Why are we so behind in Northeast Ohio when it comes to preservation?

Two articles converged onto my conciousness this week in the midst of an attempt to save the Breuer from destruction.

Brooklyn Waterfront Called Endangered Site

here's a quote: “The buildings really represent an important part of Brooklyn’s heritage, and it would be a tragedy to lose it,” Richard Moe, president of the trust, said in an interview. “We’re very concerned that there’s such a rush on to demolish everything.”

and

Great Architecture Finds a Home in Indiana

here's a quote: "Columbus (Indiana) is a small town (population 39,000) that just happens to have the most incredible collection of modern architecture in the Midwest (outside Chicago, of course). Everyone from Eliel Saarinen and his son, Eero, to Deborah Berke and Richard Meier has worked there, designing so many schools, churches and libraries that, at least in theory, you can’t walk a single block without stumbling on an elegant glass-and-concrete building or a house of worship soaring like a Euclidean fantasy.

“You actually have to see it to believe it,” wrote Christopher Porter, a reader."

So don't glance at this blog posting and say, "Well, we are not overdeveloped NYC, nor are we a small town in rural Indiana, but think of what we might gain from the tourism industry if we would stop the rush to tear down all our history. We are somewhere in the middle, both geographically and populationwise.

I have mentioned before, that we might have a great tourist attraction if we had maintained and preserved Millionaire's Row, but it is too late for that (except for the 6 or so mansions that could be reclaimed and restored in East Cleveland. There are achitectural gems just waiting to be adaptively reused. Driving through the city you can spot them with their windows blown out, their brick columned porches sporting vines and broken glass.

And now we could be on the verge of having numerous churches to restore and turn into a church tour of Cleveland. Where's the cash and where are the innovative developers who will invest in these central city turnaround options. It is a great way for a young developer to make a fast buck, since they can probably be had for a song. Bring back the stately boulevards and the tree-lined side streets and invite the tourists to see these beautiful old urbanist neighborhoods and boroughs. They can be lovely once again.

and whatever happened to this idea? I forget... somehow we got hijacked into keeping the Berlin Wall between us and the lake. Daniel Burnham would never have let that happen. He would have been appalled at the idea of dumping a lot of off higway traffic right into the front gaty of Gateway. I thought about this as I drove south on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago to avoid the Dan Ryan last week. And if you think we have it right for the innerbelt and wish they would get on it already -- STOP and visit Chicago and drive up and down the Dan Ryan and see if you are ready to swallow the state's plan for rearranging our highway. This is one we need to plan for the seventh generation. If you think the Euclid Corridor is bad, just imagine -- this will be under construction for the better part of most of our lives.

"Turn the Shoreway into a tree-lined boulevard running eight miles from Edgewater Park on the West Side to Gordon Park on the East Side.

Create 17 intersections along the boulevard, which would be connected to neighborhoods to the south by bridges over I-90 and the lakefront railroads.

Create an eight-mile lakefront bike path.

The highway plan would not affect any residential properties, but could affect several commercial properties near Dead Man's Curve and E. 55th St. close to the lake.

The goal of the plan, called "The Shoreway: Reclaiming Our Lakefront," is to make the most of money that the Ohio Department of Transportation will spend fixing the Inner Belt over the next decade."

Imagine...

as you look at this plan for Dike 14 imagine the I-90 ramp gone and replaced with a boulevard.

When the Port announces the results of its relocation study we may be more ready to move forward. Though these lakefront plans will be pricey and will require time (Dike 14 and the Coast Guard Station are on the boards first), they copuld be enhanced greatly by moving the highway to the south.