From University Circle to Slavic Village to Buckeye and beyond, art abounds in and around Cleveland. In this pictorial essay, Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski trains his lens on the stunning, stirring and thought-provoking works that can be found inside Cleveland's finest repositories of art to some of Cleveland's most overlooked urban enclaves. Art, both classical and modern, architecture and design fill this city with beauty, imbue its citizens with hope, and bright... Read more >

The bunker-like concrete building at the corner of Euclid and E. 22nd was built in 1971 as a Holiday Inn. It became Cleveland State University's first dormitory in 1986. Over the years, Viking Hall has come to be seen as something of a relic -- and a barrier to the new, outward-focused identity of the university.

Now, after being closed since 2010 when CSU opened the nearby Euclid Commons residential development, the Campus District eyesore is set to be demolished. CSU h... Read more >

As the economic malaise enters its umpteenth year, many creative folks are using it as an opportunity to grab a little slice of the artisan marketplace. With or without day jobs, a new breed of craftspeople are cultivating home-grown companies by doing what they love. Some are eager to branch out, while others are just tickled to have a creative outlet.

The Cleveland Design Competition, an open ideas challenge that aims to spur fresh architectural thinking in Cleveland, will soon showcase ideas for a new K-12 public school in downtown Cleveland.

The event organizers, architectural designers Michael Christoff and Bradley Fink, plan to showcase the designs and announce the competition winners at a public ceremony that will be held at the Cleveland State University Student Center beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19th. <... Read more >

More than 200 people in various industries donated their time and talent last weekend at the second annual Cleveland GiveCamp at LeanDog Software in Cleveland to help area non-profits. Software and database developers, graphic designers, marketing professionals, copy writers, video producers, photographers, social media experts and food service volunteers donated more than 4,500 hours to 22 non-profit organizations, coming away with new technology applications valued at nearly ... Read more >

When a tree falls in the city of Cleveland, it gets trucked off to a facility that reduces it to mulch, which is then dyed an offensive shade of red or black and ultimately laid to rest on somebody's prized flower bed. It is a crime not only upon nature, but to Dean Heidelberg, owner of Metro Hardwoods. As the operator of one of this country's only urban sawmills, Heidelberg is on a mission to rescue as many trees as possible.

With the recent opening of the Urban Orchid, a new flower and gift shop located at 2704 Bridge Avenue, an empty storefront has been filled and a new business has been added to Ohio City's artisan economy.

Owner Brandon Sitler describes the Urban Orchid as "a small gift boutique and full-service flower shop that offers custom arrangements and delivers flowers throughout Cuyahoga County -- and anywhere in the world, really." The cozy, 400-square-foot space boasts an open f... Read more >

Gateway Animal Clinic, a Tremont pet hospital that is known for accepting four-legged patients regardless of their owners' ability to pay, has relocated to a new, larger facility across the street from its original Abbey Road location.

Gateway's old home was torn down this year to make way for the Innerbelt bridge project, which is now under construction. Although Dr. Brian Forsgren, who founded the clinic 12 years ago, scoured the city for prime real estate, he ultimate... Read more >

For more than a year, advocates of multi-modal transportation have lobbied the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to add bike and pedestrian lanes to the new Innerbelt bridge. They lost that fight, yet ODOT agreed to fund a $6 million renovation of the Lorain-Carnegie bridge.

That project, scheduled to be completed next fall, will add a broad, multi-use path on the north side and narrow intersections so they can be crossed more easily. It will also narrow driving l... Read more >

January of last year, a natural gas explosion ripped through a vacant house on W. 83rd Street in Cleveland, destroying the home, damaging 57 others, and displacing at least 15 families.

Ultimately, investigators determined that the devastating eruption was caused by a gas main that hadn't been shut off at the street. This prompted neighbors and city officials to wonder if many of Cleveland's vacant and abandoned homes aren't ticking time bombs, waiting to explode under t... Read more >

When Zone Recreation Center's 22 acres of green space reopen next year following a $2.5 million "green" facelift, the rainwater that falls there will be reused on site, rather than being funneled into sewers to pollute our lake, rivers and streams. "We're using it to rehydrate the park," explains Ward 15 Councilman Matt Zone, who allocated funding for the park's revitalization.
The redesigned park's water conservation features will include permeable pavers that allow rainwa... Read more >

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 >

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 >

Business is booming in Little Italy, and the past year has seen a slew of new shops open in the historic community. Known for its galleries, shopping and great Italian restaurants, Little Italy welcomes newcomers peddling everything from fabric to vintage apparel.

The new specialty shops and galleries fit right in, embracing the old world feel of the neighborhood. Heartstrings, an antiques, art and unusual gifts boutique, moved from the basement of the former Lycium Schoo... Read more >

ARC, formerly known as eBlueprint, is bringing new jobs and advanced technology to the Cleveland area through the introduction of the Riot Creative Imaging brand. ARC's main businesses is focused on architecture, engineering and construction printing needs, employing 45 people in its Cleveland office and six in Akron. The Riot brand adds large format full color printing to the company's offerings. The Riot brand specializes in large format digital printing for indoor and outdoor v... Read more >

The Greater Cleveland RTA Citizen's Advisory Board is making riding the bus a little more pleasurable. The Transit Waiting Environments (TWE) initiative was incorporated five years ago to improve the pedestrian environment at bus stops. The goal of the program is to provide enhanced passenger amenities and information to encourage bus ridership.

"Eighty percent of our ridership takes the bus," says Maribeth Feke, RTA's director of programs and planning. "The Citizens Advi... 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 >