Lee Chilcote
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.
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cleveland public library scores sports research center
On April 25th, Cleveland Public Library (CPL) will celebrate the opening of the Sports Research Center, where visitors can explore favorite moments in local sports history, learn more about the history of black baseball, and meet sports icons from past and present.

The Center lets sports junkies travel back in time to the Indians' glory days. And given the Tribe's current first-place perch in the AL Central, perhaps this isn't just idle daydreaming.

The opening ... Read more >
the next generation of manufacturing is here, thogus president says
When it comes to manufacturing facilities, the first things to come to mind are not state-of-the-art gyms, free personal trainers and tech-savvy employees. Yet Thogus, a national provider of plastic injection molding services based in Avon Lake, is no ordinary manufacturer.

"The perception of manufacturing facilities is that they're full of smokestacks, dirty and capital-intensive," Matt Hlavin, President of Thogus, told the audience at last week's sold out TEDxCLE confer... Read more >
gone in 60 seconds: why pop-up shops are here to stay
The Punxsutawney Phil of the retail world, pop-up shops spontaneously appear, attract big crowds, and then vanish as quickly as they came. For retailers and artists without a bona fide storefront, pop-up shops provide a lease-free way to test products and build a following. Landlords love them because they plug vacant storefronts while attracting new feet to the street.
tunnel vision hoops extends season for urban farms
When Michael Walton bought a hoop house for his city farm, he envisioned an urban barn-raising of sorts. He put out a call for volunteers, and soon had 30 people who offered to help.

Yet by noon on the big day, only 10 were left. The next day, there were five. Two days later, the group had been wheedled down to three hardy souls. And still the hoop house wasn't completed.

Frustrated, Walton and his coworkers began to ask themselves: Is this really the best prod... Read more >
defying retail trends, heights arts expands its gallery footprint
While Northeast Ohio's retail vacancy rate remains stubbornly high at 12 percent, a Cleveland Heights nonprofit is defying this trend by expanding its art gallery into an empty storefront, adding performance space, classrooms and offices to serve the community.

Heights Arts, which operates a 900-square-foot gallery next to the Cedar Lee Theatre, decided last year to make the leap into an adjacent storefront that formerly housed a Japanese eatery. The group has so far rai... Read more >
renovation breathes new life into 1830s farmhouse
Times have changed since the Stanford House, an historic farm in the Cuyahoga Valley, was built in 1830 by George Stanford, one of the first settlers of the Western Reserve. Back then, the nearby Ohio and Erie Canal was the main link to the outside world. Today, the property is situated near highways and two urban centers, yet remains protected by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a natural retreat in an urbanized area.

Now the Stanford House has gained renewed life fol... Read more >
west creek metropark to receive $12M green makeover
West Creek Reservation, a 278-acre Metropark in Parma that originally opened in 2006, will undergo a $12 million makeover to be complete by fall 2012, including sustainable landscaping designed to reduce pollution and test a new national rating system.

Cleveland Metroparks held a groundbreaking March 7th for park improvements, including a new visitor center, picnic shelter and all-purpose trails. The visitor center landscaping will feature a natural storm water treatment ... Read more >
energy $aver program to make older homes more efficient
A soon-to-launch program from Cleveland's Office of Sustainability will provide energy audits and retrofits that will make older homes more energy-efficient. The program, which is funded in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), is intended to spur the market for green retrofits.

"There's not enough scale or demand yet to support an industry here, but we think there's an opportunity for a public or nonprofit entity to stimulate the marketplace," said P... Read more >
sustainable cleveland 2019 champions energy efficiency in 2011
Making buildings more energy efficient may not sound sexy, but once owners begin to save money on their utility bills, it gets a lot sexier, said Andrew Watterson, Cleveland's Chief of Sustainability, at last week's forum at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University (CSU).

"Every dollar saved from energy-efficiency measures has an impact not only on the environment but also on your pocketbook," Watterson said at the event, entitled "Sustainable Clev... Read more >
one lucky neighborhood to receive $500k support to attract artists
From the Warehouse District to Tremont, artists have been harbingers of neighborhood comebacks. Now a new program aims to use artist-based development as the centerpiece for one lucky neighborhood's turnaround.

The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) on Monday announced the launch of Artists in Residence, a new program that seeks to create improvements in one city neighborhood by offering incentives for artists who live and work there.

The program ... Read more >
heather b. moore moves into renovated midtown studio
Although jewelry maker Heather Moore moved into her rehabbed Midtown studio earlier this year, she's still getting used to her spacious new digs.

Maybe that's because she's spent the last 11 years running her fast-growing business out of her house. Granted, it was no ordinary home office: the Cleveland Institute of Art grad bought her great-grandmother's estate, a rambling Heights mansion, after moving back from New York City in 1999.

"We just couldn't grow any... Read more >
tedxcle 'inspires people to build a more creative, passionate life'
TEDxCLE is an annual forum that gathers the region's big thinkers to share ideas worth spreading. Organizers -- and recent "brain gains" -- Hallie Bram and Eric Kogelschatz seek to change the perceptions of people who live here as well as those outside the region by sharing stories of success, innovation and inspiration.
lakewood's new crafty goodness sells 100% local
A large map on the wall of Crafty Goodness, a new Lakewood store that sells goods from artisans that live in Northeast Ohio, provides a visual reminder of the store's mission. It pinpoints all of the different communities where the items are made, stressing the owners' commitment to the buy local movement.

"We wanted to create a store that would offer an alternative to big box retail for people that want to buy local," says Chris Sorenson, a potter who joined with artist... Read more >
sunflower solutions brings solar power to most impoverished
Imagine this: A $10,000 solar-energy system powering an entire elementary school in Africa, providing enough juice for laptop computers and overhead lights. Christopher Clark, founder of Sunflower Solutions, has proved that this feat is not only possible, but also is an efficient, cost-effective way to bring power to the Third World.

Recently, Sunflower Solutions moved to Shaker LaunchHouse, a former auto dealership turned business incubator in Shaker Heights. Created wi... Read more >
ohio city's new rag refinery offers vintage and recycled threads
The Rag Refinery, a new store that offers gently used, recycled fashions at affordable prices, just opened at 3904 Lorain Avenue in Ohio City. Owner Leigh Ring also manages Pink Eye Gallery in the same space, where she often rolls out the racks to host art openings.

"Our focus is on vintage shoes, clothing and accessories, and we invite customers to sell or trade-in their former favorites for cash or store credit," says Ring. "Our customers want to outfit themselves in c... Read more >
when restored, doan brook to become model urban stream
The picturesque Doan Brook meanders through Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, providing walkers and joggers with a scenic backdrop. Yet the section that flows through Cleveland's Rockefeller Park remains boxed in by crumbling stone walls.

This year, a $2.5 million project to restore these portions of the Doan Brook will finally get started. The project will remove failing stone walls and concrete dams for nearly a half-mile, allowing the stream to flow more naturally... Read more >
eco-artist susie frazier sets up shop in 78th street studios
The 78th Street Studios, a warren of creative-minded businesses located at 1300 W. 78th Street, recently welcomed a new showroom run by environmental artist Susie Frazier.

Three years ago, Frazier designed the logo and public art elements for the $3.5 million Gordon Square Arts District streetscape, which perk up Detroit Avenue between W. 58th and W. 73rd streets. From markings she'd observed along the Lake Erie coastline, she created unique crosswalk patterns, amoeba-sh... Read more >
upscale barbershop adds polish to larchmere retail district
James Boyd has wanted to be a barber since he was 13 years old. "My dad cut our hair when we were kids, and I was the one who was fascinated by the clippers," recalls Boyd.

Boyd had a natural gift that soon grew into a flourishing business. "I started cutting hair in our house, giving haircuts to friends and Shaker High School athletes," says the 33-year-old.

Two years ago, Boyd and business partner Lathan Bennett transformed a former garage on Larchmere Bouleva... Read more >
'authentic' chili restaurant to debut on lorain avenue
Palookaville Chili, a new restaurant set to open next month in Ohio City, is seeking to reeducate your taste buds. Owner and budding chef Ian P.E., who says he makes "a mean pot of chili," offers a blunt description of what will set his place apart.

"This is gourmet chili, not the slop you'll find at most places," boasts P.E., who lived in San Francisco before returning to Cleveland in 2007. "Most chili is tomato-based and uses ground beef and cinnamon, whereas our beef ... Read more >
growing fast, urban infant launches new workshop
The idea behind Urban Infant came to Eric Eichhorn when his sister Kelly Friedl had her first child. "All of the baby gear had ducks, bunnies or bears on it," he recalls. "I wanted to get beyond pink and blue to something that had solid, hip colors and was edgy."

Eichhorn and Friedl, who lived in Chicago, dreamed of products that would be geared towards parents "making the conscious decision to raise kids in an urban environment," Eichhorn explains. Friedl's expertise in ... Read more >