Even uglier in person
Along Cleveland Metroparks' Towpath trail, between the steel mill and the river, we went to walk the final portion of this 101 mile trail, at its northern point. Last year, there was placed railroad equipment as a sitting stop. Next to it a large multi-unit residency complex was going up. We, then, did not see the final outside of the building. On June 10th, it was partly occupied. The shock of seeing this dystopian architecture was jarring. Guessing this new space was too pricey to begin with, it was just too damn ugly and nightmarish. A lot of new housing is popping up on Cleveland's near west side. Quick fast profit is the concern of the "developers". If everything was just brick, it would be better looking, and less models and sketches could be made. Yet, no matter how ugly it is it will be vigorously, even aggressively defended. A chief argument is always "money rules", of course other words favored by unregulated capitalism will be used instead. I saw on social media a very similar foto. The poster wondered, how did this get past the city planners.
The next day, we were walking our hounds in Avon, and saw this quote of Eric Sevareid on a sign. Once when CBS Evening News was great. Walter Cronkite was the main news reader, Dan Rather would report from around the world, Charles Kuralt would be on the road with personal interest stories, and there were other fine reporters. Sevareid would read his commentary as the final piece of the night. I enjoyed his voice. He was one of Ed Murrow's Boys who covered the War against Fascism in Europe.
“With breathtaking rapidity we are destroying all that was lovely to look at and turning America into a prison house of the spirit....The affluent society with relentless single-minded energy is turning our cities, most of suburbia and most of our roadways into the most affluent slum on earth.” — Eric Sevareid 1964
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