In Cleveland for a couple days (Euclid, Green: apartment, hotel, house)

[cdodge04]

hey guys,
I'm in Cleveland for a couple of days and I have no idea where to go or what to do. I'm staying at the Renaissance Hotel. I walked around on the streets a bit and saw a lot of bars and stuff but outside of that I just havent seen much. I dont have a car so whatever there is to do within walking distance is great. I'm a bit weary of walking the streets as i'm not familiar with the area and i dont know where it is safe to go and where its not...

help a skinny white boy out!

-Chad

[boardmanite]

Try the Science Center
Great Lakes Science Center

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Tower City
Tower City Center

Warehouse District
cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland

The Flats
cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland

Or take a bus out to University Circle to see the museums or Little Italy
cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland

Hope you enjoy your stay in Cleveland!

[twange]

Do not go to the Flats(especially the East bank), there is nothing there now but a skanky strip joint. The area is being prepared for a massive redevelopment project. Currently it looks like Iraq

This is probably a slight exaggeration, but only slight

I agree with the previous poster to hop on the RAPID train(red-line) and head to University Circle/Little Italy. Great area to check out. You can get on the train at Tower City, a two minute walk from where you are staying.

You are also close to House of Blues if you're into that sort of thing. The Rock Hall is also cool.

Unfortunately, I would say stay away from Euclid Ave between House of Blues and Playhouse Square(E.14th) at this time. While it is the main artery of downtown, it's going through a massive renovation as well and is very dark, desolate and full of panhandlers lurking in every nook and cranny.

That reminds me, Playhouse Square has some of the most impressive Deco era theaters in the country. There's always something going on there:music, plays etc...

If you are a sports fan, you could walk over and check out an Indians game at Jacobs Field, again a few minutes walk. They'll be at home this week.

Enjoy Cleveland!

[boardmanite]

Originally Posted by twange

Do not go to the Flats(especially the East bank), there is nothing there now but a skanky strip joint.

Is the Flats really that bad now? I haven't been there in several years, and I've heard it's not what it used to be, but wow! Iraq?! What on earth happened there? Did the river catch on fire again?! Enlighten me.

[twange]

Originally Posted by boardmanite

Is the Flats really that bad now? I haven't been there in several years, and I've heard it's not what it used to be, but wow! Iraq?! What on earth happened there? Did the river catch on fire again?! Enlighten me.

If you remember, about 4-5 years back, there was were several "incidents" that contributed to this downward spiral. First, there were a few clubs that had some problems with underage drinking, excessive brawling, gang activity(especially The Basement). Then, there were a couple of very unfortunate accidents of drunk folks falling into the river and drowning. Those were the highlights. Basically, the East Bank began to deteriorate and attract a younger, lower-income based, drink/fight crowd. This happened around the time that the Warehouse District really took off and so, people with more money and more cosmopolitan tastes just moved up the hill.

Meanwhile, developers(Scott Wolstein) got into the East Bank with plans of massive redevelopment and systematically bought/squeezed out the remaining tenants. They have been in an bitter eminent domain battle over the properties. I'm not kidding you, there is about two clubs that remain open right now. A far cry from what was happening there in the mid-late 90s. Most of the buildings along the north-eastern side of the river have been torn down. It's very sad really, that things had to reach this point. Redevelopment can be a great thing though I'm not sure a complete meltdown was necessary. But I hope the plan works because the Flats are interesting historically and Cleveland needs it desperately I just hope they keep some of the cool old buildings down there. It's an old shipping yard...that's what makes it cool

The plan is to build upscale housing, entertainment and retail down there. Who will buy these places is yet to be determined, since Cleveland is very poor right now. But check out these links:

cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland
cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland

As a musician, I remember playing there every weekend form 1996-2000. The place was absolutely slammed on weekends

BTW here's a pic from the Flats recently:

[cdodge04]

The flats sounds like a good place for a skinny white boy from Maine to stay away from! :-)

[twange]

Originally Posted by cdodge04

The flats sounds like a good place for a skinny white boy from Maine to stay away from! :-)

Come back in a few years, hopefully things will be better!

[boardmanite]

Very interesting article, Twange. Thanks for the update on the Flats. And skinny, white boy, sorry for steering you into such a blighted area!

[twange]

Originally Posted by boardmanite

Very interesting article, Twange. Thanks for the update on the Flats. And skinny, white boy, sorry for steering you into such a blighted area!

Well, thanks but I wish I didn't have to pass along that info!

[TheProf]

You can also hop the rapid transit train to Shaker Square; a 12 min ride from Tower City on the Blue or Green Lines. It's an historic square of shops, restaurants and a 6-screen cine-a-plex -- in warm weather people eat out on patios. There are a lot of brownstown apartment buildings around and it feels like an urban/East Coast kind of neighborhood; very diverse...

One stop west on the Red Line Rapid is Ohio City, with the historic West Side Market (not open every day, though) and a neat, reviving strip of restaurants and stores, w/ historic Victorian homes on the side streets...

The Tower City Rapid station is attached to your hotel via an indoors connection thru the Mall (the station's in the basement.