Artefino has easy access from Superior and a nice human scale that will probably entice many within the building and without to hangout and shoot the collective breeze, forge artists manifestos or just relax after a long day. I saw coffees and light fare like sandwiches on the menu along with very fun deserts and all seemed reasonably priced. Artists hangout to come? The place to be? The trappings are there especially during the warm weather months when people can pour out into the foyer at the entrance to the building.
As you may know the Tower Press building once, part of a thriving Cleveland Garment District was originally built by the H. Black Company, which manufactured Wooltex coats. It was later home to Evangelical Press. Abandoned in 1987 for fifteen years, the building was ravaged by trespassers and vandals and savagely attacked by water damage and winter ice leaving several gaping holes in the roof and exterior walls.
This incarnation of Tower Press as "live-work-art" lofts would seem to have a lot riding on it for the Arts community and maybe even for the City of Cleveland. The building is now a haven for Artists and one must have the right pedigree in the form of a rep or a portfolio to enter. Hector, Georgio, Bruce Conforti, Kathy Skerritt, Robert Banks, Kushmere Bell and soon Dexter Davis are just some of the notables in the building.
The building is subsidized and according to its website at http://www.towerpress.com/home1.html "Tower Press is a unique live, work loft community for artists (and non-artists) from all walks of life. Art and artists take many forms, whether we paint, sculpt, draw, design clothes, dance, create films, or take photographs. Sixteen of Tower Press' units have income restrictions and will be set aside for artists."
Many would agree that the jewel of the Tower Press building is the former water tower turned five-floor suite. Unfortunately, the best view of the building's character is in the rear of the building, and one must struggle to eliminate the unsightly but necessary gated parking lot. It is an example of the Spanish Revival architecture period when Spanish-Moorish influence patterned after the Renaissance and Baroque reigned. It is replete with cupola, turret, and red clay barrel tile roof. Well maybe not replete, but it's pretty cool even though you may have to try to overlook the anatomical correctness of the tower and the two symmetrical west and east ends.
Village Capital Corporation, National City Corporation, Cleveland Development Partnership II and Huntington Bancshares, Inc financed the building. I found a tenant on the internet willing to put thoughts about tenant hood in TP in writing and since it's on the net…in perpetuity.
"While my roommates and I were, at first, very excited about living in this "artists community", we were quickly chagrined and found we are probably just paying too much, especially for heavily advertised amenities we have yet to see. The art gallery and juice/wine/whatever bar that were supposed to open this past spring (it is now fall) no longer even have a tentative scheduled opening, and the art events Tower Press even sponsors are last-minute and thrown together - - a detriment to the only-a-smattered-handful-of-artists this building even houses."
What really marked the success of his opening this past weekend dearly departed president Reagan would have been proud to see. The "Trickle Down" theory was in full effect; there were several studios opened taking advantage of the influx of people and sales going on. I believe Kathy Skerritt closed on some art. Hector had ceramic dogs made which he turned over to local artists to remake and then put them on display in Artefino to auction off. Many of them were sold. So the public, many of them with fat wallets got a gander of studio galleries ranging from painting to film. There was even a young talented entertaining Spoken Word artists up from Columbus presenting Spoken Word and selling Tees and CD's. Could Tower Press be Cleveland's version of the Chelsea in New York? From Cool Cleveland contributor Cavana Faithwalker (:divend:)