Welcome to America’s finest city!

We fueled our nation’s Industrial Revolution and we gave the world rock & roll. So yeah, we’re kinda famous. But don’t let our understated greatness frighten you. We’re glad you’re joining us in celebrating the vast bounty of Northeast Ohio.

The Big Book of Cleveland is designed as a sort of welcome mat with words and pictures, and one we hope you will not actually walk upon. It’s specially formulated for newcomers hoping to learn all they need to know about life in our humbly magnificent metropolis. But it’s also a handy reference for the rest of us: the shut-ins, dweebs, newly sprung convicts, and those who prefer to bask in our region’s countless treasures from the comfort of their easy chair. Yes, there’s a heck of a lot to discover out there, and we’d love to be your tour guide!

As you begin to familiarize yourself with your new surroundings, various inevitable questions will arise: What do people like me do for fun around here? Are East Siders better than West Siders?

Is there food? And where is the restroom?

Answers to some of these questions and more await you on the pages that follow. Thank you for joining us on our tour of beautiful Northeast Ohio. It’s The Big Book of Cleveland — c’mon, let’s have some fun! — Your Pals at Scene

* How We Came to Be So Fabulous: A brief history of human life in Cleveland (PDF)

* A Word About Segregation: The unvarnished truth about life in our fair city

* So You Think You Know Us?: Try our Cleveland quiz and learn how wrong you are

* The Important Stuff: Celebrating Cleveland’s cultural jewels

* The Creative Crowd: A snapshot of Cleveland’s ever-thriving arts scene

* Where the Action Is: Getting to know our hubs and hoods

* Sound + Stage: A literary tour of our classical music and theatrical hotbeds

* How Do We Rock?: Why Cleveland became the world’s rock & roll capital

* Play On, Player: Your guide to clubland in C-Town

* Mud, Sweat & Gears: When it’s time to exercise, head in these directions

* How to Eat: Where genuine Clevelanders go for grub

* The Tastes of Cleveland: Great food is everywhere around here. Here’s our guide to the greatest

* Whatcha Need?: Scene readers’ picks for the best places to buy stuff

* Where’s the Party?: The next celebration is always just around the corner

This article appears in Jun 15-21, 2011.

Scene's award-winning newsroom oftentimes collaborates on articles and projects. Stories under this byline are group efforts.

8 replies on “The Big Book of Cleveland: 2011”

  1. 123111–1000pm

    Two hours before the beginning of the Big Book for 2012. Now that we know that the telescope people do not see an end in sight this 2012, we can focus on hanging around for a while longer.

  2. The one thing big everywhere in 2012 is that the OWS message has started (09-17-11), and it looks as if it is here to stay. Like the civil rights movement but not as painful for the protesters, we are living in a revolutionary (hopefully peaceful) period of American and World History. ‘Keep your eys wide’

  3. Most of these are excellent!!!!!! But really…We don’t rock that well, Just listen to our radio stations…SAME music EVERY DAY! with NO VARIETY…Now that the Wave is back we all can put away our Prozac and Lithium because 107.3 will surely dull our senses now…

    But…
    We have a MOST EXCELLENT free weekly news, culture and arts mag that now gets delivered in Old Brooklyn!!!!
    YAY~!!!

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