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Cleveland: The Flats, the Mill, and the Hills
The Flats, a district near downtown Cleveland, was once was the vibrant heart of Midwestern industry and is now in the throes of Some of its warehouses and factories have been transformed into nightclubs and restaurants, while homes in adjacent neighborhoods have been replaced by mini-mansions. In Cleveland , photographer Andrew Borowiec documents the Flats today and evokes the way of life they once embodied.
Given the rare opportunity to access one of Cleveland’s vast steel mills before it was modernized or destroyed, Borowiec employed his camera to explore the Flats and its monuments of American industry. His striking black and white images reveal the broken power and vulnerability of the once-mighty mill as well as its relation to the surrounding city and its neighborhoods. The commercial buildings, factories, warehouses, and iron bridges that sustained Cleveland’s industrial pulse convey a quiet dignity in these compelling photographs, as do the modest frame houses that sheltered those who labored for decades in the Flats.
As Clevelanders struggle to redefine themselves as citizens of a twenty-first-century corporate metropolis, the Flats stand as a haunting testament to a time when men worked with their hands and steel was indeed the backbone of our nation. Borowiec’s compassionate but unflinchingly honest gaze challenges us to look both at and beyond the images of Cleveland and to meditate on our common history of loss and rebirth.
Given the rare opportunity to access one of Cleveland’s vast steel mills before it was modernized or destroyed, Borowiec employed his camera to explore the Flats and its monuments of American industry. His striking black and white images reveal the broken power and vulnerability of the once-mighty mill as well as its relation to the surrounding city and its neighborhoods. The commercial buildings, factories, warehouses, and iron bridges that sustained Cleveland’s industrial pulse convey a quiet dignity in these compelling photographs, as do the modest frame houses that sheltered those who labored for decades in the Flats.
As Clevelanders struggle to redefine themselves as citizens of a twenty-first-century corporate metropolis, the Flats stand as a haunting testament to a time when men worked with their hands and steel was indeed the backbone of our nation. Borowiec’s compassionate but unflinchingly honest gaze challenges us to look both at and beyond the images of Cleveland and to meditate on our common history of loss and rebirth.
119 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2008
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June 13, 2018A mixed bag for me but gave me plenty to mull over as I lumber through thesis drafting.
May 23, 2011
Andrew Borowiec, Cleveland: The Flats, the Mill, and the Hills (The Center for American Places, 2008)
Les Roberts, in his introduction to this volume, mentions that people don't show up in these photographs. He's not quite right; there are five photos of the eighty-seven in this volume that contain people. They are far away and blurry, or their backs are to the camera, but they do show up. And I think I get what Roberts was saying—that humans are in no way the focus of these pictures—and he's right, but I think there's another layer to this. The population density in Cleveland has been slowly eroding away over the past decades, like the backyards of the mansions along Lake Road or the cliffs that hold up the houses in Rocky River. You can't look at these photos, if you've lived here for a while, and not think about that.
I'm sorry to pick on Les Roberts, but the other bone I have to pick with his introduction (which I enjoyed a great deal, it's quite well-written and, while I am focusing on the things I disagree with, there's a lot more in there I don't have any problems with at all) was his focus on the classic-Cleveland vibe of these pictures. And that is there, of course, but my reading of Roberts' introduction was that it was there to the exclusion of modern Cleveland. Nothing could be further from the truth. While there are certainly pictures here that probably could have been taken thirty of forty years ago and would still look exactly like they do now, there are a lot of pictures here that use far more than Jacobs Field (or whatever they're calling it now) and that stupid-looking semicircular thing that looms over the west shoreway as you head downtown. Most of what those pictures use is more subtle, which to me makes it more powerful. There's one in particular (plate 40, listed as Elm Ave., The Flats in the key in back) that I'm almost sure was taken on the back porch of what is now Roc Bar, with those cheap wrought-iron tables that haven't been there for more than a couple of years looking over at a pile of salt that might as well be primeval. I love the tawdriness of that image. I want it on my wall somewhere. It's a perfect distillation of everything this beautiful, bleak book has to say. A perfect companion to the recent documentary City/Ruins. ****
Les Roberts, in his introduction to this volume, mentions that people don't show up in these photographs. He's not quite right; there are five photos of the eighty-seven in this volume that contain people. They are far away and blurry, or their backs are to the camera, but they do show up. And I think I get what Roberts was saying—that humans are in no way the focus of these pictures—and he's right, but I think there's another layer to this. The population density in Cleveland has been slowly eroding away over the past decades, like the backyards of the mansions along Lake Road or the cliffs that hold up the houses in Rocky River. You can't look at these photos, if you've lived here for a while, and not think about that.
I'm sorry to pick on Les Roberts, but the other bone I have to pick with his introduction (which I enjoyed a great deal, it's quite well-written and, while I am focusing on the things I disagree with, there's a lot more in there I don't have any problems with at all) was his focus on the classic-Cleveland vibe of these pictures. And that is there, of course, but my reading of Roberts' introduction was that it was there to the exclusion of modern Cleveland. Nothing could be further from the truth. While there are certainly pictures here that probably could have been taken thirty of forty years ago and would still look exactly like they do now, there are a lot of pictures here that use far more than Jacobs Field (or whatever they're calling it now) and that stupid-looking semicircular thing that looms over the west shoreway as you head downtown. Most of what those pictures use is more subtle, which to me makes it more powerful. There's one in particular (plate 40, listed as Elm Ave., The Flats in the key in back) that I'm almost sure was taken on the back porch of what is now Roc Bar, with those cheap wrought-iron tables that haven't been there for more than a couple of years looking over at a pile of salt that might as well be primeval. I love the tawdriness of that image. I want it on my wall somewhere. It's a perfect distillation of everything this beautiful, bleak book has to say. A perfect companion to the recent documentary City/Ruins. ****
August 30, 2011
Not so much a "good read" as a good viewing. This is a collection of black and white photographs taken around Cleveland in the winter. The lack of leaves on trees and vast areas of whiteness create a stark beauty around downtown Cleveland, especially in the industrial areas. As beautiful as these pictures are, I wish they were given more context. You know how the Cleveland Museum of Art has those little plaques on the walls describing whatever artwork they're posted next to? Not only do they have the name of the piece, but who made it, when/where it was made, what is significant about the medium or the work's place in time/history, etc. All we have in "Cleveland" is a list in the back of where each photo was taken. I'd rather have far more details either underneath each picture or on the facing page. I had considered buying a copy of this book for some friends in England, but without context, what's the point?
November 23, 2008
A beautiful book of mostly the industrial landscape of Cleveland. (Published through Columbia College Chicago. I found this on a trip to Cleveland. I don't know if there'll be a related show of these photos in Chicago, but I hope so--or hope I haven't missed one.) There are bridges, abandoned factories, remnants of the steel industry (all things I happen to love photographing), all in black-and-white and nearly all devoid of people. I'd give it 5 stars but there were a few too many shots of somewhat boring houses, and as with so many photo books, I wish there was more written material explaining the places shown. Very impressive, and I need to seek out Borowiec's other works...
May 5, 2014
Stark and gritty, I was somewhat upset when I first started looking through the pictures of this book. When it comes to Cleveland, people always look at the bad. Then, I went back and re-read the subtitle "The Flats, the Mill, and the Hills" and the Introduction and I decided that these stark and gritty black and white photos made sense for the subject that they covered.
I found this book on the most recent list of Ohioana Award pics. It is very deserving. The only thing that would have made this book better is if the title plates would have been listed under each picture instead of being indexed at the end of the book.
I found this book on the most recent list of Ohioana Award pics. It is very deserving. The only thing that would have made this book better is if the title plates would have been listed under each picture instead of being indexed at the end of the book.
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