Cleveland's Industrial Flats, a Rugged Beauty

Frankly, I was surprised by the controversy over the Cleveland segment of the Travel Channel's "No Reservations" with Anthony Bourdain. The hour-long show highlighted Cleveland's steel yards, its many ethnic restaurants, and the city's industrial past. (If you haven't seen the show, it runs again on October 22.) Apparently, I'm not the only one who's miffed about the negative comments. The Plain Dealer quoted Bourdain in an email to guest host and Clevelander Michael Ruhlman as saying "I have to say I'm really pissed and a bit hurt that anyone could see the Cleveland show as anything but a love letter."

But, I digress. I think that Cleveland's industrial flats, that city within a city that stretches from downtown to Newburgh Heights along the Cuyahoga River, has a beauty all of its own. It's Cleveland's past--a rugged, self-reliant era that brought generations of workers from Europe and other areas to staff the plants. That ethnic heritage is part of what keeps Cleveland interesting. It's also the money made by these plants that gave the city many of the institutions on which the nay-sayers would rather we focus, such as the Cleveland Orchestra, Severance Hall, and the Cleveland Zoo. Guys: you can't have one without the other.

So if you find yourself with a few spare minutes this fall, take a drive down by the steel mills and railyards in the flats. Go down Broadway from downtown, turn right on Rockefeller and then turn left on Independence. Your drive will lead you to Newburgh Heights where you can get on I-77.

^{(photo © Flickr user: real00/cc license)}