Cleveland OH day trip (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: 2014, hotel, neighborhoods)

[wpipkins2]

My wife and I took the kids to Cleveland last Thursday. We planned on a quick turn around but our day trip turned into a weekend. We arrived late afternoon and decided to stay overnight. We booked a room in the Renaisance Hotel thats part of the Tower City complex. Cleveland is a beautiful city and one of the best midwestern cities.

· The tower city complex is the lifeline of the city. I dont care for urban malls but tower city works well for cleveland. The mall has the same type of retail the we have in downtown pittsburgh minus a major department store. The retail has everything from Brooks Brothers to Rainbow. The mall lost many of its high end retailers that were part of the original development in the 90s. The mall takes away from street level activity but the main subway/rapid platforms beneath makes it feel very urban. The long abandoned department store is now the Horseshoe casino. Im not a gambler but the casino addition compliments the complex.

· The Healthline was just outside of the complex. My son and I road the Healthline from Tower City to University Circle. Its was clean and efficient, not really rapid though. Since its not on a dedicated roadway you never reach speads greater than 30 mph not to mention the traffic signals. You exit the buses on the left or right depending on platform location. The Healthline is as long as the MLK East Busway but its at street level for its entire length. The Euclid cooridor is in transition with lots of development along the way. Much of the developments are bland but probably replaced abandoned empty lots. Overall the Healthline is a positive for the area.

·The Cleveland Museum of Art was spectacular. We loved the glass topped addition. We spent a couple hours there and the staff was helpful.

·University Circle is a beautiful area with lots of historic architecture. Its similar to Oakland in that way but not as populated. The street activity was lacking but the area was clogged with traffic. Oakland has a better mix of architecture than University Circle.

·We walked to the University Circle rapid train platform from the art museum. It was approximately 1 mile. The entrace and platform was intimidating. My son screamed out " Candy Man" but there are plans to renovate. Once on the train you get the feeling of riding on the busway as you ride next to freight trian tracks and grafiti walls. The trains are dated but are heavily used. From the rapid you cant help but notice the decay in some neighborhoods. Lots of bombed out areas. It took about 15 minutes to get from University Circle to Tower City.

·The empty lots next to public square are huge. Each lot is 4x the size ofvthe grant street parcel. If those block long lots are developed, the warehouse district and the tower city complex can reunite. One or two 600ft towers would work wonders for the already beautiful skyline. The fourth ave district is the Cleveland version or market square. The amount of historic preservation on Euclid will rival Liberty Ave once complete.

Cleveland is a true urban gem.

[ki0eh]

We make carfree winter trips in winter/shoulder seasons typically, never thought of going to Cleveland. Did you drive and park, or fly, or take the middle of the night train?

[zman63]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

My wife and I took the kids to Cleveland last Thursday. We planned on a quick turn around but our day trip turned into a weekend. We arrived late afternoon and decided to stay overnight. We booked a room in the Renaisance Hotel thats part of the Tower City complex. Cleveland is a beautiful city and one of the best midwestern cities.

· The tower city complex is the lifeline of the city. I dont care for urban malls but tower city works well for cleveland. The mall has the same type of retail the we have in downtown pittsburgh minus a major department store. The retail has everything from Brooks Brothers to Rainbow. The mall lost many of its high end retailers that were part of the original development in the 90s. The mall takes away from street level activity but the main subway/rapid platforms beneath makes it feel very urban. The long abandoned department store is now the Horseshoe casino. Im not a gambler but the casino addition compliments the complex.

· The Healthline was just outside of the complex. My son and I road the Healthline from Tower City to University Circle. Its was clean and efficient, not really rapid though. Since its not on a dedicated roadway you never reach speads greater than 30 mph not to mention the traffic signals. You exit the buses on the left or right depending on platform location. The Healthline is as long as the MLK East Busway but its at street level for its entire length. The Euclid cooridor is in transition with lots of development along the way. Much of the developments are bland but probably replaced abandoned empty lots. Overall the Healthline is a positive for the area.

·The Cleveland Museum of Art was spectacular. We loved the glass topped addition. We spent a couple hours there and the staff was helpful.

·University Circle is a beautiful area with lots of historic architecture. Its similar to Oakland in that way but not as populated. The street activity was lacking but the area was clogged with traffic. Oakland has a better mix of architecture than University Circle.

·We walked to the University Circle rapid train platform from the art museum. It was approximately 1 mile. The entrace and platform was intimidating. My son screamed out " Candy Man" but there are plans to renovate. Once on the train you get the feeling of riding on the busway as you ride next to freight trian tracks and grafiti walls. The trains are dated but are heavily used. From the rapid you cant help but notice the decay in some neighborhoods. Lots of bombed out areas. It took about 15 minutes to get from University Circle to Tower City.

·The empty lots next to public square are huge. Each lot is 4x the size ofvthe grant street parcel. If those block long lots are developed, the warehouse district and the tower city complex can reunite. One or two 600ft towers would work wonders for the already beautiful skyline. The fourth ave district is the Cleveland version or market square. The amount of historic preservation on Euclid will rival Liberty Ave once complete.

Cleveland is a true urban gem.

I always felt cleveland had the edge over its rustbelt peers for a turnaround.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by zman63

I always felt cleveland had the edge over its rustbelt peers for a turnaround.

And yet it is the furthest away from such a turnaround.

Greater Cleveland lost more jobs than any U.S. metro area for 4 months straight | cleveland.com

Greater Cleveland continues to shed more jobs than any big city metro area in the nation | cleveland.com

Greater Cleveland sheds more jobs than any large metro area in the country -- yet again | cleveland.com

Cleveland region loses more jobs than any metro area in the nation; Akron area gains jobs - Business - Ohio

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

And yet it is the furthest away from such a turnaround.

Greater Cleveland lost more jobs than any U.S. metro area for 4 months straight | cleveland.com

Greater Cleveland continues to shed more jobs than any big city metro area in the nation | cleveland.com

Greater Cleveland sheds more jobs than any large metro area in the country -- yet again | cleveland.com

Cleveland region loses more jobs than any metro area in the nation; Akron area gains jobs - Business - Ohio

Hey at least Cleveland is #1 at something

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

We make carfree winter trips in winter/shoulder seasons typically, never thought of going to Cleveland. Did you drive and park, or fly, or take the middle of the night train?

I drove and parked. I prefer urban destinations. Once there i rarely drive. I prefer public transportation. You get a feel for the real city.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by zman63

I always felt cleveland had the edge over its rustbelt peers for a turnaround.

I think Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are ahead of the game. Cleveland does have what it takes to make a comeback. It has the transportation infrastructure to do so.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

We make carfree winter trips in winter/shoulder seasons typically, never thought of going to Cleveland. Did you drive and park, or fly, or take the middle of the night train?

From downtown Pittsburgh to downtown Cleveland took 1hr 56 min.

[reretarff]

The city is trying to rebuild the city, along with it's abandoned buildings and open lots by 2019.

[zman63]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

And yet it is the furthest away from such a turnaround.

Greater Cleveland lost more jobs than any U.S. metro area for 4 months straight | cleveland.com

Greater Cleveland continues to shed more jobs than any big city metro area in the nation | cleveland.com

Greater Cleveland sheds more jobs than any large metro area in the country -- yet again | cleveland.com

Cleveland region loses more jobs than any metro area in the nation; Akron area gains jobs - Business - Ohio

You know whats funny about this? The fact that cleveland is so much worse than pittsburgh, but has so much more revenue coming in. How do you figure that?

Cleveland city budget for 2013 was 1.3 billion dollars and they had a 50 million dollar surplus. Pittsburgh's city budget for 2013 was 460 million and either broke even or had a 3 million surplus max.

How is cleveland able to pay 176,000 for a public safety director, operate hopkins airport, and still show a 50 million dollar surplus? While people claim pittsburgh as all of these jobs and new people coming in but cannot pay its bills or come close to offering the same salary as cleveland. Pittsburgh charges 3 percent wage tax while the city of cleveland is 1 percent.

I am sorry I do not buy all of these feel good articles about pittsburgh being the greatest. Nor do I buy these articles stating cleveland is the worst.