed forced. The set itself is dull, lifeless, and visually uninteresting. Yes, I know we’re talking a local show, but it always looks like this show is “local done cheap.” And the hour.just.drags.

That’s Life, on the other hand, is a little better, but not by much. Robin Swoboda has a lot of on camera and on-air experience, so she seems much more relaxed, in fact, she’s sometimes a little too loose. She is better at improvising, and seems to be a little quicker with the wit, but at times seems almost too happy to the point of phoniness. A plus for That’s Life is that they seem to get out on the road and out with viewers. It could be that I picked the wrong days to watch Good Company, but for the several times I watched, they never left that awful studio. On the flip side, it seems that every cooking segment I watched on That’s Life seemed poorly planned and sloppily done. Good Company’s are much better; part of it may be the set, and part of it may be more qualified people doing the cooking segments.

Generally, both shows had uninteresting subject matter. There have got to be more exiciting things happening in Cleveland and in the surrounding area. I find myself wondering to what demographic they are trying to attract? It's hard to tell by the subject matter and guests. It would be interesting to know what demographic they ARE getting.

If I had to watch one of these shows again – if, for example, my TV would only tune to one channel at 10:00 AM on a weekday and I was tied to a chair in front of it – I suppose I could suffer through That’s Life. I wonder, though, if local programming like these shows are even relevant any more. Most channels have morning news on from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM at minimum, and they seem to work in a lot of non-news segments.

I would think that both WJW and WKYC could put the money spent towards "talent" and producing these shows to better syndicated programming. It may be time for these two local programs to drop off the face of the earth. If they do, “that’s life,” but they will be in “good company” with those other old local shows.


Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, HERE!

Cleveland’s Dead Man’s Curve

Cleveland's Dead Man's Curve, I-90 Westbound

Dead Man’s Curve is one of those Cleveland landmarks that was never intended to be a landmark. The near 90-degree curve is where I-90 takes a hard left where it splits off with Ohio Route 2 westbound, or with a hard right for drivers going eastbound. Constructed in 1959 as part of the Innerbelt project (which started in 1954), it opened with a speed limit of 50 miles per hour. With this speed being far to fast for a curve so severe, it didn’t take long for the curve to become a high accident area. The speed limit was dropped to 35 mph in 1965, and in 1969, the curve was modified to include a banked turn, with improved signs and rumble strips in the road.

Despite the fact that, years later, the signs, rumble strips, 35 mph speed limit plus added concrete barriers are still in place, inevitably someone – seemingly most often truckers – misjudge the curve and wind up losing control. This can create horrific traffic snarls that affect people trying to get out of, and through, the city. The Innerbelt itself gets in excess of 120,000 vehicles a day, many of those vehicles passing through Dead Man’s Curve.

A few years ago, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) made proposals for improvements with the Innerbelt, including smoothing out Dead Man’s Curve. The Innerbelt project as a whole continues to be analyzed and disputed by many due to its potential effects on businesses by the changing of exits, and the possible effects on structures that are currently in the way of the new Innerbelt Bridge configuration. While no one seems to disagree that Dead Man’s Curve remains a dangerous area, the changes to the Innerbelt and Shoreway that need to take place in order to accomodate improvements are also in dispute.

Cleveland's Dead Man's Curve, I-90 Eastbound

In the meantime, the Innerbelt Bridge, made in the same style as the Minneapolis bridge that collapsed in August of 2007, continues to deteriorate. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on December 19, 2007:

“The Ohio Department of Transportation originally planned to build a new Interstate 90 bridge over the Cuyahoga River, then rehab the existing 48-year-old bridge, estimated to cost more than $140 million. But the state will speed up its repair plan and delay building the new bridge.

So in just more than two years, motorists will face this:

Eastbound and westbound traffic lanes on the bridge -- the main artery into and through downtown Cleveland -- will be reduced from four to two in each direction to make room for the work. Besides the deterioration, another reason for the change is that planning for the new bridge is taking longer than expected. So, if ODOT stuck with its original schedule, work to rehab the existing bridge wouldn't start until 2016 or 2017.…ODOT is waiting for federal highway officials to review and approve a draft of the overall Inner Belt plan, which includes softening Dead Man's Curve and improving the flow of traffic through the accident-prone "trench" in Midtown in part by reducing on and off ramps.”

So, we wait. But in the meantime, let’s all slow down and have respect for the REAL Dead Man’s Curve in Cleveland. 

Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
HERE!

The Cleveland Crib

What is the Cleveland Crib? No, it’s not a big bed for all the babies in town. It’s the main intake for the Cleveland water supply, and it sits a little over three miles away from the downtown Cleveland shoreline, and 5 miles from the pumping station. The "Crib" term is from the metal cage structure, which was built on shore, then taken out to the lake location, filled with rock, and sunk to the lake bottom.

As the Crib sits away from the shore and is not usually obvious, its existence and history may be unknown by many Cleveland area residents.

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (a web site I visit often and a place where I learn something almost every day) says that:

“With the advent of piped water, traditional privies, storage cisterns, and other means for disposing of sewage rapidly became inadequate. The first sewer in Cleveland is reported to have been built for surface drainage of Euclid St. in 1856. Two years later a rudimentary sewage system consisting of open drains conveying the wastewater downhill toward the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie was begun. To gain access to fresh water beyond Lake Erie's polluted shoreline, a new water-intake crib and tunnel were built some 6,600' offshore in 1874. However, in 1881 city health officials protested that some 25 sewers, factories, oil refineries, and other industries were polluting the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie, source of the city's drinking water. By that time, 125 mi. of water mains had been completed in Cleveland, and the system's capacity was about 10 million gallons per day, serving about a third of Cleveland citizens. In the 1880s the original Kentucky St. Reservoir had already become inadequate, requiring the building of the Fairmount and Kinsman reservoirs to service the growing population moving toward the heights east of downtown Cleveland.

To mitigate the growing pollution, the water system extended intakes farther and farther out into Lake Erie, and early in the 20th century finally provided treatment of the raw water. In 1890 a new 7' diameter, 9,117' long water inlet tunnel was completed. Yet another 9' diameter intake tunnel was begun in 1896, extending 26,000' into the lake, one of the longest in the world at that time; it was completed in 1904 after a considerable loss of life during its construction...The intake structure for this tunnel, which at a distance resembled a freighter, was known as the "5 Mile Crib," the distance from the actual lake intake to the Kirtland pumping station, built in 1904 at Kirtland St. (E. 49th St.).”

There is also a wind monitoring tower installed at the Crib by Green Energy Ohio, rising 125 from the Crib deck, and 165 feet from the lake surface. It studies winds over Lake Erie for the potential for wind turbine power generation. There is also a weather station with anemometer, weather vane, and temperature sensor. The Crib has a live web cam – I call it Crib Cam – pointed toward the Cleveland shore. Below is a compilation of various views from Crib Cam during a 24 hour period in January. (Usually the lake is frozen by this time, but you’ll see what looks like a lake clear of ice on the earlier part of the video, but the lake began to get a crust of ice during the overnight hours.) Click here to find a crib cam. (Crib Cam can be interesting viewing when storms come over the lake in the summer.)

LIVE CRIB CAM

 

 

 

Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, HERE!

Happy Birthday, Moses Cleaveland

Moses Cleaveland, the name sake and founder of the City of Cleveland, was born on January 29, 1754, in Canturbury, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale in 1777 after studying law, and was commissioned shortly thereafter to fight in the Revolutionary War in the Continental Army. He resigned in 1781 and began to practice law.

After the Revolution, people began a westward migration, and disputes ensued over the ownership of the land. According to the “Ohio History Central” website, “The federal government encouraged the states to give up their claims within the Northwest Territory. Connecticut was one of the states with land claims in Ohio. While giving up its rights to most of the land, the state maintained its ownership of the northeastern corner of the territory. This area became known as the Connecticut Western Reserve. The Connecticut Land Company was a group of private speculators who purchased approximately three million acres of the Western Reserve. In 1796, the company sent one of its major investors, General Moses Cleaveland, to Ohio. He led the survey of company lands within the Western Reserve. “

The “Encyclopedia of Cleveland History” elaborates: “When the party arrived at Buffalo Creek, N.Y., Cleaveland met in treaty with Red Jacket, Joseph Brant, Farmer's Brother, and other Iroquois chiefs, and with gifts and persuasion convinced them their land had already been ceded through Gen. Anthony Wayne's Treaty of Greenville. Although they had not signed the treaty, the Indians relinquished their claim to the land to the Cuyahoga River. At the mouth of Conneaut Creek, the party on 27 June 1796 negotiated with the Massasagoes tribe, who challenged their claim to their country. Cleaveland described his agreement with the Six Nations, promised not to disturb their people, and gave them trinkets, wampum, and whiskey in exchange for safety to explore to the Cuyahoga River. Cleaveland arrived at the mouth of the Cuyahoga on 22 July 1796, and believing that the location, where river, lake, low banks, dense forests, and high bluffs provided both protection and shipping access, was the ideal location for the "capital city" of the Connecticut Western Reserve, paced out a 10-acre New England-like Public Square. His surveyors plotted a town, naming it Cleaveland. In Oct. 1796, Cleaveland and most of his party returned to Connecticut, where he continued his law practice until his death, never returning to the Western Reserve. A memorial near his grave in Canterbury, Conn., erected 16 Nov. 1906 by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, reads that Cleaveland was "a lawyer, a soldier, a legislator and a leader of men."

According to Wikipedia, the city of Cleveland got its name from Moses Cleaveland when a newspaper printer dropped the “a” to fit the name in the masthead. Ohio History Central indicates the name change was due to a spelling error on a map.

Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
HERE!

Statue on Public Square

Lake Erie – Look at What’s “Beyond The Surface”

Usually local Cleveland programming can be bland an uninspiring. But one local series, called “Lake Erie Beyond the Surface” is the exception to that rule.

This half hour show features one of the most amazing and diverse resources to which the Cleveland area has access: Lake Erie. This series digs deep into life in and around the lake, not just in Cleveland proper, but also in other areas along its shores. The series has already aired two episodes; the third installment is scheduled to air Saturday February 2 at 7:00 PM on WKYC, Channel 3, and is broadcast in HD.

The lake has made an amazing recovery since the 1960s (I can still remember the awful smell from way back), but outside influences from things such as invasive aquatic species and runoff from pesticides and fertilizers can again endanger this lake.

Years ago, a friend of mine was entertaining a visitor from Georgia, who asked to see Lake Erie as she had never seen any of the Great Lakes. My friend took her to Mentor Headlands to see the beach and the lake. The Georgia visitor was stunned at the lake's size, and said, “That’s not a lake, that’s an OCEAN!” To people that are unaccustomed to the Great Lakes, they can seem like they are vast and almost limitless. But, as Wikipedia says, Lake Erie “is the tenth largest lake on Earth and, of the five Great Lakes of North America, is the fourth largest by surface area, the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume.” So while Lake Erie seems like it is an endless resource of fresh water, its diminutive nature relative to the other Great Lakes may make it the most fragile.

Those living near Lake Erie benefit from it in the form of boating, fishing, the beaches, not to mention the commercial opportunities in shipping, agriculture, and other trade. Of course, let’s not forget the annual winter annoyance of lake effect snow (sometimes you have to take some bad with the good).

Everyone that lives on the shores of Lake Erie should view “Lake Erie Beyond the Surface.” It will give you a new appreciation for this amazing natural resource.







Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, HERE!

The Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Downtown Cleveland

Last summer I made a trip to the Cuyahoga County (Probate) Courthouse on Lakeside Avenue for a family member to get a copy of a marriage certificate. Since I had never been in the building – at least that I can recall – I decided to take the camera and snap a few pictures.

Central Court Entry

The Courthouse was completed in 1906. The Bluffton.edu web site contained some interesting information about the planning for the Courthouse and surrounding area:

“The Group Plan of 1903 was designed by Daniel H. Burnham, John M. Carrère, and Arnold R. Brunner, all nationally known architects. Theirs was an early example of urban planning and harmonious architecture; they envisioned buildings designed to form a coordinated group with similar design features, classical architectural motifs, even uniform heights--all arranged with tree-lined avenues and controlled vistas. As part of the City Beautiful movement, this plan intended to eliminate messy, unplanned industrial growth. This plan called specifically for public buildings of a similar scale, identical masonry, and similar cornice height--all monumental, designed in a classical style. The group plan also included a wide Mall. Many of the impressive buildings in downtown Cleveland today resulted from this City Beautiful plan including the Federal Reserve Bank, the Cleveland City Hall (1916), the Cleveland Public Library (1925) and this Courthouse, the first building designed according to the plan, though the second completed.”

The architects of the Courthouse building itself were Lehman and Schmitt, with Charles Morris, chief designer. The interior decorative scheme was under the direction of Charles Schweinfurth. The Courthouse’s Beaux-Arts architectural style is evident in the large columns and decorative sculptures. The lobby is a 3-story central area with vaulted ceilings and marble columns. Off to the side of this central lobby is a staircase leading to a large stained glass window depicting “Law and Justice.” The marble staircase then curves away both to the right and left to the upper floor. This staircase seems somewhat dark, but that only emphasizes the beauty and color of the stained glass window.

I hope you enjoy the photos!

Columns Near Rear Entrance

Hallway off Central Court Entry

Marble Staircase with Stained Glass Window

Close Up of Stained Glass Window "Law & Justice"

Marble Stairs

View of the Courthouse from the North Side

Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
HERE!

Imagine a Re-Imagined Hanna Theatre

The Hanna in the 1940s

The Hanna Theatre is undergoing an extensive renovation, or “re-imagining," to create a new theatre experience in Cleveland, and is being touted as a theatre unlike any other in the country.

Some background on the theatre:

It was designed by Charles Platt, built by John Gill & Sons, and decorated by Faustino Sampietro.

It first opened on March 29, 1921, and was dedicated it to the memory of Senator Marcus Alonzo Hanna, who was also the former owner of the Euclid Avenue Opera House.

According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:

“The first production at the 1,535-seat Hanna Theater was a presentation of The Prince and the Pauper. In ensuing years, it hosted a number of major touring Broadway shows and an occasional pre-Broadway tryout, notably the world premiere of Maxwell Anderson's High Tor on 30 Dec. 1936. Weathering the Depression, it became the only "road theater" in the country that had been in operation for 50 or more consecutive years. Milton Krantz became general manager of the Hanna in 1941, known as "Mr. First-Nighter" for his tradition of walking up the aisles and shaking hands with people he knew. After 42 years and 1,000 first nights, Krantz retired in 1983. Owned by the T. W. Grogan Co. since 1958, the Hanna was eclipsed in the 1980s by the revitalization of PLAYHOUSE SQUARE. It went dark in 1989. A renovation effort spearheaded by T. W. Grogan Co. and Majestic Urban Revivals, Inc., was initiated in late 1993. Led by Ray K. Shepardson, a founder and former executive director of the Playhouse Square Assn., a $2 million restoration of the facility converted the theater into a multi-tiered, cabaret-style showplace. The reopening of the Hanna was planned for March 1996, the theater's 75th anniversary."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that this latest renovation may cost around $20 million and could be completed as early as this fall.

The Plain Dealer also reports:

“The Hanna will keep its distinctive limestone facade on East 14th Street, around the corner from Playhouse Square's other historic venues on Euclid Avenue, and its neoclassical auditorium.

But within those walls, the Cleveland architectural firm of Westlake Reed Leskosky will create an "extraordinary" venue, architect Paul Westlake said.

The current plans would integrate the lobby, the bar and the performance space into one.

The architects are "breaking down the boundaries . . . between the stage, the audience and the social experience of the lobby," said Westlake. "It's a continuum. It's all one zone."

His firm's work on four other theaters in Playhouse Square helped make it one of the leading theater-architecture firms in the country.

"But we've never done anything like this," said Westlake, who called the project "an architectural experiment, but also a social experiment" that could make the Hanna unique among American theaters.

The new Hanna will have around 500 seats (down from the original 1,400) on steep inclines arranged on three sides of a "thrust" stage, with no seat farther than 11 rows from the actors.

The theater also could operate as a "traditional" proscenium theater, Fee said -- and, depending on how much money Great Lakes and Playhouse Square can raise, it could be outfitted with technological advances far beyond anything else in the region. "

It sounds like the Hanna renovation will be bringing an exciting theatre experience to Cleveland. It's great to see this landmark restored and improved to keep the theatre alive - and relevant - in Cleveland for many years to come.

If you’d like to see additional information, a link to WKYC’s website, which has current pictures of the project, plus a video of a news story on the subject can be found here.


Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
HERE!

Rating Cleveland’s Morning News Shows

The one thing of which Cleveland has no shortage is morning news shows. Between 5:00 AM and 7:00 AM, you’ll find news on channels 3, 5, 8, and 19. And each show has a personality all its own. Since I’m a frequent watcher of “Fox 8 News in the Morning” and a former frequent watcher of “Channel 3 News Today”, I spent the last few weeks watching all four channels to get an idea of who really has the best morning news show in town.

On the days I watched the shows, here are the names of those appearing for each channel. I did not list the names of individual reporters involved in the newscast:

WKYC Channel 3: Mark Nolan and Abby Ham, Hollie Strano (Weather), Pat Butler (Traffic)

WEWS Channel 5: Paul Kiska and Kimberly Gill, Jeff Mackel (Weather), Traffic - anchor coverage plus phone in

WJW Channel 8: Wayne Dawson and Tracy McCool, Scott Savol (Weather), Pat Brady (Traffic)

WOIO Channel 19: Brian Duffy and Tiffani Tucker, Jenn Harcher (Weather), Rick Abell and Nicole (Traffic)

Just like the Academy Awards, I’ve created a few categories, and the award is the Golden Alarm Clock. Here we go!

Morning Anchor Desk
This was a category that was tough to measure, since sometimes one half of an anchor pair was either strong – or weak.

I could not warm up to channel 5’s Paul Kiska and Kimberly Gill. Kimberly seemed to stumble on her words a few times, and Paul just seemed flat and unexciting in his delivery. Channel 19’s Brian Duffy and Tiffani Tucker were only marginally better, but they seemed a little livelier and snappier than 5’s coverage. I think there are other problems with both these channels that make these anchors less than interesting, which will be covered in later categories. For both anchor pairs, there seems to be little chemistry.

Channels 3 and 8 are in a virtual dead heat in this category, but both anchor pairs have a weak partner. Tracy McCool has returned to 8, which brings the energy back into the show. Wayne Dawson, however, is the weak link. Because I watch Fox 8 so often, I’ve seen Dawson’s frequent stumbles, one of which that resulted in a brief appearance on YouTube and Dawson’s seeming disappearance from the show for a few days. But, the biggest drawback is his attire. In the never-ending quest for Wayne and Tracy to match clothing schemes, he sometimes wears some ludicrous colored and patterned attire. It can be distracting and actually detract from the news.

Channel 3 has revitalized the show by moving Mark Nolan to the anchor seat, Mind you, I watched 3 for many years when John Anderson and Carole Sullivan were paired, and they made a great team. But, that seemed to break down when Carole left. Nolan is very well suited for his new role; he’s confident and comfortable, and he’s able to ad lib and be spontaneous probably better than anybody on local news right now. I have been watching more of channel 3’s news in the morning since Nolan’s anchoring, but there are other reasons why I haven’t completely switched back. One of those reasons is Abby Ham. She seems inexperienced and sometimes clueless about the news she’s reading. Sometimes it may be better for her not to ad lib or ask questions, because in doing so, she often shows that while she can read the news, she may not have a good grip of the content.


The Golden Alarm Clock for Best Morning News Anchors goes to:
Tie for channels 3 and 8


Morning News Coverage
All the stations covered the local and national news well. Fox 8 seemed the most consistent in having reporters out of the studio covering stories. They all had outside local coverage at some point, but 8 had someone out every day that I watched, which was not the case with other channels. Channel 8 also seemed to deliver more news stories in the time allotted. I tried to count the number of separate news stories for each channels, but the number varied by day, and by the type of news being reported. Unscientifically measured, channel 8 seemed more consistent in delivering the most news in the first 10 minutes than the others.

The Golden Alarm Clock for Morning News Coverage goes to:
Channel 8


Morning Weather and Traffic
This category doesn’t cover weather forecasting accuracy, because that would take more time than I’m willing to invest. Instead, it rates the delivery of the weather, graphics, and the frequency of weather updates.

Since all of them basically have access to the same weather data, the delivery and graphics are critical. Channels 5 and 19 seem to be very basic in this category, with fairly standard graphics and rather dull and uninteresting weather forecasters. It seemed as if both weather forecasters were going through the motions. Channel 3’s Hollie Strano puts a little more personality and lots of energy with her presentation, but she loses points with me when she begins banter with the anchors. Channel 8’s Scott Savol seems to have the right mix of an interesting presentation, great graphics, and a very pleasing personality.

Traffic coverage may not sound like a big deal, unless you’re going to be driving in it. Channel 5’s was clearly THE WORST every time I watched. Maybe I got them on bad days, but when I watched, it was the anchor that went through traffic conditions, with sometimes a call in from another news (radio?) office with traffic information. They also didn’t seem to cover traffic frequently. Channel 19 was marginally better, with two people covering traffic at times, but not always with a traffic helicopter. Rick Abell, however, should stop the editorial comments; while they may fit 19’s tabloid style, sometimes they border on unprofessional. Channel 3’s Pat Butler does a great job, sometimes inside, sometimes outside in the helicopter. Tops is Pat Brady on 8, who delivers traffic in an informative, professional manner, with just the right amount of energy, and she gets in the helicopter - I think - more than any others.

The Golden Alarm Clock for Best Morning Weather and Traffic goes to:
Channel 8

Set
It seems that Channel 19 is undergoing a set change, which hopefully will bring them up to the newer HD look that other channels already have. Channel 5’s looks unimaginative and cold. Channel 8 unveiled their new HD several months ago, and it is a great improvement from their previous set. The lighting is fantastic and really brings out the best in the on-screen people. The fake Cleveland skyline behind them, however, still leave me cold. Channel 3, who I believe has had their current set longer than the other stations, has the best look and open feel. The weather desk and special reports areas are very visible when cutting away to these special segments. It gives the news much more cohesive energy than other stations.


The Golden Alarm Clock for Best Morning News Set goes to:
Channel 3


Commercial Breaks
I know all the stations have to pay their bills, but some channels show more commercials or break earlier for commercials. Channels 5 and 19 broke for commercials at 5:06 AM, with 8 breaking at 5:08 and 3 breaking at 5:09. Channels 3 and 8 got in more critical news and weather in the first minutes of the show, with 8 getting a quick weather and traffic blurb out virtually at the start of the show. Unscientifically measured, it seemed that channels 5 and 19 had less time for news, with more commercial breaks.

The Golden Alarm Clock for Morning News Commercial Breaks goes to:
Tie channels 3 and 8


Best Overall Morning News Show
The Golden Alarm Clock for Best Overall Morning News Show goes to…Channel 8. They seem to pack the most news, weather, and traffic in each hour, and consistently deliver interesting field reports. The anchors, reporters, weather and traffic people have fantastic chemistry. A close second, though, is Channel 3, who is poised to overtake 8 if they get the right mix of morning personalities on the show.

The “Snooze Alarm” award goes to channels 5 and 19. These shows need a personality infusion with their on air people, and some set changes to make watching the news a more visually interesting experience. They also need stronger - and consistent - weather and traffic reporting. So these channels can take their extra snooze for now, but they’d better wake up soon.


Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, HERE!

UPDATE: Breuer Tower Has a New Owner

This is an update to an issue I covered in my blog on January 7, link here. The Breuer Tower, AKA The Ameritrust Tower, has been saved from both the mismanagement of Cuyahoga County politicians, and the wrecking ball (hard to tell those two things apart).

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has reported that Willoughby-based K&D Group has purchased the Ameritust complex and has some great plans for the Breuer Tower and surrounding buildings, including the Ameritrust Rotunda. Below is the text from the article from the Plain Dealer.

Rendering of Tower, Rotunda, and New Office Building

“Office tower, hotel planned at Ameritrust site

A developer plans to turn the vacant Ameritrust property into a $200 million complex of hotel rooms, residences, a new office tower and a smattering of stores.

The K&D Group would preserve the 29-story tower at East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue, along with an historic rotunda next door, and incorporate them into what could be a 10-block transformation along the Euclid corridor.

"We're really trying to bring life back to the center of town, instead of spreading it out," chief executive Doug Price said Tuesday.

K&D was the only bidder Tuesday for the property, which Cuyahoga County bought in 2005 in what many considered a waste of taxpayer money.

County commissioners paid $22 million for the property, where they planned to build government offices. They invested about $15 million more before abandoning the plan and setting a minimum price of $35 million to sell.

K&D offered the county $35,005,000, and commissioners are expected to snap it up. In the end, the county will have lost about $3 million on the transaction.

Debate continued Tuesday about the prudence of the county's Ameritrust purchase. Some said commissioners acted shrewdly and economically to spur downtown development. Others said supporters were slapping a positive spin on an irresponsible decision.

The Ameritrust purchase would add a prominent and unusual property to K&D's collection of downtown projects. The company owns the Reserve Square complex on East 12th Street, developed the Stonebridge apartments and condos on the West bank of the Flats and is revamping a former department store at 668 Euclid Ave. into residences.

The company has a hand in so many downtown projects that, within two weeks, K&D plans to open a downtown office in Stonebridge Plaza.

"There's other properties we're looking at," Price said during an interview Tuesday after telling county officials about his plans for the Ameritrust site.

Those sites could include other buildings on or near Euclid Avenue. Downtown parking lot owner Lou Frangos, a partner with K&D in the bid, owns more than a dozen chunks of downtown property.

Frangos, head of the Frangos Group and founder of Cleveland's USA Parking Systems, already brought a piece of land to the deal. His property at Prospect Avenue and Bolivar, the former home of the New York Spaghetti House, could become a tower of 153 condos.

Price would not comment on future deals Tuesday, but he had plenty to say about the corner of Euclid and East Ninth. Under his plans, the tower, designed by Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer, would house a boutique hotel of about 170 rooms, topped by about 200 residences.

Hotel visitors would enter the building through the connected historic rotunda, while tower residents would come in through the Breuer building's lobby. The adjacent building at 1010 Euclid Ave. likely would become office space or residences, said architect Robert Corna, who is designing this project and who worked with K&D on Stonebridge.

Nearby buildings at East Ninth and Prospect would come down, to be replaced by a contemporary office tower with as many as 20 floors. This building, comprising 250,000 to 400,000 square feet of top-shelf office space, could feature a rooftop restaurant, ground-floor retail, "green" features and a pedestrian bridge leading to the parking garage across Prospect.

K&D plans to pitch that tower to some of the major downtown office tenants whose leases end soon. That could pit Price against other major developers in a battle for tenants such as manufacturer Eaton Corp., Huntington National Bank, accounting giant Ernst & Young and law firms Baker & Hostetler and Square Sanders & Dempsey.

"We have had several conversations with K&D related to that, and we believe that there would be an interest in a mixed-use project which includes office space at that location," said David Browning, managing director at the Cleveland office of brokerage firm CB Richard Ellis, which represents many key office tenants.

K&D's potential investment can only help the market and boost downtown's image, said Adam Fishman, a principal with Fairmount Properties and a partner in developer Scott Wolstein's mixed-use project on the east bank of the Flats. That said, any new, top-shelf office building will add to the competition.

"There's a finite number of large office tenants that roam the streets these days," Fishman said, adding: "We're extraordinarily pleased with our position in the market as it relates to those handful of tenants."

Being the county's sole bidder doesn't necessarily lock things up for K&D. The county first has to accept the bid, and K&D has to finagle financing for the $35 million purchase, followed by the costly redevelopment and construction.

The company plans to explore a variety of tax credits, tax abatement options, city-sponsored tax increment financing and private sources of funding for the project, Price said.

"It's nothing we haven't done before," he said. "It's just a matter of getting it done."

A link to the Plain Dealer web page, which contains other information about the plans for the complex, is here.


My thanks to the K&D Group, who seems to have the right vision for the tower, and the city of Cleveland.



Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, HERE!

Haunted Cleveland: Franklin Castle

In the fall of 2006, while driving downtown, I hit a detour in the freeway and accidentally took the wrong freeway exit. In trying to get back to my original destination, I got really lost on the West Side of town off I-90. My ability to get my bearings was being hampered because the entire Cleveland area had been hit by pea-soup fog. I could barely see the front of my car, much less street signs or any other landmarks.

Feverishly trying to navigate to Fulton road to try to get on I-71, I found myself taking many side streets, hoping to see something familiar. I finally hit an intersection of a street where I could not go straight and was forced to make a turn. Looking straight ahead, there it was, draped in heavy gray fog – Franklin Castle – looking particularly spooky and scary. The first thing I thought was “Now I know where I am!” and the second thing I thought was “Get away from that house now!”

For those of you not familiar with Cleveland, Franklin Castle is probably it’s most famous allegedly haunted building. In fact, it is considered by some to be the most haunted house in the state of Ohio. Its history is filled with lots or rumor, speculation, and reports of weird happenings.

Franklin Castle is on Franklin Boulevard at the intersection of West 44th Street in the Cleveland neighborhood called Ohio City. The house (Gothic style, what else would you expect?) was built in 1865 for grocer and banking executive, Hannes Tiedemann and his wife Luise.

In 1881, Tiedemann’s daughter died, reportedly of diabetes. Shortly afterwards, Luise Tiedemann's mother died. In the following few years, three more of the Tiedemann’s children died, one of which was only eleven days old. These tragedies fueled speculation that there were more to these deaths than what was originally reported.

Tiedemann began remodeling the home afterwards, in an attempt to distract his wife from these deaths. Many secret passages and rooms were created during that process. A huge ballroom was also constructed, encompassing the entire third floor.

Luise Tiedemann was dead by March 24, 1895, Hannes sold the house, and by 1908 he, and the entire Tiedemann family, were dead. It was also rumored that Hannes Tiedemann had murdered a woman at the house, who could have either been a servant, mistress, niece, or illegitimate daughter. This alleged murder has never been proven, yet there are claims that her ghost still inhabits the house.

The house changed hands many times, some with questionable motives for the use of the house, and more rumored murders. It is alleged that the German Socialist Party, who purchase the house in 1913, machine-gunned to death twenty of their members in a secret room.

The house remained unoccupied for many years, but in the 1960s and 1970s, various owners were reporting stories of strange happenings, noises, and apparitions. One owner, while searching for a secret passageway, found a very old human skeleton.

The Cleveland State University Newspaper, The Cauldron, reported in October of 2007:

“The house switched owners a few more times before Michelle Heimburger, who remains the current owner, purchased it in 1999.

Later that year, a homeless man set fire to the house, eliminating much of the interior restoration that had been done by her and the previous owner. The house, nearly gutted by the fire, sat vacant with no signs of renovation for years before yet more controversy arose.

Heimburger had enlisted real-estate developer Charles Milsaps to oversee the post-arson restoration of the building with intentions of selling it to him.

In 2003 Milsaps announced plans for the building to become the home of the Franklin Castle Club, an upscale social club with membership fees of $5,000. Things were definitely looking up for the building.

Later that year, local ghost buster Mary Ann, best known as the inspiration for the popular television show The Ghost Whisperer, told Cleveland's Scene that the ghosts probably would be detrimental to any possible businesses hoping to take residence at the castle.

"If there are ghosts there, he's going to have terrible problems renovating the place," she said of Milsaps plans.

Mary Ann appears to have been right.

It was revealed last year by The Plain Dealer that although the Web site for the Franklin Castle Club trumps the building as being beautifully restored and club membership to be selling fast, all was not as it seemed.

Milsaps was actually only "reserving" memberships and not selling them. Besides, the club still didn't have a home since renovations were happening at a much slower pace than anticipated.
Several local companies claimed that work done at the castle was not paid for and a lien against the house was awarded to one company.

Earlier this year, the inside of the castle still showed very little progress.

The ghosts still seem to be there, though.

More than a few people claim to have seen the figure of a woman … in a mirror above a first-floor fireplace, during stops at the building on local ghost tours.

Whether it's cursed by negligence or the supernatural, Ohio's most haunted house maintains it's turbulent and unusual history.”

There is plenty of reading on this subject. If you do a Google search on the topic, you’ll find plenty of sources and stories from which to choose. And I guarantee they will all scare you just a little.

So for me, on that foggy, dreary day, the Franklin Castle did help me in finding my way, and gave me the creepy shivers at the same time. I couldn’t get away fast enough.

Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, HERE!

It’s Now Progressive Field – Get Over It!

The Cleveland media announced yesterday that Jacobs Field, the home of The Cleveland Indians, would now be called Progressive Field. Progressive Insurance purchased the naming rights for the playing field, in a 16 year, $3.6 million a year deal. The length of this agreement coincides with the Indians’ lease with Gateway.

If you listen to the media reports, one would think that Progressive was planning on having the venue demolished. For example, USA Today’s website headline says “The Jake is gone: Indians name it Progressive Field.” Local outrage also ensued, more from television news outlets, whining about the name change, and reporting that fans wanted to still call it “The Jake.”

If I were Progressive Insurance, who employs thousands in the Cleveland metro area, I would be a little annoyed that the local media is dismissing the name change and being less than supportive. Full disclosure here: I don't own Progressive stock, I don’t have Progressive Insurance ,nor do I work there, so I have no motivation for defending them. But I think the media has gone a little too far in simply reporting the story, and in this case seems to be unnecessarily starting a fire, or at least fueling one.

Personally, I don’t care who’s name goes on the field where the Indians play. The can call it Progressive Field, or The Prog or The Pro or whatever. OK, don’t call it The P just because it sits next to the Q. I don’t want jokes about minding my Ps and Qs, thank you. But anything else is fine with me.


Those people who still feel that they want to call the place “The Jake” need to get over it and move on. . Naming rights are common in professional sports. Clevelanders should be grateful that Cleveland is still able to support a major league baseball team. Many cities would love to have a team like ours, and probably could care less what the name of the stadium in which the team played was called.

I would just like them to have winning seasons and maybe bring home a World Series title. At least in my lifetime!

Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
HERE!

The Hulett Ore Unloaders: Cleveland's Late Workhorses

Once you’ve seen the Hulett Ore Unloaders, it’s hard to forget them. They looked like giant, prehistoric steel grasshoppers sitting on Whiskey Island. I use the past tense, because they’re not there anymore.

The Huletts were invented in 1898 by George H. Hulett, who was born in Conneaut, Ohio, but grew up in Cleveland. The Huletts were revolutionary at the time, greatly speeding up the process used to unload lake ore carriers. According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: “They could completely unload a ship in 13 hours. Earlier, the same task had taken nearly a week. In their years of service, it is estimated that they unloaded some 100 million tons of material.”

The use of the Huletts spread to other areas around the Great Lakes, with many of them around Lake Erie in the Ports of Cleveland, Conneaut, Ashtabula, Huron, Toledo, and Lorain. The Huletts also played a big part in the development of the iron ore industry – and other related industries – in Ohio. Huletts were not suited for use near ocean waters, due to the rising and falling tides.

The Huletts became increasingly obsolete in the 1980s as the Great Lakes fleets converted to self-unloading ships. Cleveland last used a Hulett in 1992.

The Huletts were on the National Register of Historic Places, and also designated as a Historical Mechanical Engineering Landmark. But, as things usually go, this doesn’t seem to mean much to some. Conrail, who owned the Huletts, wanted them demolished to improve dock efficiency. Despite outrage by locals and preservationists, all the Huletts were dismantled, but two were retained for reconstruction at a later date, with the location to be named later.

To date, no location has been named, nor are any reconstruction plans in place.

(false color image)

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,
HERE!

Breuer Tower (AKA The Cleveland Trust/Ameritrust Tower): A Reprieve?

The Breuer Tower has been the subject of some controversy. You may not know that the building is even there, because it sits so nonchalantly behind its smaller, yet architecturally more obvious neighbor, the old Cleveland Trust rotunda.

What’s the big deal about this building? Well, it’s a prime example of the ignorance, the shortsightedness, and the blind spending of local politicians. More importantly, it has architectural significance. It was designed by modernist Marcel Breuer, in the “brutalist” style, which involves the generous use of raw-looking formed/molded concrete. (One other local design by Breuer was the 1971 addition to the Cleveland Museum of Art.) Breuer is considered a great 20th century architect, and one of the fathers of modernism.

A few years ago, Cuyahoga County paid $22 million dollars for the building, plus 4 other buildings in the complex. The County Commissioners wanted the area for their new headquarters; a project that they promised would revitalize downtown, bring new jobs, and improve government efficiency. None of this is even close to happening.

In June of 2007, the County Commissioners decided to demolish the building to make way for a new administrative center. Uproar ensued. They continued to pour money into asbestos removal, and by December of 2007, spend almost $6 million dollars into removal, and for architectural design. During the asbestos removal process, the lobby window, one of the key architectural pieces of the building, was destroyed. The architectural world was somewhat outraged that this building would be so easily discarded by the city and county, and the county was openly chided by many.


Now the County Commissioners realize it doesn’t have the money to complete the project and wants to sell the building, and focus county money towards the proposed Medical Mart and other projects. The Commissioners also seem no farther along in their plans for a new headquarters.

The building is not a beauty, I’ll admit. And it’s not even 50 years old (it was completed in 1971). From an architectural standpoint, though, it is a significant structure and can have great value for the city over time. It is also listed on the National register of Historic Places, and while part of the Euclid Avenue Historic District, it is considered technically outside the period that the district covers (early 20th-century structures). Being on the register, however, doesn’t prevent the owner of the property from razing the building.

So while the County Commissions do what they do best – spending taxpayer money without foresight and vision - the Breuer Tower waits patiently for someone to adopt it and care for it. Lets hope someone with deep pockets and a real, long-term vision for the city will step forward.


Update January 15, 2008
From The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“K&D only bidder for former Ameritrust property
January 15, 2008

The K&D Group was the only bidder this morning on the former Ameritrust complex at East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue. The Willoughby company bid $35,005,000 for the property, $5,000 more than the minimum bid set by Cuyahoga County.

The county bought the property for $22 million in 2005, intending to turn it into government offices. K&D proposes turning it into a mixed-use facility.

K&D said it would keep the Ameritrust Tower and the historic rotunda intact. The lower floors of that building would become a boutique hotel with 160 to 170 rooms. The upper floors would hold about 200 residential units. K&D said it hopes to line up a tenant for office space in the building during the next year.

The company also plans to build a new Class A office building on the site. The entire complex will become the centerpiece of the Euclid corridor, K&D said.”

Links to Cleveland Plain Dealer articles from January 14th and 15th,
HERE and HERE.




Check out my blog home page for the latest information,
HERE!

Tallest in Cleveland: The Key Tower

The granite-faced Key Tower sits impressively on Cleveland's Public Square. At 57 stories and 947 feet tall, it is the tallest building in Cleveland, the tallest in Ohio, and the 16th tallest in the United States. It was originally called the Society Center (for Society Bank, the original owners), and was renamed after Key Bank acquired the company. It was designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates. On a clear day - yes, we do have those in Cleveland - the building is viewable for many miles.

At the time of its completion in 1991, it was the tallest building between New York City and Chicago. It has since been eclipsed by the Comcast Center in Philadelphia, PA (57 stories, 974 feet tall).

The complex also includes a separate building for the Marriott Hotel. The old terra-cotta Engineer's Building, which was the first major office building in the United States built and owned by a labor union, was razed to make way for the hotel.

In December it was reported that the top floor of the Key Tower was finally getting its first tenant. A law firm signed a 10 year lease for the 57th floor, which had been sitting unfinished since the building's completion in 1991.

The Key Tower is the only skyscraper in Cleveland that I haven't had the pleasure to visit above ground floor. I've been told the view is fantastic; I hope one day to be able to see it for myself.

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,
HERE!