Feel like going for a hike? How about canoeing, horseback riding, or even a round of golf? Of all the natural resources available for play in Cleveland, residents are lucky enough to have one of 69 national parks right in their own backyard with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP).

All of these activities—and much more—can be found in the 33,000 acres that make up the park, which boasts the heart of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, an area rich in industrial history and rife with natural wonder. The CVNP is the only national park in Ohio, with the closest national park at least a four-hour drive from Cleveland.

In early January, the CVNP will break ground on a new $5.9 million visitor center to welcome the two million people who visit the park annually. Get the details here.

A vintage blade sign that has been a landmark of Old Brooklyn since the 1940s is coming full circle. Having once marked the location of the old Atlas Furniture building at 4274 Pearl Road, it will soon become the marquee for the future Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation headquarters in the same location.

The historic sign will serve as the neighborhood’s centerpiece after it is restored and takes its place on Pearl Road in the summer of 2018, says Jason Powers, OBCDC director of marketing and development. “If you’re from Old Brooklyn, or you’re in one of the 20,000 cars that commute up Pearl Road, you know that sign,” he says. “This will add vibrancy to our Main Street. Old Brooklyn has always been amazing, but we never had that centerpiece.”

Read more about this vintage centerpiece here.

When Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen were developing Shaker Heights in the 1920s, and Cleveland was expanding after the completion of the Rapid between downtown and the new suburb, The Van Sweringen Company began building model homes to promote development in Shaker and demonstrate the standards that were expected of the homes.

Most of the model homes remain standing to this day. But one historic model home at 2834 Courtland Blvd. was dangerously close to demolition a few years ago before the Cleveland Restoration Society (CRS) and the City of Shaker Heights got involved.

Read about how this historic house was saved from the wrecking ball here.

Ever since the real estate housing crash in 2008, Cleveland communities have been faced with tackling the problem of vacant and blighted homes—pulling down property values and aesthetic appeal in neighborhoods already struggling.

According to Justin Fleming, director of real estate for Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP), there are about 9,500 vacant homes in the City of Cleveland. “I’d estimate that approximately 4,500 of those are structurally capable of being rehabbed within a reasonable budget,” he says. “The other 5,000 are likely structurally too far gone to reasonably saved.”

But thanks to a three-year, $700,000 grant given to CNP by Detroit-based Quicken Loans, some of those homes that can be rehabbed will get that much-needed work. Read about how this grant will help blighted neighborhoods and rehab vacant homes here.

For many longtime Clevelanders, the holidays conjure up memories of downtown shopping tips to the former Higbee’s Department Store in Public Square. Images of ornate arches, ribbons, and even Bruce the Spruce come to mind in the holiday season.

The historic 1931 Higbee Building at 100 Public Square seems to bring up nostalgic memories at all times of the year, with current office tenants like Quicken Loans incorporating Higbee’s décor into its modern office design and the famous 10^th floor—known for its fashion shows and Silver Grille restaurant— recently up for lease.

But JACK Casino, located within the building, has for the sixth year now transformed the casino and the windows lining Public Square into a whimsical wonderland called Holidays at the Higbee.