Cleveland? It’s America, down to a T!
PHIL LANCASTER discovers the delights of a sensational city and finds the perfect place to experience the real USA...
IN most parts of the world, if you were to wear a T-shirt bearing the name of a city, it would mark you out as a tourist. In Cleveland, things are different – if you’re NOT wearing a T-shirt with the name of the city on it you look like a tourist. Whether it’s one of the sports teams – the Indians, the Cavs or the Browns – or just the famous city script, Cleveland T-shirts are everywhere you look. Moms on the school run, construction guys on their way to work, waitresses at the neighbourhood diner – they’re all proud to wear their heart on their sleeve and Cleveland on their shirt.
It’s a city, much like Glasgow, that inspires huge loyalty in its citizens. The kind of unaffected, genuine enthusiasm and warmth that’s infectious and impossible to manufacture. I kind of fell in love with Cleveland very quickly.
For a taste of the real America, it’s hard to beat, and it’s also never been easier to visit. Icelandair now offers five flights a week from Glasgow – and combined with a stopover in Reykjavik, at no extra cost, it makes for an amazing break. Flying via Iceland adds a whole new dimension to long-haul travel. It’s like having the chance to get off mid-Atlantic and stretch your legs – and really takes the sting out of the journey.
DAY 1:
They built this city on rock and roll – the phrase was coined in Cleveland by legendary DJ Alan Freed. And the first rock and roll concert – the Moondog Coronation Ball – was held at the Cleveland Arena in 1952. So the first stop has to be the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This fabulous, IM Pei-designed music mecca on the Lake Erie shore houses what must be the world’s finest collection of rock and roll memorabilia. From Elvis’ gold lamé suit to Jerry Garcia’s favourite guitar, there’s something for every true music fan to drool over.
From the Rock Hall, it was an easy walk through downtown to take in another American icon – an afternoon at the ballpark, in this case Progressive Field, home of the mighty Cleveland Indians. If you would like to immerse yourself in the culture, then a baseball game is the ideal way to do it. It is as much about tradition, family and friendship as it is about the actual game. Unmissable.
I made music the focus of my visit, and Cleveland has some incredible venues. Jacobs Pavilion has a stunning setting right on the Cuyahoga River – and I was lucky enough to land a ticket for Jack White. The gig was incredible, outside in the late evening sunshine with the city skyline as a backdrop, Jack at full throttle and a sellout crowd loving every minute.
There can’t be many venues in the world where vast, monolithic cargo ships loom like slowly passing skyscrapers, seemingly a stone’s throw from the stage. One of my favourite gigs ever – and I’ve been to a lot!
DAY 2
Downtown Cleveland is as perfect an introduction to American culture as you could wish. But if it’s high culture you’re after – culture culture – then University Circle is the place to be.
I started at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which I can honestly say is one of my favourite galleries in the world. Marcel Breuer’s beautiful, bold, delicate, brutalist masterpiece building is a work of art in itself and the collection it houses is worldclass. There are more than 45,000 works, including pieces by Monet, Dali and Warhol – and it’s all free. The contemporary American collection is a particular delight (I’m still transfixed by my souvenir postcard of John Rogers Cox’s Gray and Gold). From the CMA, it’s a short walk to Severance Hall, home of the worldrenowned Cleveland Orchestra and surely a contender for most beautiful concert hall in the United States. If you get the chance to take in a performance there, or even just to tour the building, then don’t miss it. The stunning Art Deco interiors are breathtakingly stylish and are as glamorous now as when they were unveiled in 1931.
Cleveland’s newest cultural addition is also within a short walk of Severance – the Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Farshid Moussavi and opened in 2012. It’s a spectacular building, housing a constantly changing programme of exhibitions and performances and the perfect bookend to a day at University Circle.
In the evening, I headed over to Cleveland Heights for the second gig of the trip at the Grog Shop, a thriving, friendly, neighbourhood venue which was hot, sweaty and packed to the doors for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. I loved every minute of it.
DAY 3:
Cleveland is home to some of the coolest suburbs in America, and Ohio City is just the place to indulge your inner hipster. A tour of the Hingetown area’s mural trail is a great way to get your bearings and see some wonderful street art. It’s an easy trip – just one stop from downtown on the rapid transit system – and it includes the magnificent West Side Market. Built in 1912, it is a city institution and features more than 100 stalls selling a huge variety of fresh produce – some of which comes from the Ohio City Farm, which is almost next door.
The area is also home to the Transformer Station gallery – a beautiful converted industrial space that curates some stunning photography exhibitions.
From Hingetown, it’s only a short hop over to the Gordon Square arts district, which has some of the coolest shops and restaurants in the whole of Cleveland.
Highlights for me included Hausfrau Records (I bought a Public Image Ltd live LP for a bargain $5 and randomly met a guy who knew a friend of a friend of mine in Glasgow!), the Superelectric Pinball Parlor (A beautifully-refurbished Dolly Parton pinball machine? Just $2,500 to you, sir), and the 78th Street Studios, which house a huge collection of fine artists and independent galleries in a converted factory.
Just before heading back to the airport, I took a short drive out to the lakefront to take in the skyline view and get a close-up of the Cleveland script sign. It’s a beautiful area – which in the sunshine looks not so much a different city as a different state, with a Californian bikini beachfront vibe.
DAY 4:
The late evening flight from Cleveland lands you in Reykjavik just after 6am, with plenty of time for a 24-hour whistlestop tour of Iceland.
I chose to stay in the city and started the day with a relaxing soak in the Art Deco Sundhöllin public swimming pool and spa. Not quite as scenic as the Blue Lagoon maybe, but charming and cheap – and it seemed I was the only non-local. It was designed by the same architect who created the city’s breathtaking Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral and is well worth a visit.
The Hallgrimskirkja itself is a striking hymn in concrete, startlingly modern yet simple, peaceful
and elegant – and its tower offers a fine panoramic view of the city. Reykjavik is easy to walk around in an afternoon and the top of the cathedral is a great place to get your bearings.
There is some beautiful architecture in Reykjavik – almost, but not quite, as good-looking as the people!
I spent the afternoon wandering Reykjavik’s many galleries and taking in the incredible Daniel Lismore exhibition at the magnificent glass and steel Harpa concert hall on the waterfront.
I rounded off my day, and the trip, with another musical extravaganza – a night at the opera at the Harpa. I was lucky enough to attend the Icelandic premiere of Daniel Bjarnason’s Brothers, conducted by the composer himself and clearly a highlight of the city’s cultural year.
DAY 5:
Back in Glasgow early Sunday morning and home in time for lunch after an easy two-hour hop from Iceland. I’ve been to the heart of America, yet it feels as easy as taking a European city break. Crossing the Atlantic is SO much easier when you can stop and stretch your legs on the way!