Downtown Willoughby, Ohio hosts First Pig & Whiskey Festival

"The free "Pig & Whiskey" event will showcase some of the best barbecue restaurants from Ohio and beyond, while featuring the premium brands of whiskey, bourbon and scotch.

Visitors can also enjoy additional food and retail vendors, an exciting line-up of live music and other great entertainment. An extensive selection will be available in the beer tent and a special cocktail corner are will also be set-up to enjoy all day.

Whiskey samples, beer and cocktails are available through the purchase of drink tickets (ages 21 and over). The BBQ and other food items are available directly through the individual vendors."

Downtown Willoughby is a historic village east of Cleveland with many historic buildings.

For people who are really drunk (optimistic)- Cleveland Browns players will sign autographs.

Check website for more Info

The Rock Hall opens it's downtown library and archive

Musicians,Lenny Kaye, Donovan, Andrew W.K.;producer Seymour Stein and others talk about how important the newly opened Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library will be in the study of blues and Rock history.

The hall and the brand are still a vastly under leveraged asset for Cleveland.

Shaker Heights looking to create more walkable and urbanist business districts

Shaker Heights, just east of Cleveland is a pretty legendary and wealthy old streetcar suburb. It was high on my places to see list and we saw lots of wonderful houses and hints of urbanism.

However, when compared to a streetcar suburb like Forest Hills in NY or Pittsburgh's Mount Lebanon, the business district was dull and car oriented. (Honestly, this was a quick dive through and we should have spent more time exploring)

From Green City Blue Lake

Sometime around 1950, Shaker turned its back on the street where the Blue Line ends, and grew enamored of the post-war suburban shopping center. Dirty dumpsters and blank walls of the back of shops faced Warrensville Road, which was widened, big parking lots appeared in front of the one-story shopping center, and the rise of the car almost made a monstrous six-way intersection seem like a good idea.

Pittsburgh's Urban Design Associates is getting public input on making changes and is getting a lot of support for making denser, more connected and walkable business districts.

Please comment if you know more about this.

Under the radar revival of Cleveland's downtown and near West Side neighborhoods

The macro population drop in Cleveland has been so bad, most people don't notice the significant growth in the downtown population to almost 10,000 residents. also underplayed are areas like Ohio City and Tremont which are actually attracting people in the 25-34 age group.

Two good posts on Rust Wire

Signs of Resurgence in Central/Near West Cleveland: A Demographic Analysis

A Nascent Brain Gain in Cleveland’s Urban Core

I left some comments on both posts.

Shocking Before and After look at Cleveland's Warehouse District

make a gif

These images are pretty self explanatory. Cleveland's warehouse district in 1960 vs today. It's not so much that all these great, historic, well located buildings are gone, but that the city replaced them with--nothing. Pointless, destruction.

This GIF has been going around.

via NPR
via buzz feed

Downtown Cleveland ... Is It For You? Promotional Video Hypes Organic Energy

Gotta take all Promotional videos with a grain of salt, but I like the focus on small business, creative energy and convenience in this video. The Food Trucks, Pop up stores, non chain gourmet dining scene and landscape make Cleveland's downtown actually look like a unique and special place- which it is.

I also like the open ended sales pitch which in many ways is similar to Pittsburgh's "Imagine what you can do here", campaign.

If You Live in Cleveland, You Might Want To Check Out This Co Working Space in Ohio City

Say hello to Cowork Cleveland from Cowork Cleveland on Vimeo.

One thing that bothers me about urbanist discussions is that many people feel it's just a lifestyle choice. Many people, particularly the self employed see real economic value in collaborative environments.

Ohio City, Tremont and Detroit Shoreway are becoming great places for small business people and the self employed.

From Freshwater Cleveland

"McDermott and Veysey visited similar coworking spaces in other cities, including Chicago, before they decided to launch Cowork CLE. “This is something that’s become popular in bigger cities,” says McDermott. “We chose Ohio City because it is an artisan neighborhood. We believe our clients are creative, independent artisans who are yearning for a collaborative environment."

The owners of Cowork CLE hope that the space will function as a kind of entrepreneurial incubator. By developing relationships in a shared work environment, their customers will be able to share useful information, help each other grow and eventually even refer business to one another, they say.

“We’re hoping people will make connections,” says McDermott."

You might want to check this place out if you live in Cleveland.

Documentary About Cleveland's Industrial Music Scene City/Ruins: Art in the Face of Industrial Decay

"This is the trailer for the first full length feature by Petrus Filmwork. City/Ruins is a documentary about the Experimental Industrial movement in a city crushed by Industrial collapse. Examining the effects of the mired economy on this underground art community and the art that is produced in it's wake. The story is built around interviews and performance clips of those involved in the scene, intertwined with visual evidence of Industrial decay, via montage of decayed landscapes."

Anyone seen this or know a lot about the scene there? Please comment with more info.

Cleveland News Station Turns Political Corruption Trial Into Puppet Theater

Cleveland is having one of those, do you laugh, cry or shoot yourself moments with a sadly absurd public corruption trial.

With no cameras allowed in court, WOIO Action News has decided to put on little skits based on the day's court transcript.

From Cleveland.Com

"It's entertaining ... it's professionally done, but it's not news," said Randy Reeves, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and the executive producer of KOMU, the NBC affiliate in Columbia that is owned by the university. "This is a line I wouldn't cross. The visual distracts from some pretty serious stuff. Even at the end of the newscast, it's puppets. I can't get past that."

A second broadcast professor at Missouri, Barbara Cochran, called the segment "a comic way of dealing with the fact that in 2012, cameras are still barred from federal courtrooms, and the public is denied the opportunity to see for themselves what transpires at a public trial."

Ohio DOT Promised Billions in Road and Bridge Construction It Can't Pay For

Anyone concerned about the 15 Trillion dollar reported Federal deficit should know that it's the tip of a much larger iceberg of looming costs most people don't know about.

Remember, the fight over pedestrian access to the brand new Inner Belt Bridge, Cleveland was gonna get? Surprise, it now looks like a new bridge may not be built till 2020 or later even though the current one may have serious structural issues!

Turns out the State transportation folks just wish listed important projects with little knowledge of how they might be paid for.

For years, the state has "over-programmed" for the money available, Wray said. Project commitments total $3.3 billion through 2017, but only $1.6 billion in revenues is projected for construction, he said.

Meanwhile, revenue from federal and state gas taxes has remained flat, while the costs of maintenance and construction have inflated, he said.

He expects disappointment not only in Cleveland but across the state with the draft list.

The West Shoreway project also doesn't fare well. It is not on the funding list, Wray said, despite a concerted appeal from the city of Cleveland for another $21 million.

Expect this to be an ever growing story. Ironically, in many cases, failing infrastructure offers a grand chance for cities to reinvent themselves in more sustainable ways.

Remember that The West Side Highway, in NY and Embarcadero Freeway in San Fransisco were only removed after partial collapses.