New Years Eve

 Danceland, at 90th & Euclid, a Pick-n-Pay grocery in later years.

From the Plain Dealer, December 30, 1934.

Eastbound Freight

 An eastbound DL freight, seen from the new Harrison Avenue Bridge a few years back.

Greyhound

 Greyhound bus at the Lackawanna Transit Center a few years ago.

RTA 3501

 RTA 3501 crossing the Detroit - Superior Bridge a couple months ago.

Higbee's

 The former Higbee store on Public Square.

Loew's State & Ohio Theatres

 A half century ago today, we began work in Loew's Ohio, after the theatres narrowly avoided demolition. There were three of us, Ralph "Smitty" Smith, Dennis Wild (sp?) and me, it was freezing in there, The story is here.

This little building doesn't look like much, but it's the glue that hold the entire complex together. Its loss would have been devastating.

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas Everybody!

1911 postcard.

Nativity Scene

 Nativity scene at the U of S from a couple years ago.

Fridrich Bicycle

 Fridrich Bicycle, 3800 Lorain Avenue, this place has been here forever.

From the Plain Dealer, December 21, 1965.

From the Plain Dealer, December 16, 1972.

Corps of Engineers

 Spotted on the Cuyahoga River last month.

Westbound Freight

 A westbound freight on the D-L behind the Steamtown Mall, December 29, 2007.

Puritas Nursery Train Exhibit

 We stopped by Puritas Nursery, 19201 Puritas Avenue over the weekend, quite the extensive display here, and it's free.

Nickel Plate Bridge

 NKP bridge over Rocky River, looking west from over the weekend.

Last Run

 Last run of Canadian National 3254, December 2, 2012, just below Luna Park.

WEWS 75 Years

 December 17, 1947, WEWS goes on the air, first television station in Ohio.

From 1949 Radio Annual.

From The Plain Dealer, December 6, 1947.

From Variety, July 28, 1948.

From Variety, November 18, 1948.

From Variety, December 31, 1948.

From The Plain Dealer, December 19, 1948.

The Party That Wasn't

 Tomorrow marks the fiftieth anniversary of the party that wasn't. The Plain Dealer had hyped a senior citizen Christmas Party at the Allen for several weeks. A nasty winter storm the night before led to a quick cancellation. However, the day of the event was sunny and warm with little sign of the previous evenings raging storm. It was sometime that afternoon as Ray and I were leaving the Allen, headed to Loew's State that an elderly woman confronted us in front of the Allen. She expressed her displeasure of the cancellation by cursing at Ray, before angrily kicking him in the shin then storming off down Euclid Avenue. To this day it remains one of the more bizarre incidents I've witnessed over the years.

From the Plain Dealer, November 24, 1972.

From the Plain Dealer, December 16, 1972.

Lift Bridge

 The New York Central lift bridge at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

Euclid Avenue

 Euclid Avenue looking east from near 4th Street a couple weeks ago.

Santa at The Allen

 I don't remember much about this, I think we ran a few hours' worth of cartoons, not really sure.

From the Plain Dealer, December 14, 1972.

Philadelphia Suburban 76

 Philadelphia Suburban 76 southbound at the Laurel Line Tunnel, December 15, 2012.

Erie Street Cemetery

 Erie Street Cemetery from last month, looking towards 9th (Erie) Street, and the base ball park across the street.

Public Square

 Christmas Tree on Public Square, First Presbyterian Church in the background.

B.F. Keith Building

 The now 100-year-old B.F. Keith building at 1621 Euclid Avenue from about 18th & Euclid. This was once the tallest building between New York and Chicago for a brief period of time in the early 1920's. This building also houses the Palace Theatre. Once upon a time I had an office on the eighth floor.

Sherwin - Williams

 A look at the new Sherwin - Williams headquarters going up on Public Square.

Tower City

 A view of Tower City from a few weeks ago. Decades ago, we could, and did, go to Scranton from here, nine hours on the Nickel Plate and Lackawanna, via Buffalo.

CLE

The CLE sign on Public Square decorated for Christmas.

Spruce Street

 Spruce Street looking west from North Washington Avenue last summer.

RTA 310

 RTA 310 at the West 117th Street Station the other day.

Cuyahoga River

 Looking upstream from the Canal Road Bridge last month.

East 1st Street

 East 1st isn't much of a street, overshadowed years ago by development. This view looks south, from Euclid Avenue.

Old Arcade

 Old Arcade, looking south towards Euclid Avenue.

Allen Theatre: Cheech and Chong

 Fifty years ago tonight, Friday, December 1, 1972 Cheech and Chong at the Allen, an interesting night to say the least.

From Scene, November 16 - 29, 1972.

From Scene, November 16 - 29, 1972.

It must have been around 3 or 4 in the afternoon when a leg of the power blew out in an electrical vault in the basement of the Bulkley Building. This meant half the lights in the theatre went dark and the Illuminating Co, said it couldn't come out until Monday to look at the problem. Since these guys were a comedy act and didn't require a ton of lights and equipment it wasn't too hard for the stage crew to work around it. However, when the circuits for some of the houselights went out, the emergency lights came on. There was no way to turn them out, at least not without big ladders. So in between jokes the crowd would chant "TURN OUT THE LIGHTS."  This also affected the soda machine; we could only sell lukewarm orange soda as a result. We were all glad when this night came to an end.

View from stage, 1971. William Gesten/Foto Arts Inc.