Arts + Culture
With a record-setting recent round of grants, The Cleveland Foundation is ensuring, among other things, that a well-loved local institution will continue to make beautiful music.
Last week, the foundation's board of directors approved a best ever $26.6 million in grants for the first quarter of 2013. The funding included a $10 million grant to the Cleveland Orchestra in support of operation and programming efforts as well as the organization's larger initiative to attract a broader audience. Besides the orchestra grant, additional monies totaling nearly $10 million will bolster core neighborhood and youth initiatives.
The orchestra funding is the largest single grant given to an arts organization in the foundation’s 99-year history, notes executive vice president Bob Eckardt. A portion of the grant stands as a leadership gift to help fund the ensemble's “Sound for the Centennial" strategic campaign, culminating with a century celebration in 2018.
"The orchestra is an important part of Cleveland's brand," says Eckardt.
Another grant recipient is Neighborhood Progress, Inc., which garnered $5 million in support of its strategic plan to forge a new community development network for Cleveland’s underserved neighborhoods.
Overall, Cleveland Foundation beat its previous grant-giving record of $21.6 million set in the third quarter of 2012. The large orchestra grant helped boost this number, but the nation's slow economic recovery has also grown the foundation's capacity, says Eckardt.
The organization's VP hopes this winter's big gain is just the start of a year that at the very least matches 2012's $90 million in total grants.
"We'll be in that neighborhood again," Eckardt says.
SOURCE: Bob Eckardt
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Last week, the foundation's board of directors approved a best ever $26.6 million in grants for the first quarter of 2013. The funding included a $10 million grant to the Cleveland Orchestra in support of operation and programming efforts as well as the organization's larger initiative to attract a broader audience. Besides the orchestra grant, additional monies totaling nearly $10 million will bolster core neighborhood and youth initiatives.
The orchestra funding is the largest single grant given to an arts organization in the foundation’s 99-year history, notes executive vice president Bob Eckardt. A portion of the grant stands as a leadership gift to help fund the ensemble's “Sound for the Centennial" strategic campaign, culminating with a century celebration in 2018.
"The orchestra is an important part of Cleveland's brand," says Eckardt.
Another grant recipient is Neighborhood Progress, Inc., which garnered $5 million in support of its strategic plan to forge a new community development network for Cleveland’s underserved neighborhoods.
Overall, Cleveland Foundation beat its previous grant-giving record of $21.6 million set in the third quarter of 2012. The large orchestra grant helped boost this number, but the nation's slow economic recovery has also grown the foundation's capacity, says Eckardt.
The organization's VP hopes this winter's big gain is just the start of a year that at the very least matches 2012's $90 million in total grants.
"We'll be in that neighborhood again," Eckardt says.
SOURCE: Bob Eckardt
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Some creative, outside-the-box thinking by the city's leading urban design and cycling advocates has led to the creation of four additional "bike boxes," which are to be installed this spring in various Cleveland neighborhoods.
The newest wave of bike boxes are modeled after a successful pilot project at Nano Brew in Ohio City. That installation transformed a steel shipping container into a colorful curbside bike garage for two-wheeled visitors.
By offering secure, covered parking in a bike corral that also functions as dynamic, placemaking public art, the Bridge Avenue bike box does more than simply provide practical parking: It brands the city as a place that prioritizes cycling.
"It's really a center of gravity," says Greg Peckham, Managing Director of LAND Studio, the nonprofit that spearheaded the project with Bike Cleveland. "It's as much about a safe, convenient, protected place to park your bike as it is about making a statement that cycling is an important mode of transportation in the city."
Peckham says that Ohio City's bike box is very well used on days when the West Side Market is open and in the evening when riders coast in for dinner or a drink. With the street's bike racks often at capacity, the bike box was critical, he says.
The new bike boxes will be installed in time for Bike Month in May. The locations are Gordon Square (a barn-red beauty outside Happy Dog), Tremont (two "half loaves," as Peckham calls them, outside South Side and Tremont Tap House), St. Clair Superior (location TBD) and a final, undetermined community.
The bike boxes are being custom-fabricated by Rust Belt Welding, which is an entrepreneurial duo that has made creative bike parking a calling card for their work. Each of the boxes is being designed with neighborhood input -- hence Tremont's half-boxes, which amount to a shipping container split in two.
The project is being supported by Charter One Growing Communities, which has also funded retail attraction efforts in Ohio City, downtown and St. Clair Superior.
Peckham says the new designs accommodate more bikes and use lighter colors. Users can expect more innovations in the future -- LAND Studio is working to secure funding so that green roofs and solar panels can be added to the boxes.
The bike boxes are being maintained through partnerships with neighboring businesses, which agree to maintain, clean and keep secure the facilities.
Source: Greg Peckham
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The newest wave of bike boxes are modeled after a successful pilot project at Nano Brew in Ohio City. That installation transformed a steel shipping container into a colorful curbside bike garage for two-wheeled visitors.
By offering secure, covered parking in a bike corral that also functions as dynamic, placemaking public art, the Bridge Avenue bike box does more than simply provide practical parking: It brands the city as a place that prioritizes cycling.
"It's really a center of gravity," says Greg Peckham, Managing Director of LAND Studio, the nonprofit that spearheaded the project with Bike Cleveland. "It's as much about a safe, convenient, protected place to park your bike as it is about making a statement that cycling is an important mode of transportation in the city."
Peckham says that Ohio City's bike box is very well used on days when the West Side Market is open and in the evening when riders coast in for dinner or a drink. With the street's bike racks often at capacity, the bike box was critical, he says.
The new bike boxes will be installed in time for Bike Month in May. The locations are Gordon Square (a barn-red beauty outside Happy Dog), Tremont (two "half loaves," as Peckham calls them, outside South Side and Tremont Tap House), St. Clair Superior (location TBD) and a final, undetermined community.
The bike boxes are being custom-fabricated by Rust Belt Welding, which is an entrepreneurial duo that has made creative bike parking a calling card for their work. Each of the boxes is being designed with neighborhood input -- hence Tremont's half-boxes, which amount to a shipping container split in two.
The project is being supported by Charter One Growing Communities, which has also funded retail attraction efforts in Ohio City, downtown and St. Clair Superior.
Peckham says the new designs accommodate more bikes and use lighter colors. Users can expect more innovations in the future -- LAND Studio is working to secure funding so that green roofs and solar panels can be added to the boxes.
The bike boxes are being maintained through partnerships with neighboring businesses, which agree to maintain, clean and keep secure the facilities.
Source: Greg Peckham
Writer: Lee Chilcote
University Circle already holds claim as Cleveland's premier medical, cultural and educational district. But what does the future hold for the rich, square-mile enclave and the neighborhoods around it?
"Building the Circle 2035: Height, Density and Social Equity" will attempt to answer that question during a free panel discussion on April 10 in the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium. The program is part of the Circle Neighbors lecture series sponsored by the art museum's Womens Council in collaboration with the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, The Women's Committee of The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Western Reserve Historical Society.
University Circle is an ever-active neighborhood of "arts, ed and med," says Circle Neighbors co-chair Sabrina Inkley. With development on the rise, the district just four miles east of downtown Cleveland has become an anchor for a city that certainly needs one.
"As Clevelanders we have this inferiority complex," says Inkley. "University Circle is the one of the most unique one-square-mile areas in the nation."
The panel talk, moderated by Plain Dealer architecture critic Steven Litt, will peer two decades into the future to imagine what University Circle might look like, and how the district's rising wealth could benefit struggling surrounding neighborhoods. Panelists will include Chris Ronayne of UCI Inc, developer Ari Maron of MRN Ltd. and India Pierce Lee of the Cleveland Foundation.
Inkley doesn't have all the answers, but she knows University Circle is an enormous linchpin for Cleveland's economic future. New rental apartments and various institutions constructing new facilities are just two examples of the growth taking place.
"It's just very exciting," Inkley says. "There is something for everyone here."
SOURCE: Sabrina Inkley
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
"Building the Circle 2035: Height, Density and Social Equity" will attempt to answer that question during a free panel discussion on April 10 in the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium. The program is part of the Circle Neighbors lecture series sponsored by the art museum's Womens Council in collaboration with the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, The Women's Committee of The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Western Reserve Historical Society.
University Circle is an ever-active neighborhood of "arts, ed and med," says Circle Neighbors co-chair Sabrina Inkley. With development on the rise, the district just four miles east of downtown Cleveland has become an anchor for a city that certainly needs one.
"As Clevelanders we have this inferiority complex," says Inkley. "University Circle is the one of the most unique one-square-mile areas in the nation."
The panel talk, moderated by Plain Dealer architecture critic Steven Litt, will peer two decades into the future to imagine what University Circle might look like, and how the district's rising wealth could benefit struggling surrounding neighborhoods. Panelists will include Chris Ronayne of UCI Inc, developer Ari Maron of MRN Ltd. and India Pierce Lee of the Cleveland Foundation.
Inkley doesn't have all the answers, but she knows University Circle is an enormous linchpin for Cleveland's economic future. New rental apartments and various institutions constructing new facilities are just two examples of the growth taking place.
"It's just very exciting," Inkley says. "There is something for everyone here."
SOURCE: Sabrina Inkley
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
For those who don't already know, Cleveland is a place where culture, education, creativity and innovation flourishes affordably. At least, that's the message city boosters are trying to sell to mobile young professionals. According to who you ask, that strategy is either working, working slowly, or not working well at all.
"Jazz is like the kind of man you wouldn't want your daughter to associate with." That might sound like a curious quote for a pastor to use in blessing a jazz bar, yet these were Mark Giuliano's words at the opening of the new Take 5 Jazz Club in downtown Cleveland. The quote comes from jazz legend Duke Ellington.
"We know how important live music is for gathering people; we're for that kind of community building," explains Giuliano, Pastor of Old Stone Church on Public Square and President of the Downtown Residents Association. "We want a place where you can have great food and a couple drinks, listen to live music, be able to visit and have a sense of community. What [the owners] have done is take an old, divey bar and brought new life to it."
Giuliano believes Take 5 will fill a gap in the Warehouse District entertainment scene by offering music that's geared towards an older, multicultural crowd.
"There are an awful lot of empty-nesters like my wife and I [downtown]," he says. "We're not really going to be doing the club scene over on W. 6th at two in the morning. This is a place where everybody feels welcome and has a place."
Take 5, which opened on March 21, offers live jazz, R&B and blues from Thursday through Sunday nights. It is located at 740 Superior Avenue, in the former House of Cues and Prime Rib Steakhouse location in the Warehouse District. The venue also offers an extensive tapas menu prepared by executive chef Jeremy Rolen.
Owners Brian Gresham and Claude Carson have renovated the once-shabby House of Cues into an upscale jazz venue that caters to a professional crowd. Gresham says he saw an opening in the scene due to all the development taking place downtown.
"With the casino, med mart and Flats being revitalized, we wanted to fill a niche," he says. "We more or less took concepts from places that were once in the area that did very well -- The Bop Stop, Wilberts and Sixth Street Down Under."
The owners renovated the interior with new lighting and other improvements. A black ceiling makes it "feel like you're in a true musical venue," Gresham says.
Take 5 welcomed trumpet player and vocalist Skip Martin for its opening weekend, and Gresham is currently working to bring Sean Jones to town, as well. The venue's performers will include a mix of regional and national acts.
Source: Mark Giuliano, Brian Gresham
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"We know how important live music is for gathering people; we're for that kind of community building," explains Giuliano, Pastor of Old Stone Church on Public Square and President of the Downtown Residents Association. "We want a place where you can have great food and a couple drinks, listen to live music, be able to visit and have a sense of community. What [the owners] have done is take an old, divey bar and brought new life to it."
Giuliano believes Take 5 will fill a gap in the Warehouse District entertainment scene by offering music that's geared towards an older, multicultural crowd.
"There are an awful lot of empty-nesters like my wife and I [downtown]," he says. "We're not really going to be doing the club scene over on W. 6th at two in the morning. This is a place where everybody feels welcome and has a place."
Take 5, which opened on March 21, offers live jazz, R&B and blues from Thursday through Sunday nights. It is located at 740 Superior Avenue, in the former House of Cues and Prime Rib Steakhouse location in the Warehouse District. The venue also offers an extensive tapas menu prepared by executive chef Jeremy Rolen.
Owners Brian Gresham and Claude Carson have renovated the once-shabby House of Cues into an upscale jazz venue that caters to a professional crowd. Gresham says he saw an opening in the scene due to all the development taking place downtown.
"With the casino, med mart and Flats being revitalized, we wanted to fill a niche," he says. "We more or less took concepts from places that were once in the area that did very well -- The Bop Stop, Wilberts and Sixth Street Down Under."
The owners renovated the interior with new lighting and other improvements. A black ceiling makes it "feel like you're in a true musical venue," Gresham says.
Take 5 welcomed trumpet player and vocalist Skip Martin for its opening weekend, and Gresham is currently working to bring Sean Jones to town, as well. The venue's performers will include a mix of regional and national acts.
Source: Mark Giuliano, Brian Gresham
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Since its modest beginnings 36 years ago at the Cedar Lee Theatre, the Cleveland International Film Festival has blossomed into a premiere local, regional and national event. Over the years the festival’s attendance has grown by over 600 percent to last year's record of 85,018. Here are four films with a Cleveland connection.
nytimes says all eyes on cma in the museum world
In a New York Times feature titled “Technology That Serves to Enhance, Not Distract,” Fred A. Bernstein explores the attention the Cleveland Museum of Art has been garnering for its groundbreaking Gallery One exhibit.
“In the museum world, everyone’s watching Cleveland right now,” said Erin Coburn, a museum consultant who has worked at both the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Though other museums have experimented with interactive technology, the extent of Cleveland’s program is unprecedented, she said. “They’ve put a lot out there for other museums to learn from.”
The museum also treats iPads users to more and different information by giving an interactive feel to the displays, while still keeping focus on the artwork itself. If you do not have an iPad, one can be rented from the museum for just $5 per day.
Read the entire feature here.
“In the museum world, everyone’s watching Cleveland right now,” said Erin Coburn, a museum consultant who has worked at both the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Though other museums have experimented with interactive technology, the extent of Cleveland’s program is unprecedented, she said. “They’ve put a lot out there for other museums to learn from.”
The museum also treats iPads users to more and different information by giving an interactive feel to the displays, while still keeping focus on the artwork itself. If you do not have an iPad, one can be rented from the museum for just $5 per day.
Read the entire feature here.
national design praise continues for moca
In a SmartPlanet post titled “Perfectly detailed, perfectly gorgeous (and perfectly dull),” C.C. Sullivan explains the behind-the-scenes processes that take place when it comes to museum design and/or renovations.
“Museums usually turn out to be just as conventional as the corporations and socialites who run them," Sullivan writes. "These one-percenters are also corporate directors, university trustees, hospital board members and generally busy-busy folk.”
While these talented people can organize a well-run competition, their results tend to disappoint as they focus more or “marketability” rather than design.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland earned praise for “doing it right.”
“It is a truly progressive cultural achievement. The design was radical enough to scare the pants off the museum’s own leadership. We applaud the choices and challenges behind this new, magnetic public place.”
Check out the full story here.
“Museums usually turn out to be just as conventional as the corporations and socialites who run them," Sullivan writes. "These one-percenters are also corporate directors, university trustees, hospital board members and generally busy-busy folk.”
While these talented people can organize a well-run competition, their results tend to disappoint as they focus more or “marketability” rather than design.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland earned praise for “doing it right.”
“It is a truly progressive cultural achievement. The design was radical enough to scare the pants off the museum’s own leadership. We applaud the choices and challenges behind this new, magnetic public place.”
Check out the full story here.
Although it wasn't obvious to Thomas Fox at the time, losing his job at Go Media several years ago may have been the best thing that ever happened to him. It led him to create Bad Racket Recording Studio with partners James Kananen and Adam Wagner.
Since launching the studio in 2010, the group has expanded its presence in the music scene. Last year, they took on additional space, bolstered sound panels to create a better recording experience, and began hosting additional live concerts.
"January was our busiest month ever -- we were booked almost every day," says Fox, who handles marketing and operations for Bad Racket. "We're building a community of people that we're working with. Our customers have come from as far away as Philly and West Virginia, but right now it's mostly Cleveland bands."
What's different about Bad Racket, which occupies a warehouse space at W. 45th and Lorain (below Go Media's offices), is that it has created a recording space that feels like a cross between a living room and a comfortable stage.
"We're not a clean, polished space, but our emphasis is on creating a space for performance," says Fox. "All you do is show up, play your songs at your best and the rest is taken care of. People prefer live recordings -- although we do both."
Bad Racket, which charges $45 per hour for studio time, also handles video production. The recording space doubles as a stage used for live concerts.
Fox and his cohorts self-financed the studio and have reinvested profits back into the space. They've built walls from rockwall insulation and acoustic panels from "rolls of bike helmet padding from Zero Waste Landfill and whatever is cheapest at JoAnn Fabric." The result? A 1,200-square-foot space with great acoustics.
It's a labor of love that's paying off. "When there's a project we really, really want to do, budget is not an issue. Everyone here just wants to make great music. Most of us have separate jobs, but if anyone asks us what we do, we'd say Bad Racket."
Fox is also a leading force behind Brite Winter Fest (he books the music), which recently attracted 20,000 people to Ohio City on a cold, snowy February evening.
Source: Thomas Fox
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Since launching the studio in 2010, the group has expanded its presence in the music scene. Last year, they took on additional space, bolstered sound panels to create a better recording experience, and began hosting additional live concerts.
"January was our busiest month ever -- we were booked almost every day," says Fox, who handles marketing and operations for Bad Racket. "We're building a community of people that we're working with. Our customers have come from as far away as Philly and West Virginia, but right now it's mostly Cleveland bands."
What's different about Bad Racket, which occupies a warehouse space at W. 45th and Lorain (below Go Media's offices), is that it has created a recording space that feels like a cross between a living room and a comfortable stage.
"We're not a clean, polished space, but our emphasis is on creating a space for performance," says Fox. "All you do is show up, play your songs at your best and the rest is taken care of. People prefer live recordings -- although we do both."
Bad Racket, which charges $45 per hour for studio time, also handles video production. The recording space doubles as a stage used for live concerts.
Fox and his cohorts self-financed the studio and have reinvested profits back into the space. They've built walls from rockwall insulation and acoustic panels from "rolls of bike helmet padding from Zero Waste Landfill and whatever is cheapest at JoAnn Fabric." The result? A 1,200-square-foot space with great acoustics.
It's a labor of love that's paying off. "When there's a project we really, really want to do, budget is not an issue. Everyone here just wants to make great music. Most of us have separate jobs, but if anyone asks us what we do, we'd say Bad Racket."
Fox is also a leading force behind Brite Winter Fest (he books the music), which recently attracted 20,000 people to Ohio City on a cold, snowy February evening.
Source: Thomas Fox
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The librarians at Cleveland Public Library (CPL) love books. No surprises there. Still, there's nothing wrong with spreading love of the printed word, and that's exactly what CPL is trying to do with its new outreach program, Read in the CLE.
The program, which launched last month on CPL's website, features a well-known Clevelander who is sharing the book that he or she is currently reading. A selection of CPL librarians also impart whatever page-turner has them staying up past bedtime, with the goal of giving visitors ideas on a new book to read.
"The focus is to pull people in so they can talk about reading together," says Amy Pawlowski, CPL's web applications manager.
As CPL does not have the user base of other local library systems, Read in the CLE was created to enhance interaction and keep the city's public library top mind. Visitors to the site can leave comments discussing their favorite books with either that month's featured reader or CPL's literate librarians.
"These aren't book reviews," Pawlowski says. "It's very loose and free-flowing. More along the lines of 'This is what I'm reading, do I like it?'"
CPL's first featured reader was columnist Connie Schultz. This month's guest is blogger and restaurant-owner Amelia Sawyer. The program will have a rotating series of notable Cleveland readers on hand for the rest of the year.
"We have some great readers downtown, but people always don't have time to get to the library," says Pawlowski. "This (program) is just a way for them to get more involved when they have the time."
SOURCE: Amy Pawlowski
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
The program, which launched last month on CPL's website, features a well-known Clevelander who is sharing the book that he or she is currently reading. A selection of CPL librarians also impart whatever page-turner has them staying up past bedtime, with the goal of giving visitors ideas on a new book to read.
"The focus is to pull people in so they can talk about reading together," says Amy Pawlowski, CPL's web applications manager.
As CPL does not have the user base of other local library systems, Read in the CLE was created to enhance interaction and keep the city's public library top mind. Visitors to the site can leave comments discussing their favorite books with either that month's featured reader or CPL's literate librarians.
"These aren't book reviews," Pawlowski says. "It's very loose and free-flowing. More along the lines of 'This is what I'm reading, do I like it?'"
CPL's first featured reader was columnist Connie Schultz. This month's guest is blogger and restaurant-owner Amelia Sawyer. The program will have a rotating series of notable Cleveland readers on hand for the rest of the year.
"We have some great readers downtown, but people always don't have time to get to the library," says Pawlowski. "This (program) is just a way for them to get more involved when they have the time."
SOURCE: Amy Pawlowski
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
fast co. praises cle art museum's gallery one
In a Fast Company story titled “5 Lessons IN UI Design From A Breakthrough Museum,” Cliff Kuang proclaims the Cleveland Museum of Art as a case study for blending physical and virtual worlds thanks to Gallery One.
The museum's goal was to utilize technology in a way where it was interactive and fun, but still let the artwork shine and remain the focal point.
"We didn’t want to create a tech ghetto," says David Franklin, the museum’s director. Adds Local Projects founder Jake Barton, "We wanted to make the tech predicated on the art itself."
From getting people to wiggle and smile, to shaping the content to the medium, to looking through the tech, not at it, Gallery One and the CMA had a challenge on their hands, and met it head on.
Enjoy the full feature here.
The museum's goal was to utilize technology in a way where it was interactive and fun, but still let the artwork shine and remain the focal point.
"We didn’t want to create a tech ghetto," says David Franklin, the museum’s director. Adds Local Projects founder Jake Barton, "We wanted to make the tech predicated on the art itself."
From getting people to wiggle and smile, to shaping the content to the medium, to looking through the tech, not at it, Gallery One and the CMA had a challenge on their hands, and met it head on.
Enjoy the full feature here.
As TEDxCLE blazes into its fourth year beneath the banner "Bonfire//Ignite," Clevelanders once again have responded with unfettered enthusiasm. This year's event, which will be held Thursday, March 21 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, sold all 700 tickets in 24 minutes. Here's a preview of the action.
In its heyday, downtown's Short Vincent was an entertainment mecca, with big-name spots like the Roxy, known as one of the most successful vaudeville and burlesque theaters in the Midwest. On February 23, Roxy Remembered took over the Beachland, staging a burlesque show in honor of the old club. Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski had a front row seat to the action.
Captain Jeff Sanders has spent the past few decades training ship captains. He operates a training school in Seattle, where he lives full time. Yet the Cleveland native has always wanted a place to stay when he comes back to Cleveland, which he does frequently to visit his 95-year-old mother in a nursing home.
Recently, Sanders completed renovations on a historic four-unit property that seemed destined for the wrecking ball until Detroit Shoreway Community Development Corporation (DSCDO) steered it into the hands of the right owner.
The Trenton sits at 7418 Franklin Boulevard (at the corner of W. 75th Street). The unique property features Italianate architectural details, a two-story front porch and an interior courtyard that lets additional light into the apartments.
Sanders, who converted the home into a three-unit, just received a community improvement award from DSCDO for his efforts. The project received special financing from the Cleveland Restoration Society's Heritage Home Program.
The renovation was a gut job. Sanders tore off the vinyl siding and restored the exterior with a handsome olive and red color scheme, redesigned the interior and installed all new mechanicals. The property includes many sustainable features.
Sanders combined two units into a townhouse-style apartment. "We blew out the dining room and created a cool interior staircase," he says. "We retained the old fireplaces."
One surprise was the floors. Initially, Sanders did not believe the old, three-inch pine floors were salvageable, but once sanded down, they refinished quite nicely.
Sanders plans to rent out two of the units -- including the 2,000-square-foot townhome for $1,400 per month -- while keeping one apartment for himself.
Source: Jeff Sanders
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Recently, Sanders completed renovations on a historic four-unit property that seemed destined for the wrecking ball until Detroit Shoreway Community Development Corporation (DSCDO) steered it into the hands of the right owner.
The Trenton sits at 7418 Franklin Boulevard (at the corner of W. 75th Street). The unique property features Italianate architectural details, a two-story front porch and an interior courtyard that lets additional light into the apartments.
Sanders, who converted the home into a three-unit, just received a community improvement award from DSCDO for his efforts. The project received special financing from the Cleveland Restoration Society's Heritage Home Program.
The renovation was a gut job. Sanders tore off the vinyl siding and restored the exterior with a handsome olive and red color scheme, redesigned the interior and installed all new mechanicals. The property includes many sustainable features.
Sanders combined two units into a townhouse-style apartment. "We blew out the dining room and created a cool interior staircase," he says. "We retained the old fireplaces."
One surprise was the floors. Initially, Sanders did not believe the old, three-inch pine floors were salvageable, but once sanded down, they refinished quite nicely.
Sanders plans to rent out two of the units -- including the 2,000-square-foot townhome for $1,400 per month -- while keeping one apartment for himself.
Source: Jeff Sanders
Writer: Lee Chilcote
For six decades, Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio has been promoting creative learning through the arts for local children and teenagers. A 60th-anniversary celebration requires something special, say the nonprofit's leaders. That means awarding residents who are harnessing the organization's arts-infused mission of contributing to the region's vitality.
Young Audiences is currently accepting nominations for its 2013 Arts, Education, and Entrepreneurship Awards. The nonprofit seeks those who have made a lasting impact in the three areas, as the innovation and creative thinking promoted by the arts help individuals succeed across all aspects of life, says development director Jerry Smith. Examples include teaching geometry through dance, or learning storytelling through digital game design.
"It's about the intersection of arts education and entrepreneurship," Smith says. "How does a creative education help drive that next entrepreneur?"
To answer that question, Smith's organization hosts workshops, performances, professional development programs and residencies for young people in the artistic realms of dance, music, theater and the visual arts.
Award nominees are due by April 12. Three winners from the categories of arts, education and entrepreneurship will be recognized at Young Audiences' 60th anniversary gala in September. Winners will receive a commemorative award and a contribution in their name made to the Young Audiences' Fund for Their Future.
An arts background is critical to melding young minds, believes the organization's leadership. Recognizing the individuals shaping that process is a natural step for the group, says Smith.
"Arts and culture are at the core of so much we do and how we succeed," he says.
SOURCE: Jerry Smith, Jennifer Abelson
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Young Audiences is currently accepting nominations for its 2013 Arts, Education, and Entrepreneurship Awards. The nonprofit seeks those who have made a lasting impact in the three areas, as the innovation and creative thinking promoted by the arts help individuals succeed across all aspects of life, says development director Jerry Smith. Examples include teaching geometry through dance, or learning storytelling through digital game design.
"It's about the intersection of arts education and entrepreneurship," Smith says. "How does a creative education help drive that next entrepreneur?"
To answer that question, Smith's organization hosts workshops, performances, professional development programs and residencies for young people in the artistic realms of dance, music, theater and the visual arts.
Award nominees are due by April 12. Three winners from the categories of arts, education and entrepreneurship will be recognized at Young Audiences' 60th anniversary gala in September. Winners will receive a commemorative award and a contribution in their name made to the Young Audiences' Fund for Their Future.
An arts background is critical to melding young minds, believes the organization's leadership. Recognizing the individuals shaping that process is a natural step for the group, says Smith.
"Arts and culture are at the core of so much we do and how we succeed," he says.
SOURCE: Jerry Smith, Jennifer Abelson
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
economist writes of beer and beethoven at local dive bar
In a The Economist article titled “Beethoven with Your Beer,” writer A.T. shares the irony of heading out to a dive bar to hear extraordinarily talented classical musicians play while scarfing down hot dogs and chugging beer.
“The idea for the sextet -- piano, flute, oboe, violin, viola and cello -- to perform at the bar came from a meeting of minds," the article states. "Joshua Smith, principal flautist at the orchestra and lead member of Ensemble HD, had long been interested in reaching out to people who don't go to classical-music concerts; and Sean Watterson, owner of Happy Dog, is similarly interested in mixing high- and low-brow culture.”
The first performance of the ensemble occurred in June 2011. There was concern and low expectations but as it turned out, patrons were lined up down the block.
“They stayed for the entire three-hour performance; a hush falling over the usually noisy space. Then at one point a group of bearded hipsters wearing flannel shirts raised their lighters and chanted "Beethoven! Beethoven!" in appreciation.”
Enjoy the complete article here.
“The idea for the sextet -- piano, flute, oboe, violin, viola and cello -- to perform at the bar came from a meeting of minds," the article states. "Joshua Smith, principal flautist at the orchestra and lead member of Ensemble HD, had long been interested in reaching out to people who don't go to classical-music concerts; and Sean Watterson, owner of Happy Dog, is similarly interested in mixing high- and low-brow culture.”
The first performance of the ensemble occurred in June 2011. There was concern and low expectations but as it turned out, patrons were lined up down the block.
“They stayed for the entire three-hour performance; a hush falling over the usually noisy space. Then at one point a group of bearded hipsters wearing flannel shirts raised their lighters and chanted "Beethoven! Beethoven!" in appreciation.”
Enjoy the complete article here.
An entertainment industry veteran who watched the rise and fall of the Flats has opened a nightclub inside the historic Centrum Theatre in Coventry Village. He believes it can add to entertainment options in the community and help bring the venue back to life.
Mike Mercer, who ran Club Coconuts and Howl at the Moon on the West Bank, among other properties, recently opened Club Centrum inside the theatre. The property is owned by TRK LLC, a development company based in Columbus. The owners have put $3.5 million into the property since they purchased it in 2007.
"Thursday is 18 and over college ID night, and that has been tremendously successful with Case, John Carroll and Notre Dame students," says Mercer, who opened the venue in mid-February. "We're making use of the 50 by 50 theatre screen and bringing that back to life. We put in a brand-new DJ booth and probably have $100,000 in light and sound -- it's pretty spectacular."
The video dance club is open Thursday to Saturday from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. There is a large dance floor and raised areas for the exhibitionists. The screen offers an added element of fun (think dancing in front of a 50-foot Diana Ross).
"I'm happy to be coming home to an area like Coventry Village, where there's so much fun to be had," says Mercer, a Cleveland Heights native. "We saw this as a missing element that would help to take the area to another level."
The property previously housed a Johnny Malloy's that closed after several years. Fracas, a white-tablecloth restaurant, attempted to make a go of it but closed after six months.
Mercer claims that he will avoid the pitfalls that beset so many other clubs by maintaining a strict attitude towards security and a proactive stance with the Cleveland Heights police. "I meet with the chief's office every single week."
The developers have also brought back to life the Centrum Theatre marquee, investing $10,000 -- $5,000 in light bulbs alone -- in its restoration.
Source: Mike Mercer
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Mike Mercer, who ran Club Coconuts and Howl at the Moon on the West Bank, among other properties, recently opened Club Centrum inside the theatre. The property is owned by TRK LLC, a development company based in Columbus. The owners have put $3.5 million into the property since they purchased it in 2007.
"Thursday is 18 and over college ID night, and that has been tremendously successful with Case, John Carroll and Notre Dame students," says Mercer, who opened the venue in mid-February. "We're making use of the 50 by 50 theatre screen and bringing that back to life. We put in a brand-new DJ booth and probably have $100,000 in light and sound -- it's pretty spectacular."
The video dance club is open Thursday to Saturday from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. There is a large dance floor and raised areas for the exhibitionists. The screen offers an added element of fun (think dancing in front of a 50-foot Diana Ross).
"I'm happy to be coming home to an area like Coventry Village, where there's so much fun to be had," says Mercer, a Cleveland Heights native. "We saw this as a missing element that would help to take the area to another level."
The property previously housed a Johnny Malloy's that closed after several years. Fracas, a white-tablecloth restaurant, attempted to make a go of it but closed after six months.
Mercer claims that he will avoid the pitfalls that beset so many other clubs by maintaining a strict attitude towards security and a proactive stance with the Cleveland Heights police. "I meet with the chief's office every single week."
The developers have also brought back to life the Centrum Theatre marquee, investing $10,000 -- $5,000 in light bulbs alone -- in its restoration.
Source: Mike Mercer
Writer: Lee Chilcote
During a recent address at the City Club of Cleveland, Joel Ratner of Neighborhood Progress Inc. touted recent success stories that the nonprofit has invested in, including a new home for The Intergenerational School underway at the Saint Luke's campus.
Ratner believes that even though Cleveland has been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, the city can stabilize its population and begin to grow again through promoting thoughtful, equitable, synergistic development that helps everyone succeed.
"For a long time, there was a debate over whether it makes sense to invest in people or place," said Ratner. "However, we believe it should be people and place."
Ratner cited Pittsburgh as an example of a city whose population has been right-sized and has even begun to grow again in recent years.
As examples of why community development matters, Ratner presented statistics showing that neighborhoods where NPI invested heavily over the past decade not only fell less steeply in the recession, but are also coming back more quickly than others. He also believes that every Cleveland neighborhood can be successful.
Ratner touted the recently-announced Slavic Village Reclaim Project, which leverages private investment by Safeco Properties and Forest City to help rehab 2,000+ properties on 440 acres, as one example of innovative best practices.
He also cited NPI's partnership with the Key Bank Financial Education Center to help low-income residents build wealth through savings and investment programs. Through a possible merger with Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition and LiveCleveland, Ratner hopes to begin serving additional neighborhoods.
Source: Joel Ratner
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Ratner believes that even though Cleveland has been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, the city can stabilize its population and begin to grow again through promoting thoughtful, equitable, synergistic development that helps everyone succeed.
"For a long time, there was a debate over whether it makes sense to invest in people or place," said Ratner. "However, we believe it should be people and place."
Ratner cited Pittsburgh as an example of a city whose population has been right-sized and has even begun to grow again in recent years.
As examples of why community development matters, Ratner presented statistics showing that neighborhoods where NPI invested heavily over the past decade not only fell less steeply in the recession, but are also coming back more quickly than others. He also believes that every Cleveland neighborhood can be successful.
Ratner touted the recently-announced Slavic Village Reclaim Project, which leverages private investment by Safeco Properties and Forest City to help rehab 2,000+ properties on 440 acres, as one example of innovative best practices.
He also cited NPI's partnership with the Key Bank Financial Education Center to help low-income residents build wealth through savings and investment programs. Through a possible merger with Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition and LiveCleveland, Ratner hopes to begin serving additional neighborhoods.
Source: Joel Ratner
Writer: Lee Chilcote