Updated: date
Published: NOVEMBER 2025
‘The Land’ that has reinvented itself
Exploring Cleveland: entertaining, educational…and delicious
By STUART NULMAN
Writing from Cleveland, Ohio
Every music fan should make a pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime to Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an amazing geometric pyramid structure of glass and metal on the Lake Erie waterfront that houses a pantheon dedicated to the history of rock music.
During a recent visit to the spectacular museum which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2025, I began my tour on Level 1, the Ahmet Ertegun Main Exhibit Hall named after the legendary founder of Atlantic Records. (It’s the label that represented such Hall of Famers as Ray Charles and Led Zeppelin.) This exhibit is the nucleus of the Hall of Fame containing rare artifacts that salute rock pioneers and legends, as well as their cities and sounds (i.e. Motown). Its cornerstone is a salute to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
It sent chills down my spine and left a lump in my throat as I stared up close at the instruments played by these legends and viewed personal keepsakes such as the drawings of Stuart Sutcliffe, the artist who was a close friend of John Lennon and was the Beatles first "bassist" before he left the band in 1961 to pursue an art career. In fact, Sutcliffe is often referred to as the “Fifth Beatle”.
Level 2 of the museum houses “The Garage”, an interactive exhibit divided into separate stations featuring the main musical instruments used by garage bands which formed the root of many famous rock bands and their stars. Every station – one each for guitar, bass, keyboards and drums – offers visitors a choice of instruments to play, as well as short, easy-to -follow video tutorials. You are then afforded a chance to display your quickly learned musical skills to the accompaniment of a selection of rock tunes.
Level 3 is the actual pantheon where etched glass panels of each Hall of Famer are displayed in chronological order of induction, along with videos where visitors can watch the acceptance speeches made by each inductee during the annual ceremony or concert. (Check out Paul McCartney's emotional speech delivered to honour John Lennon's posthumous solo induction in 1994.) There is a separate exhibition honoring each year's new Hall of Fame inductees, such as Peter Frampton, Cher, and the late Jimmy Buffet – all inducted on October 19, 2024.
“The Beat Lab” on Level 4 gives visitors the opportunity to become a record producer creating their own sound using technical tricks of the trade. Level 5 continues the Legends of Rock exhibition by saluting the current crop of music stars such as Taylor Swift and Alicia Keys who will eventually become inductees. Level 6 is dedicated to a temporary exhibition that focuses on a single inductee. During my visit, that space saluted Jon Bon Jovi, who celebrated the 40th anniversary of his band in 2023.
Rock’s greatest music video
The pièce de résistance of my visit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was a short 12-minute video titled, ‘The Power of Rock Experience’. Directed by the late Oscar-winning film director and producer Jonathan Demme, it is a pulse-pounding, adrenalin-pumping salute to the once-in-a-lifetime all-star concerts that immediately follow each annual induction ceremony.
The museum has built a theatre concert setting with surround sound and massive screens so that the visitor is enveloped in this musical spectacular saluting the greatest names in rock music as played by one of the most impressive lineups of rock music legends. It climaxes on a grand scale with an unforgettable solo guitar performance by Prince. Believe me, your senses will never be the same after you experience this greatest 12 minutes of live rock music!
Aside from the fact that it was a Cleveland-based disc jockey named Alan Freed who coined the phrase “rock 'n' roll” in 1954, Cleveland boasts other historical distinctions. It was the first American city to be lit by electricity (1879) and the first to use an electric traffic signal (1914); it built one of the first indoor shopping malls in 1890 called The Arcade which features an impressive glass skylight; and it offers the historic West Side Market that has been operating as a public market since 1912.
Cleveland was also one of the first major industrial hubs of the U.S. starting in 1830 and continuing into the mid-20th century generating its growth through the iron, steel, and oil industries which established its reputation as a “blue-collar town” in what was initially known as the “Steel Belt”. By the 1970s and 80s, the industrial term for the region had morphed into "Rust Belt" referring to the decay of abandoned factories in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and New York caused by foreign competition, labour conflicts, and shifts to a service-based economy.
Ironically, it was a 1969 fire caused by a pollution-induced oil slick on the Cuyahoga River bisecting Cleveland that became a national symbol of environmental pollution in the Great Lakes and was a catalyst for President Richard Nixon to create the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and for Congress to pass the Clean Water Act of 1972.
While the decline of its traditional manufacturing base continued to accelerate in the 70s and 80s, Cleveland’s economy diversified during the next two decades into new sectors such as finance, biomedical engineering and healthcare, with hospitals and universities becoming primary employers. Between 2010 and 2025, there has been a focus on technology expansion with growth in software development, data centres, and tech startups.
Today, Cleveland boasts a vibrant mix of culture, arts, and innovation: the local vibe is described as a blend of the traditional work ethic and new opportunities with major downtown development projects such as the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex joining the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as tourist attractions.
The Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex includes stadiums for two of Cleveland’s professional sports teams: Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Guardians, one of the oldest baseball teams (previously known as the Indians) in the American League; and Rocket Arena, home to the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team.
I was lucky enough to take in an exciting game between the Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. It provided all the usual NBA bells and whistles including acrobatics by NBA Mascot of the Year, ‘Moondog’. Donovan Mitchell, one of the popular home team players, was dazzling, scoring two three-pointers within 10 seconds. The final score was 128-107, which meant another ‘W’ in the win column for the Cavaliers...and free McDonald's french fries for the lucky fans!
Rounding out their claim to fame as a major sports town, Cleveland’s NFL franchise, the Browns, boast one of the most die-hard fan bases with east end zone Sections 118-122 known as the ‘Dawg Pound’ where loud, exuberant fans wearing dog masks bark their relentless support during home games.
As I made my way from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to my downtown hotel, I discovered that Cleveland's residents – as exemplified by my Uber driver, Steve – have loving devotion to their home town that goes way beyond the expression "civic pride". As he turned the corner on Euclid Avenue, Steve proudly pointed out the intersection near the hotel used as a shooting location for an installment of The Avengers franchise and for the 2025 Superman movie.
Superman’s Canadian connection
Speaking of Superman, there is an interesting connection between The Man of Steel and Canada! Joe Shuster is the Canadian artist who in the 1930s co-created Superman with American writer Jerry Siegel while both were attending Glenville High School in Cleveland. Shuster had moved with his family from Toronto to Cleveland at age 9.
Shuster said he modeled the skyline of Superman's fictional city, Metropolis, on his fond memories of Toronto. His inspiration for the Daily Planet (where Superman alter ego Clark Kent worked) was the Toronto Star, a daily newspaper that Shuster delivered as a boy in Canada.
With its diverse history and culture, is it any wonder that Cleveland residents have adopted ‘The Land’ as their city’s nickname? – a play on the name ‘Cleve-land’ first adopted in the early 1990s by the city’s underground hip-hop scene. The nickname became a fixture beyond the music scene when basketball superstar and Ohio native LeBron James helped lead the Cavaliers to an NBA championship in 2016.
That same year (2016), Cleveland native Steven Caple Jr. directed an independent film titled ‘The Land’ which further cemented the nickname in local culture and media. Various local businesses and organizations have gone on to adopt the sobriquet as part of their branding and marketing.
The hotel which served as home base during by weekend stay was the Crowne Plaza Cleveland, a charming hotel located in the heart of Playhouse Square – the city’s theatre district that resembles a piece cut out of New York's Broadway and plunked into downtown Cleveland.
I received a pleasant surprise courtesy of hotel management which upgraded me to the "Chandelier Suite", a large corner ensemble with a marvelous view of the Playhouse Square district with its massive GE Chandelier suspended 24 feet over the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street. Dedicated in 2014, it is the largest outdoor chandelier in the world – weighing 8,500 pounds, standing 20 feet tall with support from a 44-foot high structure, and decorated with over 4,200 crystals.
The GE Chandelier also has a Canadian connection. It was built by Montreal lighting manufacturer Lumid Inc. and designed by its president, Dominique Alary, who made sure the chandelier was ready for the winter winds of Cleveland!
My hotel was also just a short walk away from the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, housing both Progressive Field (home of the Cleveland Guardians) and Rocket Arena (home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League).
But before watching a game, visiting sports fans should make it a point to gormandize a pre-game meal at nearby Mabel's BBQ, which offers a tasty menu of BBQ dishes inspired by the Eastern European cuisine reflecting the heritage of many Cleveland residents. Its selection of meats are cured and smoked over local fruitwood, giving it an authentic, unique (only-in-Cleveland) BBQ taste that rivals the BBQ-style cooking of Texas, Tennessee, and Kansas.
Whether you decide to dine at one of the restaurant's many communal picnic tables or at the bar, Mabel's choice of brisket, kielbasa, and pork ribs – with its smokehouse atmosphere – certainly lives up to the exhortation boldly proclaimed on its large neon sign: ‘Eat More Meat’. I did my part by feasting on a plate of BBQ brisket, replete with mustard and ketchup-based BBQ sauces with sides of Tony Packo's brand pickles and Cleveland Kraut (a brand of lacto-fermented sauerkraut known for its live probiotics and bold flavour). The brisket? Tender and fall-off-the-bone texture with a delicious, smoky flavour. Need I say more?
There is also a wide selection of Ohio-based craft brews. If you can't decide which beer to choose, management provides a complimentary two-ounce sample to help in your final choice.
For dessert, I highly recommend Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream. Since its establishment by two brothers in 1999, Mitchell's now boasts nine locations in northeastern Ohio, with the Cleveland location on 25th Street serving as its flagship shop. As an added bonus, the 25th Street location – which is housed in a century old building that was once a theatre – also contains the company's kitchen where customers can view batches of handcrafted ice cream being made using natural, organic ingredients from both Ohio farms, as well as from as far away as the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Madagascar, South America, Vietnam, and Brazil…to name a few sources.
Mitchell’s offers a year-round choice of seasonal flavours that you won't find in your average ice cream shop or grocer's freezer, such as Autumn Caramel Apple, Cuyahoga Valley Crunch, Wildberry Crumble, Toasted Pistachio, Dark Roast Coffee, Bing Cherry Chocolate Chunk. My favorite? Coffee Chocolate Chunk!
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Author’s Note: A special thank-you to Debbie Pappadakes and Abby Keefe from Destination Cleveland for making this trip possible. For more information about what Cleveland offers as a tourist destination, you can visit destinationcle.org.