West Side Market

Cleveland's public market is the West Side Market.  Opening to shoppers in November of 1912, it is the oldest continuously operating municipally owned market in the city. It's located in the Ohio City area, and was built to replace the Pearl Street Market across the street. Of three public markets that included the Broadway Market and the Central Market, only the West Side is still in existence.  The public markets were built to serve Cleveland's growing immigrant population in the early 20th century.

Construction was begun in 1908, and the building cost a total of $734,890.72, a princely sum for the day. There were originally 109 stands inside selling meats, dairy products, bread, groceries, and ethnic foods. In 2008, the West Side Market was designated as one of "10 Great Public Places in America".

We arrived about 10:30 am, thinking that we would miss out on many of the "good stuff".  Wrong!  Fortunately we were able to score a free parking spot next to the produce stands.

The tall stack can be seen for miles, identifying the location of the market.

The produce aisles are lined with some of the most delicious and different fruits and vegetables that can be imagined!

From corn to asparagus, brussel sprouts to potatoes, and everything in between, it was a vegan dream!

One stand was selling flowers,

And another had dragon fruit. Said to be a lot like a Kiwi.

The fruit is cut in half and the center scooped out.  Looks terrible, but could be delicious!

Our first steps inside the market gave us an immediate idea of what to expect:

The building is divided up into a large number of individual businesses, each with it's name overhead, and a cold case displaying the items for sale.  Bakeries and meat markets predominate, with an old world heritage.

Yes, that is Head Cheese!

But we did have to get a couple chops. Only $8 for two smoked pork chops about an inch thick!

Pinzone's had some awesome cuts, as did Czuchraj's, Turczyk's, and Wiencek's.

The mashed potatoes looked good, if a bit different in color….

All the food was making us hungry, and as we looked up at the ceiling, we wondered what the Market would look like from up there.

So, a couple of smoked brat sandwiches later, and a trip up some stairs through a door marked "office", we came out on a balcony just below the big windows at the end.  An hour of people watching and sausage eating provided a great end to our visit!

The Market is a peek into the past, before supermarkets and Costco's and Walmart's came along.  This is how we used to buy food and goods!

On the way back to Nessie with our haul, we stopped in Hudson, a beautiful small town south of Cleveland, for a cup of coffee and conversation with two ladies from Youngstown that were on a shopping expedition.

I almost forgot: before we left the market, we had to have a sweet, so we bought several samples and shared some flakey pastries at the coffee shop!

On the suggestion of the desk here at the Streetsboro KOA, we tripped into downtown Streetsboro to visit the Library.  The Public Library offers computers, along with several free applications, for patrons' use.  One of those apps is a free version of Ancestry.com, which we used to find out a bit more information about my father's family.

Donna's brother had researched and provided the info that I mentioned on another post, but today we were able to find out that my great Grandfather moved his wife and entire family from Cleveland to South Pasadena, California, some time in the '20's. A list of children and links to a variety of other sites provided marriage and death certificates.  More good stuff!  It's like a detective mystery, except the characters are your own family!  Wow! We'll continue this as time permits. For now, it's back to Nessie, and preparation to move on tomorrow.

"Can you help me occupy my brain?"

Black Sabbath is only one of thousands of Rock and Roll artists celebrated in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.  Six levels of an ultramodern building on the waterfront adjacent to the Great Lakes Science Museum and down the street from the Cleveland Browns football stadium.

Just inside the entrance a glance around gives you some idea of what to expect.

Then it's down to the Lower Level to start the self-guided tour. On this level, we're introduced to the Roots of Rock: Blues, Gospel, R&B, Country, Bluegrass and Folk. Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, and Jelly Roll Morton all helped define and influence Rock and Roll.

Many instruments owned and played by the legendary artists are on display.

And

As the time line progressed, the more well-known artists had their own individual exhibits.  Like this one:

And Roy Orbison's favorite guitar:

The Beatles have a prominent display,

Jimi Hendrix has the a large display:

         

                                                                           

At every turn, the Hall of Fame is equipped with soundproof kiosks where visitors can participate in interactive listening exhibits. The sound quality of these stations is incredible!  

Moving to the second level,  Les Paul, Alan Freed and Sam Phillips are showcased in the Architects of Rock and Roll exhibit.

Les Paul is called the Wizard of Waukesha due to the combination of his birth in Wisconsin and his unique ability to create beautiful sound with a couple of 2x4's, a door hinge, some strings and a spring. Called The Plank, it was one of his first forays into the solid body world of guitar building.

On Level 3 of the Hall of Fame, the center point is the Induction Ceremony Highlights film. A presentation that combines film footage, music, and interviews to tell the stories of the inductees.  This was the highlight of the entire tour for Donna and I as we sat in a comfortable theatre setting watching and listening to a three screen presentation of every inductee up to the present. The sound system was, of course, superb, and we were practically dancing in the aisle listening to songs from our, ahem, past!  

Chuck Berry and Rick Nelson also have extensive exhibits on this floor honoring their unique contributions to the genre.

Levels 4, 5, and 6 contain Pink Floyd: The Wall exhibits, and Theaters showing special films that show the cultural impact of the iconic festivals of the past as well as the events of the current day - from Newport, Woodstock and Wattstax to Coachella and Glastonbury.

The touring bus used by Johnny Cash is on display outside the Hall of Fame.

Something I didn't know:  Johnny Cash sold the bus two months after June Carter Cash died because he couldn't bear to be reminded of her. Two months after that sale, Johnny himself passed away.

Our exit from Cleveland south on 9th street reminded us that we were in a very large, congested city!

Roots

One hundred thirty eight miles east of Holland, Ohio, last nights stop, is metro Cleveland, a city of 390,000 established in 1796. It's a big city!  We're staying in a KOA in Streetsboro, about thirty five miles south and east of Cleveland.  Our trip east this morning was interesting to say the least.  Having heard horror stories about the Ohio Turnpike, I once again choose a secondary road route that was actually less distance than if we had used the Turnpike, but turned out to require an additional two hours to complete. At an average speed of 31 mph, we spent five hours taking the "scenic" route. Highway 20 out of Toledo took us through the villages of Ridge, Lemoyne and Woodville;  Clyde, Bellevue and Monroeville soon followed; in Wakeman we turned onto SR 303 and followed it through Hudson to Streetsboro.  We passed through some of Ohio's beautiful farm land, and drove down the main streets of some quaint, quiet, and lovely little towns.

A mid-afternoon arrival left us with several hours of daylight, so we decided to see what downtown Cleveland was like. We set Edgewater Park as our goal, since it is on the shore of Lake Erie, and is convenient to downtown and the Civic Center. The park is beautiful, with hundreds of people enjoying the warm afternoon on a large grass area.  Many people were fishing or running the pathways around the perimeter.

A walk around the park gave us a view of downtown and a casual view of Lake Erie.

Then off to downtown to fulfill a bucket list item!

My father was born in Los Angeles, California, to parents that had moved to the West Coast to start a new life. My paternal grandparents were born in the 1880's in Cleveland, Ohio, to parents that had come over from "the old country". Their parents, Matthew and Annie Hubbard, both born in Czechoslovakia, were among several family members that arrived before the turn of the 20th century, most of whom settled in the Cleveland area. I know very little about the family, but I do know that my great-uncle Charles married Josephine Vapenik on September 20, 1905.  Happy 109th anniversary, Uncle Charles! So, having said all that, my wish was to visit the city where an important part of my family came from, and where many still live and work. Since the Cleveland City Hall was built in 1911, I though that several of my relatives may have passed through the iron doors or climbed the granite steps; perhaps they needed a marriage license or bought a bit of land.

 We've found a marriage certificate for my great-aunt Emma, who married LeRoy Vernon in South Pasadena, California, on March 23, 1923, so it's entirely possible that one of the family passed through these doors before they left for California. City Hall, Cleveland, has become an Historical Landmark, for the doors, if nothing else!

Across the street at the Federal Building we watched a crew install new windows. At first we thought they were just washing them, but oh no! The windows on the right have already been installed and the windows on the left and across the front of the building have yet to be worked on.

Each panel is lifted to the platform where workmen slide it into place between the hanging scaffolding and the building!

As we left we were able to walk the top perimeter of the parking garage where we were able to get a view of the Great Lakes Science Museum and the First Energy Stadium, the home of the Cleveland Browns football team.

Heading for home, we passed through the "tower district", where a number of casinos are located, as well as the arena for the Cleveland Cavalier basketball team and the stadium for the Cleveland Indians baseball team.

Just as we left metropolitan Cleveland, we spotted this older building.  Enlarge the photo to see the name on the building!