[Robert Pence]

Cleveland Film Scans - 1978 - 1988

Recently I realized that my photos of Cleveland cover a thirty-year period, from 1978 through 2007.

I've posted some of these before, quite some time ago, but some of them have never been scanned or posted before. Some of the newer forumers may not have seen any of them. Even the previously-seen material has been re-scanned at higher quality and presented at larger sizes. What's posted here covers the period from 1978 - 1988.

Starting out with general views; most of these were shot on Kodacolor 100 film.

1978

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19783780-002.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19783780-003.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19783780-001.jpg

Airport Rapid station at Terminal Tower
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19783780-004.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19783780-005.jpg

The Market Street Exchange restaurant in 1978, now Great Lakes Brewing Company. This restaurant renovation was pretty new at the time, as I recall. The basement serving area had just been opened.
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19783780-006.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19783780-007.jpg

1979

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-012.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-011.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-018.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-016.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-017.jpg

W. 117th & Madison
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-001.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-002.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-003.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-004.jpg

Cleveland Hopkins
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-005.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-006.jpg

Views from Edgewater Park
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-008.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-009.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-010.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793180-014.jpg

West Side Market
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-006.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-003.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-004.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-005.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-007.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-019.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-008.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-009.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-010.jpg

Then-new Amtrak Station.
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-011.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793190-012.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-025.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-002.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-003.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-023.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-024.jpg

1985

BP Tower nearing completion
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-017.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-008.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-019.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-002.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-004.jpg

Views from Terminal Tower. You can see the Hulett Unloaders along the lake shore by the coal piles. Sorry about the glass reflections; some things just can't be helped.
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-001.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-002.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-003.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-004.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-005.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-006.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-007.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-008.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-009.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-010.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-011.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-012.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-013.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-014.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-015.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-016.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-003.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-006.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-007.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-009.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-010.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-011.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-012.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-013.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-014.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-015.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-016.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-017.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851540-019.jpg

1988

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19880701-012.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19880701-013.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19880701-014.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19882980-004.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19881101-010.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19881101-013.jpg

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19881101-012.jpg

There are more film scans from 1990 through 2003, plus a reorganized presentation of digital photographs from 2004 through 2007, on my web site (http://www.robertpence.com/). Just click on the picture labeled "Thirty Years of Cleveland" on the opening page.

[kcexpress69]

Wow!! It's amazing what 30 years will do to a city!! Back in 1978, Cleveland seemed like just a bland city with nothing going on. It seems like a whole new ball game now. With a developed waterfront, the Cuyahoga river cleaned up, sports stadiums built up, it has become a tourist destination. Hopefully, people will start moving back in. Great thread! I guess you have been doing this for awhile!! :cheers:

[PA Pride]

Wow, I've never seen these. They are wonderful. I can't believe how good the color looks for being 30 yrs old and scanned. You did a great job.

The Cleveland skyline doesn't look that much different aside from the obivous missing key tower.

[Lakelander]

Great collection of images. Its interesting to see how the city has changed since 1978.

[kanhawk]

Bravo! What great quality these pictures have after 30 years. They look like they could have been taken today.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Love those 70's cars. ;) Great quality pics.

[Evergrey]

Late 70s Cleveland looks soooo cool!

[ColDayMan]

Neat!

[DetroitSky]

Interesting thread.

[MayDay]

Wow, I've never seen these. They are wonderful. I can't believe how good the color looks for being 30 yrs old and scanned. You did a great job.

The Cleveland skyline doesn't look that much different aside from the obivous missing key tower.

And the Federal Courthouse Tower, Fifth-Third Center, Marriott at Key Center, North Point Tower, etc. ;-)

Great job rob - I especially like this shot!
http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19882980-004.jpg

[sznter]

Those are some seriously delicious pictures. Excellent thread!

[Ex-Ithacan]

I'm lovin' this thread. Thanks for sharing the last 30 years of Cleveland with us Rob. :tup:

[ItsConanOBrien]

Quite the collection! Thanks for sharing.

[Top Of The Park]

lots to like...!

[PhilippeMtl]

Very nice pictures

I like this old shots!


http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19851530-011.jpg
This site has a lot of potential, how does it looks now?

[MayDay]

^That area is called the Scranton Road Peninsula - 90% of it is owned by Forest City Enterprises (headquartered in the Terminal Tower, the same people behind the Atlantic Yards proposal in NYC). They've basically "sat" on the site for decades, claiming that market conditions don't warrant any construction there. At one time, they had proposed developing the site in conjunction with a convention center with a pedestrian bridge crossing the river for access to downtown proper.

One notable addition is the Time-Warner Amphitheater (aka the wedding tent), which hosts smaller concerts:

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/terminalcomplex/terminalview7.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/terminalcomplex/terminalview8.jpg

[PA Pride]

And the Federal Courthouse Tower, Fifth-Third Center, Marriott at Key Center, North Point Tower, etc. ;-)


I should have been more specific; What I was thinking was that from the farther out shots of the skyline, the Key tower is really the notable ommision. I know that there are several other buildings of height that have been built since then. I hope I didn't sound condescending or mean;

Comparably, I looked at the 1985 pictures on Rob's website of Pittsburgh and there is one most NOTICEABLE ommision which is 5th avenue place, even though a couple other scrapers were built after that.

[Matthew]

Thank you for sharing these! This is a very beautiful city, both in the past and present.

[flar]

Wow! that's a great collection of photos :cheers:

[Surrealplaces]

Cool photos! Very nostalgic.

[skyline]

Wow, those were real good! A Pinto and Vega in the same shot, lol....

[boden]

Beautiful Robert! Superb nostalgia pics!:tup:
Is that riverboat still there today?

[nath05]

http://robertpence.com/cleveland/19793170-016.jpg

wow wow wow:cheers:

[Wheelingman04]

I am lovin those photos.

[Thundertubs]

Serious coolness.

[direfloyd]

Wow, thanks! I was really affraid that it looked the same as today but Cleveland looks much better today!!! I love the change in the flats.

[Swinefeld]

5 lb.s of apples for a buck? Those were the days LOL.

Cool retro shots of Cleveland.

[Macbeth]

Tremendous pictures.

[the pope]

absolutely positively no complaints here (except for some of the buildings and fountains lost)

[Labtec]

Great memories, I grew up around the West Side Market (W.25th & Pearl Rd). These photos remind me of my childhood, thanks.

[TinChelseaNYC]

Those arcades are beautiful. Cleveland has a rich architectural heritage, to be sure.

[jodelli]

Talk about a time warp. Had Chrissie Hynde on iTunes when going through these pictures. Thanks!

[Robert Pence]

There's one major change from 1979 to now that you can't see in the photos, because photos don't capture smell. On muggy summer days sometimes the air had an acidic rotten-egg smell that was probably hydrogen sulfide from the steel mills' coke plants. I recall my eyes watering and stinging as I waited for a bus at Detroit & W25th.

Beautiful Robert! Superb nostalgia pics!:tup:
Is that riverboat still there today?

The riverboat doesn't show up in the 1985 views from Terminal Tower. I really don't know anything about it; it appeared derelict in 1979 when I took the photo.

An emailer commented that it looked similar to the steamers that ran between Detroit and BobLo Island, but those were still in service until around 1983 and they still had their smokestacks, boilers and steam engines. Both of those boats are still in Detroit, and at least one is being restored.

[MayDay]

The riverboat is no longer there, fyi.

[MolsonExport]

first-rate photos

[Buckeye Native 001]

Awesome pics as always, Rob. I love your timewarp threads, and I'd love to know what kind of scanner you use to get the crip quality to transfer from the hard copies of your pics to the computer. A first-rate scan job, if anything :tup:

[Robert Pence]

Awesome pics as always, Rob. I love your timewarp threads, and I'd love to know what kind of scanner you use to get the crip quality to transfer from the hard copies of your pics to the computer. A first-rate scan job, if anything :tup:

The key to getting good scans is to use original film -- negatives or transparencies -- whenever possible. Because I have quite a few 120 roll-film negs and slides in addition to 35mm, I went with a pretty high-end piece of gear, Nikon 9000ED. It sells for about $2K.

I did that because I do a fair amount of printing, and I wanted to be able to blow up images pretty big and still have sharpness. I can start with a 120 or 220 transparency or negative and come up with a digital file that I can take to a local printer and get a really sharp, nice 24x30 print, or probably bigger if I chose. I can print up to 13x19 at home on an Epson 2200 and get excellent results, too. The scanner software has good color correction capabilities for film that might have faded with age or been processed badly, and Photoshop helps with the finishing touches. It's time-intensive work.

For on-screen viewing or standard-sized prints, some of the moderately-priced flatbeds do a really good job. I don't know which model it is, but one acquaintance has an HP flatbed that cost around $300 and has a transparency adapter that will take slides or negatives. He gets some impressive results with it.

Some machine (drugstore or Walmart) prints are pretty sharp and scan well for enlargement at 8x10 or thereabouts. The problem with machine prints is that they fade after a few years and then it's difficult to get good scans from them.

[Kingofthehill]

Wow.

I felt like I was reading an old Nat'l Geographic! Great stuff!

[Buckeye Native 001]

Interesting. Thanks for the scanning info, Rob :tup:

[jodelli]

The riverboat doesn't show up in the 1985 views from Terminal Tower. I really don't know anything about it; it appeared derelict in 1979 when I took the photo.

An emailer commented that it looked similar to the steamers that ran between Detroit and BobLo Island, but those were still in service until around 1983 and they still had their smokestacks, boilers and steam engines. Both of those boats are still in Detroit, and at least one is being restored.

The steamer has a resemblance to the City Of Cleveland III and City Of Detroit III, but both of these were reportedly scrapped in the 50s.

http://www.mhsd.org/passenger/

[Echo Park]

i love the tones of old photos from the 70s/80s. not only that but your pics are well composed. nice set. cleveland rocks!

[Tom In Chicago]

Excellent thread. . . I hope I live as long as you have to be able to reflect upon my photos like this. . .

[KevinFromTexas]

Very cool! Fascinating thread.

[Canasian]

Great thread, love the historical element and the light rail/ streetcars progression.

[denveraztec]

Very interesting thread. Thanks for taking the time to scan and post!

[Hozay]

Excellent shots!

[c@taract_soulj@h]

Cleveland ownz...I love the change in difference from the RTA stations @ Tower City compared to now. Amazing what only 20ish years can do

[LSyd]

great pics, thanks. what scanner you using?

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