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Karin Connelly Rice

Stories by: Karin Connelly Rice

Karin Connelly Rice enjoys telling people's stories, whether it's a promising startup or a life's passion. Over the past 30 years she has reported on local community members and businesses for publications such as Inside Business, Cleveland Magazine, the Rocky River/Lakewood edition of In the Neighborhood, and the Amherst News-Times. At Fresh Water Rice focuses on Clevelanders who are shaping and embracing Clevelandespecially those making positive changes in the city's underserved neighborhoods.
Brown Hoisting & Machinery Co.: From 19th Century industry to 21st Century creative community
Cleveland Masterworks: In the late 1800s, Alexander Brown used his civil engineering degree to develop the Brown Hoist—an automated crane system for unloading ships' cargo that reduced costs and turnaround times. His successful business was housed in the J. Milton Dyer-designed Brownhoist Building in MidTown. Today the building is a gathering space for creatives, small businesses, and collaborators who want to give back to the St. Clair-Superior and MidTown neighborhoods.
La vida hermosa: Omara Portuondo to perform tomorrow at Cleveland Museum of Art
Grammy award-nominated vocalist Omara Portuondo—most known for her lead vocals with the Buena Vista Social Club—will perform at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Wednesday during a stop on her Farewell World Tour VIDA 2023.
Pilgrim Church: An example of innovation by 19th Century architect Sidney Badgley
Cleveland Masterworks: The 1894 Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in Tremont is just one of many churches, buildings, and homes designed by Cleveland architect Sidney Rose Badgley. Tremont History Project will give free tours of Pilgrim this weekend.
Ohio Bell Telephone Building: Once Cleveland’s tallest building and a hub for technology
Cleveland Masterworks: The 1927 Ohio Bell Telephone Building on Huron Road was briefly the tallest building in the city—until the Terminal Tower overshadowed it in 1928. Designed by Hubbell and Bennes, the building was the site for technological leaps in long-distance phone calls in the 1940s and 1970s.
Artistic interpretation: First two murals completed in Murals Across the City campaign
Two local artists—Kelle Schwab and Lisa Quine—just completed the first two murals in Murals Across the City Campaign sponsored by Destination Cleveland and partner Graffiti Heart. Four more murals are to come.
Tales of Terror: Tours of Cleveland to share spooky stories of horror and tragedy in October
Tours of Cleveland founder Scott O'Con wanted to cover something different than the usual haunted house tours and spiritual sightings in his October walking tour series. So, in Tales of Terror, he focuses on Cleveland's true tragedies, murders, and disasters spanning the 19th and 20th Centuries.
Spiritual beauty: Tremont History Project to host Historic Church Tour series
The Tremont History Project, a group of amateur historians and volunteers from the south side neighborhood who have been collecting and documenting Tremont history, is hosting tours of four historic Tremont churches over the next four weeks.
Let the Oppressed Go Free: Sculptor Timothy Schmalz returns to CLE with human trafficking sculpture
Last week, world-renowned sculptor Timothy Schmalz's bronze 20-foot sculpture, "Let the Oppressed Go Free," was placed in Public Square by Community West Foundation and the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking to raise awareness of the ongoing plague happening around the world. Schmalz is also the artist behind the Matthew 25 sculpture series placed around Cleveland.
Lights On! Slavic Village hosts open houses in four available Fleet Avenue storefronts
Slavic Village Development, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, and SCORE Cleveland will host Lights On Storefront Open House to showcase four vacant properties on Fleet Avenue that might lure small businesses and retailers to the neighborhood.
Hop to it: Annual Heights Music Hop celebrates 10 years this weekend
The 10th Annual Heights Music Hop takes place in Cleveland Heights this weekend, bringing more than two dozen performers to 20 restaurants, lounges, cafes, bars, and other establishments on Lee Road.
Doubling up: MAGNET, EDGE join forces for economic and leadership development in NEO
MAGNET and Independence-based EDGE announced this week that the two companies focused on growing business and industry in Northeast Ohio would join forces to create a more impactful resource for growing businesses in the area.
Warner & Swasey building: A factory with a rich history, chance at a new purpose
Cleveland Masterworks: The former Warner & Swasey building—originally built in the late 1880s, then rebuilt between 1904 and 1910, has sat abandoned for nearly 40 years. Today it has a chance at a new life with a development initiative led by MidTown Cleveland and Philadelphia developer Penrose.
New Life At Calvary Church: A symbol of integration, social justice, and community giving
Cleveland Masterworks: Last week a tornado tore the roof off of the historic New Life At Calvary Church, leaving a congregation with a rich history of social justice and community service in need. The church was designed by Charles Schweinfurth, with stained-glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany and John La Farge.
Erie Street Cemetery: Historical graveyard in the heart of downtown
Cleveland Masterworks: The 1826 Erie Street Cemetery is Cleveland's oldest burial ground and is the final resting place of the original settlers and changemakers.
Artists to unveil Clark Fulton mural that honors Guatemalan community, culture
This weekend, local artists Tessa LeBaron and Hector Castellanos Lara will unveil their mural that celebrates the beauty and traditions of Guatemala, as well as the local Guatemalan culture in the Clark Fulton neighborhood.
Cleveland Heights Cinder Path, Oakwood Drive earn historic recognition
Cleveland Masterworks: The 1938 Bradford Cinder Path, deemed a Cleveland Heights historic landmark, and the Oakwood Drive Historic District—named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021—both received markers last week.
Jones Home for Friendless Children: A journey from adversity to compassion
Cleveland Masterworks: Carlos L. Jones and his wife dedicated their lives to the Jones Home for Friendless Children—caring for foster children and children up for adoption in a brick Georgian Revival designed by Sidney R. Badgley, which still operates today as Jones Home of Applewood Centers.
Loganberry Books celebrates 20 years in historic building
This week, Loganberry Books celebrated 20 years in its current location—the former Nash Motors dealership, among other former iterations. Read about how she turned a huge warehouse into the warm, inviting bookstore it is today.
Doan’s Corners: Cleveland’s ‘second downtown’ in the early 20th Century
Cleveland Masterworks: In 1798, Connecticut native Nathaniel Doan and his family settled on a rural corner of Euclid Avenue and developed it to the point that by the early 20th Century it was known as Doan's Corners, or 'Cleveland's Second Downtown.'
On the fringes: Playhouse Square streets, venues become stages at BorderLight Fringe Festival
The BorderLight Fringe Festival kicks off this Thursday, with more than 110 performances in the streets and and venues of Playhouse Square.