I am grateful for the excellent musical education I received during my study at The Cleveland Institute of Music ‘77 BM (Flute). I’m still playing my flute.
I only visited the Tower once, back in 2016, and I wish I had taken more notice of it. My reason for visiting was to ride the Shaker, much loved by transit fans, and the Tower represented the supreme achievement of the Van Sweringen brothers who are often overlooked as the (somewhat tarnished) heroes of Cleveland. The one major regret is that what was once a major railroad hub is now a mere shadow of its former glory, with just the Red Line and Shaker in the lower level. Had railroad travel been maintained and developed in the US, like the rest of the world, then Cleveland would still have a major resource they could be even more proud of.
The Rapid Transit’s extension to the Cleveland Airport was brilliant. The first or one of earliest train systems to do this. I live in Northern NJ now, and they still don’t have direct trains to the airports, so I must go by cab.
Well I was born before WW II in old Brooklyn. When a mere pip I would take take CTS streetcar downtown and if possible sit in the rear of the car and be scared by the view of the flats and river available RIGHT BETWEEN THE TRACKS! My favorite place in the Terminal Tower was the Fred Harvey shop, it was almost like being transported to the southwest. I vividly remember the steam engines and a favorite summer evening drive was to go to the Smith Road rail crossing and watch the Mercury coming in under steam from Detroit and then hurry over to Linndale to watch the power switching to the electric engine. Later on my father and I took the Empire State Express to Buffalo and eventually to Toronto for the Canadian National Exhibition. I left for school at age 16 and movedto San Francisco in 1966. I'm not sorry about that.
When Tower City was the Union Terminal, I thought as a kid that with those high chandeliers and marble architecture, that it was the prettiest railroad station I ever saw. And that included the original gold metal doors in the front and back of the building from its 1929 construction. Another thing, I saw a 1950's home movie video on TH-cam which showed a steam locomotive pulling a NY Central passenger train out of the Terminal going west. I thought that steam locos were not allowed in the bowels of UT because of polluting the concourse above, that electric locos pulled the trains in and out, only to be replaced by steam locos at Collinwood and Linndale. What do you think?
Nice video. I never realized David Birney had a Cleveland connection until now. Tower City was awesome when it opened, but sadly, it's now a shell of it's former self. The same thing that happened at Randall Park Mall happened here
It's now thirty years later. The structures are still there and still beautiful. What's not there are all those high end stores. Gucci, Versace, and Fendi are gone. Neiman Marcus never came. Higbee's is now a casino. Disney and Warner Brothers fled in the face of poor sales and the thugs that inhabit too much of the city. They made people afraid to come downtown, especially after normal business hours, after dark, when people who weren't shoppers started to take over. Many of the storefronts are now vacant, and the ones that aren't have many third tier businesses, including a dollar store. For Forest City Enterprises, the development has been a financial disaster. They spent $40 million on a sprucing up project in 2010, but that was part of the plan to dump Tower City on another buyer. So far, they haven't found one that wanted to pay what Forest City thinks it's worth. It clearly won;t sell for anywhere near what Forest City has sunk into it, but they have kept hanging on to it, hoping for a buyer that will pay their price, or dreaming of the days when even a Gap might come back. The failure of the Galleria at Erieview should have been a cautionary tale for retail in Downtown Cleveland. Until there are more than the 10,000 people who now live downtown, there's very little hope for Tower City. An entire generation of Clevelanders have never known downtown as a place to shop. The only hope is more people who actually live in downtown and need places to shop.
There are scads of apartments being built downtown. Retail is dead everywhere in a world of Amazon home delivery to the exurbs. 70s mall style aesthetics dependent on chain tenants is completely hopeless. These aspects of redevelopment at "tower city" were a mistake. They need undone but I wouldn't hold my breath. The way to keep these places viable is make them part of a localized economy with local residents. That is how another redevelopment effort should proceed, setting it back to localized service and socialization. And it must be built to serve those who live downtown, not in the hope that exurbanites are going to drive downtown. Kinda like it was in the 1920s.
@@beltuna9 I always thought it’d be smart if they tried to lure Target, Giant Eagle, and/or a pharmacy as an anchor tenant. Then fill out the rest of it with local shops, restaurants and bars, and other vendors (art galleries, etc). Maybe even take a page out of other urban train stations such as KC’s Union Station and have a designated space for traveling exhibits. I think that’d be a good start and could ensure steady foot traffic from the downtown population.
If Amtrak doesn't have the funding, the State of Ohio should reroute Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, Capitol Limited and FUTURE services, such as the 3-C's and the proposed commuter trains BACK into Cleveland Union Terminal, a decent place for a decent service, just for a sense of PRIDE. The current Amtrak shack is an embarrassment to Cleveland....
I am grateful for the excellent musical education I received during my study at The Cleveland Institute of Music ‘77 BM (Flute). I’m still playing my flute.
I only visited the Tower once, back in 2016, and I wish I had taken more notice of it. My reason for visiting was to ride the Shaker, much loved by transit fans, and the Tower represented the supreme achievement of the Van Sweringen brothers who are often overlooked as the (somewhat tarnished) heroes of Cleveland. The one major regret is that what was once a major railroad hub is now a mere shadow of its former glory, with just the Red Line and Shaker in the lower level. Had railroad travel been maintained and developed in the US, like the rest of the world, then Cleveland would still have a major resource they could be even more proud of.
The Rapid Transit’s extension to the Cleveland Airport was brilliant. The first or one of earliest train systems to do this. I live in Northern NJ now, and they still don’t have direct trains to the airports, so I must go by cab.
yea brilliant- give all the shoplifters a way to get around.
I was 7 years old when this aired. Wow that is scary. Great documentary.
I was 33 years old.
@@WAL_DC-6B even scarier
I was 25.
I remember seeing this when it aired when I was 9.
Well I was born before WW II in old Brooklyn. When a mere pip I would take take CTS streetcar downtown and if possible sit in the rear of the car and be scared by the view of the flats and river available RIGHT BETWEEN THE TRACKS! My favorite place in the Terminal Tower was the Fred Harvey shop, it was almost like being transported to the southwest. I vividly remember the steam engines and a favorite summer evening drive was to go to the Smith Road rail crossing and watch the Mercury coming in under steam from Detroit and then hurry over to Linndale to watch the power switching to the electric engine. Later on my father and I took the Empire State Express to Buffalo and eventually to Toronto for the Canadian National Exhibition. I left for school at age 16 and movedto San Francisco in 1966. I'm not sorry about that.
Our history is worth remembering. Without knowing where we came from how can we determine the best path forward.
I’m so glad I found this this is an awesome look at our city
When Tower City was the Union Terminal, I thought as a kid that with those high chandeliers and marble architecture, that it was the prettiest railroad station I ever saw. And that included the original gold metal doors in the front and back of the building from its 1929 construction. Another thing, I saw a 1950's home movie video on TH-cam which showed a steam locomotive pulling a NY Central passenger train out of the Terminal going west. I thought that steam locos were not allowed in the bowels of UT because of polluting the concourse above, that electric locos pulled the trains in and out, only to be replaced by steam locos at Collinwood and Linndale. What do you think?
Great video!
Nice video. I never realized David Birney had a Cleveland connection until now. Tower City was awesome when it opened, but sadly, it's now a shell of it's former self. The same thing that happened at Randall Park Mall happened here
Cle is a DUMP
David, while not born here, grew up here and graduated high school here.
It's now thirty years later. The structures are still there and still beautiful. What's not there are all those high end stores. Gucci, Versace, and Fendi are gone. Neiman Marcus never came. Higbee's is now a casino. Disney and Warner Brothers fled in the face of poor sales and the thugs that inhabit too much of the city. They made people afraid to come downtown, especially after normal business hours, after dark, when people who weren't shoppers started to take over. Many of the storefronts are now vacant, and the ones that aren't have many third tier businesses, including a dollar store.
For Forest City Enterprises, the development has been a financial disaster. They spent $40 million on a sprucing up project in 2010, but that was part of the plan to dump Tower City on another buyer. So far, they haven't found one that wanted to pay what Forest City thinks it's worth. It clearly won;t sell for anywhere near what Forest City has sunk into it, but they have kept hanging on to it, hoping for a buyer that will pay their price, or dreaming of the days when even a Gap might come back. The failure of the Galleria at Erieview should have been a cautionary tale for retail in Downtown Cleveland. Until there are more than the 10,000 people who now live downtown, there's very little hope for Tower City. An entire generation of Clevelanders have never known downtown as a place to shop. The only hope is more people who actually live in downtown and need places to shop.
Is anyone actually afraid to come downtown? It's probably the safest area in Cleveland.
I grew up on Payne Ave in the 1990s and 2000s and tower city was my mall. I also used to go to galleria growing up as well.
There are scads of apartments being built downtown.
Retail is dead everywhere in a world of Amazon home delivery to the exurbs. 70s mall style aesthetics dependent on chain tenants is completely hopeless. These aspects of redevelopment at "tower city" were a mistake. They need undone but I wouldn't hold my breath.
The way to keep these places viable is make them part of a localized economy with local residents. That is how another redevelopment effort should proceed, setting it back to localized service and socialization.
And it must be built to serve those who live downtown, not in the hope that exurbanites are going to drive downtown.
Kinda like it was in the 1920s.
@@beltuna9 I always thought it’d be smart if they tried to lure Target, Giant Eagle, and/or a pharmacy as an anchor tenant. Then fill out the rest of it with local shops, restaurants and bars, and other vendors (art galleries, etc). Maybe even take a page out of other urban train stations such as KC’s Union Station and have a designated space for traveling exhibits. I think that’d be a good start and could ensure steady foot traffic from the downtown population.
Great documentary
I was in six grade pre junior high school when Cleveland had good employment economy in the 1980s
The Great Economy was in the 40's to the 60's WW2 thru Vietnam.
If Amtrak doesn't have the funding, the State of Ohio should reroute Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, Capitol Limited and FUTURE services, such as the 3-C's and the proposed commuter trains BACK into Cleveland Union Terminal, a decent place for a decent service, just for a sense of PRIDE. The current Amtrak shack is an embarrassment to Cleveland....
Wonderful video...agree with all....well...except the little quip about Art Modell...
Tower City is a joke now. Almost no stores.
👻
32:42 WHAT!!!!! O_O ART MODDEL DIDN'T DO CRUD!!!
LBJ's Great Society nuked the city.
Interstate hwys killed the city
Democrats RUINED Cle. its still a mess
Along with virtually every major city in the United States IMO.