On a recent trip to Cleveland, I visited a steel plant, not too far from downtown. Well, I didn’t exactly visit, but rather parked my car illegally across the street to get some photos. I thought it was amazing to see these huge relics of the American Industrial Revolution, and I am fascinated by Cleveland. Actually, I have also started a tourist blog about all the fun and quirky things to do in Cleveland called, “Cleveland Hipster.” (Click on the link to check it out!)
(Artistic note: All of the black and white images were shot on a plastic, automatic panoramic camera that I found at a yard sale in the Berkshires for $1.00. Below is a design I mocked up for a new Cleveland Hipster logo. Soon, I will convert it into a t-shirt design, as well. In the meantime, you can see how it looks as the branding on Cleveland Hipster’s facebook page.)
One of the things I love most about Cleveland is the way the old industrial artifacts surface here and there around the city, but its modern-day aesthetic is very green and lush. In fact, there is a famously large strand of city parks that form a circle around the Greater Cleveland area called, “The Emerald Necklace.”
Standing on the side of the road in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, looking in one direction, I saw this freshly paved road leading towards the aforementioned steel plant (right). And in the other direction, a field leading down to a brand-new shopping center – a field of wildflowers slanting steeply downwards from the road, waving in the summer in breeze (below).
Cleveland is full of these little pockets of nature, making it a such a beautiful city by “green-consciousness” standards. And there is something very grounding about the American history present in a place where a lot of immigrants once came to find work when “green” was not the big thing – back then it was “steel,” or “industry.” Pretty far from green, in fact! It is fascinating to be in a place where you can all at once witness how much times have really changed in a hundred years and see a lovely community thriving in present times.
