Featured Stories

reading nest, a public art slideshow

Bob Perkoski Thursday, June 13, 2013

Reading Nest is a 30x11-foot art installation on display in the Eastman Reading Garden of the Cleveland Public Library. Designed by CIA grad Mark Reigelman, and produced in collaboration with LAND studio, the massive yet elegant "owl's nest" is constructed from repurposed wood. Bob Perkoski documented the process from start to finish.

Arts and Culture, Design, Green Space Parks, Reuse / Rebuild

Downtown

we live here now: helen qin and jesse mason, owners of mason's creamery

Karin Connelly Thursday, June 13, 2013

Meet Helen Qin and Jesse Mason, a couple whose love for each other is rivaled only by their love of ice cream. After swapping the West Coast for the North Coast, the two launched Mason's Creamery, an ice cream start-up. Since moving to town, they have found Cleveland to be a city that not only loves ice cream, but that supports small business.

Entrepreneurship, Local Food

Downtown, Lakewood, AsiaTown/StClair Superior, MidTown

entrepreneurs riding road to success thanks to growing bike-based economy

Lee Chilcote Thursday, June 06, 2013

As cities continue to become more bike-friendly, new bike-based businesses are springing up to support the movement. These bike-centric businesses are both banking on and promoting a growing interest in riding, and in the process they are boosting their cities' economies.

Entrepreneurship, Green Space Parks, Regional Economy, Transportation

Campus District, West Park/Kamm's Corners, Emerging Neighborhoods, University Circle, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, Downtown, Little Italy, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont, PlayhouseSquare, Lakewood, Waterloo/Collinwood, AsiaTown/StClair Superior, MidTown

pets with benefits: how urban chickens are helping to build community

Douglas Trattner Thursday, June 06, 2013

It's been four years since Cleveland began allowing residents to keep chickens and one year for Cleveland Heights. Rather than the chicken-induced apocalypse predicted by some vocal critics, neither city has experienced any significant issues. In fact, chickens are improving communities in unexpected ways.

Local Food, Sustainability

Emerging Neighborhoods, Cleveland Heights, Little Italy, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont, Waterloo/Collinwood

meals on wheels: local food truck scene keeps on rollin'

Erin O'Brien Thursday, May 23, 2013

East, West, North and South -- it's getting easier and easier to score a hot, fresh and delicious meal from a food truck. In just three years' time, the Cleveland food truck scene has zoomed from 0 to 60, with dozens of rigs scattered all over town. Here's a little help finding them.

Entrepreneurship, Green Space Parks, Local Food

Campus District, West Park/Kamm's Corners, Emerging Neighborhoods, University Circle, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, Downtown, Little Italy, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont, PlayhouseSquare, Lakewood, Waterloo/Collinwood, AsiaTown/StClair Superior, MidTown

done on a dime: creative reuse method aims to save neighborhoods

Lee Chilcote Thursday, May 23, 2013

While public officials beat the drum for more money to raze vacant homes, others are saying, "Not so fast." Creative developers have crafted a way to renovate homes for as little money as it would take to demo them. The loft-like homes offer a taste of downtown, done on a dime.

Design, Reuse / Rebuild, Sustainability

Emerging Neighborhoods, Cleveland Heights, AsiaTown/StClair Superior

signs of life: a slideshow of great bar and grill signs

Bob Perkoski Thursday, May 16, 2013

A great sign does more than announce a business name and brand; it welcomes all who see it into the establishment. Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski has a soft spot for attractive bar and restaurant signs, and here's a slideshow of some of his favorites.

Design, Local Food

Cleveland Heights, Downtown, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont, Lakewood, Waterloo/Collinwood

walk this way: cle's most pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods

Joe Baur Thursday, May 16, 2013

According to Walk Score, Downtown, University Circle and Ohio City rank as the three most pedestrian friendly neighborhoods in Cleveland. What makes these neighborhoods so walkable? And more important: What can we do to make other areas more friendly to residents who prefer to walk and ride than drive?

Design, Green Space Parks, Transportation

University Circle, Downtown, Ohio City

northeast ohio riding the wave of a rising water-tech cluster

Douglas J. Guth Thursday, May 09, 2013

Once a national punchline, Northeast Ohio's waterways are now wellsprings of a burgeoning water technology industry that advocates believe will be paramount to the region's economic future.

Sustainability

Downtown

amping up and piping down: making music in the physical sense

Erin O'Brien Thursday, May 09, 2013

Cleveland rocks, that much we know. But it also is home to a band of crafty individuals who make music in a more physical sense, by building the instruments others use to play beautiful music. Guitars, amps and pipe organs all are handcrafted by passionate peeps right here in town.

Arts and Culture, Entrepreneurship, Regional Economy

Emerging Neighborhoods, Downtown

housing goes boom: optimism about city's future leads to boost in home sales

Lee Chilcote Thursday, May 02, 2013

Thanks to a brighter economy and heightened optimism about our city’s future, the Cleveland housing market is waking from its five-year slumber. Home sales are rising, prices are inching back to pre-recession levels, and stories of buyers getting outbid on homes are not at all uncommon.

Regional Economy

Emerging Neighborhoods, Cleveland Heights, Downtown, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont

in digital world, indie pubs aim to fill void left by waning mainstream print

Douglas J. Guth Thursday, May 02, 2013

In the age of digital everything, self-published periodicals are enjoying a bit of a revival. Geared towards those who prefer the tactile sensation of thumbing through an honest-to-goodness magazine, these indie pubs are filling voids left by declining mainstream print.

Arts and Culture, Green Space Parks, Local Food, Sustainability

Campus District, West Park/Kamm's Corners, Emerging Neighborhoods, University Circle, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, Downtown, Little Italy, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont, PlayhouseSquare, Lakewood, Waterloo/Collinwood, AsiaTown/StClair Superior, MidTown

rise of the rest: it's not just silicon valley anymore, people

Eric Peterson Thursday, April 25, 2013

Has Silicon Valley jumped the shark? Ask many keen observers of technology hubs from coast to coast and they'll tell you that 2013 is prime time for startups to bloom in unexpected cities like Detroit and Cleveland. Dubbed the "Rise of the Rest," the burgeoning trend documents the blossoming of entrepreneurialism in unexpected places.

Advanced Manufacturing, Emerging Technologies, Healthcare, Medical Capital, Regional Economy

Downtown

these ain't no boomerangs: transplants relish life in a new corner of the world

Karin Connelly Thursday, April 25, 2013

At times it seems like everybody living in this town was born in this town. After all, who would choose to settle here unless they had deep family roots? We introduce four transplants who moved to Cleveland and never looked back. Not only have they made the most of it; they've made a life of it.

Arts and Culture, Local Food, Nightlife, Regional Economy, Talent Dividend, Transportation

University Circle, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, Downtown, Little Italy, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont, Lakewood, AsiaTown/StClair Superior

lottery league slideshow: from draft to debut

Bob Perkoski Thursday, April 18, 2013

Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski documents the entire Lottery League experience -- from draft night through debut performance. Through a complex process, some 200 musicians are assembled into 42 bands, which then write music, practice, and perform before a live audience. Enjoy the show!

Arts and Culture, Nightlife

Waterloo/Collinwood, MidTown