Lee Chilcote
Stories by: Lee Chilcote
Lee Chilcote is founder and editor of The Land. He is the author of the poetry chapbooks The Shape of Home and How to Live in Ruins. His writing has been published by Vanity Fair, Next City, Belt and many literary journals as well as in The Cleveland Neighborhood Guidebook, The Cleveland Anthology and A Race Anthology: Dispatches and Artifacts from a Segregated City. He is a founder and former executive director of Literary Cleveland. He lives in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland with his family.770 stories found; viewing page 35 of 39.
To some, Michael J. Zone Recreation Center is just another city park where teenagers play pick-up basketball, softball teams face off on scruffy fields, and kids scamper about on a well-worn playground.
Yet for others, this 22-acre green space on Cleveland's near-west side has the potential to become an urban oasis, a premier green space that serves the neighborhood while providing a model for integrating sustainability into city parks.
Recently, the City of Cl... Read more >
Yet for others, this 22-acre green space on Cleveland's near-west side has the potential to become an urban oasis, a premier green space that serves the neighborhood while providing a model for integrating sustainability into city parks.
Recently, the City of Cl... Read more >
Last summer, Ohio City native Alex Nosse biked from Cleveland to San Francisco with a friend. While cycling for eight hours a day, he had plenty of time to dream of finding a job that also fueled his passion.
"It was a light-bulb moment," he says. "I realized how much passion I had for cycling, and that I wanted to do something bike-related."
A year later, the avid cyclist has launched Joy Machines, a new bike shop that opened in June on West ... Read more >
"It was a light-bulb moment," he says. "I realized how much passion I had for cycling, and that I wanted to do something bike-related."
A year later, the avid cyclist has launched Joy Machines, a new bike shop that opened in June on West ... Read more >
Since opening Dredgers Union, a new apparel and home goods store on E. Fourth Street in downtown Cleveland, owner Danielle DeBoe has been surprised by the number of out-of-town visitors she's had.
"They ask if I have a location in their city, and then rave about the store and insist that I open one where they live," says DeBoe with a laugh. "I'm excited because we're providing out-of-towners with a more well-rounded retail experience."
DeBoe, who also owns Room S... Read more >
"They ask if I have a location in their city, and then rave about the store and insist that I open one where they live," says DeBoe with a laugh. "I'm excited because we're providing out-of-towners with a more well-rounded retail experience."
DeBoe, who also owns Room S... Read more >
When the Cleveland Play House kicks off its adventurous 2011 season this coming fall, it will do so in a completely reworked Allen Theatre, about 70 blocks west of its current home. Built in 1921 as a 3,000-seat movie house, the Allen is currently wrapping up a $32-million renovation that will give not only the Play House a brand new home, but also Cleveland State University's thriving theatre department.
Buffalo is better known for its long, snowy winters than its flowering gardens. Yet last year, GardenWalk Buffalo, a free self-guided tour that bills itself as the largest garden tour in America, attracted an estimated 45,000 people to 300-plus gardens.
After learning about GardenWalk Buffalo from a Plain Dealer article last summer, Clevelanders Jan Kious and Bobbi Reichtell decided to make the trek northeast. Walking around the city and talking to its impassioned urban g... Read more >
After learning about GardenWalk Buffalo from a Plain Dealer article last summer, Clevelanders Jan Kious and Bobbi Reichtell decided to make the trek northeast. Walking around the city and talking to its impassioned urban g... Read more >
The Near West Intergenerational School (NWIS), a public charter school that aims to serve families on Cleveland's near-west side, will open this fall inside of Ohio City's Garrett Morgan School of Science.
"The location in the heart of Ohio City will draw kids from the neighborhood, and many families will be able to walk to school," says Debbie Fisher, the school's recently hired Principal. "Cleveland has a huge need for quality, high-performing schools, and we really bel... Read more >
"The location in the heart of Ohio City will draw kids from the neighborhood, and many families will be able to walk to school," says Debbie Fisher, the school's recently hired Principal. "Cleveland has a huge need for quality, high-performing schools, and we really bel... Read more >
Cleveland State University's Factory Theatre is so often booked that students have to schedule rehearsals late at night. While department chair Michael Mauldin bemoans his program's outdated facilities, he realizes that it's a good problem to have.
Before Mauldin was hired in 2006 to breathe new life into the moribund Dramatic Arts Program, the school had only 21 majors. Campus officials had even considered canceling it. Today,CSU's theatre program boasts 85 majors -- an... Read more >
Before Mauldin was hired in 2006 to breathe new life into the moribund Dramatic Arts Program, the school had only 21 majors. Campus officials had even considered canceling it. Today,CSU's theatre program boasts 85 majors -- an... Read more >
Interim Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) CEO Peter Raskind, who is being replaced by Chief Academic Officer Eric Gordon, offered some parting thoughts on improving urban education at a forum last week on underperforming schools.
Introducing himself as "the lamest of lame ducks," Raskind told the audience at Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs that quality urban schools are critical to reducing inequality. Then he evaluated two concepts t... Read more >
Introducing himself as "the lamest of lame ducks," Raskind told the audience at Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs that quality urban schools are critical to reducing inequality. Then he evaluated two concepts t... Read more >
For decades, the lower level of the Detroit-Superior Bridge supported the streetcars that shuttled Cleveland commuters across town. More recently, the rarely seen space has become a unique and beloved public gathering space.
In 2009, the two-day Bridge Project reopened the space to the public for one of the first times, attracting some 20,000 people. The offbeat festival of music and art featured a design charrette that solicited input for making the bridge more accessib... Read more >
In 2009, the two-day Bridge Project reopened the space to the public for one of the first times, attracting some 20,000 people. The offbeat festival of music and art featured a design charrette that solicited input for making the bridge more accessib... Read more >
When construction finally wrapped up in 2008 on the Euclid Corridor, civic leaders felt triumphant. The $200 million project to redevelop crumbling Euclid Avenue -- once dubbed "Millionaire's Row" for its opulent, turn-of-the-century mansions -- would spur economic development and connect downtown with University Circle, they believed.
Then the global recession hit. Banks stopped lending, businesses halted expansion plans and the nation slid into a great recession. The o... Read more >
Then the global recession hit. Banks stopped lending, businesses halted expansion plans and the nation slid into a great recession. The o... Read more >
Ramen noodles may have been the late-night snack that powered you through finals in college, but they've come a long way since you left the dorms.
From Portland to New York's East Village, contemporary noodle houses have been springing up with abandon in recent years, offering tasty, affordable dishes that fuse Japanese and American ingredients.
Now award-winning chef Jonathon Sawyer, owner of Greenhouse Tavern, is opening Noodlecat, a modern noodle house in do... Read more >
From Portland to New York's East Village, contemporary noodle houses have been springing up with abandon in recent years, offering tasty, affordable dishes that fuse Japanese and American ingredients.
Now award-winning chef Jonathon Sawyer, owner of Greenhouse Tavern, is opening Noodlecat, a modern noodle house in do... Read more >
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has secured Cleveland's place in rock history, yet many of the legendary performances enshrined there would be lost forever without the artful eye of music photographers.
Now a new exhibition, entitled "Visual Music: Northeast Ohio Photographers Look at Rock and Roll," celebrates these unsung historians of the music scene. It opens with a reception on Saturday, June 11th at the Waterloo Road Gallery and runs through Saturday, Jun... Read more >
Now a new exhibition, entitled "Visual Music: Northeast Ohio Photographers Look at Rock and Roll," celebrates these unsung historians of the music scene. It opens with a reception on Saturday, June 11th at the Waterloo Road Gallery and runs through Saturday, Jun... Read more >
The apartment buildings that line East Boulevard in Glenville boast stunning architectural details such as ornate columns, artisan brickwork and broad balconies that overlook Rockefeller Park. They attest to the wealth that once existed on this grand old street.
Yet for decades, East Boulevard has deteriorated as owners struggled with a soft market, much-needed repairs and soaring energy costs. Despite its proximity to University Circle and Rockefeller Park, the area was... Read more >
Yet for decades, East Boulevard has deteriorated as owners struggled with a soft market, much-needed repairs and soaring energy costs. Despite its proximity to University Circle and Rockefeller Park, the area was... Read more >
Since Veronica Walton created an urban farm on Ansel Road several years ago, she's been asked countless times about her lush, bountiful plots: "I'm looking for a job," some would say. "Can I work here?"
When asked such questions, Walton, who is the Director of the nonprofit NEO Restoration Alliance, would extol the virtues of urban farming. She explained the difference between community gardens and urban farmers, who sell their crops to customers via local farmers markets... Read more >
When asked such questions, Walton, who is the Director of the nonprofit NEO Restoration Alliance, would extol the virtues of urban farming. She explained the difference between community gardens and urban farmers, who sell their crops to customers via local farmers markets... Read more >
Joel Borwick has owned Seitz-Agin Hardware in Cleveland Heights for 38 of the store's 56 years. To loyal customers, he and his staff are well-known for dispensing home repair tips, doling out contractor referrals, and selling only what shoppers need.
The store has proudly survived the onslaught of big box stores. When Home Depot and Wal-Mart opened at nearby Severance, Seitz-Agin trundled on, propelled by a loyal fan base and friendly personal service. Years of customer ... Read more >
The store has proudly survived the onslaught of big box stores. When Home Depot and Wal-Mart opened at nearby Severance, Seitz-Agin trundled on, propelled by a loyal fan base and friendly personal service. Years of customer ... Read more >
Paula McLain was a critically acclaimed yet obscure writer eking out a living as an adjunct professor at John Carroll until she came up with the idea for "The Paris Wife," a novel told from the point of view of Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway's first wife. After the novel was purchased by Ballantine Books for north of $500,000, it debuted at number nine on the New York Times best-seller list and has since remained in the top 20.
Salty Not Sweet, an independent boutique and letterpress studio, opened this month in a storefront on West 25th Street in Ohio City. It is one of several new businesses that have opened this year in the Market District, adding to a redevelopment trend in the area.
The store, which first opened a year ago in the Waterloo Arts District, features unique wares that are carefully sourced by co-owner Candra Squire, including merchandise from Megan Lee Designs (a screen-printed ... Read more >
The store, which first opened a year ago in the Waterloo Arts District, features unique wares that are carefully sourced by co-owner Candra Squire, including merchandise from Megan Lee Designs (a screen-printed ... Read more >
A recent study by the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) examines where artists are living in Northeast Ohio. Perhaps it's no surprise that artists tend to populate urban neighborhoods where they can find spacious, affordable housing (including space for studios), walkable streets, diversity and public spaces that foster social interaction.
The report shows that Cleveland Heights is Northeast Ohio's top community for artists -- collectively, the Cedar-Fair... Read more >
The report shows that Cleveland Heights is Northeast Ohio's top community for artists -- collectively, the Cedar-Fair... Read more >
It's a well known fact that institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals are growth engines in Cleveland's economy these days. A lesser-known fact is that these institutions and others have emerged as leaders in greening Northeast Ohio's economy.
In recent months, Case, University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, Tri-C, Kent State, Oberlin College, Cleveland State University and the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at... Read more >
In recent months, Case, University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, Tri-C, Kent State, Oberlin College, Cleveland State University and the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at... Read more >