Cleveland in HDR – The 6th City Collection

Todays photo is of the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). This beautiful new building is within walking distance of both Little Italy and Wade Oval. Here is some information directly from MOCA’s website about the new building:

“MOCA’s new building is designed to serve as a catalyst for creativity and growth in a cosmopolitan Cleveland neighborhood, which is home to one of the country’s largest concentrations of cultural, educational and medical institutions.

The nearly 34,000-square-foot structure, which is 44 percent larger than MOCA’s former rented space, demonstrates that a museum expansion need not be large in scale to be ambitious in all respects. Devised for both environmental and fiscal sustainability, the design is at once technically inventive, visually stunning and highly practical.

The dynamic structure was designed by Iranian-born Farshid Moussavi of London, formerly with Foreign Office Architects (FOA) and now principal of Farshid Moussavi Architecture (FMA). This is her first U.S. commission and her first museum.

In addition to FMA, the design team includes executive architects Westlake Reed Leskosky, headquartered in Cleveland and designers of more than 50 cultural buildings throughout the United States.

Moussavi says that museums today are not just homes for art, but serve multiple functions and host a variety of activities. “Our design for MOCA Cleveland aims to provide an ideal environment for artists and visitors and to foster creativity and variety in exhibitions and programs.”

Because MOCA is a non-collecting institution – one of the relatively few such contemporary art museums in the country – its new building does not need to accommodate collection galleries, says MOCA Executive Director Jill Snyder. “This building’s design is a perfect expression of the museum’s philosophy and programs. Flexibility is key to a program like ours that embraces aesthetic, conceptual and cultural diversity, and displays works in a great variety of media and genres.”

The four-story building, which anchors the Uptown district, rises 60 feet from a hexagonal base to a square top, where the primary exhibition space is located. All four floors contain areas for either exhibitions or public programs.

Clad primarily in mirror-finish black Rimex stainless steel, the façade will reflect its urban surroundings, changing in appearance with differences in light and weather. Three of the building’s six facets, one of them clad in transparent glass, will flank a public plaza designed by James Corner Field Operations, a New York-based landscape architecture and urban design firm. The plaza will serve as a public gathering place and will link MOCA to Uptown attractions and amenities, including the expanded Cleveland Institute of Art, designed by Burt, Hill with MVRDV, and new commercial space and residential units, designed by Stanley Saitowitz/Natoma Architects Inc.

Upon entering the building, visitors find themselves in an atrium where they can see the dynamic shape and structure of the building as it rises. This space leads to MOCA’s lobby, café and shop, and to a double-height multi-purpose room for public programs and events. From there, visitors may take MOCA’s monumental staircase, a dominant architectural feature of the building, to the upper floors. On the top floor the 6,000-square-foot gallery space has no fixed dividing walls, allowing for a variety of configurations. This floor also contains a gallery designed for new media work and the Dick and Doreen Cahoon Lounge, which overlooks the plaza and Uptown.”

For more information about this great museum click here:

http://www.mocacleveland.org/

Today’s Quote: “Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs”. – Ansel Adams

Blue Angels doing a low level pass at the Cleveland Air Show. For more info on the Air Show or the Blue Angles:

http://www.clevelandairshow.com/

http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/

From Wikipedia: “The lower Cuyahoga River has been subjected to numerous changes. Originally, the Cuyahoga River met Lake Erie approximately 4,000 feet (1.2 km) west of its current mouth, forming a shallow marsh. The current mouth is man-made, and it lies just west of present-day downtown Cleveland, which allows shipping traffic to flow freely between the river and the lake. Additionally, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers periodically dredges the navigation channel of the otherwise shallow river to a depth of 27 feet (8.2 m), along the river’s lower 5 miles (8.0 km), from its mouth up to the Mittal Steel Cleveland Works steel mills, to accommodate Great Lakes freighter traffic which serves the bulk (asphalt, gravel, petroleum, salt, steel, and other) industries located along the lower Cuyahoga River banks in Cleveland’s Flats district. The Corps of Engineers has also straightened river banksand widened turning basins in the Federal Navigation Channel on the lower Cuyahoga River to facilitate maritime operations”.

The Free Stamp by Danish artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen

From about.com:

“The 50-foot tall aluminum and steel replica of a hand stamp sits downtown at Willard Park on Lakeside Avenue, next to City Hall. The artwork was originally commissioned in 1982 by the Standard Oil Company to sit in front of their soon-to-be-constructed headquarters building on Public Square (now the BP Building). The piece was originally to sit with the “Free” stamp facing downward, hidden from view. However, before the piece could be installed, Standard Oil was acquired by the British Petroleum Company (BP) who did not favor the piece. “Free Stamp” sat in storage in Indiana for years before BP donated it to the city of Cleveland.”

More info: http://cleveland.about.com/b/2008/05/31/free-stamp-in-cleveland.htm

Today’s Quote: A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. –Oscar Wilde

“The Steamship William G. Mather is a retired Great Lakes bulk freighter now restored as a museum ship in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four in the Great Lakes region. She transported cargo such as ore, coal, stone, and grain to ports throughout the Great Lakes, and was nicknamed “The Ship That Built Cleveland” because Cleveland’s steel mills were a frequent destination.”

For more information:

http://www.glsc.org/mather_museum.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamship_William_G._Mather_Maritime_Museum

Today’s Quote: “History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside”. – John F. Kennedy

Today’s Cleveland photo is of Rockefeller’s Restaurant. The Restaurant is located inside an old Bank and has old iron chandeliers, a huge stone hearth, and a hand painted beams on the ceiling. All of this makes for an interesting and unique dining experience.

For more info: http://www.rockefellers-restaurant.com/

Today’s Quote: “Cultivation to the mind is as necessary as food to the body”. – Marcus Tullius Cicero

Today’s Photo comes from the Cleveland Museum of Art. This statue is only about 1 1/2 feet tall but the wide camera angle makes it look much larger. The Cleveland Museum of Art was founded in 1913 “for the benefit of all the people forever.” The original neoclassic building of white Georgian marble was designed by the Cleveland firm of Hubbell & Benes and was constructed at a cost of $1.25 million.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is free and open for all to enjoy, take advantage of it!

http://www.clevelandart.org/

Today’s Quote: “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new”. – Albert Einstein

I am going to finish the week the way a started it, with a photo of the old Cuyahoga County Court House steps. 2012 marks the 100^th birthday of the Cuyahoga County Court House on Lakeside Avenue. The courthouse was designed by Charles Morris along with Lehman and Schmitt and is one of the finest examples of the Beaux-Arts style in the city. Have a great weekend everyone.

For more info: http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=LAS1

Today’s photo is of the Fountain of Eternal Life during the winter time. During the winter months the fountain is turned off but it still looks pretty cool.

From Wikipedia –

“The Fountain of Eternal Life, also known as the War Memorial Fountain and Peace Arising from the Flames of War, is a statue and fountain in Cleveland, Ohio designed by Cleveland Institute of Art graduate Marshall Fredericks and dedicated on May 30, 1964. The sculpture, which serves as the city’s major memorial to its citizens that served in World War II, is situated on Memorial Plaza, which is part of the Cleveland Mall.

The fountain was initiated and promoted by the Cleveland Press, which raised $250,000 in donations from private citizens and various organizations for the project. The centerpiece is a 35-foot (10.7 m) bronze figure representing man escaping from the flames of war and reaching skyward for eternal peace. The bronze sphere from which the figure rises represents the earth. Four granite carvings, representing the geographic civilizations of the world, are placed around the sphere. On the surface of the polished granite rim surrounding the fountain are bronze plates bearing the names of 4,177 Greater Clevelanders who perished in WWII and in the Korean War. Following a complete restoration during the construction of an underlying parking garage in connection with the neighboring Key Tower, the memorial was rededicated on Veterans Day in 1991″.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_Eternal_Life

Today’s Quote – “Every man dies. Not every man really lives”. – William Wallace

Today’s photo is of Cleveland Browns Stadium. Here is some information about the stadium from the Cleveland Browns website:

“Tradition is such an important part of the Browns, so it’s important to note that ever since they were born in 1946, they have played on the same site on the shores of Lake Erie. From 1946-95, their home was Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Browns won all eight of their league championships there and hosted 17 postseason games. It is also where 16 men — 15 players and one coach – built careers that eventually landed them in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

On that same footprint is Cleveland Browns Stadium, which was opened in 1999. To keep that tradition going, the playing field at Cleveland Browns Stadium runs east to west, just like it did before, and the Dawg Pound can still be found on the east side of the stadium.
But that tradition has been tweaked and enhanced with a myriad of modern amenities and conveniences that give Cleveland Browns Stadium the look and feel of a 21st century facility. It fits right in with its modern neighbors, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Great Lakes Science Center.

Architectural gaps in the seating bowl at Cleveland Browns Stadium at the Southeast and Southwest entrance plazas allow visitors to view the field and the inside of the facility even when the Browns aren’t playing. These gaps and the upper level bridges connecting the sideline and end zone seating also allow ticket holders to see the downtown skyline.

In addition, lighting has been specially designed to highlight the columns and beams supporting the upper deck topped by a halo of light glowing from the sideline canopies.

Day or night, game day or not, Cleveland Browns Stadium adds excitement and beauty to a city and fan base looking forward while at the same time honoring the past.”

Architect: HOK Sports Facilities Groups

Construction Manager: Huber, Hunt & Nichols.

Stadium Ground Breaking: Started on May 15, 1997 and was completed in August of 1999 for the first pre-season game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Cost: In excess of $290 million with contributions from the city, state, county,
Regional Transit Authority, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Tomorrow.

Seating Capacity: over 73,200.
8,801 Club Seats.
10,644 Dawg Pound Seats (bleacher seating).
142 Luxury Suites.

For more info: http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/index.html

Today’s Quote: “When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less”. – Paul Brown