By Josh Usmani
As we say goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014, it’s clear throughout town that change is in the air.
Nowhere is this more apparent than Hingetown. If you’ve never heard of Hingetown, you’re not alone, but it’s quickly becoming one of the most active and exciting parts of Cleveland. In our ongoing effort to highlight our fine, local entrepreneurs, we’ve compiled a special introduction to the various inhabitants of Cleveland’s fastest growing neighborhood. These businesses are perfect examples of Cleveland’s industrious spirit.
Hingetown is a neighborhood inside a neighborhood. Located just miles from Downtown, Hingetown is part of Ohio City. Its residents include an art museum, coffee shop, florist and will soon include a local music-centered bar, a juice bar and more. This tight-knit community is quickly establishing a presence as a destination attraction with both locals and out-of-town visitors.
At the heart of Hingetown’s momentum is the Transformer Station. The historic building was built in 1924, and first served as one of 16 substations for the Cleveland Railway Company. This unique cultural institution is the creation of Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell and their Bidwell Foundation.
The Bidwell’s art collection includes over two decades of contemporary photography. They pride themselves in collecting artists at the beginning or middle of their career, rather than focusing on long-established artists. Transformer Station continues its quest of uncovering and supporting fresh, innovative talent – locally, nationally and internationally.
Six months out of the year the venue serves as a satellite location for collaborative exhibitions with the Cleveland Museum of Art – where Fred Bidwell currently serves as interim director. The museum plans to use the space as a laboratory of sorts – a “think tank” for cutting edge ideas and new media – a place where the museum and artists can take risks together.
This month, they present a new, collaborative exhibition of Hank Willis Thomas’ exquisite, socially-conscious work. Willis is an award-winning, world class artist. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see his work in Cleveland.
“We are very excited to be part of the revitalization of Hingetown,” says Danielle Meeker, Gallery Manager at the Transformer Station. “Transformer Station opened its doors in early 2013 with a mission to bring original contemporary art exhibitions, events and programming from around the world to Cleveland.
“In a unique private/public collaboration, founders and photography collectors Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell share the exhibition schedule with the Cleveland Museum of Art, giving it a footprint on Cleveland’s west side for the first time in its history. The creative reinvention of a historic transformer station as a contemporary art museum, free and open to the public, has helped to anchor the emerging neighborhood and inspire new business and residential building projects, transforming an area troubled by vacancies into a closely-knit community.”
Earlier this week, a friend asked if I’d like to meet up for coffee. I love coffee, so I asked where he’d like to go. His first choice was Rising Star Coffee Roasters in Hingetown. He didn’t know I was working on this article. “I’m not even a coffee snob,” he said. “But their coffee is REALLY good.”
Indeed, you don’t have to be a coffee snob to appreciate the quality at Rising Star. Their cozy space makes you immediately feel right at home. The coffee, however, is the star. You know those pictures you see online of “coffee art” — baristas drawing images into the foam on top of cups of coffee? Well, you can get your own delicious work of art at Rising Star. If you want to start your morning off right, stop into Rising Star soon. You’ll be glad you did.
Urban Orchid is the city’s most unique florist. Their retail space is a hybrid of a floral shop and a specialty boutique. This upscale shop specializes in custom wedding, event and every day floral needs, as well as gift items produced by local artists.
“In 2012 we were looking for a larger retail space for our growing business,” says owners Jeffery Zelmer and Brandon Sitler. “We chose to relocate to the Hingetown neighborhood based on the wonderful space we found in the Ohio City Firehouse Building and the potential we saw for the area to become a great shopping destination. Since we opened the customer traffic has been excellent. In addition to being a full service floral shop we also carry a wide array of gifts and art — all made by local artisans. Our customers really enjoy locally made goods.”
“We are busy as usual this Holiday making fanciful wreaths and centerpieces and our floral cases are overflowing with all flowers from traditional to tropical,” they continue. “We have restocked all of our best selling artisan gifts featuring jewelry, t-shirts, cards, books and home decor items. If you are looking for unique Holiday gifts come visit Hingetown and stop in and check us out.”
Their holiday hours are Mon-Fri 9am-6pm and Saturdays 9am-2pm (closed Sundays). Stop in today for your last-minute, locally-made holiday gifts!
The future of Hingetown sure looks bright. One of 2014’s “coming attractions” will be JUKEBOX – a music-centered neighborhood tavern. While the official opening date is still unknown, this promises to be a great addition to Ohio City’s thriving community of bars and restaurants. The JUKEBOX aims to create a unique experience for its guests.
“The physical jukebox will be a constantly evolving music library that aims to embody Cleveland’s Rock ‘n Roll identity – celebrating Hall of Fame musicians of the past while looking to the future,” explains owner Alex Budin. “The catalog will feature new releases, old favorites, rarities, and more, evolving monthly [to] include fresh choices and customer suggestions. A menu, or ‘JUKEBOOK,’ will be available for customers to peruse band details, album descriptions & JUKEBOX suggestions before they make their selection. Drinks will feature rotating craft drafts, quality cocktails and select wines.
“Additionally, we have been putting out weekly ‘Listen Lists’ to highlight the music that will eventually shape the jukebox catalog (posted weekly to Facebook & Spotify),” continues Budin. “Our hope is not only to provide music suggestions for our future customers, but create a platform to solicit their opinions as to what Clevelanders want to hear in the jukebox — creating an interactive jukebox experience.”
The Beet Jar will be another new resident in early 2014. Owners Joseph Joseph and Molly Pamela are aiming for an opening within 2 months. They are also local musicians in the band Cereal Banter, and Molly is a spatial artist as well. The Beet Jar will offer an all-vegan, all-organic menu of cold-pressed juices, cashew mylks, raw food items, gluten-free desserts and fermented goods.
“Each business in Hingetown is part of a larger notion of what the neighborhood will offer,” says owner Joseph. “It will be a destination — a place to hang out and enjoy coffee, tea, juice, mylk, or beer, indulge with shopping, and engage in art openings and special events with new faces.
“From a neighborhood aspect,” he continues. “It will service some areas helpful to nearby residents; holistic dog-care needs [Ohio City Dog Haven] and offer spinning classes [Harness Cycle]. Plus, with all these businesses opening and having different hours — Hingetown will be more active from early morning into the night. The pre-existing businesses in Hingetown have done a phenomenal job at driving foot traffic and keeping things lively until we open.”
Spend a day in Hingetown soon and see for yourself what makes this a very special part of Cleveland.
Josh Usmani is a 27 year old local artist, curator and writer. Since 2008, his work has been featured in over 50 local and regional exhibitions.