Jax Stumpes: Christmas in Cleveland (12/24/2016)

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Christmas in Cleveland (12/24/2016)

Saturday, December 24, 2016
Brynne had to work today, but only until noon. We had lunch at Balaton Restaurant in Shaker Square. Kent decided to have a light lunch with the Wiener Schnitzel sandwich:

The photo does not do justice to the 12" x 5" slab of breaded veal!

We took the Cleveland RTA rapid train to go downtown. Here are earlier photos of some of the 2016 Inter|Urban mural projects along the rail route.

The start of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
(2016) by Jasper Wong (9/9/2016)

From left to right: Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade (2016)
by Osman Muhammad; 5 Dollar Bill (2016) by Katy Kosman;
The End (2016) by Amber Esner; The Rain (2016) by Darius Steward

The muralists sought inspiration from themes inspired by the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, which celebrates authors of literary works dealing with social justice and the celebration of diversity and the people of all cultures and backgrounds. The project was completed in time for the Republican National Committee Convention in July 2016. Can we hope that many delegates even saw the murals, much less appreciated them?

Left is Sophie Climbing the Stairs (2016) by Aaron de la Cruz; and
right is The Atom and Hawkman Discuss Metaphysics (2016) by Nosego

On the pillars is The Danger of a Single Story (2016) by Ellen Rutt
and on the far wall is The Boat (2016) by Brendan Monroe

We de-trained in Terminal Tower and were able to walk directly into the JACK Casino (former Horseshoe Casino). The Casino is located in the former Higbee's department store (1929) that is featured in the movie A Christmas Story. Higbee's was founded in 1860, and moved to the Terminal Tower when the Van Sweringen brothers acquired it. Several owners later, it became Dillard's in 1992 and closed in 2002. The Horseshoe Casino Cleveland opened in 2012, and was renamed JACK Casino after a management change in 2016.
In the last five years, Christmas at Higbee's has been recreated in the casino.

Brynne and Kent with the original
Higbee's Christmas tree

A Higbee's Christmas display over the main entrance

A Christmas Story slot machine

This year the Higbee's arches were re-created and decorated

The original Higbee's Christmas bells

All the original Higbee's Christmas decorations were found in storage within the building.

A new twist, the leg lamps as in A Christmas Story

Another Higbee's Christmas dispaly over the back entrance

The side escalator decorations

Father Winter in the Vintage 51 bar of the casino

Outside, a few of the windows had Higbee's Christmas window displays, but the glare made it impossible to photograph. They were in the style of the display over the main entrance.

The Public Square entrance to the Terminal Tower

The main entrance to Higbee's/JACK Casino

Sign on the Higbee's building

This window displays the Red Ryder
BB Gun that Ralphie coveted after seeing
it in the Higbee's window,
in A Christmas Story

Other windows were decorated by area businesses, sports teams, etc.

The Christmas tree (a 45-foot tall blue spruce
from Brunswick, OH) in Public Square

The fountain in Public Square is now a skating rink

Public Square was redesigned and opened in June 2016, again in time for the RNC Convention. The original four quadrants were combined into one park.
Here are earlier photos of the new Public Square.

A Cracking Art sparrow in front of
the Old Stone Church (1858) (9/9/2016)

More sparrows facing northwest in Public Square (9/9/2016)

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, a statue of Tom Johnson, and a statue of Moses Cleaveland are remainders of the previous Public Square.

Statue of Mayor Tom L Johnson (1915), who began his tenure in 1901
and represented the ideals of the Progressive for three terms (9/9/2016)

Statue of Moses Cleaveland (1887,
by GC Hamilton), who surveyed the land of the
Western Reserve and in 1796 decided that
this spot would be the capital of the new territory