Downtown Cleveland is experiencing a population rebound according to Richard Florida, Senior Editor at The Atlantic.
 
Florida quotes in a Case Western's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development study: “Over the last two decades, the [downtown] neighborhood's population grew 96%, with residential totals increasing from 4,651 to 9,098. It was the single largest spike of any neighborhood, suburb, or county measured for the two decades under study. Downtown residential occupancy rates now stand over 95% and developers are eagerly looking to meet residential demand.”
 
“Twenty-somethings are creating a new and potentially powerful housing pattern as they snap up downtown apartments as fast as they become available. Neighborhood life is blossoming on blocks once dominated by office workers and commuters, and people are clamoring for dog parks.”
 
"The significance of Cleveland’s population shift cannot be exaggerated. As Jim Russell puts it: “the urban core is a net importer of young adults and a net exporter of old adults. That's the antithesis of a dying city."
 
Read the full story here.

"Nothing beats the adrenaline, the exhilaration of watching an amazing performance live in a beautiful space, or the rush of discovery that comes with witnessing the birth of a newcomer who you know will become a massive star," states this feature from CNN.
 
Rounding up its picks for the 10 best U.S. music venues, the article states, "these music venues rock the best sound, location and legends."
 
Along with legendary clubs like the Troubadour in Los Angeles, Tipitina’s in New Orleans, and Red Rocks in Colorado, Cleveland's Severance Hall gets top billing.
 
"Music lovers call the Cleveland Orchestra’s historic Severance Hall the most beautiful concert hall in the United States. Opened in 1931 and impressively restored in 2000, it boasts a lovely setting in the leafy University Circle neighborhood, a Georgian exterior, and a grand entrance foyer of soaring columns. The 94-rank Norton Memorial Organ, created by Boston’s renowned Ernest M. Skinner in 1930, has some serious pipes -- 6,025 of them, ranging from 18 centimeters to 9.8 meters -- and is considered one of the finest concert organs ever built. This is one gorgeous place to experience not just Mozart and the usual sublime suspects but also the many up-and-comers Severance Hall premieres."

Read the entire list here.

Construction is progressing on the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, which Clifford A. Pearson of the Architectural Record bills as architect Farshid Moussavi’s first United States project. The museum, located in University Circle, is scheduled to open this October.
 
Both the inside and outside will feature some very unique characteristics.
 
“Inside, they painted the perimeter walls and ceiling a deep blue, which will create 'the sense of an endless, boundary-less space' quite different from the white rooms found in most museums and galleries today," the article quotes the architect.
 
“The building shifts from a six-sided floor plate at street level to a rectangular plan on the top floor where the main gallery will enjoy daylight entering from above.”
 
On the exterior "the form changes with each side, so to fully comprehend it, you need to move all around it."
 
When completed it will be a far cry from the current incarnation of Cleveland’s MOCA.
 
“MOCA, which was founded in 1968 in a storefront, has rented a second-story space from the Cleveland Play House since 1990. Jill Snyder, MOCA's executive director, says the museum asked Moussavi for an iconic building that embraces cutting-edge technology, is environmentally friendly, and works with its context. The building, which has geo-thermal wells for heating and cooling, is expected to achieve at least a Silver LEED rating.”
 
Read the full story here.

Where does chef Michael Symon send out-of-town visitors when they come to town? The New York Post asked and he answered, ticking off a list of 10 can't-miss stops.
 
#1 West Side Market
 
“One of the most special places where I bring all my chef friends when they visit," Symon says in the article. “Regardless of whether I bring in chefs from New York or San Francisco or another country, it just blows them away.”.
 
#2 Great Lakes Brewing Co.
 
“Microbreweries are very hot right now; this has been there [almost] 30 years and is arguably one of the best."
 
#3 Velvet Tango Room
 
“It was so ahead of its time,” he says. “It’s been open 18 years; they were doing all the cool things long ago."
 
#4 ABC the Tavern
 
Symon recommends this bar for its cheap drinks and great burgers.
 
Also mentioned: Banyan Tree, Beachland Ballroom, Big Al's Diner, Greenhouse Tavern, Happy Dog and Superior Pho.
 
Read the entire list here:

According to Walk Score, Cleveland has the 14th best public transit system among large U.S cities. It also is the 17th most walkable large city in the U.S. with a Walk Score of 58.

Singled out as Cleveland's most walkable neighborhoods are Downtown, Campus District and Ohio City.

Walk Score's mission is to promote walkable neighborhoods. Walkable neighborhoods are one of the simplest and best solutions for the environment, our health, and our economy.

In an article titled, "Progressive Architecture, Friendly Relations: Making It Work In Cleveland Heights," American Bungalow magazine offers up a lovely and in-depth profile of the East Side inner-ring suburb. It was penned by Douglas J. Forsyth, Associate Prof. of History at Bowling Green State University.

"Cleveland Heights developed rapidly as a classic streetcar suburb during the heyday of the Arts and Crafts movement, and it has perhaps the finest patrimony of Arts and Crafts and Prairie-style houses in the Cleveland area."

"If the Cleveland metropolitan area is going to turn around, the city of Cleveland Heights can be expected to be front-and-center in the revival process. It offers superb early-modernist residential architecture, a lively and diverse cultural scene, and dense formal and informal social networks. These elements have combined, over the rocky urban history of the 20th century, to create an enduring and resilient community that has held itself together in the equally challenging first decade of the 21st and could serve as one of the crucibles from which the recovery of the metropolitan area, if and when it comes, will flow."

Read the rest here.

The Avengers will be released nationwide on May 4, and local theaters are preparing for an onslaught of seat traffic. Some are hosting midnight screenings of the movie.

Giving the movie an "A" grade, E! writes, "Avengers surpasses huge expectations built up by the recent series of pretty great Marvel superhero movies. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and (best of all) The Hulk are recruited to save our tiny blue planet, and the ensuing action is, in a word, incredible. With snappy writing and a full roster of fleshed-out characters, the whole thing is a smash, from start to finish."

Hollywood Reporter suggests that The Avengers could have the biggest opening weekend of all time based on its mass appeal.

Read the rest of the review here.

This Saturday, May 5, the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will premiere on HBO at 9 p.m. For a sneak peek, check out this awesome trailer featuring Beastie Boys, Chuck D, Guns N' Roses, Green Day, Donovan, Small Faces/The Faces, Stevie Van Zandt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chris Rock, Bette Midler and many more.

Slowly but surely Cleveland is starting to return to the glory days when downtown was bustling and was the place to be.
 
Barbara De Lollis of USA TODAY reports that when the Aloft hotel opens in 2013 in Cleveland’s waterfront Flats East Bank, five locally and nationally known restaurants will also be a part of the project.
 
“The Aloft at Flats East will get a location of Lago from chef and restaurateur Fabio Salerno, who hopes to get quite a bit of catering business from local offices and the hotel,” the article says. “He operates other restaurants in the area, including Little Italy in the historic Tremont district.”
 
“I Love This Bar & Grill will be a destination for BBQ combined with live country music, customers also will be able to buy memorabilia related to country music singer-songwriter Toby Keith.”
 
“Ken Stewart's will be a steak and seafood restaurant by [the] Akron-area restaurateur.”
 
“Dos Tequilas will be a gourmet taco restaurant, and Flip Side will be a burger joint.”
 
The restaurants will be located along W. 10th Street.
 

Who knew that Cleveland was the center of focus in the fashion world?
 
"The Cleveland Fashion Week is one of the largest fashion events in the country attracting designers from the U.S. and Canada who audition to participate in the event," reports Pittsburgh based Moultrie Observer.
 
Becca Nation, a textile artist and designer who grew up in the Pennsylvania town of Moultrie, plans to unveil the line “Knotty Girl” during Fashion Week Cleveland 2012.
 
“The staff of judges loved Becca’s unique designs, color, and avant-garde style requesting that she showcase her line in the events grand finale runway model black tie event on May 12th.
 
Read more about Becca Nation in the full Moultrie Observer article here.

There may be a bitter rivalry between Ohio and Michigan, but when it comes to Cleveland’s transportation system, Detroit wants to be just like us!
 
For months legislators have been debating what the best possible solution for Detroit’s transportation issues might be, reports Ashley C. Woods of MLive.com
 
Congressman Gary Peters is a big fan of Cleveland’s current system and wants to see an adaptation of it in Detroit.
 
"This is not theoretical. You see it in cities across America," Peters was quoted. "In fact, the most recent one with the bus rapid system, which is where we're looking to go, is the bus rapid transit system in Cleveland..."
 
"The Health Line has generated $4.3 billion in economic development. Cleveland began operation of the Health Line bus rapid transit system in 2008 after finishing the project on time and on budget."
 
"That's pretty incredible when you consider that it costs $200 million dollars to build that system, and it's been a magnet for $4.3 billion dollars in investment," Peters said. "Now, you don't need to be a math major to know that's a great return in investment. We know it works in Cleveland, and folks, if they can do it in Cleveland, we can do it here in the Detroit area."

Yup.
 
Read the full story here.

Ruk and Leela Rai, Bhutanese refugees, now have the opportunity to raise their three-year-old son Anish in an environment so many take for granted thanks to a local program that assists refugees in finding decent, affordable housing by utilizing the growing number of foreclosed and abandoned homes in the city, reports Loren Belin of the Huffington Post.
 
“The Cleveland program is part of an emerging national effort that is seeking to find a silver lining in the foreclosure wave that has pockmarked communities with abandoned properties. Across the country, nonprofit organizations are purchasing, repairing and redeploying vacant homes in a bid to provide needy families with housing, while revitalizing struggling communities.”
 
In Cleveland, the International Services Center has helped to resettle nearly 13,000 refugees over the last 50 years.  They came across the idea of making use of foreclosed homes last summer when it struggled to find acceptable homes for newly arrived families due to landlord reluctance.
 
“The challenge is to find a landlord and then explain that their future tenant is arriving in the United States and has no employment, no immediate future employment, and no credit history, but to please give them a place to live,” said Karin Wishner, ISC’s executive director. “That leaves few landlords to work with, and then the question is if they have openings when we need them."
 
Read more about the Rai family and the Cleveland program in the lengthy Huffington Post feature here.

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, a gleaming glass pyramid on the shore of Lake Erie, has become a proud symbol of this city. And Cleveland’s rock fans turned out in droves for the hall’s 27th induction ceremony on Saturday, only the third time it has been held here," writes the New York Times.

Highlightes include The Red Hot Chili Peppers playing with Slash of Guns N’ Roses, George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic and Ronnie Wood of the Faces and the Rolling Stones. For a Beastie Boys tribute, Kid Rock, Black Thought of the Roots and Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes rapped in old-school green Adidas jumpsuits.

"The ceremony, at the stately Public Auditorium -- a 1920s Beaux-Arts monolith a few blocks from the museum -- also honored Donovan; the blues guitarist Freddie King; the linked British invasion bands Small Faces and the Faces; the music executive Don Kirshner; and an array of backup groups."

"And in between encomiums, blistering jams and shaggy-dog stories about rockers’ early years, musicians spoke of cities as inspiration, common ground or hell."
 
Read the rest of the liner notes here.

"US Route 6 is the longest contiguous transcontinental route in the USA," says the blog site Stay on Route 6. "Running from Provincetown, MA to Bishop, CA (and before 1964 to Long Beach, CA), Route 6 goes through 14 states. This is your guide along all of its original 3,652 miles. From Revolutionary War sites to pioneer settlements and western mining towns, Route 6 offers an in-depth lesson in US History, charms of yesteryear and comforts of modern times."

For this post, the writer takes readers on a visual trip through Cleveland, with stops along the way in downtown, Asiatown, University Circle, Little Italy, Lakewood, and Detroit Shoreway,

Check it out here.

Rolling Stone magazine couldn't resist leading its review of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony with a Titanic reference, but writer Andy Greene quickly righted the ship, so to speak.

"Walking into Cleveland, Ohio's Public Auditorium for the 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony last night, it was hard to not think of the Titanic striking an iceberg on the very same day 100 years ago. In recent days Axl Rose and Rod Stewart, two of the biggest stars entering the Hall of Fame this year, pulled out of the show, making complete reunion performances by the Faces and Guns N' Roses impossible. Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante opted not to come, and the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch stayed home as he continues to recover from cancer," he wrote.

"One might think that these absences would sink the induction ceremony somewhere deep into the Atlantic Ocean, but it turns out they didn't matter much at all. In fact, it was one of the best Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in recent memory."
 
Highlights include a "note-perfect 'Sweet Child O' Mine," "an incredible medley of Beastie classics" performed by the Roots and Kid Rock, a "bombastic rendition" of Green Day's "Letterbomb," and the three-song set by Red Hot Chili Peppers that included "By the Way," "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" and "Give It Away."
 

Read more here.

"Is music director Franz Welser-Möst -- now in his tenth season with the 'Big Five' orchestra -- in the same league as George Szell and Christoph von Dohnányi and his other illustrious predecessors? Will the orchestra overcome its substantial debt? Are its periodic residencies in Miami and New York acts of desperation, or creative solutions to its fiscal woes?" the San Jose Mercury News asks rhetorically in a review of the visiting orchestra.

"Yada, yada, yada. Sunday night, the orchestra arrived in San Francisco for the first of two programs, and it sounded marvelous from the opening measures of Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 in A minor, "Scottish" -- and still better with Shostakovitch's Symphony," it answered itself.

"No. 6, which was like a long and beautiful march to the abyss. Coincidentally, Sunday was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, but this orchestra wasn't going down. If anything, it sounded titanically impressive at Davies Symphony Hall, where it is performing in honor of another centennial: the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco Symphony."

Enjoy the rest here.

In this travel feature for the Oregonian, a writer visits the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

"Ever wonder why geezer rockers continue to tour across the country playing songs that haven't been hits since Richard Nixon was president?" begins the item.

"Come to Cleveland and find out. Like tie-dyed pilgrims, the over-40 generation flocks to this glass pyramid in the heart of Middle America to relive the soundtrack of their lives at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

"The Beatles, Elvis, the Rolling Stones, Woodstock, R&B, Motown, Elton, Springsteen. All are celebrated in full glory. There's everything from Jimi Hendrix's hand-scribbled "Purple Haze" lyrics to Janis Joplin's 1965 psychedelic-painted Porsche."

Read the rest here.

A recent item in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame archives.

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation is best known for its raucous induction ceremonies -- on April 15, acts including the Beastie Boys, Guns N' Roses and the Miracles will be welcomed into the fold. But today, the 29-year-old institution is emphasizing a quieter aspect of its mission with the grand opening of a new library and archives facility near its Cleveland, Ohio, headquarters."

"The library's collection spans more than 3,500 books, 1,400 audio recordings and 270 videos. It includes contracts, correspondence and photographs donated by industry icons such as Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley's original guitarist, whose papers were recently acquired. The Rock Hall had been accumulating such materials for years, but it was difficult for the public to access them; there wasn't much room for storage and research in the museum's pyramid-shaped headquarters."

Read the rest here.

CNN recentlly published a list of "10 quintessential U.S. meals and where to get them."

"Grilled, fried, slathered in cheese, wolfed down on a street corner. These timeless stateside feeds never disappoint," states the travel feature.

Under the headline "Steak," reads the following:

"Just about every U.S. city has its legendary steak place, but Michael Symon’s Roast in Detroit is the one that sizzles in our dreams.

"The restaurant is located inside the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit hotel, but executive chef Andy Hollyday says don’t be intimidated by the valet or linen. Waiters here wear jeans and the loose, happy-hour vibe at the bar sets the tone for the restaurant.

"Hollyday’s favorite is the 450-gram house-aged rib-eye, aged for three weeks, then grilled over hardwood charcoal and topped with a marinade of orange juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and roasted blue cheese."

Read the whole list here.

In a long and sweeping feature in Rolling Stone, the magazine highlights the events in Cleveland surrounding the 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

"Bill Rowley, chair of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum board, compares the induction ceremony to a Super Bowl that comes to town every three years. Cleveland fans "not only support [the induction] financially, but they will be there at every party, every night, and it will be jam-packed," he says.