| Vol. 1, Issue 4 | 
 |
|
Gephelte Kvetch Spring in the city. I was reminded on a recent, crisp spring morning why Cleveland is such an enjoyable city in which to live or work. I had just debarked from the train at W. 25th Street, ducked into the West Side Market and was sipping my cup of coffee as I walked down Lorain Avenue to work. The following thought occurred: Cleveland offers city life with breathing room and without the high cost of living or ultra-conscious fashion idealism of cities like Chicago and New York. As steam carrying the sweet smell of spent grain wafted over from Great Lakes Brewing Co. and the street merchants rolled back their security gates, I felt as though I could be in any city—but I was pleased that it was Cleveland. Of course, the city’s not always this idyllic. There are the sad, dark storefronts stretching far into the horizon, the weed-choked lots littered with 40-oz bottles, the occasional yelling from street corners and blaring of car stereos, and the listless souls who haunt the park in front of the library. That’s what’s not always right about our city. We’ve been told both that there are no silver bullets and that Cleveland’s making progress. Hotel Bruce is pleased to report on some of that progress in this, our second issue. We're discovering a form of connectedness in people who are meeting at Talkies, Lucky’s, A.J. Rocco’s, Algebra, Le Oui Oui Café, etc. and working on improving conditions; who regularly take the train or bike to work; or who try to take the good and the bad sites and sounds of their city with equanimity. We hope you enjoy and feel engaged by the content of Hotel Bruce Issue No. 2 (and the weekly Bruce blog). In this and future issues, we intend to shine a light on a particular area of the city that could use some creative energy. This issue’s focus happens to be Midtown/Euclid Corridor, an area whose history we touched on in Issue No. 1. With the initial $60 million of the $200 million Euclid Corridor Transportation Project soon to be poured into Euclid Avenue, now seems like an ideal time to begin exploring the future of Midtown. With the help of the Cleveland Urban Design Center's Steve Rugare and Steve Manka, we present a vision of Midtown that considers the fragments of the past but also takes into account the city's 'de-settlement' and finite resources. And, since we're a publication that explores the multitude of forces influencing change in Cleveland, we bring you a wonderful article from Hotel Bruce managing editor Lindsey Bistline about artist Carlo Maggiore. Maggiora accepted the daunting challenge of rehabbing an abandoned carriage house in Midtown into his live/work studio. That's only two of the gems in this issue. We're just getting started. Come see what Cleveland looks like when it gets creative. Enjoy, Marc Lefkowitz
|
Once Upon a Rustbelt | Party Center | Raw Materials | Subscribe | Urban Underpants