An Old Portrait of Ohio

You don't think of much when you hear "Cleveland." Obviously, it's not a top destination but there is a lot of history there - Danny Green and major mafia activity, it was the location of "A Christmas Story",  it's home to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the esteemed Cleveland Symphony, the art Museum is wonderful, there is incredible architecture and a historical urban landscape, and at one time it was a booming industrial city. 

I love hearing my mom reminisce about Cleveland in it's prime - a veritable Americana. Old neighborhoods were defined by race and ethnicity. There was the black neighborhood, the Catholic neighborhood, the Italian neighborhood, Polish, Jewish, Slovakian, and then there were the summer homes of wealthy white people along the lake. On every corner there was a neighborhood bar where blue collar workers would stop off before coming home to their families. The neighborhoods are still divided but now those local bars are more ghetto sketchy than colorful dive bars. And many of the homes that were big, beautiful, and well-kept are falling apart or drug houses.  

At the same time, there are some areas that are growing and becoming trendy, like Tremont, home to the house where "A Christmas Story" was filmed and where celebrity chef Michael Symon has a few restaurants. The Great Lakes Brewing Co. lives in Ohio City, a hop, skip, and a jump from Tremont. Nearer to my mom's house is B Spot Burgers at Eton Square on Chagrin Boulevard. One of. the best. burgers. I've had. in. my. life. And a craft/local beer selection on tap. Heaven.

Whenever I fly into Cleveland to visit my mom we pass by the old steel mills on the way home. Many are abandoned but still standing and the large plot of land the buildings occupy is like a huge graveyard, slowly exhaling white clouds from the top of smokestacks of the factories still functioning. It's easy to imagine a lively picture of workers at the mills, machines cranking, the sound of steam escaping, and people talking loudly over the noise. It's this very culture that Obama and Romney both tried to win over during visits to Cleveland and talks at the factories still holding on. It must have been pretty eye opening for them to see a picture of what a struggling economy looks like, a middle-America portrait fading as time, high tech, and outsourced jobs rub away it's lustre.  

The general state of Cleveland is pretty depressed. There are innumerable abandoned buildings. The political climate is corrupt and the economy is bombed. As I mentioned in a post where I talked about selections for my exhibit at E.A.S.T., there are still nuggets of beauty tucked deep in Cleveland - like amazing fall colors and gorgeous countryside. But for someone like me who loves abandoned buildings, things left behind and urbania, and the darker side of society, it's a photographer's playground.