# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The fences are gone and folks have been strolling it for a few days now, but Cleveland's brand-new Public Square gets its official ribbon-cutting in a free public ceremony at 11:30 a.m. today.

The long renovation is officially complete.

The reviews have been good: Plain Dealer architecture critic Steven Litt's reaction has been enthusiastic, and even the New York Times just weighed in with a glowing account of the new Square and its place in a rejuvenated, ready-for-prime-time downtown Cleveland.

Cleveland.com's Dave Andersen has put together a minute-and-a-half review of the Square's history as part of his "Cleveland.com Classics" series. It's loaded with jaw-dropping archival images, most of which I hadn't seen. If you'd like a bit more detail, Gregory Deegan and James Toman's 1999 volume "The Heart of Cleveland: Public Square in the 20th Century," available at the library, is a very absorbing read with loads of vintage photography as well.

Finally, go and walk the new Public Square and see for yourself. Between the open, low-maintenance-seeming beauty of the space and the reaction of pleasant surprise on the faces of the people I found there, it seems clear that this is one piece of urban renewal an American city got right.

The 60-Second Know-It-All project is an Emmy-winning series of informational videos produced by Plain Dealer graphic and video artist William Neff, with sound design and creative collaboration from Plain Dealer photo and sound editor Jon Fobes. To follow the entire series, be sure to give our Facebook page a like!
This video contains file photography from Plain Dealer photographers Thomas Ondrey, Lonnie Timmons III and Marvin Fong and Cleveland.com photographer John Kuntz.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
It's Opening Day for the new Public Square! 60-Second Know-It-All (video)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The fences are gone and folks have been strolling it for a few days now, but Cleveland's brand-new Public Square gets its official ribbon-cutting in a free public ceremony at 11:30 a.m. today. The long renovation is officially complete.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CLEVELAND, Ohio - After playing a starring role in the Republican National Convention, the city's renovated Public Square is ready for its encore.

It's one that should last many years, as the historic, 6-acre civic space in the heart of downtown Cleveland carves out a new role for itself as a place for everything from concerts, yoga classes and CrossFit workouts to winter ice-skating and the annual downtown Christmas tree lighting, scheduled for Nov. 26.

"It's already a shining star, and I believe it has the opportunity to continue to shine, to continue to impress, and continue to be that place where our community gathers in a beautiful location," said Sanaa Julien, CEO of the square's marketing and community relations.

The $50 million renovation of Public Square, 60 percent of which was funded through corporate and foundation dollars, was completed in June, just prior to the Republican National Convention.

Julien released to The Plain Dealer a calendar (listed below) of upcoming events that begins with the Cleveland Orchestra's free " Star Spangled Spectacular" concert in the square starting Friday night at 9 p.m., and that extends deep into the fall.

The offerings include Food Truck Tuesdays, a regular series of midday concerts and yoga classes, a bocce zone, movie nights and a convening of yo-yo players on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 7:30 p.m., aimed at busting a Guinness world record.

Julien is a loaned executive from Cleveland Metroparks, where she serves as chief marketing officer, who is serving the nonprofit, city-county Group Plan Commission, which led the square's renovation.

Julien said she has planned an average of 60 events per week in the square during the summer.

"Busy is good, because a thriving public space is evidence of a strong community," she said. "The more activity public spaces have, the safer they feel, and more people feel they can come there."

She said the activity level she's trying to promote for the square also "supports the initiative of [Cleveland] Mayor Frank Jackson to create a walkable, bikeable downtown."

But Julien also said the frequency and type of events would still allow much of the space to feel like a tranquil outdoor retreat for daydreaming, sunning or reading.

"We've been conscious to make sure places stay pristine, quiet and calm at different points in time," she said. "It is a big space, and it gives us the opportunity to do things so the square can be enjoyed concurrently by different people with different needs."

Programming at the square will include arts and culture, wellness, recreation, education, new trends and emerging local businesses.

Julien said her goal is to create "a sense of community and a sense of neighborhood. People who come to events will start to know each other and find similarities in things they are doing. It will allow the community as a whole to be closer and stronger."

Funding for programming will come from sources including $3.8 million pledged so far by corporations and foundations between now and 2020, Julien said. The Group Plan Commission has a goal of raising $6.8 million for programming and maintenance at the square.

Among the grants and donations is a $50,000 federal grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, the agency that distributes proceeds from the county's 30-cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes to support the arts.

Julien said she hopes enthusiasm for the square evolves into a formal friends-of-the-square group to help oversee long-term maintenance and funding.

She also envisioned that the square could help support itself through earned income from space rentals for special events, beverage and food sales at larger events, merchandise and sponsorships.

For now, Julien oversees Public Square from an eighth-floor office in the Terminal Tower, which overlooks the space from its southwest corner.

As she looks down into the square's water feature, a shallow oval of water edged on one side with fountain sprays, she said she's entranced by the regular flow of children who lie in the water and make imaginary snow angels with their arms and legs.

"I want to be out there all day long," Julien said, "but I wouldn't get any work done."

What follows is the latest and admittedly still partial calendar of events planned for the square:
Public Square Activities
Friday, July 29

The Cleveland Orchestra's FREE Star Spangled Spectacular on Public Square, 9 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra presents its annual Star Spangled Spectacular with a fireworks finale by Pyrotechnico. Be sure to arrive early and enjoy lunch or dinner at Rebol, an Urban performance restaurant that fuels people to live productively. Grab a blanket, a bol from Rebol, and enjoy a beautiful summer afternoon on Public Square.

Saturday, July 30

Cleveland 2016 Host Committee's FREE Community Thank You Party on Public Square, 12 to 6 p.m.

There will be 10-12 Food Trucks, including (but not limited to, and subject to change):

216 Bistro, Betty's Bomb Ass Burgers, Mason's Creamery, Nelly Belly, Sweet! Mobile Cupcakery,Tour de Cleveland, Sauced Wood Fired Pizza , Off the Griddle, Umami Moto, Gyro George, Papa Nick's

We have 4 bands playing, including (with APPROX. Times):

11:30am - 12:45pm Megan Zurkey Band

1:00pm - 2:30pm Cats on Holiday

2:45pm - 4:15pm Honeybucket

4:30pm - 6:00pm The Feedbacks

Monday, Aug. 1

Tuesday, Aug. 2

Wednesday, Aug. 3

10:30 AM - 12:30 AM Kids of all ages can experiment with a variety of musical instruments provided by Cleveland Music Settlement

Thursday, August 4

10:30 AM - 1:30 PM North Union Farmers Market featuring 40 + stands, cooking demos, music;

5 - 7 PM Madison Crawl performs

Friday, Aug. 5

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM City Breaks Studio - Dancing/Dance instruction.

1:30 AM - 1:30 PM Run Avril Run Duo performs

CMA Street Performers throughout the day

8 PM - Rick Smith performs his Magic on the Speakers' Terrace. Rick Smith is a magician, World Record Playing Card Thrower, and was featured on Shark Tank.

Saturday, Aug. 6

Sunday, Aug. 7 (and every Sunday through end of October)

Aug. 8-12

11:30: AM - 1:30 PM Summer Games on The Square. Along with partner WKYC, we'll have RIOdiculous fun on Public Square. Contestants will have an opportunity to compete in a variety of Olympic-style sports, including Ring Spring and Torch Toss.

Monday, Aug. 8

Tuesday, Aug. 9

Wednesday, Aug. 10

Thursday, Aug. 11

10:30 AM - 1:30 PM North Union Farmers Market

5 - 7 PM Music

Aug. 11, 16 and Sept. 9, 24

Movie night on the Square. Enjoy a big screen experience outdoors. August 11 will feature The Lego Movie at 8 PM. Back to the Future on August 16. September 9 will feature Inside Out and September 24 features SpaceJam

Friday, Aug. 12

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Music

5 - 7 PM Music

Saturday, Aug. 13

9 AM Yoga

4 - 6 PM Music

Aug. 13 and 27

Kite Making/Flying Kids of all ages can make their own kites, fly them on the Square and take them home! Also learn about different kinds of kites.

Sunday, Aug. 14

Aug. 15, 20, 21, 24

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Adopt a Pup; Adoption event with Friends of the Cleveland Kennel and adorable adoptables! Take your puppy home right from Public Square. Not ready to take one home, come on down and cuddle for a few minutes on your lunch break.

Monday, Aug. 15

Tuesday, Aug. 16

Aug. 16 and Sept. 7

City Club Forum at Noon on Public Square. Events are free with advance registration. Pre-order lunch from Rebol or enjoy lunch from local food trucks.

Aug. 16

Movie night on the Square. Enjoy a big screen experience outdoors. Back to the Future on August 16. September 9 will feature Inside Out and September 24 features SpaceJam

Wednesday, Aug. 17

10:30 AM - 12:30 AM Kids of all ages can experiment with a variety of musical instruments provided by Cleveland Music Settlement

6 PM Yoga

Aug. 17 and 18

3 PM - 7 PM It's the official pre-party for Paul McCartney - Revolution Pie rocks The Square from

Thursday, Aug. 18

10:30 AM - 1:30 PM North Union Farmers Market

5 PM - 7 PM Music

Friday, Aug. 19

Saturday, Aug. 20

Sunday, Aug. 21

Monday, Aug. 22

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Music

4 - 6 PM Music

6 PM Yoga

Tuesday, Aug. 23

Wednesday, Aug. 24

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Adopt a Pup; Adoption event with Friends of the Cleveland Kennel and adorable adoptables! Take your puppy home right from Public Square. Not ready to take one home, come on down and cuddle for a few minutes on your lunch break.

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Music

4 - 6 PM Music

6 PM Yoga

Thursday, Aug. 25

10:30 AM - 1:30 PM North Union Farmers Market

5 PM - 7 PM Music

Friday, Aug. 26

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Music

5 PM - 7 PM Music

Saturday, Aug. 27

9 AM Yoga

10 AM Cleveland Public Library Director Felton Thomas hosts a Walk and Talk on Public Square

Sunday, Aug. 28

Monday, Aug. 29

Tuesday, Aug. 30

Wednesday, Aug. 31

7 AM - 10 AM Annual United Way Pancake Flip returns to Public Square

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Music

4 PM - 6 PM Music

6 PM Yoga

Thursday, Sept. 1

10:30 AM - 1:30 PM North Union Farmers Market

5 PM - 7 PM Music

Friday, Sept. 2

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Music

4 PM - 7 PM Music

Saturday, Sept. 3

9 AM Yoga

10 AM - Noon Miniature airplane making/flying; Stop by on your way to the Air Show and make and fly your own mini-wood airplane.

Sunday, Sept. 4

Sept. 6

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Food Truck Tuesday

Sept. 9

Cleveland Museum of Art CHALK Art CMA professional Chalk Artists will demonstrate and decorate with this washable medium. Kids are encouraged to participate in the art-making by helping decorate The Square

Movie night on the Square. Enjoy a big screen experience outdoorsSeptember 9 will feature Inside Out and September 24 features SpaceJam

Sept. 16-18

Hofbrauhaus Oktoberfest - Fall festival with food, beer and music.

Sept. 24

Movie night on the Square. September 24 features SpaceJam

September events that will continue:

Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday Yoga

Tuesdays - Food Trucks at lunchtime

Thursdays Farmers Markets (through September 30)

Browns Tailgating/Pregaming on Public Square

October events will feature Fall and Halloween Celebrations

November brings the opening of the Ice Rink on November 18, Winterfest November 26 and a MoVember Mustache Party (finalizing date).

Activities to be scheduled in coming weeks:

Crossfit WOD

Giant Game ight

Coffee and a Tip

Cornhole Tournament

Childrens Eye Health Screenings for National Eye Health Day in September

Theater Group Mini Performances

Food and Cooking Demos

Garden How-To's

Learn to Skate

Holiday Chorale Groups

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Public Square announces upcoming programs and events through Christmas tree lighting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CLEVELAND, Ohio - After playing a starring role in the Republican National Convention, the city's renovated Public Square is ready for its encore. It's one that should last many years, as the historic, 6-acre civic space in the heart of downtown Cleveland carves out a new role for itself as a place for everything from concerts, yoga classes and CrossFit workouts to winter ice-skating and the annual downtown Christmas tree lighting, scheduled for Nov.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CLEVELAND, Ohio - It's too soon for a final evaluation of the nearly finished, $50 million, 15-month renovation of Public Square.

But a visit inside the perimeter construction fence earlier this week was deeply encouraging.

It looks like the square, which is on schedule and on budget for completion in June, in time for the Republican National Convention in July, is going to be knockout beautiful and unlike any other public space in the city.

The nonprofit city-county Group Plan Commission, the civic body that has overseen the project, isn't yet ready to announce precisely when the square will open to the public, or when a formal dedication will occur.

But Jeremy Paris, the commission's executive director, said on Wednesday that more information will be in the offing soon.

This much is known:

- The Cleveland Orchestra has scheduled a July 29 concert in the square.

- The Group Plan Commission has hired Sanaa Julien of Cleveland Metroparks as a loaned executive to manage public events and branding for the square.

- The commission has raised at least $3.8 million of the $6.8 million it hopes to have for programming and maintenance.

- LAND Studio, the nonprofit landscape and public art agency that managed the renovation, will launch a temporary outdoor installation, created by the group Cracking Art of Milan, Italy.

- The National Endowment for the Arts just awarded Cuyahoga Arts and Culture a $50,000 matching grant for arts programming in the square.

As of Wednesday, the square's new concrete benches and paved walks were finished. Workers from the contracting firm of Donley's were installing the paving blocks in the square's splash zone, which can be programmed as a placid reflecting pool or as a fountain with arcing jets of water.

Elsewhere, workers were finishing the square's outdoor cafe, a one-story pavilion designed by nArchitects of New York with the Cleveland firm of Westlake Reed Leskosky.

The freshly conserved bronze statues of city founder Moses Cleaveland and early 20 th-century mayor Tom Johnson gleamed from their new respective locations at the south and north sides of the square.
Wiping away a dowdy past
As the square's future comes into focus, what's clear now is that the project should wipe from memory the previous state of the space as a collection of four crumbling traffic islands marooned amid the wide lanes of Superior Avenue and Ontario Street, the latter of which has been removed to create two large rectangular spaces divided across the middle by the now-narrower Superior Avenue.

The first impression created by the project is stunning.

Freshly planted dogwood and eastern redbud trees were in full bloom this week. All other trees, including gingkos, homestead elms, lindens, and "dura heat" birches, were planted and greening up.

The big event lawn on the north side of the square, which culminates in two hills at the northeast and northwest corners, was planted with a lush, swooping carpet of rich, green Kentucky bluegrass.

The views from the hilltops looking down onto the lawn are breathtaking, and they highlight just how radical an act it was to remove the two-block section of Ontario Street that used to cut north-south across the space.

The new Public Square symbolizes an age in which cities are reshaping urban spaces for people, not automobiles.
Unifying the square
The redesign, led by the nationally renowned landscape architecture firm of James Corner Field Operations, co-designer of the celebrated High Line Park in New York, looks as if it will accomplish much of what it set out to do for the historic, 6-acre civic space in the heart of downtown Cleveland.

The biggest impression is that the square, once dominated by traffic and carved into meaningless, unattractive quadrants, now feels like a single, unified space.

Whether it will continue to feel that way once buses start cruising east and west on Superior Avenue is open to question.

But it's clear that the northern and southern halves of the reconfigured square create a palpable sense of flow across the bisecting avenue.

One key to the unification is that the concrete pebble aggregate paving of the avenue and its flanking sidewalks and plazas match each other, reducing the interruption created by the avenue.
Perimeter walk
The same effect is achieved by the square's perimeter walk, which is shaped in plan like the wings of a butterfly, and which appears to flow across the avenue at the narrow waist of the design.

The walk, paved with granite blocks laid in a beautiful "running arc" pattern, resembles a mosaic made of overlapping fans.

As you walk the sinuous pathway, named for KeyBank Foundation, one of the principal private donors to the project, you're enveloped by spaces both intimate and grand.

At points, the pathway narrows and is embraced by beds that have yet to be planted with floral varieties such as fox tail lily, Siberian iris, coral reef bee balm, white wild indigo and prairie dropseed.

Even though the beds have yet to be planted, the feel of the walkway in its narrower sections is cozy and embracing. At other points, the perimeter walk opens up to create a sense of grandeur and spaciousness.

All along the way, the walk is framed by precast concrete benches designed by Corner's firm with sweeping, space-age curves that mark the square as very much a 21 st-century design concept.
New vistas of architecture
Also terrific is that the square frames new perspectives on surrounding buildings, some of the tallest, most important and most beautiful in the city, including the Terminal Tower and Key Tower.

The unification of the square as an urban space accentuates the reality that the open space on the northwest side of the square, where the late developer Richard Jacobs had once hoped to build the Ameritrust skyscraper, looks like a terrible gash in the city fabric.

Of course, the creation of a spectacular new outdoor space in the heart of downtown should raise property values and encourage additional development, perhaps even something that would fill the ugly gap created by the old Ameritrust site, now a surface parking lot.

At the very least, the completion of the square raises a question over whether the Starbucks in the Key Tower lobby should move from its dark inside corner south to the side of the building facing the square, where outdoor seating could spill onto the sidewalk.

Other buildings around the square may wish to consider similar moves.

Of the $50 million spent on the square's makeover, $37 million came from public sources, private foundations and corporations for design and construction of the surface landscape, and $13 million came from public and private sources for underground utility work.

If managed well by the city-county Group Plan Commission, and if programmed with events year-round and patrolled to keep it safe, the square has a chance to become a true central park for the city and a key connection between and among the downtown districts around it.

That's something that could create a deeply positive impression as Cleveland gets ready to host the Republican convention.

More important, the new square has the potential to improve life in the city for all residents, downtown workers and visitors for decades to come.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
First look: Nearly finished Public Square renovation looks spectacular (photos)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CLEVELAND, Ohio - It's too soon for a final evaluation of the nearly finished, $50 million, 15-month renovation of Public Square. But a visit inside the perimeter construction fence earlier this week was deeply encouraging.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The summer of 2016 was an exciting time for Cleveland, a transformed Public Square, a project led by LAND studio for more than a decade, opened in June as thousadns of new people were welcomed to the city for the Republican National Convention.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Public Square - Two Centuries of Transformation | Cleveland Historical

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Laid out by Moses Cleaveland's surveying party in 1796 in the tradition of the New England village green, Public Square marked the center of the Connecticut Land Company's plan for Cleveland and, soon, a ceremonial space for the growing city. In 1856, Cleveland's first fountain was constructed on the square.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Formally dedicated in 1930 following over four years of extensive demolition, excavation, and construction, the Cleveland Union Terminal centralized the city's passenger rail service and gave Cleveland a signature landmark, the 52-story, 708-foot tall Terminal Tower. The Union Terminal project was conceived by brothers Oris P. and Mantis J.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Soldiers and Sailors Monument | Cleveland Historical

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Amid the busy streets of downtown Cleveland stands the Soldiers and Sailors' Monument, built to honor the 10,000 Cuyahoga county residents who fought in the Civil War. Almost fifteen years after Major William J. Gleason first suggested the idea of honoring the bravery of these local Union soldiers, the monument was finally dedicated on July 4, 1894.