The Arcade, Cleveland

Monday
This morning we did some of the sights of Cleveland itself, starting with Saint Stanislaus Cathedral which is in the area known as Slavic village. The Shrine of Saint Stanislaus is dedicated to St. Stanislaus, the bishop, martyr, and patron of Poland. It represents the history of the Polish community in Cleveland, Ohio since the mid 1800s. By the 1870s, the community was growing rapidly as Polish workers were being brought to Cleveland to work in the steel industry. The current large brick Gothic cruciform design dates back to the 1890s. The interior of the church is beautiful with nearly two dozen stained glass windows, several statues, frescoed walls, and plaster engravings.
Then we drove into the centre and just started walking around. We headed first for Public Square, a focal point of the city, and the location of Clevelands three tallest buildings , but also home to Old Stone Church, which dates back to 1884 and houses three beautiful Tiffany stained glass windows and beautiful woodwork.The square has recently undergone a major renovation, completed just last year, and is now a wonderful space with grassy areas and fountains for kids to run about in on a hot day. On the way we had passed the Cleveland Central Public library, a beautiful old classical building, and a striking modern addition, with a wonderful little reading garden between.
Next, we headed down to the waterfront to the iconic Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame building, though we didn't bother going inside as we thought it was rather pricey. Then it was back up to downtown where we found a great Vietnamese restaurant for lunch. After lunch we went in search of the magnificent arcade shown in my blip. Taking its inspiration from the Galleria Vittorio Emanuel II located in Milan, the Arcade comprises two nine-story towers with a glass roof 100 feet high, made of 1,800 panes of glass spanning over 300 feet. The construction was financed by John D. Rockefeller, Marcus Hanna, Charles F. Brush and several other wealthy Clevelanders of the day, and was opened on Memorial Day 1890. Since 2001 the Arcade has been occupied by the Hyatt Regency hotel, which occupies the two towers and the top three floors of the atrium area. The two lower floors of the atrium area remain open to the public with retail merchants and a food court. It's a  wonderful sight to see from a historical and architectural viewpoint, but unfortunately from what I've read there isn't much life there from a shopping point of view. It was pretty dead when we were there, but then it was the Monday before July 4th, so the whole downtown area was pretty quiet. I must admit I was very impressed with downtown Cleveland - it's obviously undergone quite a transformation in recent years.
After this, we had been planning on visiting the Botanical Gardens just across from our hotel, but unfortunately we had realized at lunchtime that it was closed on Mondays, so instead we headed out of the city to Lake Erie Bluffs metro park and did some walking, enjoying the fine views over the lake.
One year ago: Rocher du Vert Galant