Cleveland- Detroit's Sad Twin

It's not that I didn't like Cleveland, it's just that I didn't find it all that interesting. Here's a synopsis of our stint in the 'Forest City.'




I convinced Janel that we should go to Cleveland as I had never been there. My experiences include a trip to Seaworld, an overnight stay downtown in February for a conference during college, and driving well south of the city on the Ohio Turnpike. As an urban planner in southeast Michigan, Cleveland comes up because it faces a lot of the same issues as Detroit, it has seen some success recently in some issues, especially vacant land management, and it is perennially a lovable loser (particularly its sports teams, unless LeBron James has anything to say about it.)

Janel has been to Cleveland on several occasions and the look on her face was similar to most people's: are you serious? Cleveland? If you're a fan of 'How I Met Your Mother' you'll recall that Ted is from Cleveland and the city is the butt of many jokes on the show. Cleveland is also the butt of many jokes in real life. Nevertheless, I believe you have to check a place out before you believe what's said about it.

Armed with recommendations from a classmate of mine who is from Cleveland, we got up early and made the three hour trek to Cleveland from Ann Arbor. Our first destination was the West Side Market in Ohio City (a neighborhood of Cleveland). The West Side Market is in an old train station and is filled with meat vendors, bread makers, and bakeries. There is a small shed with fruits and vegetables, but this market is all about the meats and sweets!

Bacon. I'll spare you the photo of the full pig. 

Bread. Delicious in almost any variety you could imagine. 

One of MANY sweets vendors. Strawberry cheesecakes!  

The SIZE of these things! If you can't see, at the very top are GIANT cream puffs and the bottom or Napoleans. 

After the market we took a quick hike down the block, but we were too early to investigate some of the interesting looking restaurants. Great Lakes Brewing Company is around the corner from the market and had we been there at the right time, we probably would have stopped for a bite and a brew, but we were far too early this morning. 

Instead, we drove down to Lake Erie to check out Edgewater Park. This park is pretty big and designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (Central Park guy). The park has some great views of the skyline and was host to a middle school cross-country meet the day we were there. We saw lots of kids running and parents cheering and dogs barking all throughout the park. As it was a chilly day, we didn't stay long, but long enough to check out what is surely a pretty cool park in the summer time, and clearly a great asset for Cleveland. 

After the waterfront, we went to downtown Cleveland. Downtown is home to the sports stadiums, a casino, and a little street called 'Fourth Street' that hosts entertainment venues like the House of Blues. The street is open only to pedestrians and has outdoor cafes and seating, all within walking distance of the stadiums. Downtown Cleveland reminded me a lot of Detroit. For every block that had something happening on it, another block was filled with empty buildings. Clearly investment is coming to the city as many buildings are being rehabbed and the new Bus Rapid Transit line is taking shape along one of the major thoroughfares. Like Detroit, without a sporting event in town and no work on Saturdays, downtown was fairly lifeless. It didn't stop us from having lunch at an Irish pub and soaking in some sights. 

This is 4th Street. It's pretty cool, right?

Public Square. I enjoyed this because of the tall buildings and public spaces. 

Finally, we ventured over to University City, home to Case Western and the medical campuses in Cleveland. This is where a lot of investment is happening. We went to the art museum which was beautiful and are probably in the background of photos for five different weddings who roamed the grounds while we were there. This was absolutely the prettiest part of Cleveland we saw and home to the most people out on foot. We were pretty tired by this point in the day so we just wandered through the art galleries and drank some coffee while soaking in the sun. 

Case Western University from across the park pond. 

Cleveland Art Museum is pretty cool because they kept the original building (left) and built an addition around it to create this awesome atrium. Very picturesque. 

At the end of the day I was underwhelmed. For all the hype I'd heard about Cleveland it reminded me of my own depressing rustbelt city in Michigan. Cleveland is clearly further along than Detroit as there are neighborhoods with some activity in them, but a mere block from the medical center parking were dilapidated houses and vacant lots. 

Cleveland helped me see what most people see when they come to Detroit: a run-down city with too much work to do. The pockets of activity are nice and there are places with a cool feel and what I'm sure is tasty food, but it is still a tough place to live. Like Detroit, Cleveland is a sad city with a cloud of gloom hanging over the fanfare and optimism of entrepreneurs and investors ready to make some serious cash.