Design + Build

Urban Hike: to water's edge
Fresh Water managing editor Erin O'Brien bids readers farewell with a good long walk along an offbeat path.
Summertime workshops spark a hot mess of creativity
Summer is the season for vacations, relaxation and general fun in the sun, or so the brochure tells us. The hot months don't have to be spent just lazing about, however, because Cleveland is positively smoking with educational summertime programs, and Fresh Water is burning things up with this enticing workshop roundup, with everything from creating mysterious accordion books and building video games to snapping out flash fiction.

Get the whole list here
Making it: Shaker kids' building and design program gets national spotlight
Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) has received the 2017 Great Places Award in the Place Planning category from the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA). The designation is for the group's innovative work with the Making Our Own Space (MOOS) initiative, a youth program focused on engaging and empowering middle and high school students with the skills to transform their neighborhood public spaces.

Get the whole story here.
PREVIEW: three new Flats tenants will unite in bocce, beer, bourbon and … pizza
Construction is underway at the former Crop complex on Old River Road in the Flats East Bank, and three new tenants will occupy the space before summer’s end, according to Flats developer, Scott Wolstein.
 
Dante’s Inferno, Backyard Bocce and Thirsty Dog Brewing Company will move into the three former Crop spaces by mid-August, bringing a cooperative effort into a varied mix of food, drink and entertainment to the Flats. Construction began last week.

Find out what these three establishments have planned for the area here.
Five things you don't know about ... Progressive Field
Progressive Field has been the Cleveland Indians' gleaming gem of a home field since April 4, 1994, when the Tribe knocked off Seattle 4-3 in front of 41,459 fans. Long-time supporters may always refer to the stadium by its old nickname, "The Jake," but even those die-hards may not know all the facts about one of the most recognizable parks in the major leagues.

Now click here for a cheat sheet on some of the park's insider stories and deets.
Game changer: Edgewater Beach House transforms classic park
After much anticipation, the new 12,000-square-foot Edgewater Beach House opened last Friday. The open air, two-story amenity offers stunning views of Lake Erie and a place to kick back and relax with friends. It also serves as a connection point with walking paths leading to the popular green space from surrounding neighborhoods.

Read more about all the beach house has to offer beach goers this summer.
Face to face: Stephen Yusko
Tucked away on East 41th Street just across the way from Tyler Village, Stephen Yusko is toiling away at his studio wherein you'll find milling machines and band saws and the usual residents in a metalworking shop. But Yusko's tools also include anvils, a white-hot forge and the tongs and hammers that transform steel into the smith's graceful designs.
 
"My work is a combination of forging, machining and fabricating. It seems like more machining, but it always starts with a forged … something," says Yusko. "I enjoy that process: heating up a bar of steel and transforming it into a shape."
 
Yusko continues while a cat named M slinks around the shop, completely unimpressed by the craftsman's lofty musings:

Read them here, and find out where this able smith like to sup when he's not manning the forge.
Over The River: loads of LEGOs, a run through the Zoo, an AHA! moment ...
Welcome to the inaugural edition of "Over The River," a monthly calendar of exciting activities taking place throughout the area. Have a fun event you want to share with your fellow Clevelanders? Send us your freshest happenings.

Click here for our May listing, which is full up with a confluence of art and poetry, live mural painting and even a Frog Bride.
Tiny vacant lot transformed into unique property
Early last year, a 35-foot by 95-foot plot of land at 1427 Scenic St. in Lakewood sat uncared for with a shaky past.

The Cuyahoga County Land Bank had razed the abandoned house, the adjacent neighbors had no interest in the land and the non-profit community organization LakewoodAlive was desperately searching for someone to plant some love on the property.

Find out what happened to the pint-sized property here.
PHOTOS: inside the grand and historic Standard Building
Courtesy of a Cleveland Restoration Society SNOOP tour, Fresh Water offers up this preview of the breathtaking Standard Building, which Weston, Inc. is renovating and converting into residential units. 
Update: iconic water tower retakes rightful place atop Lofts at Lion Mills
In its heyday, Lion Knitting Mills established a reputation for making wool military goods, and later sweaters for the consumer market.

The 1919 factory at 3256 W. 25th St. in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood sat vacant after Lion Knitting Mills closed its doors in 1990, until the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) bought the 52,000-square-foot building and began converting it into affordable loft-style apartments in 2016.

Get the whole story here.
Motorcycle dreams part two: stranger wheels
In this — the second in an unexpected three-part series that takes a closer look at motorcycle dreams, Cleveland style — we meet a man who's jumped head first into the local custom bike scene in the strangest way.
Re-emergence: nostalgic Higbee's space is set to let
PHOTOS: the beauty is in the details
An image roundup of fascinating architectural details from Franklin Avenue's vintage and historic homes as captured by Fresh Water's managing photographer Bob Perkoski.
CLE classic: Viktor Schreckengost combined form, function and beauty
A sculptor, ceramicist, industrial designer and Cleveland Institute of Art professor, Viktor Schreckengost's legacy continues to live out loud throughout Northeast Ohio and beyond.