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Greetings from Cleveland

M

MayDay

Member
Messages
19
Points
1
If any of you frequent the forum at skyscraperpage.com, you know who I am.

For those of you who don't, I've been a lurker at this forum for quite some time. I'm the webmaster of clevelandskyscrapers.com and I'm interested in a lot aspects of urban areas - real estate, adaptive reuse, transit, etc. I may be a skyscraper geek, but it's the other stuff that makes the skyscrapers possible.

I'm a native of northeast Ohio, being born and raised near Youngstown, and I've been living in the Cleveland area for about 10 years. I'm interested in local happenings (if you have questions about the area, let me know), but also in other cities around the globe. I have a lot of images of a lot of buildings, streetscapes, etc. of Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, etc. so if you'd like to see some, just let me know.
 
mendelman

mendelman

Unfrozen Caveman Planner
Staff member
Moderator
Messages
12,793
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43
Tranplanner said:
Welcome from another Great Lakes City resident!
Click to expand...
And another!!

P.S. I lke the Cleveland area. I've spent alot of time in the area. My aunt and her family live in Berea.
 
michaelskis

michaelskis

Cyburbian
Messages
19,474
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44
mendelman said:
And another!!

P.S. I lke the Cleveland area. I've spent alot of time in the area. My aunt and her family live in Berea.
Click to expand...

And yet another, *but living on the east coast for the moment.
 
michaelskis

michaelskis

Cyburbian
Messages
19,474
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MayDay said:


I'm a native of northeast Ohio, being born and raised near Youngstown, and I've been living in the Cleveland area for about 10 years. I'm interested in local happenings (if you have questions about the area, let me know), but also in other cities around the globe. I have a lot of images of a lot of buildings, streetscapes, etc. of Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, etc. so if you'd like to see some, just let me know.
Click to expand...

I think that you are going to enjoy, and contribute to Guess That City (GTC)

Just be kind... I have never one any of them.
 
Cardinal

Cardinal

Cyburbian
Messages
10,080
Points
34
Greetings from a small city in Wisconsin with nothing over twelve stories tall.
 
nerudite

nerudite

Cyburbian
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6,544
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30
Welcome to the forums. Looks like our Great Lakes contigency just keeps growing and growing...
 
H

H

Cyburbian
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2,850
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I saw a semi-pro wrestling match with the Youngstown Boys once! (I was there for laughs I don’t really get into wrestling that much). The same meet also had midgets and Jasmine St Claire (porn queen) wrestling ;)

Welcome.

EDIT: All were fully clothed.
 
S

SkeLeton

Cyburbian
Messages
4,853
Points
26
Welcome...
Too bad that my city doesn't have anything above 11 floors... so no sky scrapers here.
 
O

oulevin

Cyburbian
Messages
178
Points
7
Welcome, fellow Clevelander! What do you think about the convention center goings-on?
 
M

MayDay

Member
Messages
19
Points
1
Thank you all for the warm welcome.

"What do you think about the convention center goings-on?"

I think, quite frankly that the combination of the spineless "yes-man" city leaders and the big fish/small pond business leaders will ensure that this project's potential will be squandered. It's sounding like Gateway all over again, without many of the beneficial results.

I could elaborate if you're interested - it's such a soap opera that I could easily go on and on...
 
O

oulevin

Cyburbian
Messages
178
Points
7
It's appearing to be the classic downtown v. neighborhoods clash, and it doesn't need to be. What I like about the favored Tower City bank proposal is the construction of housing on the other side of the Cuyahoga. More quality, diverse housing options downtown are key to bring people back into the city. Still, the combination of the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality and the failure to make downtown a retail center and livable neighborhood is forcing business leaders to do this; the convention center really is just a band-aid for some deeper social and economic problems.

What do you think?
 
M

MayDay

Member
Messages
19
Points
1
I apologize in advance for the length - but you did ask :)

"It's appearing to be the classic downtown v. neighborhoods clash, and it doesn't need to be. What I like about the favored Tower City bank proposal is the construction of housing on the other side of the Cuyahoga. More quality, diverse housing options downtown are key to bring people back into the city."

I agree with you, and while I like the concept of the housing being constructed on the Scranton Road peninsula, I have very serious doubts about Forest City's willingness to do so. They have had that property for decades, and as mentioned in a recent article in the Plain Dealer, have sat on it. They also stated that they would building housing according to "market conditions" - riiiight. I think the city should give FC the ultimatum - build the residential component along with the center or p!ss off. Think about it - FC's first proposal would have decimated one of downtown Cleveland's most vibrant districts. The fact they even initially considered the Warehouse District site makes me question their support for their own backyard - like the saying goes, "don't sh!t where you eat".

Even more mind-boggling is the fact that Forest City said they would "expand" Tower City Center's shopping. Last time I checked, some of the prime storefronts have yet to be filled - DAPY, Disney, Museum Company (within the month), and J. Crew has downsized to a single-floor format - and until about a month ago, the STILL vacant Higbee Building facade was downright filthy. I think the city needs to lean a little on FC to first fix what they have before they get another bit of corporate welfare (I'm not entirely opposed to corporate welfare but make them earn it). If they can't keep an albatross like the Higbee Building clean, do they really truly deserve what many have said will be the most expensive public project in Cleveland's history?

To add a little more insult to injury, some of the city leaders had the shameless gall to say that their site selection had NOTHING to do with Forest City and the Ratner family's political clout. If they're going to try to win public support, the last thing they need to do is insult the voters with such tripe.

"Still, the combination of the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality and the failure to make downtown a retail center and livable neighborhood is forcing business leaders to do this; the convention center really is just a band-aid for some deeper social and economic problems."

I agree with the comment about "the Joneses" - but I think that some of the fault in the downtown retail failure lies with the long-time area residents who migrated from the inner-city/inner-ring 'burbs. They're the ones I always hear saying "they should do something about downtown" when in fact it was THEY who contributed to downtown's decline. They're the ones who occupy the "Balkan" states (aka established suburbs) who keep the "us vs. them" mentality alive.

... just my two cents :)
 
B

BKM

Cyburbian
Messages
6,464
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29
Welcome from an ex-Midwesterner (Fort Wayne, Indiana) who's fled winter, summer humidity, and Indiana planner salaries for California. My outer Bay Area suburb has nothing taller than four stories, though :)

Cleveland is a cool city!
 
M

Michele Zone

BANNED
Messages
7,657
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29
Welcome Mayday. I thought about using that avatar, because it's funny. I did very briefly -- for like 2 posts and at some ungodly hour, so maybe no one knew -- have Buckwheat as my avatar. But I couldn't get it say "My hair on a humid day in Georgia" so I didn't keep it. I like your style.
 
R

Rem

Cyburbian
Messages
1,524
Points
23
Hello and welcome.

Our City's tallest building is 6 stories (if you don't count power stations) - though we have recently approved and construction has commenced on a ten story mixed use building. Shorter than both Stumpfy (Boony) and Skel - must try harder.
 
Dan

Dan

Dear Leader
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Moderator
Messages
17,842
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59
Cleveland rocks!

East Side or West Side? I had a job interview in the area last week, on the far East Side (Lake County). If I get the job, I'll probably settle down in one of the Heights 'burbs off of I-271, Willoughby, or Wickliffe.
 
JNA

JNA

Cyburbian Plus
Messages
24,908
Points
52
welcome from another midwesterner.

how's the river doing?
 
P

Plannerbabs

Cyburbian
Messages
1,038
Points
23
Howdy from yet another midwesterner! We've got some skyscrapers here--one's pushing 50 stories, I think.
 
biscuit

biscuit

Cyburbian
Messages
3,904
Points
25
Howdy!
As a Pittsburgh resident I believe I'm required to greet you with a hearty, "Cleveland Sucks!" But I haven't been here lived here long enough to care. Welcome and enjoy!
 
Gedunker

Gedunker

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11,146
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35
Make a Wish.

We have a "Stockholm Syndrome" 14 story building here. Fortunately, I get to look at the Humana Building in Louisville quite a bit. It is a gem.
 
DecaturHawk

DecaturHawk

Cyburbian
Messages
880
Points
22
Welcome! I have been to clevelandskyscrapers.com and love it! It's one of the better "city architecture" sites out there, and I love that Akron, Canton, and Youngstown are included. The Midwest has a treasure trove of great old multi-story buildings, and it would be great if others would follow your lead and create websites celebrating skyscrapers in other cities. Be sure to post in Guess the City (in the FAC).
 
M

MayDay

Member
Messages
19
Points
1
Whoa! Sorry it took me a while to get back but thanks everyone for your kind replies!

I should reiterate that while I do admire high-rise architecture, it's not the end-all, be-all of urban areas for me. In fact, I'd much rather see better planning in a city than tall buildings just for height's sake.

Since I last posted, the convention center idea tanked although it's still being tossed around. Thanks again folks - what a nice welcome :)
 
E

Elisabeth

Cyburbian
Messages
157
Points
7
Welcome from New York....go Browns!! We have two personal seat licenses/season ticket holders in my fam and one of my older brothers actually stole a brick from the old stadium while it was being demolished! Cleveland is a great city though--I'm a big fan of the Flats.
 
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