In an awakening Cleveland, some strategies to renovate our metropolis: James Levin

CLEVELAND — As Cleveland awakens from its COVID-19 slumber, I propose that now is a suitable time for reinvention and re-imagining. I have built a listing of intriguing and promising places and venues whose transformations could result in a New Cleveland.

1. The streetcar degree of the Detroit-Top-quality Bridge. Why not a pedestrian/bicycle friendly walkway open up 12 months-round, with vendor booths, gatherings and eateries? This venue back links the developments on West 25th to the warehouse district and downtown, as effectively as Irish Bend and the towpath. A person day, this walkway will be legendary to Cleveland no vacationer will occur to Cleveland with no having “the stroll on the bridge.”

2. The old Coastline Guard Station at Whiskey Island. This venue with its views of downtown, the sunset, and the outdated Station’s lighthouse is exclusive. Why not a café calendar year-spherical, a bed and breakfast in the tower, a canine park, an indoor/outdoor songs location? Why not water taxis from the Browns stadium and the Flats?

3. The Top-quality Viaduct, a stone’s throw north of the Detroit Top-quality Bridge, starts on West 25th Road and ends abruptly, overlooking Jacobs Pavilion. Through summer evenings, the sunset glow and watch of Lake Erie, downtown buildings, the bridges and warehouses conjure an ineffable Cleveland magic.

4. The Cleveland Cultural Gardens. Exceptional in this planet, a established of cultural gardens started as a celebration of range and peace. What could be additional relevant to this world today? Why not rejoice all of the gardens and the cultures 12 months-spherical? Close Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to motor cars on weekends, and invite suppliers (selling foods and presenting the arts and crafts of every single nationality), with standard performances of ethnic and nationwide tunes, theatre and poetry?

5. Burke Lakefront Airport. Why does this stretch of land keep on being as a commuter usefulness for a handful of personal planes? Let us dedicate to liberating this expanse of land, which could feature a extensive array of business, cultural, residential and recreational belongings to benefit the complete town. Let’s glance to Chicago, which overcame inertia and Federal Aviation Administration laws to completely transform a personal airport into an internationally pleasing tourist attraction.

6. Scranton Peninsula. The tract of land just south of and throughout the Cuyahoga River from Tower City is occupied by century-outdated brick factories and warehouses wrapped by the river, presenting an array of charismatic brick buildings reeking of reliable Rust Belt neat. Let’s envision a pedestrian-only village of retail and overall performance spaces, cafés, and housing, with water taxis connecting it to the Flats and Whiskey Island.

7. The Outdated Aquarium at Gordon Park sits south of the Shoreway, atop the Gordon Park hill. This location, with its baseball and soccer fields (already blessed with a lot of parking areas), could be a hub of sporting activities and recreation on the East Facet. If renovated, the Old Aquarium itself — a significant, round temple — could anchor the rejuvenation of Gordon Park.

8. The BridgeTender’s House at Carter Road Bridge, at present dilapidated and shrouded by shrubs and tall grass, is composed of a three-story tower and a ground-degree sequence of rooms. With its river entry and proximity to downtown, it could be a nexus connecting Community Sq. to Scranton Island and the “far” aspect of the Flats. The alternatives in this article to provide industrial and cultural options are limitless.

If these tasks (a listing scaled down due to term and area restrictions) drew the interest and methods from government, foundations and enterprise that they advantage, Cleveland would make important strides to be the harbor of creativity it espouses to be.

James Levin is the founding director of the Cleveland Community Theatre the co-founder of the Ingenuity Pageant and the Gordon Square Arts District and the founder of the Cleveland Environment Festival. He is now executive director of LegalWorks Inc.

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