Roadside Wire
Buffalo looks to Milwaukee for lessons on revival
- Published on Monday, 09 April 2012 17:07
Milwaukee popped up on our radar more than ten years ago as a prime example of an ascending urban experience, attracting new residents and visitors alike. Former mayor John Norquist left a lasting legacy, proving that cities, properly managed and promoted, have a solidly sustainable future. Buffalo could do the same, but it obviously has a great deal of work in front of it.
Road Trip Milwaukee: What to do with a whole neighborhood full of crappy old factories.
Milwaukee might be the one Great Lakes city that most closely resembles Buffalo. Both cities are former industrial hubs. Both suffered precipitous decline and both sit in the orbit of prosperous mega cities. Milwaukee is a slightly larger metro than Buffalo at 1.7 million (MSA) to Buffalo’s 1.2 million (MSA — plus another 400K nearby Canadians). Milwaukee was built with less wealth than Buffalo and as such lacks some of the historic architectural elegance of Buffalo. However it currently outstrips Buffalo’s annual economy by about 50%. Milwaukee has an impressive 14 Fortune 1000 companies with Buffalo only logging 3 or 4. These stats give Milwaukee a decided financial advantage when planning the rebirth of the city. Recent mega Milwaukee mega projects include a new retractable roof baseball stadium, an impressive Harley Davidson museum and $100M expansion of its art museum designed by star architect Santiago Calatrava.
Cincy’s beer heritage makes a comeback
- Published on Wednesday, 29 February 2012 20:48
The craft-brew movement establishes a beach head along the Cincinnati riverfront!
New brew pub promotes Cincinnati’s riverfront, beer history
By David Holthaus
THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Sunday February 26, 2012 9:01 AM
When it opens to the public on Monday, the Moerlein Lager House will be a fine place to enjoy good beer and good food on the Cincinnati riverfront. • But that’s only half the story. • The rest of it is the long-awaited redemption of sorts for downtown Cincinnati, where development of more than 50 valuable acres along the Ohio River had been frustrated for years. Now, the new brew pub and restaurant has potential to be the destination for the between-the-sports-stadiums development that includes The Banks. At the same time, it provides a vital link to Cincinnati’s rich, but once-endangered, brewing heritage.
With all that on the line, this brew pub has a lot to live up to.
Previous reports have the Lager House as a $4 million project.
The true cost is more than double that: $10 million-plus, said Greg Hardman, the managing partner and beer entrepreneur whose vision created the Lager House.
“There was no cheapin’ out here,” Hardman said.
Chagrin Falls shows soft heart for its hardware store
- Published on Sunday, 29 January 2012 18:59
Who says that the internet hasn’t helped the local business? It’s all in how you use it.
In the Era of Big Boxes, a Day for the Little Guy
By The Associated Press
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio (AP) — It began quietly, as an email to 40 friends.
But when a steady stream of customers began coming through the door before the family-owned Chagrin Hardware had even opened for the day on Saturday, it was clear that it had turned into much more than that.
The idea started with Jim Black, a resident of Chagrin Falls, a close-knit village in Cleveland’s eastern suburbs that is part artist colony and part bedroom community. Black posted the email to a group of his friends. “Let’s show our support for one of our local businesses,” he wrote. “I challenge everyone to spend AT LEAST $20 at the hardware on the 21st.”
Although his email referred to the idea of a “Cash Mob” or the notion to “Occupy CF Hardware,” he really had no political agenda. And it wasn’t meant as a protest against the big-box stores that have created an ever-tightening circle around the community.
Washington Post ten years late to our Pittsburgh party
- Published on Friday, 06 January 2012 17:08
The Washington Post declares Pittsburgh hip. Welcome to the party, Post. We called this one over ten years ago. We’ve visited both cities and they both have their charms, but if you asked me where I’d rather settle, Pittsburgh still wins. Portland has great food, beautiful geography, the McMenamins, and some of the best coffee and beer on the planet. However, it starts raining almost every day starting in September and doesn’t stop until May. I’ll take a bitter Pittsburgh winter with its history, architecture, food, and fine people over that any day!
Portlandia, your 15 minutes are up. Long live Pittsburgh
By Maura Judkis
Out: Portland
In: Pittsburgh.
This year’s List has spoken, and writers Dan Zak and Monica Hesse have laid their anointed hands upon my hometown for 2012. Pittsburgh, Pa., is cool now. Sorry, Portland hipsters!
Portland, Ore. – Pittsburgh, Pa. (AP photo)
Portland, Ore., is the land of microbreweries, indie bands, bicyclists and rose gardens. Pittsburgh is often reviled by outsiders for its abrasive-sounding accent and rabid football fans. Portland has Portlandia, the hit comedy sketch show, while Pittsburgh just subs in as other cities in movies. Why did Listmakers Hesse and Zak bestow their blessings upon the latter?
Theater revival in Skokie in the works
- Published on Friday, 06 January 2012 12:58
Downtown boosters continue to drive the restoration of downtown cinemas and live theater venues.
Skokie holds out hope for historic theater
By Brian L. Cox
Skokie officials are meeting with representatives from various area performing arts groups, hoping to find a way to re-open the recently shuttered Skokie Theatre, according to Mayor George Van Dusen.
“We actively are pursuing an acting company that probably would be the best fit,” said Van Dusen. “We’re in discussions right now.”
A New Year’s Eve performance was the last for the financially troubled Skokie Theatre.