artsy areas in Cleveland? (Columbus, Cleveland Heights: rental car, appointed, rental)

[annaegel]

Thank you all for your feedback. It has been very helpful.


Yes, they will be renting a car and booking an Air bnb.


bjimmy24, the Algebra Tea House is just the kind of place they are looking for. My daughters favorite place in Tampa is a tea house called Kaleisia. My daughter is vegan and I see Algebra has vegan food.


The reason they are checking out Columbus is because my daughter has an artist friend who lives there and loves it and it has several art centers. She was leaning towards Columbus but was open to other places. Unfortunately, I don't think they have time to check out Cincinnati as well.


Does Ohio still get ice storms in the winter? With global warming, winters are different.

[SlideRules99]

As Cleverfield mentioned, Detroit Ave in Lakewood has a good “artsy” vibe, with particular appeal (IMO) for 20-somethings. Two excellent vegan spots are there…Root Cafe, and Cleveland Vegan.

the Root cafe

About - Cleveland Vegan

Beck Center for the Arts has their performing arts and education center in Lakewood.

https://www.beckcenter.org/

If your daughter happens to be in town Aug 7, the Lakewood Arts Festival takes place then.

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...urns-in-august

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by sheena12

So, I guess you would park near the cemetery and walk to Little Italy?

What is the absolute best Italian restaurant in Little Italy? There is no shortage of good Italian food in NE Ohio, but what is the BEST? My husband's first late wife was Italian so he has high standards.

I've never done this, but one parking option for those wanting to minimize parking fees, or even obtain afternoon parking in LI, may be to park in Lake View Cemetery and walk down and up Mayfield Road to and from Little Italy. You'll need to check Lake View hours and plan your visit accordingly. This walk could be a little physically challenging, so perhaps best not to try this until you've driven up Mayfield Road to Lake View to assess the walk personally. With Lake View's early afternoon COVID closings of Wade Memorial Chapel and the Garfield Monument, you would have no problem parking at Garfield Monument and visiting Little Italy in the afternoon while parking at Lake View. The short walk through the cemetery to Mayfield Road may be enjoyable. Personally, I wouldn't do this on a hot, humid day.

More realistically, here is a great description of parking options in Little Italy.

https://www.littleitalycle.com/parking

As explained in the above article, at some point in recent years, the city has instituted a residential parking permit system in Little Italy. As a result, during recent visits I've found it very difficult to find street parking in Little Italy. After 5 p.m. weekdays and on weekends, the East 119th Street lot may be an excellent option; it requires a short walk up and down Mayfield Road to most restaurants.

I had a reservation at Mia Bella on Saturday in the early evening a couple weeks ago and just used the valet parking. It was $8 before tip. Check to see when valet service begins, if interested.

Mia Bella, actually an Albanian restaurant, is my favorite in Little Italy given the combination of food and ambiance. On my last visit, I had the veal braciole and enjoyed it greatly. Even in the early evening, the restaurant was packed (nobody wore masks), so reservations are a necessity.

https://mblittleitaly.com/menu

Several restaurants have parking, including Trattoria, Guarino's, and, I believe (call and check) Michelangelo's. Strangely, I've never dined at the latter.

https://www.mangelos.com/about-header

Trattoria, when busy, takes visitors' car keys and double parks vehicles. It's famed for its eggplant parmagiano. After dining there once when double parking was enforced, we walked out the front door and went to Presti's for dessert (get a number when entering) before returning to get our car.

https://www.trattoriaromangarden.com/

Guarino's has a nice enclosed patio dining area. I'm not certain its parking lot can accommodate all visitors, but should not be a problem in the afternoon.

For any Little Italy restaurant, always make reservations and call ahead of time and ask about parking options. Annoyingly, Mia Bella doesn't answer its phone, but may respond to an e-mail.

https://www.yelp.com/search?find_des...leveland%2C+OH

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...land_Ohio.html

https://clevelandmagazine.com/things...s-little-italy

https://theculturetrip.com/north-ame...-little-italy/

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainm...ck_out_in.html

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by annaegel

Does Ohio still get ice storms in the winter? With global warming, winters are different.

See post 58 in this thread.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/clev...weather-7.html

One or two ice storms may occur in northeast Ohio annually, but they IMO are a joy, not an aggravation. Greater Cleveland still has immense ice and snow removal capability, and most (all in recent years) storms are cleaned up within several hours of the storm's completion. Many roads are pre-treated with salt. So the magic wonderland of ice-covered trees, shrubs, etc., will be greatly missed when no longer available. Even now, the ice typically melts within 24 hours.

https://ianadamsphotography.com/news...nuary-25-2020/

By contrast, Columbus shuts down with a few inches of snow accumulation.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by annaegel

bjimmy24, the Algebra Tea House is just the kind of place they are looking for. My daughters favorite place in Tampa is a tea house called Kaleisia. My daughter is vegan and I see Algebra has vegan food.

Your daughter likely would enjoy a visit to Coventry Village, especially to the legendary Tommy's (split a milk shake) and the attached Mac's Books.

https://www.coventryvillage.org/merc...mys-restaurant

https://www.clevelandheights.com/962/Coventry-Village

Townhall in Ohio City's Market District also may be worth a visit.

https://www.yelp.com/search?find_des...leveland%2C+OH

I would be concerned about an air bnb in many parts of Cleveland, and in Columbus, especially if enclosed parking isn't offered and for someone not familiar with Cleveland (Columbus) neighborhoods, especially for walking after dark.

Originally Posted by annaegel

The reason they are checking out Columbus is because my daughter has an artist friend who lives there and loves it and it has several art centers.

Cleveland's art museums are far superior to those in Columbus, for whatever that is worth.

Few cities, and certainly not Columbus, have a cultural district comparable to University Circle.

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/ohio...cle-cleveland/

[ferraris]

A lot of these recommendations are more trendy than specifically related to art. I would check out.

• Gordon Square - 78th Street studios & Cleveland Public Theater
• Downtown(ish?) - Maker's Alliance and maybe the nearby Rebuilders Exchange
• Playhouse Square - largest theater district outside of NYC!
• Waterloo - I am too old & uncool to comment meaningfully about Waterloo
• University Circle - The Art Museum and the Contemporary Art Museum, two separate places

[WRnative]

Here's an event the OP's daughter may enjoy:

5th Annual Flats Festival of the Arts | ArtFestival.com

[annaegel]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Here's an event the OP's daughter may enjoy:

5th Annual Flats Festival of the Arts | ArtFestival.com

Sounds like fun, but unfortunately, they won't be there until Sept. 10.






Question about winters. I have heard that Ohio is known for ice storms. With climate change, is that still true?

[TechieTechie]

Personally, I would not stay in University Circle. It does not have an arty vibe (it feels very mall-y 21st century), to me, at ALL. And the North Collinwood/Waterloo district is very isolated, so I wouldn't stay there either.

If one wants to compare like with like (Short North/Vic Village in Cbus) I recommend either Gordon Square or Larchmere. 3rd would be Lakewood, 4th, Little Italy (as more of the attractions are food based).

Short North is definitely more yuppified than either Gordon or Larchmere, but I find CLE overall to be a more cosmopolitan/diverse city than Cbus owing to its development lifecycle (major growth before/during WWII than in the 80s). Cleveland and Pittsburgh are much more alike than either when compared to Cbus.

And, trust me, there are some not so great areas of Cbus too (near East Side or Near West Side)...that one wouldn't recommend folks venture into.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by TechieTechie

And the North Collinwood/Waterloo district is very isolated, so I wouldn't stay there either.

As a Collinwooder myself, I will agree that there are some kinda scary looking spots nearby and some streets in the neighborhood still aren't great either. However, in terms of the most personable arts district, I don't think anywhere else in Cleveland competes. Everyone on Waterloo knows everyone. All in all though, Collinwood is a very "real" place in the good and bad ways you can interpret that. I know I'm biased, but I just sense a lot of affectation on the near West side.

I wouldn't recommend a visitor stay here, not because it's bad, but because there is a greater concentration of stuff more in the core (though really, it takes 15 minutes to drive downtown from my place). But I think it's worth a visit if you have some free time during the visit.