Cleveland "rebirth" is somewhat true but generally overblown, and certainly not new (Youngstown: apartments, hotels)

[kpl1228]

For those of us "of a certain age" who remember all of the other "renaissance" periods of "Comeback City," (46 years and counting, basically, since the days of national Cleveland jokes on late night TV and the burning river) it's hard to not roll their eyes when national travel writers and such refer to Cleveland as having this remarkable renaissance, as having come back from the dead, etc etc etc.
Often hyped: The Museum of Art, Little Italy, Severance Hall, The Arcade, The Flats (itself on another rebirth), West Side Market........all enjoyed for decades and hyped in travel magazines and articles for years and years. Rock Hall is now 20 yrs old, and Warehouse District also. Rebirth, or recent hype? I say the latter.
So what's new? Some new developments downtown, incl. housing and hotels, a couple of neighborhoods have seen an influx of hipsters and their assorted shops and eating and drinking spots. All encouraging and positive but a Band-Aid on huge existing problems.
In no real order: The Plum, The Best Location in The Nation, The All-American City, The Comeback City, and other brandings of a city recovering, for decades now. (And I know I'm forgetting some...maybe even that Cle/Akr/Youngstown triumvirate thing they tried marketing hard a few years back). They go marching by every few years or so. This is not a new thing. Yet so many (incl. on this forum) are convinced they now live in a Phoenix (pardon the pun) rising from the ashes.
The hipsters may be enjoying this "selected" rebirth in certain areas, but the exodus of HQs from downtown, and continuing population loss (now less than 400K in the city proper, for the love of Pete), and the weakened schools are the real issue to spotlight and discuss, much as I love the new Hilton.
As glad as I am to see them, a few thousand new young educated urban-dwelling residents could never, and will never, replace the now hundreds of thousands who died and were not replaced naturally, or those who left when jobs vanished. And all of that happened during the other Cleveland "comebacks", by the way.
Love Cleveland, always will. But much of the neat stuff was always there, and was always being visited by locals and out of towners. And this latest version of "Cleveland's renaissance" as hyped by the press and city and bloggers is yet another effort at positive image-making. Nothing wrong with that, but again, nothing new at all. And as was the case in all of those other versions of urban redevelopment, a lot of window-dressing. Always has been.

[bjimmy24]

Methinks someone hasn't been paying close attention.

And no, the warehouse district and e. 4 and the flats were not being visited 20 years ago.

Come back and see for yourself.

I'm even very critical of a lot of Cleveland stuff, but the points you bring up are not the ones that I would bring up to downplay development.

[WRnative]

The demise of Cleveland as a headquarters city and the loss of the excellent school system (by the 1960s) are major losses. The great downtown department stores are gone, although there were no suburban malls.

However, in all of its history, it's doubtful that Cleveland has ever had as vibrant dining scene as currently.

There was nothing like PlayhouseSquare ever, even though vaudeville/movies were much more predominate until the 1950s, and at least one of the best theaters was torn down (the Hippodrome actually had a tank to allow divers, including horses).

Hippodrome Theatre in Cleveland, OH - Cinema Treasures

Hippodrome Theatre in Cleveland, OH - Cinema Treasures

Quality time at the Hippodrome: Cleveland Remembers | cleveland.com

The great pipe organ at Public Hall/Music Hall was allowed to fall into repair and even to be vandalized (major pipes reportedly were stolen and sold as scrap), and neither venue today is widely used although extraordinary. Ditto, the Masonic Auditorium, with its great acoustics (perhaps consider a visit to Masonic Auditorium while it still is open).

Preserve historic pipe organ housed in Public Auditorium | cleveland.com


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLdVRYk4F3k

Public Auditorium – Cleveland, OH | The American Municipal Pipe Organ Website Public Auditorium – Cleveland, OH |

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Auditorium

Masonic Temple | Cleveland Historical

Cleveland Masonic Auditorium

Wouldn't it have been great if a great patriotic organ recital could have been performed for the Republican National Convention?

Cleveland has never had the quality downtown residential neighborhood that exists today.

The Flats as entertainment district is rising far beyond prior levels.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance Hall, Case Western, and University Circle in its entirety is far greater in years past. Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and the Lake Metroparks system are relatively recent additions.

The excellence of Cleveland's medical institutions is greater than in past decades, but may have passed their comparative apex.

The downtown pro sports scene well eclipses anything in the city's past.

Lakefront mainstays such as the Rock Hall and Great Lakes Science Center are relatively recent additions.

The vibrancy of downtown and the Market District is far greater than three to four decades ago. Porn shops used to dot West 25th St., even across from a relatively dilapidated West Side Market.

Although downtown's commercial and retail vitality is a shadow of its past, otherwise downtown is far superior and more enjoyable. I remember when East 4th St. and even the Warehouse District used to be foreboding places. The air downtown was highly polluted, especially by bus diesel fumes, but also by massive industrial air pollution from the Flats.

[TheProf]

^And don't forget the hookers and peep-shows that thrived in/around Prospect and E. 4th near the long-gone old "new" Central Market -- now ground zero bars, restaurants, apartments, hotels, sports venues ... and more.

[Cleverfield]

According to the latest census estimates, since 2010, Cleveland has seen the slowest rate of population loss since it peaked in 1950 (Cleveland population loss slows; find latest census estimates for every U.S. city, county and state | cleveland.com). That is a very positive sign. It's not just a facade, or a rebranding; our city is very much coming back. The economy is getting stronger, unemployment is very low, investment dollars are moving into the city, and educated young people are coming back. I work in the housing industry, and we see a lot of people moving here from out of state; housing demand is very high, and values are going up.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

According to the latest census estimates, since 2010, Cleveland has seen the slowest rate of population loss since it peaked in 1950 (Cleveland population loss slows; find latest census estimates for every U.S. city, county and state | cleveland.com). That is a very positive sign. It's not just a facade, or a rebranding; our city is very much coming back. The economy is getting stronger, unemployment is very low, investment dollars are moving into the city, and educated young people are coming back. I work in the housing industry, and we see a lot of people moving here from out of state; housing demand is very high, and values are going up.

Hopefully both the city and region will have population growth soon. Otherwise, it's shuffling people around as the region continues to shrink and falls further behind.

[kpl1228]

I agree with all of what everyone's saying, except the statement of how no one was in the flats or warehouse district 20 years ago. I played in bar bands in the flats with boats parked four deep and people eating at the warehouse district and partying in the flats......Exactly 20 years ago this summer. During the glory days of the Indians....a great time to be playing in a band downtown.
What I guess I was trying to say is that we have always had urban renewal projects and we have always had city fathers branding the renewal with a catchphrase focused on highlighting a rebound from a much worse previous years. Name your decade, there was a downtown or neighborhood revitalization project or two or three. All touting downtown living or improved entertainment or sports facilities or your medium sized skyscraper du jour. And all hyping a "rebirth" and all buying in. Same same.

[averysgore]

Originally Posted by kpl1228

Name your decade, there was a downtown or neighborhood revitalization project or two or three. All touting downtown living or improved entertainment or sports facilities or your medium sized skyscraper du jour. And all hyping a "rebirth" and all buying in. Same same.

This is precisely what makes the current rebirth different. It's not just "The Stadiums" or "The Warehouse District" or "The Tower City Mall." It's whole neighborhoods being filled with new restaurants, shops, parks, and amenities. This didn't happen in the 80's or 90's.

[ZnGuy]

I'm downtown couple nights to attend Cavs game, I wanted to pick up some clothing items, not gonna happen downtown these days I guess. I remember years ago Tower City and Galleria had some decent shopping. Seems to all have
faded away..

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by ZnGuy

I'm downtown couple nights to attend Cavs game, I wanted to pick up some clothing items, not gonna happen downtown these days I guess. I remember years ago Tower City and Galleria had some decent shopping. Seems to all have
faded away..

Galleria has been tanking since the late '90s and TC not much longer after that. Not sure where you've been on the downtown retail scene. Cleveland is not alone in lacking downtown retail but I would expect the retail options to increase as the population increases.