Oct 18 2011

The Greenbrier Suite

Brent

Today’s Photo: The Greenbrier Suite

 

Greenbrier Suite

This is a photo of the 2 story Great Hall of the Greenbrier Suite. The Greenbrier Suite was secret residence of the Van Sweringen Brothers and it is located inside the Terminal Tower. That’s right, it is located on the 12th, 13th, and 14th floors of the Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland.
This stunning home was built to rival the mansions located on Euclid Ave. It was built in English Gothic style with oak paneling and marble fireplaces.

Who are the Van Sweringen Brothers you ask?  Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen were two Clevelanders who created a $3 billion, 30,000-mi.
railroad and real estate empire. They also were the builders of the Terminal Tower and the real-estate developers of Shaker Hts.

For more information:

http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=VSOP

Today’s Quote:

“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they’re called memories. Some take us forward, they’re called dreams.”  – Jeremy Irons


Oct 13 2011

The Hanna

Brent

hanna theater cleveland

Today’s Photo: The Hanna

If you have never seen a play at the Hanna Theater in Playhouse Square you are missing out. The atmosphere is great and everything is modern.  The Hanna Theatre opened March 28, 1921, and would go on to host such stage and film luminaries as Al Jolson, Katherine Hepburn, Henry
Fonda, Ethel Barrymore, Ginger Rogers, Helen Hayes, Mary Martin and Yul Brynner. In 2008, the Hanna underwent a renovation to add a thrust stage, re-work its seating to 550 and become the main performance base for Playhouse Square’s long-time constituent, Great Lakes Theater. Few people know that the famous Tom Hanks got his first acting job right here in Cleveland with the Great Lakes Theater Festival.  He worked 3 summers with Great Lakes making $45 per week.  Playhouse Square is the second largest performing arts center in the country, behind only
New York City.

For more info: http://www.playhousesquare.org/default.asp?playhousesquare=62&objId=2

Quote of the day:

Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards – the things we live by and teach our children are preserved or diminished by how
freely we exchange ideas and feelings.- Walt Disney


Oct 12 2011

Fall in Medina

Brent

Fall in Medina

Today’s Photo: Fall moves in.

This photo was taken at a small pond in Medina County. It’s getting colder out but the colors are amazing!

Today’s Quote:

All art is but imitation of nature -Lucius Annaeus Seneca


Oct 5 2011

Vision of a day gone by Clevelands Streetcars

Brent

old Cleveland Streetcar

The Detroit–Superior Bridge, also known as the Veterans Memorial Bridge is a 3,112 long through arch bridge over the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio. The bridge was completed in 1918, at a cost of $5.4 million. It was the first fixed high level bridge in Cleveland and its completion, the bridge was the largest steel and concrete reinforced bridge in the world. While the bridge’s upper level is for road traffic, the lower level was intended for streetcars. It was built with four sets of these tracks. Each end of the bridge has underground streetcar stations for the trams. While the steetcars no longer run some of the old tracks and streetcars remain. To walk under this
bridge is to step into the past.

Today the lower level of the bridge is used for “Ingenuity,” a large-scale, weekend-long performance event. It is my hope that his space can be transformed into something that can be used by Clevelanders year round.

Purchase this photo: Brent Durken Print Sales

http://brent-durken.pixels.com/

For more info:

http://www.facebook.com/ingenuityfest

http://www.facebook.com/#!/cleveland.bridge?sk=info

Quote of the day:

We believe that if men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work. – John F. Kennedy


Oct 3 2011

After the Storm

Brent

Mapleside Farms

Today’s Photo:  Mapleside Farms

It is easy to see why Mapleside Farms in Brunswick, Ohio was recently voted the most beautiful farm in America. This photo was taken shortly after a storm passed over the farm. The purplish tint
to the photo is really how it looked that evening. Families, including my own have been coming to this farm for generations to enjoy the food and the view. Here is a history of the farm from their website:

“The land where Mapleside Farms sits was first settled by the Tillotson family from Massachusetts. They were drawn there in 1817 by the area’s fertile soil. Elmer and Clara Eyssen bought the farm from the Tillotson family in 1927 and moved
their family from Lakewood way out into the country. At that time the land consisted of the current property plus many acres across Pearl Road as well as some property on Center Road/Rte. 303. In the earlier years of this beautiful farm, a large stand of maple trees on the side of the hill were used for maple syrup production and became Elmer and Clara’s inspiration for naming their land, Mapleside Farms.”

The farm was recently purchased by Greg and Kelly Clement who are both lifelong Brunswick residents and grew up with Mapleside as an important part of their lives. They have made many wonderful improvements while still keeping the original feel of the farm. I have no doubt that Mapleside will be enjoyed for many more generations.

For more information please visit their website:

http://www.mapleside.com/

Quote of the day:

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees, and flowers, and clouds, and stars.- Martin Luther

 


Sep 29 2011

Thunderstruck – US Air Force Thunderbirds

Brent

US Air Force Thunderbirds

Today’s photo: Thunderstruck

Thanks to my brother and sister in law I had the opportunity to take my family down to the Cleveland National Air Show this year. I hadn’t been down to see the show since I was a kid and I have to say I was pretty impressed by the whole thing. Everyone was friendly and we were able to talk to a lot of the pilots and ground crews about the aircraft. My kids loved going inside the planes and tanks that were on the ground. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds were of course everyone’s favorite. It’s amazing just how good those pilots are. To watch them fly that close and that fast is jaw dropping and just really cool. I will
be going with the family again next year for sure.

Quote of the day:

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” – Abraham Lincoln

 

 


Sep 28 2011

The Fountain at the Italian Garden

Brent

Cleveland Italian Garden

 

Today’s Photo: The Italian Garden

This is a photo of the fountain located on the upper level of the Italian Garden. The Italian Garden was on October 12, 1930 before a crowd of 3000 local Italians. It is just one of the over 30 gardens that make up the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.  The gardens are located along M.L.K. Blvd and East Blvd, not far from Wade Oval.

I am ashamed to say that I didn’t know this wonderful place even existed until a few years ago. I love walking though the gardens and looking at all of the statues, plants, flowers and fountains. They tell a story of all the different immigrants that came to America and to Cleveland. Some of my own ancestors that came from Germany, Switzerland, and Ireland were living in Cleveland by the 1840’s. In fact my grandmother lived in a house on the corner of Ansel Rd. and Ann Ct., right across from the gardens and the Hitchcock Center for Women. She said the center used to be a seminary and she would walk in the gardens when she was a teenager. All Clevelanders should visit the gardens at least once, they are beautiful and will make you proud of Cleveland and all the immigrants that helped built this city.

For more info on the
gardens please go to the website:

http://culturalgardens.org/default.aspx

Or visit on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cultural-Gardens-Of-Cleveland/178974030093


Sep 27 2011

Wade Lagoon University Circle

Brent

cleveland wade lagoon

Today’s Photo: Wade Lagoon University Circle

The lagoon is located on the south end of Wade Park, in front of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Yes, it’s in Cleveland not Washington D.C. or Paris. This beautiful piece of land was donated to the city by Jeptha Wade in 1882 with the intention of building an Art Museum. The statue located in foreground of the photo is the 1928 Night Passing the Earth to Day by Frank Jirouch. If you ever have an afternoon free and want somewhere to relax this place is perfect. Walk along the lagoon, eat lunch under a tree and then take a stroll through the art museum. It is a wonderful place that is rarely crowded and always free.

Quote of the day:

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” – James Madison

 

For more info please visit:

http://www.clevelandart.org/