need help - history of cleveland from 1984 to 2007

[clevelandohioboy1966]

hello all -

i hope there are some people out there that can tell be about cleveland ohio and what has changed since 7-01-1984, (the sad day of my life) when GE shut it's doors down and dad took the transfer to tennessee with GE. that is when i remember the economy starting to slip. we stayed long enough to see the fireworks show that happens on the lakefront every year on july 4 and on july 5 we had to leave.

i have not been back since then but i have been following the city on the internet.

from 1966 to 1984 - my stomping grounds were, east 65 street from francis ave to union ave, east 55 street to broadway and broadway down to fleet ave. i was born in saint alexis hospital on the corner of Mcbride ave and broadway (also known as route 14). i went to todd elementary school from starting in 1971 and then on to south high school in 1982. todd elementary was located on the corner of east 65 street and waterman ave. if you have any info on this - please post it here under this topic. it would be very helpful. what things are still there and what things are not there. i know by looking on radio-locator.com that the radio dial has changed way too much. wgcl 98.5 fm was my favorite station along with wkdd 96.5 fm and wzak 93.1 (the ubran sound of the city). wmms 100.7 was ok, wdok 102 fm and wqal 104 fm were easy listening stations when i left. i will post a radio list of cleveland ohio in 1984 and then another list so all of you can compare.

please send as much info as you possibly can - microsoft virtual earth is not helping me out much.

make my face go from this to this to this in the next few weeks and months. what a great christmas present that would be. thank you clevelandohio1966 (p.s.) - i cant drive - i have seizures!!!

[ohioaninSC]

Cleveland radio really has gone downhill, but I think that is a national trend overall. I remember going to several WMMS Buzzardfests when I was in HS in the mid 90s, and even earlier w/ my folks. 98.5 became WNCX in the late 80s or early 90s and became classic rock. WKDD is still around, it's at 98.1 now, and is out of Akron, not Cleveland, though you can pick up it's signal in Cleveland. It plays Top 40, or Hot Adult Contemporary, I believe that is how they describe it. I think WZAK, the People's Station is still around, but it is mostly R & B. The urban music is on Z 107.9, which really pissed me off, b/c that station used to be a great Alternative station called the End. In 1997, or so when they changed formats, they played REM's, "It's the End of the Worls as You Know It" for 24 straight hours. It wasn't until recently that Cleveland got a new alternative type station, in KRock 92.3, but it still is more mainstream than "The End" was. WDOK is still light rock, and WQAL is still Adult Contemporary, at least as of the last time I was in town in late September. I'll find out this weekend when I go back up to see my family.

They still dot he fireworks at Edgewater Park out over the lake. Magic 105.7 simulcasts for them. I believe that they still also shoot them off at Public Square around the 4th too, but he Cleveland Symphony Orchestra plays during that show. Did you ever get to go to see the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center in the summer? My family used to take me and my brother to that all the time when we were youngins in the 80s.

I don't know if the Flats had become the hopping place by the time you left, but if not, they did so through the late 80s and 90s, then died out again. Now the Warehouse District around W 6th, just west of Public Square is the happening place. The RR HOF is awesome, and so is the Jake. The Q leaves a little to be desired, but the location is still good.

I'm not too familiar w/ the area you said you grew up in. I grew up out in Pepper Pike and Shaker Heights. I went to Orange High School. I was definitely out in the snow belt.

Not sure what else I can add here. I am just now getting back into posting some more as my life has settled back down a little bit.