Friday, August 31, 2018

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 19

THE FLATS

Perhaps the meaning of this graffiti is that art is art.

It shows  a cop arresting Leonardo Da Vinci, presumably for painting the Mona Lisa.

One could surmise this is a Banksy-like protest of arrests for street artists.


Tuesday, August 28, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 18

THE FLATS

This brick building in Cleveland's industrial zone sports Banksy-like street art.

We're not sure if "Please Reconsider" refers to demolishing the stately, but careworn old building.

We hope it does.

Monday, August 27, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 17

THE FLATS

Brick machine shops, warehouses, small factories -- they all look like they are just waiting for a visionary to turn them into housing, galleries and more.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 16

THE FLATS

What is it about fire escapes that are so charming from a design standpoint?

It's like Urban Designers and Urban Photographers have to love fire escapes the way music critics and independent record store owners have to love Yo Lo Tengo.


Saturday, August 25, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 15

THE FLATS
We love our adopted hometown of Miami.
But there are virtually no industrial areas.
No ruins of bridges and smokestacks to preserve as art.
No elegant red brick industrial buildings to convert to artist lofts.

Friday, August 24, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 14

THE FLATS


Cross this bridge under the crooked river that burned, and you will be in Tremont -- one of the most-desirable urban neighborhoods in the Great Lakes region.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 13

THE FLATS


So many worn out buildings, many occupied by workers for 3 round the clock shifts in Cleveland's hey day, exist in the valley along Cleveland's Cuyahoga River.

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 12

THE FLATS


Smoke stacks certainly are symbols of fossil fuel burning that polluted most of the Rust Belt.

But preserved here, this brick tower is as elegant as a commissioned piece of art.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Monday, August 20, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 10

THE FLATS


Happy birthday to my brother Keith, my only sibling.

He turns 50 today.

He lives in Medina County, the same county -- contiguous with Cleveland's Cuyahoga -- that we were raised in.

I remember many visits to Cleveland with Keith.

One time we saw an Indians game in the cavernous old Municipal Stadium, but really wanted to see NE Ohio favorite son Joe Walsh in concert after the game.

The James Gang alum killed it.

When you rock Cleveland, you can rock any place on earth.

The "new," going on a quarter century old, ballpark looms just above the big rust-hued goliath of machinery in the picture above.


Sunday, August 19, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 9

THE FLATS

Larger than life contraptions hulked all over Cleveland's Flats.

Heavy industry inspired some larger than life music to come out of Cleveland.

And more legendary bands than can be counted owe their first big break to airplay on Cleveland rock radio and appearances at its many music venues.

Saturday, August 18, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 8

THE FLATS


Brother where you bound?

The west bank of the Flats is a bit of an entertainment center.

The east bank has lots of condos, apartments, and new places to eat and drink along a riverwalk.

Ohio City and Tremont are booming classic old Cleveland neighborhoods on just west of the Flats.

Friday, August 17, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 7

THE FLATS


Tearing down old, rusty things and removing any touchstones of the past used to be consider the best way to do urban renewal.

Thankfully, best practices shifted toward keeping essential parts of the old DNA, so the new could be contextual.

Thursday, August 16, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 6

THE FLATS


So much steel -- in the bridges in the Flats and made in the giant mills just south of it.

The auto industry made Midwest cities huge in the first half of the 20th century.

Cleveland (forget our rival Pittsburgh) made steel.

Akron made rubber tires.

Toledo made glass.

Detroit put it all together.


Wednesday, August 15, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 5

THE FLATS



Dozens of great bridges spanned the ravine separating the west side of Cleveland from the east.

Many carried cars. 

Movable lower ones carried industrial trains.

Some carried commuter rail.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 4

THE FLATS


Cleveland's red brick factories, steel bridges, heavy wires and concrete masses inspired my sense of what an urban place should look like.

Monday, August 13, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 3

THE FLATS


From the first time my family left the suburbs to go into Cleveland for an Indians baseball game, I was greatly impacted by the industrial bridges.

Sunday, August 12, 2018

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part 2

THE FLATS



Cleveland's polluted Cuyahoga River caught fire many times in the 20th century -- causing deaths and millions dollar losses.

But the June 22, 1969 fire drew world wide attention.

The fallout helped create the Clean Water Act and other environmental protections.

I was note quite five years old when the river caught fire.

Now it is clean enough to row on.

And there are waterside parks.





Friday, August 10, 2018

THE CATS OF ISTANBUL - 6

FROM LA TIMES REVIEW OF KEDI FILM


Street cats, unowned and on their own, have been a feature of Istanbul life for uncounted centuries, and according to "Kedi" their presence


"embodies the indescribable chaos, the culture and the uniqueness that is the essence of Istanbul. 

Without them, the city would lose part of its soul."

https://www.kedifilm.com/

Thursday, August 9, 2018

THE CATS OF ISTANBUL - 5

QUOTE FROM THE MOVIE KEDI:



"Dogs think people are God, but cats don't. 
Cats are aware of God's existence. 
Cats know that people act as middlemen to God's will. 
They're not ungrateful, they just know better."

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

THE CATS OF ISTANBUL -- 4

PEOPLE BUILD HOUSES FOR CATS IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD



Some are elaborate.

Some made of cardboard and duct tape.

Most a hybrid of each.

Istanbullu love their cats.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

THE CATS OF ISTANBUL - 3

KEDI IN CIHANGIR BEYOGLU ISTANBUL TURKEY

Claiming no owners, the cats of Istanbul live between two worlds, neither wild nor tame — and they bring joy and purpose to those people they choose to adopt.

In Istanbul, cats are the mirrors to the people, allowing them to reflect on their lives in ways nothing else could.


https://www.kedifilm.com/about/

Monday, August 6, 2018

THE CATS OF ISTANBUL - 2

KEDI ON A TOMBSTONE IN GRAVEYARD OF ATIK ALI PASA CAMI



Hundreds of thousands of Turkish cats roam the metropolis of Istanbul freely. 

For thousands of years they’ve wandered in and out of people’s lives, becoming an essential part of the communities that make the city so rich. 

https://www.kedifilm.com/about/

Sunday, August 5, 2018

THE CATS OF ISTANBUL

KEDI ON A TOMBSTONE IN GRAVEYARD OF ATIK ALI PASA CAMI


The people of Istanbul love their cats very much.


Hundreds of thousands of city dwellers pause each day to make sure their Kedi are provided food, water and love.


Saturday, August 4, 2018

THEODOSIUS CISTERN - 6

FATIH, ISTANBUL, TURKEY

This cistern is one of the best works that show how water civilization was developed in these lands before the Byzantine and Ottoman periods and how it was protected and enriched as technically and architecturally by the Ottoman Empire.

– Realm of History

Friday, August 3, 2018

THEODOSIUS CISTERN - 5

FATIH, ISTANBUL, TURKEY



Spread across an area of 148 feet by 82 feet (around 45 meters by 25 meters).

The ancient cistern features a roof that is supported by 32 marble columns, each measuring over 30 feet (or 9 meters) in height.

– Realm of History

Thursday, August 2, 2018

THEODOSIUS CISTERN - 4

FATIH, ISTANBUL, TURKEY


Built by Roman Emperor Theodosius II between circa 428 AD and 443 AD, the Theodosius Cistern was used to store water from the Valens Aqueduct, which was the chief water-supplying system of the Eastern Roman capital of Constantinople. 

During Theodosius’ reign, the aqueduct was redistributed from its original supply to the Nymphaeum, the Baths of Zeuxippus and the Great Palace of Constantinople. 

This, in turn, involved the construction of the Theodosius Cistern. 

– Realm of History

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

THEODOSIUS CISTERN - 3

FATIH, ISTANBUL, TURKEY



Iranian artist Ahmet Nejat presented an exhibition titled “Hiç Hali” (meaning “state of nothingness”) inside the cistern. 

The show included a golden globe with the inscription “AÅŸk ve Hiç” (Love and None) as well as a sound design created with the poems of Rumi.

– Realm of History

INDUSTRIAL CLEVELAND, OHIO -- part xx

STEEL MILLS


Though the city has shrunk drastically from its peak population, and tens of thousands of industrial jobs have been lost -- Cleveland still is a city where workers make things.

Active steel mills still dot the valley just south of the Flats.