Ohio City: Blues, Brews and a Neighborhood's Remarkable Comeback

Ohio City has come a long way from the days when the first urban pioneers were renovating rambling Victorians on Jay Avenue, and the Conway brothers of Great Lakes Brewing Company were delivering hand-bottled six packs of beer in their cars.

Today, the neighborhood has seen housing revitalization, the redevelopment of West 25th Street and the West Side Market, the addition of a dozen or more new restaurants and bars, and the creation of a new lakefront park at Whiskey Island.

Recent articles in the Plain Dealer and Northern Ohio Live profiled the Great Lakes Brewing Company on the eve of its 20th anniversary, as well as the more recent addition of Bar Cento to the neighborhood's restaurant mix. Dee Perry of WCPN's "Around Noon" held a show focusing on "Grassroots Gastronomy" or the link between restaurants and a neighborhood's revitalization. Ohio City was also named one of the nation's Top 10 Cottage Communities by Cottage Living Magazine in 2007. The community's varied housing stock, which includes grand Victorians as well as rehabbed worker's cottages, was cited in the Cottage Living piece.

This weekend, Ohio City will celebrate its success, as well as Cleveland's rich blues history, with the First Annual Ohio City Blues and Brews Fest at Whiskey Island. For $10, visitors can hear six of the most prominent local blues acts, including the Whiskey Island Brew Crew, Colin Dussault Blues Project, Robert Lockwood All Stars, the KingBees, Moko Bovo and Kristine Jackson. The event runs from 4 pm until 12:30 am and takes place at Whiskey Island.

For more information or to buy tickets, please visit www.ohiocity.com.