Aurora, Goddess of Dawn

The Aurora in 2011

I photographed this apartment building on Decker Avenue in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood in 2011. Its name, spelled in the Art Nouveau lettering style of the early 20th century, is Aurora. It was abandoned and crumbling, but clearly was once a beautiful place to live.

Last weekend I had another look at the Aurora, and found its deterioration five years worse — an upper porch had collapsed, windows were missing, and the front entrance was now covered with a wooden board.

In 2016.

A man walking past noticed me and my camera. "Are you thinking of restoring it?" he asked.

"I wish," I said. "I just think it's a beautiful building."

"That was a really nice place," said the man, whose name is Mark. "It had all the old things, faucets and fixtures and staircases. I knew everyone that lived there."

Mark's house is catacorner to the Aurora. It's a big, well-kept house with a large American flag hung between the pillars of the front porch.

Mark  talked about the Decker neighborhood, part of Cleveland's seventh ward. "I lived here all my life. I'm 54 years old." Gesturing down the street, lined with empty lots and old houses in varying condition, he mused on the passing of time, "I remember when this street was full." He points to houses and names the families who used to live in them.

"I went to school down here," he said. "I went to Addison [Junior High] and East High. They closed those schools. They don't care about education. If they did, they wouldn't close the schools. Those — what do they call them? Charter schools? They're no good. The classes now are too big — there's no discipline, no respect. The parents aren't involved."

He remembers the days when Fannie Lewis, a fierce champion of her Hough constituents, was the Ward 7 Councilwoman. "Fannie Lewis, she fought to get this area restored. The new guy, [Councilman] T.J. Dow, he doesn't really care."

Plans for improvement in Cleveland never seem to involve Mark's neighborhood. "They always forget about Decker."

Clutching his money, Mark was on his way to the corner store. "I like it here. I feel safe.

"It's rough," he said, looking thoughtfully toward East 79th Street, "but I feel safe."

— Pamela Zoslov

Hard Times

While Cleveland's Public Square is fenced off and under construction until 2016, there's no place for people to congregate, and downtown feels less cohesive and more sinister than usual.

Panhandlers are using ever more abstruse gambits ("Hey, I know where you got those shoes, Big Man!" a man calls out to every passing gent. Another walks down Euclid Avenue holding a small cardboard sign that reads, with admirable candor, "WHY LIE NEED BEER."

Above, a Dickensian scene befitting the old-fashioned carriage-ride business. As loud cheers emanated from a local bar where patrons were watching a Cleveland Browns game, the man in the clerical collar, who was holding the horse's bridle, asked the driver if he could go check the score.

The driver, cigarette dangling from his lips, barked "No, you're not checking the score. You'll do your job!"

"I'm not checking the score," the driver continued, with the puffed pride that comes of being boss. "I'm doing my job!"

Mr. Gilbert's Hats

This gentleman, Robert Harris, sells hats from a stand on Buckeye Avenue, next to his church. His business, Mr. Gilbert's Hats, and his little white truck with the top hat and cane logo, are often seen around town. Over Labor Day weekend, he'll be selling hats to sun-baked spectators at the Cleveland International Air Show.

Harris, 70, has been in the hat business for decades, having worked at the famous Cleveland store Mike the Hatter. He would like to open his own store, maybe at Shaker Square where he lives, and sell upscale hats.

I have passed his stand many times while driving, but today decided to stop and chat with Mr. Harris, who regaled me with stories about his life and his views on modern mores "Kids today don't have respect. I had a teacher at the old East Tech, she was a midget of a lady. But she'd take you by the ear to the principal's office. We didn't disrespect her."

He reflected on his earlier years. "I was into some bad things, selling drugs and that. The pastor of this church saved me. He believed in me. I love that man."

Buckeye Learning Farm 2015

Scenes from my visit today to the Buckeye Learning Farm on Woodland Avenue. A group of students were working on growing the crops -- tomatoes, several varieties of peppers, squash and corn, among others -- and enjoying one another's company. Top and bottom photos, my tour guide Elonte, a nice, soft-spoken young man. It is Elonte's second summer working at the farm.

Right to Lifers

Right to Life protesters praying, as they regularly do, in front of the Preterm Clinic on Shaker Boulevard in Cleveland on a cloudy Tuesday, October 28, 2014. They're reciting prayers about the "murders" taking place inside the clinic, ending with The Lord's Prayer. I note that they target minorities in their anti-abortion posters and leaflets, a cynical nod to this largely African-American neighborhood.

Larchmere Porchfest 2014

A fantastic time was had by all at the annual music festival in our neighborhood.

Cleveland Asian Festival 2014

Holiday Show

 

Toy Soldier & Fairy Godmother Holiday Show at Tower City Center, which attracted hordes of families the weekend before Christmas, 2013.

Fairfax Learning Farm

This is Keith, the gracious high school student who led me on a tour yesterday of the Fairfax Learning Farm on E. 79th Street. The farm is resplendent in flowers, herbs and an abundance of ripe vegetables, which are sold every Wednesday afternoon at the farm market stand. It's part of the Cleveland Botanical Society's Green Corps program, which revitalizes vacant city land and provides valuable work and educational opportunities for students.

 

 

 Keith said they call this crop "Alien Eggplant," due to its otherworldly appearance.

The Fairfax, like the other Green Corps urban farms, is a natural oasis in a busy urban neighborhood.

The kids who work at the farm add their own personal touches: their names, painted posters, a pit barbecue and handmade furniture. Below, Keith shows off the shelving unit the students built to house their plant "starts."

 

Keith, who plans to become a music producer, says he's learned a lot from working on the urban farm, especially the value of "working hard." Many thanks to Keith for the tour!

St. Clair-Superior Youth Festival and Parade

 Member of the P.A.C.E. (Positive Attitude Changes Everything) tumbling group.

Cleveland, Ohio, August 17, 2013.