When sculptor John Ranally set up his live/work space in a two-story building at W. 30th and Lorain Avenue, back in 1981, he was among the first wave of urban pioneers to redevelop Ohio City.

Working with his neighbors, he fought abandoned storefronts, crime and a perception that the neighborhood was going downhill. "Things couldn't get any worse than it was then," he says. "and part of the reason why you're seeing redevelopment on Lorain now is because of the people that people stayed."

Today, Ranally's home and studio are nestled amongst the St. Ignatius High School campus. The school's commitment to Ohio City and Lorain Avenue are one of the reasons the street is beginning to see a renaissance, he says.

Yet their relationship wasn't always so cozy. In the 1970s and 1980s, when the Jesuit academy tore down blocks of dilapidated buildings to expand its campus and create a buffer from blight, Ranally found himself in the thick of a vitriolic neighborhood dispute. He even displayed a sign on his building that asked, "St. Ignatius, why are you tearing our buildings down?"

Today, Ranally says that St. Ignatius has made amends by beautifying and stabilizing the neighborhood, providing outreach programs for youth, and constructing buildings like the Breen Performing Arts Center. "We were at odds then, but if it weren't for St. Ignatius, things would be much tougher here," he says.

This summer, St. Ignatius plans to renovate the publicly accessible "mall" that provides a walkway from Lorain to Carroll Avenue for the first time in 30 years. Improvement plans include upgraded lighting, drainage and landscaping.

"Thirty years ago, the City of Cleveland allowed us to close W. 30th Street in order to create the mall, which we consider our campus' central hallway," says Father William Murphy, President of St. Ignatius. "It's always been open to the public. We're very interested in and committed to the vibrancy of Lorain Avenue and Ohio City."

Murphy cites the completion of the Breen Center as an example of new development that fits into Lorain Avenue's context. "We made a deliberate decision to put the building right on the street," he says. "We want it to feel like a high-density area."

Source: John Ranally, Father William Murphy
Writer: Lee Chilcote