Monday, September 3, 2012

Whiskey Island - Cleveland

So yesterday, I went down to the Cleveland Air Show with my dad.  Well, we didn't quite make it to the air show because it looked like parking was going to be a pain.  So I looked at the map of Cleveland for spots where we could see the Air Show and settled upon Whiskey Island.
 Whiskey Island turned out to be a pretty nice place to view the Air Show as it was right on the water and right in front of the approach path for the Airport.
 Another nice feature of Whiskey Island was the train bridge right behind it.  It was fairly busy, so I got myself some good train pictures.
 But the best part of watching the Show from here was the Coast Guard Station.  After seeing pictures of this on another blog, I've wanted to go to Cleveland to get my own pictures.  This is the former boathouse.  Thia looks like it used to be a nice looking building that has fallen into disrepair.
 Even got a little bit of an air show from nature.
 The main part of the Coast Guard Station.  It is in desrepair but it looks like it's been given some love lately.  The paint looked almost fresh.  The building itself was built in 1940 and was designed by J. Milton Dyer.  He also designed a number of other buildings in Cleveland.
 I kind of like the Art Deco feel to the building, although it's not quite as Art Deco as some of the buildings in Detroit.
 This looks like it could have been a lighthouse at one time but I think it was just an observation tower.
 A closeup of the tower.  You can see hints of grafitti on the glass.
 As I said, there were a few trains that passed by.  If I could have gotten a plane picture over this, I could have hit my trifecta.
 Another train.
 And another.
 The station was abandoned by the Coast Guard in 1976 when they moved to another part of Cleveland.  In 1984, there was a disco here but it never really took off because people had to get there by water taxi.
 In 2003, the City of Cleveland bought the station and the lands for $1 and have since started to convert it to a park.
 Like I said, I think they have been showing some love based on other pictures I've seen.
 Looking up at the tower.
 Another view of the station.
 Another view of the Railroad Bridge.  Apparently, the path to the right was closed for some time.  Now it is open.
 Part of the bay.
 Another view of the boathouse.  There used to be another boathouse to the right but that is now gone.
 Some of the driftwood on the beach.  I'm guessing with some love, this could be pretty nice too.
One more view of the facility.  I hope that they can do some more restoration to it but somehow I doubt it.

No comments: