This was the second section run of the West Boulevard neighborhood.
The boundary for this run was Denison Ave (north) to Brooklyn Township (south and east) to West Boulevard (west).
Distance This Section: 11.4 miles
Distance So Far: 376.7 miles
Strava - Run 1 l Strava - Run 2
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| Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park (9801 Walford Ave) is part of the Walford Industrial Park. As the story goes, Ray Petro opened the original Cleveland location in the second half of 2004 out of frustration of not being able to ride during the cold winters. He invested his life savings of $50,000 and also used a $25,000 loan to fund startup costs. Every year, Ray's revamps its trails. Replacing aging features with new structures or simply redirecting traffic to approach lines from a new perspective. The track is open from October through May and features "the world’s longest indoor mountain bike trail inside of the world’s first indoor mountain bike park". Here's a great video tour. |
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| Mercedes Cotner Park (3521 W. 95th) is a small park at the end of W. 95th and next to a rough looking couple of industrial buildings. But it's well kept and even has a pool! Not what you'd expect to find in this park of the neighborhood. A little oasis of sorts. It's named after Mercedes Cotner who was the Cleveland City Council clerk for more than twenty-five years and the first woman to fill that position. She was also the first Democrat woman to run for mayor of Cleveland. |
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| Walford Industrial Park (9805 Walford Ave) is a massive, 10-building, 625,000 sq. ft., 26.9 acre facility. It was formerly the site of the Industrial Rayon Corporation which was established in 1916 and made the first man-made fiber which was produced from cellulose derived from wood chips. It is presently home to a number of industrial, warehousing and other users. |
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| A biker hitting the ramps inside Ray's |
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| James P. Dunphy Park (3743 West Blvd) is a 4.3 acre park built in 1979 and is a hot spot for Little League baseball games. |
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| This memorial at the corner of Walford Ave & West Blvd is dedicated to 4 firefighters who lost their lives on the site in 1966 |
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| Tree canopy flex on West Blvd |
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| Beautiful home on West Blvd. |
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| Wiccan' it up on W. 99th |
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| Rose-theme driveway on West Blvd. |
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| This clock sits in the CVS parking lot at Lorain & West Blvd. I couldn't determine if it has any historical significance. |
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| W. 100th Street |
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| Walter Martens & Sons Funeral Home (9811 Denison Ave) opened in 1948 but the Martens family has quite a history with the neighborhood, starting as early as 1903 when William Martens, the great-grandfather of current funeral home owner, Walter Martens, Jr., opened his tailor shop at West 97th Street and Lorain. In the 1920s, William’s son, Edward Martens, would join him. In addition to running the tailor shop, Edward would open and run Martens Café after Prohibition. The Café was located at West 100th Street and Lorain, next to Schnidler’s Fabrics. As a student attending St. Ignatius of Antioch grade school, at the corner of Lorain Avenue and West Boulevard, Edward’s oldest son, Walter, would pass the former Nickels Funeral Home. This was his inspiration to open his own funeral home as a young adult. The business continues to be family run to this day and will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2023. |
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| St. Mary's Orthodox Ethiopian Church (3295 W. 98th) was originally home to First Hungarian Lutheran Church. Churches are like tell the tale of ethnic settlement patterns in many neighborhoods in Cleveland. This is a classic example. |
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| Khalaf Star Market (3371 W. 98th Street) is a convenience store offering all the basics you need plus a deli with hot and cold sandwiches, fresh and made to order. It's been a neighborhood staple for decades. |
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| Athens Pizza (8801 Denison Ave) is a local pizza chain founded in 1970, offering the classics. They also have another location in West Park. |
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| Peanut Bar (8401 Denison Ave) is a no-frills neighborhood dive bar |
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| This large factory building on Almira Ave is home to several businesses, including a filter company, granite countertop store, metal spinning shop, and a pallet repair store. |
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| Coolest house I saw (3297 W. 95th Street) |
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| This mural on Walford Ave was done by local artist Daniel Rothenfield. According to CoolCleveland.com, it is meant to "unify the residential and industrial areas of the neighborhood. It was commissioned by Suzy Hecht, CEO of Midwest Box Company and owner of Walford Industrial Park, who conceived the idea. The mural features the word “PEACE” in brightly colored ten-foot letters surrounded by flocks of birds. It’s augmented by three concrete planters featuring figures at play." |
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| Cool old office sign on Almira Ave |
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| Industrial parking dividers on Silverton Ave |
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| Industrial ruins on Maywood Ave |
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| Little Garden (9107 Denison Ave) is a Middle-Eastern restaurant serving mostly Yemeni dishes in a strip plaza that doesn't look like much from the outside but has some strong online reviews. So, I tried it and it did not disappoint at all. Pictured here is the Foul (fava) Bean soup. Wow. Not pictured is a super delicious banana "juice" (smoothie). Recommended. |
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| This is Mo, the chef at Little Garden. Super nice guy who walked me through the menu and kept feeding me various samples like a grandparent. Go support Mo and Little Garden. |
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| This building at 8201 was once home to the Day & Maddock Company which was a construction equipment and machinery business. At some point it moved to E. 30th Street and became Colony Hardware (still in businesses). The ghost sign remains however. The building is now home to a vehicle wrecking business. |
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Rincon Criollo Take 2 (7302 Denison Ave) is a Puerto Rican restaurant owned and operated by the husband and wife duo of Papu & Nydiva Ruiz. This is their second location with the first being in the Gordon Square Arcade at W. 65th & Detroit Ave.
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