Cleveland Audioguides

Cleveland sits on the southern shore of Lake Erie like a city that has seen too much and is still standing, which is exactly the kind of city it is. The Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, the steel mills shuttered, the population fell by half from its 1950 peak, and the sports teams became nationally famous for losing in creative ways. And yet. The Cleveland Orchestra remains one of the finest in the world, performing at Severance Hall since 1931. The West Side Market has been selling produce and pierogies and smoked meats under its vaulted barrel roof since 1912. The city didn't leave; it just got leaner and more honest.

Tremont and Ohio City are the neighborhoods that visitors miss when they dismiss the city.

Tremont occupies a bluff south of downtown and was settled by Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and Greek immigrants who built churches so ornate they feel imported directly from Central Europe. Ohio City grew up around the West Side Market and is now packed with craft breweries, bakeries, and restaurants that hold their own against any city in the country. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, designed by I.M. Pei and opened in 1995, stands on the lakefront as a glass pyramid insisting that Cleveland's place in music history is not negotiable: Alan Freed coined the phrase 'rock and roll' here in 1952.