The Cleveland of "American Splendor," the 2003 Oscar-nominated movie, is a dreary 1980's town of thrift stores and shambling eccentrics, a place where you'd barely care to spend two hours, let alone a weekend. Today, Cleveland hardly feels like the same place. In the 1990's, public-private enterprise replaced center-city blight with new sports stadiums and the lakefront Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Meanwhile, downtown's revival spurred gentrification into forgotten enclaves along the Cuyahoga River. There's a thriving art scene in Tremont, and the retooled Warehouse District has become a place to be, rather than flee, after dark. Clevelanders remain, by nature, a self-deprecating lot. But before long, calling their town hip, cosmopolitan - even splendid - won't sound so ironic.# posted by
Gerry Canavan @ 12:19 PM
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