Saturday, December 1, 2007

Positively Cleveland, Ohio


Christmas Story House Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The Christmas Story House opened in 2006 and has been restored to the way it looked in the 1983 movie. It is just one of the many places that makes Cleveland, Ohio a fun destination. Cleveland has music, art, and sports galore. Truly something for the whole family.

1. You’ll shoot your eye out! A major portion of the movie was filmed at the house now known as the Christmas Story House. Across the street the museum highlights some of the favorite episodes from the film and the museum shop sells the Leg Lamp, Red Ryder B-B Gun, and Lifebouy soap. Open all year. www.achristmasstoryhouse.com

2. The Cleveland sound: One-time Cleveland disc jockey, Alan Freed, is widely credited with coining the term of "rock and roll." Today the city is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where a multi-media presentation features the honorees and their music that range from Elvis Presley to Black Sabbath. www.rockhall.com

3. It is all relative: "Blink your eyes." In the time it takes you to blink, light has traveled two times around the world. Amazing! And so is the Great Lakes Science Center where visitors learn about the Theory of Relativity, the human body, and exploring all phases of flight. www.glsc.org
4. The Thinker: The Museum of Art has one of six statues of Rodin’s The Thinker. The feet are missing due to a bomb attack in 1970. The museum is in the midst of a massive building project. Currently Impressionist and Modern Masters from the museum’s collection are on display. http://www.clevelandart.org/

5. Celebrate Life: The spiny desert of Madagascar with the strange-looking baobab tree and the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica with the strangler fig tree topped with a canopy viewing platform are just two diverse aspects of the Botanical Gardens. www.cbgarden.org

6. Know thyself: From our position in the vastness of the universe to a Field Guide to Humans, the Museum of Natural History unravels life of the present, past, and future. Stop by to say "Hello" to the famous Alaskan sled dog, Balto, and Happy, the 70-foot-long Haplocanthosaurus delfsi. www.cmnh.org

7. A lucky dime: Founded in 1869, and modeled after the great garden cemeteries of Victorian England, Lake View Cemetery is the final resting place of the 20th President of the United States, James A. Garfield and his wife. Leave a dime on the John D. Rockefeller monument in the hope of personal financial success. www.lakeviewcemetery.com

8. A smorgasbord: Stop by the West Side Market for a cup of coffee with a yummy eclair or a falafel with tabouli. The historic West Side Market opened nearly 100 years ago. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, there many new treats to savor. www.westsidemarket.com

9. Be a sport: Sports is huge in Cleveland! Football fans cheer for the Cleveland Browns at their namesake lakeside stadium. Jacobs Field is the home field of the Cleveland Indians. The Quicken Loan Arena is the place to watch NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the AHL hockey team, the Lake Erie Monsters.

10. Architectural treasures: From the palatial grandeur of The Arcade, America’s first indoor shopping mall built in 1890 to St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral with its onion domes and ornate interior the architectural treasures are many. Take an architectural tour with http://www.cityprowl.com/.

Explore Cleveland’s connection to the lake by taking a cruise, visit the museum steamship, the William G. Mather, and the WW-II U.S.S. COD Submarine Memorial. For more to see and do visit www.positivelycleveland.com
or call 800-321-1004.