What happened to Euclid Ave?! (Cleveland, East Cleveland: apartment, how much, hotels)

[shiraziman]

First time in Cleveland area after many many many years, driving towards Cleveland Clinic ... the GPS threw me on Euclid Ave and I drove through what felt like a war zone or post-zombie attack. Almost everything boarded and abandoned, even churches.

What happened?! What's going on?

What's the history?

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by shiraziman

First time in Cleveland area after many many many years, driving towards Cleveland Clinic ... the GPS threw me on Euclid Ave and I drove through what felt like a war zone or post-zombie attack. Almost everything boarded and abandoned, even churches.

What happened?! What's going on?

What's the history?

Rode the Healthline bus rapid a couple years ago, and I didn't see what you described.

Quite the opposite, especially compared to a decade earlier:

https://midtowncleveland.org/build/

At least the Tru by Hilton project described at the above link has been completed.

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/cle...eland-midtown/

With the Agora Theater at East 50th, and the Tru Hilton near East 70th on the western edge of the Cleveland Clinic campus, there are only 20 blocks between greater downtown and greater University Circle, with development already planned or underway. I don't know how much the COVID epidemic has impacted redevelopment of the area, but the multiplier effect of the new Cleveland Clinic's Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health and IBM-Cleveland Clinic Discovery Accelerator surely will help reboot economic rival in Midtown.

https://www.ideastream.org/news/cent...virus-research

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2021/...cleveland.html

The Cleveland Foundation is relocating into a new headquarters in Midtown designed to revitalize the East 66th St. neighborhood.

https://www.clevelandfoundation.org/about/headquarters/

https://www.clevelandfoundation.org/about/quick-facts/

If the COVID epidemic ever ends, I'll have to take the Healthline between the Cleveland Clinic and downtown and see how the epidemic has impacted Midtown development with my own eyes.

For those of us who remember Euclid Avenue three decades ago, after the Cleveland Arena was closed and demolished, before the Applied Industrial Technologies corporate headquarters campus was built on East 36th St. and Euclid across from the Masonic Temple in the mid-90s, and certainly before the Cleveland Clinic began its massive expansion generally westward, the progress has been remarkable and very steady.

https://www.commercialcafe.com/comme...-headquarters/

[bjimmy24]

How long is many many years? We have lost a lot of historic buildings on Euclid and replaced them either with nothing or ugly modern stuff. Certainly, even with progress in the last 10-15 years, Euclid Ave is a shell of its former self. Very sad.

[andrew61]

I find today's Euclid Avenue very quiet and peaceful. Perhaps too quiet. I have walked its entire length from University Circle/Uptown to Downtown Cleveland numerous times, something I never would have dared do a few decades ago when I considered it a no-go zone. I've never been bothered by anyone at all.

There are pockets of newer development, such as the townhouses between Euclid and Chester Avenues in the East 80s. I love seeing that. It appears that the Cleveland Clinic expansion is causing the area to "come up", as a realtor might put it.

The worst thing about the Euclid corridor these days, as bjimmy24 pointed out, are all the ugly modern buildings that give the corridor an overall aura of dull sterility. But here and there one can see truly stunning old churches... plus remnants of old factories and the like. Pierre's ice cream still has facilities here. I like that Galucci's Italian Foods is there, near East 66th Street, as well as a newer Aldi at East 77th Street. Further east, there is a Vietnamese restaurant I haven't yet tried but that looks interesting.

And now a revelation. I just moved to a place last week near Euclid and East 79th. It's a rooming house and is actually several blocks south of Euclid, past Cedar. It's "ghetto" over there, and I didn't take the place without some trepidation, but I'm finding I feel OK walking between the house and the Health Line during daylight hours. I've only slept there seven nights so far, but it's surprisingly quiet and peaceful at night compared to what I was expecting. Only noise I get is cars going by blasting their stereos. And motorcycles. But all that drops off past a certain hour. Last night I never even bothered to put my earplugs in. (It was much louder where I lived in Cudell, although most of that was from the next door neighbors.)

I love that I'm only an eleven-minute walk from Aldi. And there's a Dave's supermarket a little further away on Chester. No food desert here. And, of course, I'm close to University Circle, Uptown, Little Italy and all that they have to offer.

I'm taking the Health Line every day now and I like riding it -- except that I find it confusing. Sometimes eastbound and westbound buses use the same platform, but at other stops it's separate platforms in separate locations and you have to watch your directional signs carefully. And sometimes the bus will stop on one side of the platform and sometimes the other, and at still other times it will pull over to the curb, not in the dedicated bus lane, to pick up and drop off passengers. I have yet to figure out the rhyme or reason to what's going on there.

[usaf_1832]

Originally Posted by shiraziman

First time in Cleveland area after many many many years, driving towards Cleveland Clinic ... the GPS threw me on Euclid Ave and I drove through what felt like a war zone or post-zombie attack. Almost everything boarded and abandoned, even churches.

What happened?! What's going on?

What's the history?

Can you show us a Google Streetview of where on Euclid Ave you're talking about?

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by usaf_1832

Can you show us a Google Streetview of where on Euclid Ave you're talking about?

I do know of one beautiful old church on Euclid that is currently boarded up. It's at the corner of East 30th Street. No sign in front that I can find... I'm wondering which church it used to be... maybe I knew once and I've forgotten.

[Transplant99]

It's possible that what OP is describing is Euclid in East Cleveland.

[TBideon]

Originally Posted by shiraziman

First time in Cleveland area after many many many years, driving towards Cleveland Clinic ... the GPS threw me on Euclid Ave and I drove through what felt like a war zone or post-zombie attack. Almost everything boarded and abandoned, even churches.

What happened?! What's going on?

What's the history?

Were you around in the 70s and 80s? That street is uptopia compared to those days.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by andrew61

I find today's Euclid Avenue very quiet and peaceful. Perhaps too quiet. I have walked its entire length from University Circle/Uptown to Downtown Cleveland numerous times, something I never would have dared do a few decades ago when I considered it a no-go zone. I've never been bothered by anyone at all.

I used to walk Euclid (or Prospect) from downtown to University Circle sometimes when I lvied downtown. Similarly, I've never felt unsafe or had any issues with anyone. If it's after work hours, things get extremely quiet from E 30-E 55. There is some solid stuff around though, such as the Masonic Auditorium the Agora, Children's Museum. I also very nearly moved in at the Esmond on Euclid by the Agora before I decided to buy a house. If anyone is looking for a very cool building and a conenient location to a lot of stuff, I would definitely recommend it.

Compared to the days of Euclid Ave that predate me, it definitely doesn't stack up. But in terms of practical usage and safety, I think it's fine. Euclid into East Cleveland and South Collinwood is definitely very rough though and I wouldn't be messing around over there. Here is a big empty church and apartment building voer there: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5262...7i16384!8i8192

But I guess I think this area has been crap for decades. OP may have been away for a very long time.

[shiraziman]

I think it was East Cleveland. We drove towards our hotel near Cleveland Clinic and there were hardly any sign of any business. Almost everything was boarded up, then there was this new high school which really stood out.
As we got closer to the hotel and Cleveland Clinic, there was a drastic and sudden change. There was a sculpture of a hand, restaurants, shops, etc. Reminded me of Skinker and Delmar in St. Louis, Missouri.

Many years ago was in the 90s. I don't remember seeing this. Anyhow, I wonder if it's one of those "East [enter city name]" situations where economic development is just not there.