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As Drew Carey fans have long known, Cleveland Rocks. But
you don't need to take the TV comedian's word for it…just ask around.
Over the past decade, Cleveland and Northeast Ohio is shining
more brightly than ever, attracting new residents from all over the world and making
Northeast Ohio a destination for travelers. Sprawling for 50 miles along the shores
of Lake Erie, this former industrial hub of the heartland is on a roll.
George Washington once said that a great city would stand
in the blessed spot where the Cuyahoga River met Lake Erie and frankly, he was
right!
Industrial success infused money into the city early on,
as its steel and oil barons drew upon their vast fortunes to build a monumental
downtown and a rich cultural legacy that includes the world-renowned Cleveland
Museum of Art, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
and the Cleveland Orchestra.
It was a solid foundation for the post-industrial urban
vision, which took giant steps forward with the 1994 opening of Jacobs Field, the
first of the nation's new wave of retro-modern Major League ballparks, commonly
referred to by baseball fans as ‘the best ballpark in the world.’
Cleveland sports fans also enjoy cheering on the Cavaliers
and Browns in their new facilities. A year later came I. M. Pei's splendid Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame, which mirrors Pei's own Louvre expansion with its playful
pyramid-shaped design. This was soon followed by the opening of the Great Lakes
Science Center, (one of America’s largest interactive science museums) and
the acclaimed Peter B. Lewis Building (CWRU), Frank Gehry’s windblown structure
which twists shiny steel and brick into the perfect cocktail of art and architecture.
The latest high-profile tenant to take up anchor in downtown
Cleveland is the House of Blues, a 1,000-seat club and restaurant on East Fourth
Street at Euclid Avenue.
Although Cleveland's industrial foundation is very much
in evidence, downtown's steel warehouses and tool-and-die factories now house trendy
clubs and restaurants, and its many bridges lead to gentrified neighborhoods fueled
by the optimism that comes with a measure of achievement.
The message couldn't be clearer: Cleveland is striving for
global recognition, and the droves of new residents and American and international
visitors flocking to the re-energized city indicate that success is in the air.
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