Monday, June 6, 2011

"Watch Us Grow"

Cleveland's Historic Gateway Neighborhood has started reaching out to Cleveland residents by providing free "Take a Hike," tours of four different neighborhoods in the Downtown area. This Saturday morning, I went on the tour of the Historic Gateway district and was blown away by the beauty and intricacies of the Gateway architecture. It's amazing to have walked around downtown for so long without noticing the fact that the Ohio Bell building is in fact the basis for the Daily Planet building in Superman!

Something more than the elegant and aesthetically pleasing architecture struck me, though. Our amazing tour guide told us about the origins of the May Company building on Public Square at Euclid; originally located on the opposite side of the square, the May Company put up signs in their old building with the slogan "Watch Us Grow." Nobody knew what those signs meant at the time; the company just put them up hoping passersby would be intrigued at the mystery. Eventually, the May Company moved to the new building which housed a department store continuously until 1992. Our tour guide noted the interesting parallel this message had a the time for the city itself. Cleveland was in a period of immense growth, and the May Company's catchy and entirely appropriate slogan served as a way to highlight that.

The May Company's "Growth" onto Public Square

Young In CLE wants to be a part of that new wave of "Watch Us Grow." We truly believe Cleveland is on the cusp of another growth spurt, and the clues to the inevitable burst lie everywhere: in our nationally acclaimed restaurants and chefs, in our incredible museums and galleries, in our revitalized community spaces and organizations, and most importantly in the hearts and minds of our young professionals. Of course, those same people are struggling to find their way in the world, both economically and emotionally.

Many of us, like the city, are in a period of uncertainty and are questioning how to reach that inevitable stage in our own lives where we can grow uninhibited. This blog hopes to be able to serve those needs, and in fact unite them. We think there's an opportunity for us to highlight the great things about Cleveland that are applicable to our peers; without spending a lot of money, we think Cleveland can offer up a growing experience to all of its young people.

Look to this space for recommendations of fun and frugal activities, reviews of some of those same fun and frugal activities we've attended, and an overall approach to Cleveland through the eyes of its next purveyors. Most importantly, "Watch Us Grow," alongside the city we love.

1 comments:

The historic tours definitely awaken your love for the city and its history. I will watch your blog grow and look forward to investigating all the wonder our city has to offer.

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