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

Third Annual Holiday Party for Kids

These photos are from the annual holiday party for kids from Cleveland's Fairfax and Central neighborhoods, organized by the dedicated Tanya Holmes. The festivities included food, hot chocolate, candy, games, dancing, presents, and a visit from Santa. My partner and I volunteered to photograph the event and really enjoyed being with the kids and their families.

 

 

 

The children competed in a dance contest.

 

When Santa arrived, a sea of excited children surged toward him, looking for hugs. For little kids, Santa is the ultimate rock star. What a sight!

The children were invited to pick out new hats and gloves.

 The Rolls Royce club's Jazzy J led the children in song.

The kids, singing "Jingle Bells" and other carols.

Ms. Tanya Holmes (left), the tireless organizer who put together this lovely event.

Some of the girls, showing off the presents they got.

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.

Hands Up, Don't Shoot

 Young man reciting a poem he wrote about being incarcerated.

 This drummer was joined by other musicians, their music adding strong punctuation to the chants and speeches.

 
Rally in downtown Cleveland Tuesday, October 22 organized by two groups, Puncture the Silence and the Stop Mass Incarceration Network. Picketers marched on a cloudy day from the women's prison to Public Square, where they rallied in protest of police brutality and killings, mass incarceration, attacks on immigrants and other social justice issues. Posters with photographs of people killed by police were displayed throughout the quadrant.

Shaker Arts and Music Festival 2014

Larchmere Porchfest 2014

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

Cleveland Asian Festival 2014