Gilded

This is the lobby of Terminal Tower, which is the second tallest skyscraper in Cleveland and was built in 1930. I love the ceiling!

15th

This is a picture of the Key Tower downtown. At 57 stories, it is not only the tallest building in Ohio, it is also the 15th tallest building in the United States.

Not My House

This is not, in fact, my house. But I wish it were. I have this fascination with Craftsman-style homes, in particular the Craftsman bungalow. There is something so appealing to me about the thoughtful combination of form and function embodied in a Craftsman home.

In my town, Shaker Heights, there are basically no bungalows at all, but the neighboring town, Cleveland Heights, has many. This one I think is especially attractive; the eaves are lovely.

Tower City

The Cleveland Film Festival is being held at Tower City Center. It's a large building downtown with a theater, shops, offices and a hotel.

Doubtless the First of Many

...pictures of our favorite coffee shop, Phoenix Coffee. My personal favorite of their coffees is the Red Cape Blend. And they have the best grilled cheese sandwich ever. Yum.

Cheap Parking

And yet another picture from Larchmere... One of the great things about Cleveland is cheap parking. Even for Cleveland, this is dirt cheap. An hour and a half for a dime. What a steal!

Strangely Appealing

Here's another shot from my Larchmere shopping trip. For some ineffable reason, I find this sign very appealing. My husband has frequented this barber shop ... the proprietor is a thirty-ish woman. Barber shops have always seemed to me to be the exclusive province of the masculine, so this amuses me. She gives a good haircut, I must say.

Shopping Trip

Yesterday I had a little time alone and some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket. So I went to the Larchmere Boulevard shopping area. The area is home to a number of antique (and antique-cum-junk) stores, a lovely used bookshop, a yarn shop, restaurants, and other interesting places. I didn't go in this boutique, but I was struck by the window display.

Spring in Cleveland!

On the first day of spring, I saw a crocus blooming on my walk home. How appropriate!

Confess your love for film

I like to sit in the dark with strangers.

This week the Cleveland Film Society is hosting the 31st Annual Cleveland International Film Festival. There are filmmakers from all over the world visiting our city to show and view 120 films from 50 different countries.

Peppers

Fresh veggies at the West Side Market. I tried to bargain with one of the merchants, but he wouldn't give a 50¢ discount on a head of cauliflower even when I promised to come back for another one next week.

This Should Be a St. Patrick's Day Post...

... but instead you get a neon sign. Indeed, we drink espresso here in Cleveland and we even know how to spell it. This sign is at the Yours Truly restaurant on Shaker Square, and is one of those places with kids' menus and crayons. Also, an awesome patty melt.

Skyline

Last Saturday I went to the West Side Market on a day that started out grey and drizzly, but ended up sunny and bright. I was able to get a pretty good view of downtown from the parking lot. The Cleveland skyline is so impressive that some people think it looks as good as New York City.

Winter's Last Gasp?

Two days ago, it was over 70 degrees Fahrenheit here. This morning, we woke up to snow. Ah, the joys of living alongside a big lake.

Vinyl

Below the Beachland Ballroom, there is a vintage clothing, etc. shop called This Way Out. I thought it was cool that they had so many old records, including Isaac Hayes. Right on! If only I still had my father's old turn table.

Free

Next to City Hall downtown is our city's most unusual piece of public art. It's a giant rubber stamp marked "FREE." Designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, the sculpture was a gift to the city from the Standard Oil Company of Ohio, which has since been taken over by British Petroleum. Click the link for more pictures and a brief history of the controversy surrounding this piece.

Music Saves

On the way to the show at the Beachland Tavern, we saw an independent record store named Music Saves. Next time we'll have to get there while they are open.

Cleveland Rocks

Cleveland has some really great local music. Last Thusday Laura and I went to the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern to see Chum, Low Sun High Noon and Beaten Awake.

Icy

This tree on a street in my neighborhood had the misfortune of growing near a water leak. On the street in front of the tree was a huge puddle and the tree was sprayed each time a car passed by. The result -- a very thick coating of ice.

Spring seems to have arrived in Cleveland this weekend, though. It's about 50 degrees Fahrenheit here today, so I'll bet this tree has shed its winter garb.

Our house

One of the best things about living in Cleveland Heights is the gorgeous buildings from the Roaring Twenties. All of the buildings have names! I live in one of these apartment buildings. I think it looks particularly beautiful in the snow.

Fire in Snow

Fire is a popular restaurant in Shaker Square, which is near my home. I've never eaten here, as (1) I have children and (2) it appears not to have crayons at the table. (I'm only partially kidding.) Anyhow, I liked the warm name and the chilly weather in the picture, as well as the little architectural detail above the window.

Shaker Square is one of those partially successful attempts at (quasi-) urban renewal. A number of businesses have moved in and then out again, but it seems to be on a bit of an uptick.

Who Knew...

... PVC pipe could look so good? As you can see from the smaller picture below, this is a closeup of an organ made out of PVC pipe. We saw it at one of our regular weekend haunts, the Great Lakes Science Center. With two small boys and living in a place with rather cold, nasty winter weather, it's become the antidote to cabin fever.

What is Pho?

Phnom Penh on W. 25th

Despite common misconceptions, Cleveland has some really great Asian food. Here is a picture of a good Vietnamese restaurant near the West Side Market. Unfortunately, while I was there one of my friends asked me, "What is Pho?" I guess we just need to take her out for Vietnamese more often.

Horseshoe Lake

My husband took this picture of Horseshoe Lake in Shaker Heights. We had a new dusting of snow this weekend, so everything looks clean again.

Good Grammar in Cleveland

Sign at Heinen's

When Laura asked me to be her assistant in starting a daily photo blog, I was reluctant. My job working in a biomedical research lab at Case Western Reserve University leaves me with little time to wander the city looking for good photos. However, I do enjoy taking pictures with my new camera and would like to get better at it. This blog seemed like a good opportunity to explore the city I moved to last July and improve my photography skills.

I am a bit of a grammar nazi and am always annoyed that grocery stores incorrectly announce their express lanes as accepting x number of items "or less". What a pleasure it was to visit the Heinen's on Chagrin and Lee Road yesterday and find the sign above!

You have to start somewhere.

My attic window.

One early morning, unable to sleep, I was browsing the internets and happened upon Paris Daily Photo. This lead me to daily photo blogs for Mumbai, London, New York, Indianapolis, Silver Spring (a former hometown of mine), and many others. But I was shocked to find no Cleveland photo blog. Being in the middle of preparing for the Bar examination, I realized that I needed to wait to embark on this endeavor. But the exam is over, and here we go.

A little about me ... I am the mother of two young boys. I live on the East Side of Cleveland. I am emphatically NOT a photographer. The best I can say is that I like to take pictures. And I love my city. I decided that this might best be a group endeavor, so I recruited a friend to participate, who will introduce herself. I'd like to post everyday, but I can make no promises.