I’ve decided to break my silence — sort of. A friend recently said they missed my commentary alongside my photos on Instagram and it got me thinking about opening up Memories of Geographies to that. I still want this space to be about the photos and to let them breath on their own, but it might be nice to add some thoughts, and context, not just for viewers but for myself as something to look back on. I’m going to start with a few paragraphs at the beginning of my photo posts and see how that goes. Might change things up or scrap it and go back to pure photos only again. I already edited my Detroit post with a handful of paragraphs that you should check out if you’ve got a few minutes. And if you have any thoughts, one way or the other, about this commentary, leave it below — I want to foster more of a community with viewers.
Ok, so, Cleveland. It’s perhaps one of the few cities I’ve visited that I thought I’d like a lot more. Usually, I have a hunch if I might not love a place, but Cleveland was a genuine surprise. It’s not like I hated it, but compared to Detroit and Pittsburgh (the other cities I visited on this US trip), it just didn’t resonate.
I think the main thing was that the vibes were off. Cleveland felt weirdly aggressive compared to the other Rust Belt cities I’ve been to. It didn’t have the same friendliness, people yelled at me, the bus blares back video surveillance at you like you’re a criminal, and even an Uber driver was like “why didn’t you go to Chicago instead?” Cleveland in general felt like a lesser version of Detroit, like if you sucked all of the coolness out of Detroit.
Still, it wasn’t all bad. I spent an hour in the Cleveland Arcade and was stuck wondering how it isn’t full of premier retail. The Museum of Art is both amazing and free. Ohio City is gorgeous. So is Olmsted Falls, but in more of an eery All-American Get Out way. The proliferation of waterfalls reminded me of Hamilton, while the windy freeways through lush ravines reminded me of the DVP in Toronto. The Red Line is extremely handy, too, much more so than the Detroit equivalents.
I don’t have many other thoughts, so let’s get on with the photos:
Definitely appreciate the couple paragraphs in the beginning and interesting to hear about Cleveland in comparison to other cities. Interesting little tableau of the Uber driving asking you why didn’t you go to Chicago.
Anyways always appreciate your photography. Funny enough the supermarket aisle with the tiling on the bottom caught my eye. And then the one after that left me with the thought that rust belt cities, even more than a place like Winnipeg, are really cities whose golden ages have come and gone. I could be wrong but that is just the sense I got.