Letters From Here

There are a number of good examples of market cities in the U.S., but one of the best is Cleveland, where the century-old West Side Market has become a key engine in the city’s revitalization. The market building itself is one of Cleveland’s finest architectural gems—a vast, red-brick terminal with stunningly high vaulted ceilings, book-ended with massive, arched windows.

On the ground, as the vendors will attest, is an open opportunity for small-scale sellers to establish themselves in the market economy and build a livelihood. And, following PPS’s definition as a hub from which other market activities spin out and cluster, the West Side Market is now just one [albeit sizeable] node in a buzzing network of food-related endeavors—restaurants, farmers’ markets, urban farms—which are assembling into a whole new identity for the “Rust Belt” city.

(via What Public Spaces Like Cleveland’s West Side Market Mean for Cities | Design Decoded)

murketing:

… Like quite a bit of Pekar’s work, this is focused on Cleveland (really they’ve all been in some way or another “about Cleveland”), but this is really more a history book of his hometown….

There are many questions the book asks, the answers I have absolutely no hope in solving. How much does a city define a writer, or vice versa? Does the writer leave any mark? Does he or she change a city?

Full writeup/review here: davepress.

unconsumption:

Reclaimed Cleveland “is leading an effort to salvage lumber from local structures [that are being demolished] and give it a new life as well designed home furnishings and accessories.”

The Reclaimed Cleveland website features the furniture (tables, seating, beds, storage pieces) and accessories (mirrors, chopping blocks, candleholders, and more) they’re able to turn this heirloom wood into. They also show the custom commercial and residential interiors they’ve incorporated the wood into.

Cool project, and one that reminds us of our friends at D-Build in Syracuse — mentioned previously here and here. Perhaps there are more examples elsewhere? Seems like lots of cities could use efforts like these… !

Reclaimed Cleveland: Turning an Abandoned City Into a Raw Material - Core77

Hastily Made Tourism Videos are a series of satirical videos parodying the promotional advertisements for various local tourist destinations. They typically feature a variety of amateur-style shots showcasing a given city’s most mundane or embarrassing landmarks, such as ghettos or abandoned industrial sites, set to an often out-of-tune song that follows the literal music video style. 

The first instance of these chain videos, “Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism,” was uploaded to YouTube on April 14th, 2009, followed by its sequel two weeks later. Both of the videos were uploaded by Cleveland-based comedian Mike Polk and quickly went viral, with each video amassing four million views since the upload date. 

More: Hastily Made Tourism Videos | Know Your Meme

secretrepublic:

I thought this was interesting. What surface parking lots did to Cleaveland’s warehouse district (which is a nationally recognized historic district, oops). 

1960s vs today.

via drawingnothing

(via humanscaled)

Via Rustwire.

(via npr)