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I grew up in Painesville in the 1960's when the downtown was still somewhat vibrant. Due to rampant suburbanization coming from Cleveland during that period, the retail scene declined to almost nothing as a result of a major regional mall being built a few miles away in Mentor. Painesville has been trying to reinvent itself ever since. At least people are moving back. I believe the population is now the highest it's ever been, and one of the most diverse in Ohio (a large Mexican population--best tacos in Ohio!), even more so than among a lot of the state's bigger cities, and a lot of cosmetic improvements are taking place downtown, but with only a few businesses moving in. But it still maintains a lot of its historic character. Here's an aerial video that was recently posted and a least you can get an idea of what the town looks like. Just be prepared: a lot of the parking lots you see scattered around used to contain many historic buildings that were demolished as a result of an ill-conceived "urban renewal" plan going back 50 years. But I guess that's another thread unto itself! lol
edit: if you look to the middle of top of the video as the camera is panning over the town near the park you'll see roughly where Fairport Harbor is, and just beyond it, Lake Erie. And speaking of Fairport, it seems to be getting rather trendy. One of the hottest new restaurants in the Cleveland area is apparently there now, in what used to be an enclave of working class Finns and Hungarians with, say more pedestrian tastes (I should know, being a member of the former group--ha ha)...https://www.facebook.com/ThePompadourBar/
The drone video mostly concentrates on downtown Painesville (btw, all of those parking lots come in handy during big events at Veterans' Park, Painesville's Public Square, such as the annual Party in the Park). It doesn't show Lake Erie College and the Mentor Ave. historical district, the Grand River Conservation Area just across from Recreation Park (shown early in the video), or Beatty's Landing Lake Metropark in southeast Painesville.
Having a drone follow Grand River from Lake Erie to the Lake Metroparks Helen Hazen Wyman Park just outside of Painesville would be fascinating. The Grand River valley through Painesville is a deep, but often broad gorge. Most of Painesville sits well above the river so doesn't have flooding problems. The condos in the valley were wiped out by a 500-year flood several years ago and turned into the conservation area on East Main Street. The high grasses in the conservation area really convey what the valley was like in its native state.
It's interesting that tripadvisor has it ranked second to Fairport Family Restaurant, which has good perch on some days. It's apparently much cheaper, an important factor for many in FH/Painesville area.
yeah, the area has historically not been known for its inventive cuisine--lol. I remember a highlight growing up was going to Fairport for a perch meal on Friday nites--and I'm not even Catholic! Seriously though, Painesville is the place for tacos, especially El Senor's and a place called La Casita, an outdoor place that will probably close soon due to the weather. Cleveland restaurant critic Douglas Trattner stated it has some of the best tacos in the country (something that Ohio is not exactly known for)--
Thanks WRNative. Each day, I'm more impressed with these postings. They are really helpful. I grew up in the upper midwest with LOTS of snow and cold and do not relish doing that again. (I try to forget about global warming as it's impacts are so distressing.) I could do a month or so of cold weather but not heaps of snow that you can't walk or drive through for 6 months, so it's helpful to know that the plows are out in full force to make it navigable and that the temps are reasonable.
I found your population statistics for the two areas very interesting. I think I truly prefer a smaller town rather than a huge metropolis - people are often friendlier, costs are often lower, and neighborhoods are often better kept, but realistically if one wants or needs a job, you almost have to go to the bigger towns. I'm intrigued with Fairport Harbor for the reason that it is small - and very close to the water - and celebrates it's ethnic heritage. I love that! But I also appreciate what a bigger city has to offer (cultural amenities and recreational opportunities as well as job opportunities). It's a tough decision. I'm trying to avoid the "typical American suburbs" - i.e., cookie cutter neighborhoods, which I think are so boring. I have lived for the past couple of decades in an area where ethnicities are diverse and cultural venues are everywhere, and to me, that's interesting and what makes life worthwhile - interacting and learning from people from all over the globe.
The two towns sound like good possibilities to keep at the top of my relocation list. And I have to give you all kudos for your great postings. In my search for the best relocation spot, I have looked at a lot of postings from areas all over the U.S. and was not that happy to find, in many of them, disgruntled, unhappy, negative comments from people. I was about to give up thinking that Nobody Is Happy Anywhere and wondering what the heck I'm going to do, when I came across FH/P. You all seem to be positive people who enjoy your communities and that says a lot. I tried NeighborhoodScout.com for awhile, which was free and gave me a lot of good information, but they are now charging $40 a month to just log in. No thanks.
I think I'm going to have to personally visit a few places before I make up my mind. Many thanks all of you for your great information.
What I consider special about the Painesville/Fairport Harbor areas are the small town vibes, Lake County Metroparks, Mentor Headlands Beach, Mentor retail complex, and the proximity to Cleveland's University Circle. Allow at least one full day to explore the latter, including the adjacent Little Italy and historic Lake View Cemetery, one of the nation's great Victorian cemeteries featuring the Garfield Monument and Wade Memorial Chapel (both seasonal attractions).
Definitely read through the Cleveland forum, as living within 30-45 minutes of all of the significant Cleveland attractions certainly is a positive. Laketran offers service from the Painesville area to downtown Cleveland, where a robust mass transit system provides access to most attractions. Also the Cleveland Clinic is one of the highest rated hospitals in the U.S. and has satellite operations in Lake County, including in Mentor.
The independent Lake Health system is pretty good. Check out Tripoint Medical Center just outside of Painesville and the adjacent University Hospitals satellite complex.
The drone video mostly concentrates on downtown Painesville (btw, all of those parking lots come in handy during big events at Veterans' Park, Painesville's Public Square, such as the annual Party in the Park). It doesn't show Lake Erie College and the Mentor Ave. historical district, the Grand River Conservation Area just across from Recreation Park (shown early in the video), or Beatty's Landing Lake Metropark in southeast Painesville.
Having a drone follow Grand River from Lake Erie to the Lake Metroparks Helen Hazen Wyman Park just outside of Painesville would be fascinating. The Grand River valley through Painesville is a deep, but often broad gorge. Most of Painesville sits well above the river so doesn't have flooding problems. The condos in the valley were wiped out by a 500-year flood several years ago and turned into the conservation area on East Main Street. The high grasses in the conservation area really convey what the valley was like in its native state.
There are several other good youtube videos of the Painesville/Fairport Harbor/Mentor areas available in your link.
thanks for the other links! yeah, I know the video is just of downtown, but it shows how much was destroyed. I think I'm older than you, so I remember how there were actually large (for Painesville) department stores, many speciality stores, restaurants, bars, and a 1500 seat art deco movie theater (Lake Theater--don't know if you remember that) downtown! All gone. It's a shame they were so quick to tear so much of it down. I just hope eventually they can develop some of the more central blocks so it looks more unified.
edit: just noticed you mentioned the hospital in the previous post. It used to be in downtown for over 100 years. That was a disgrace that city officials let that slip away!!
thanks for the other links! yeah, I know the video is just of downtown, but it shows how much was destroyed. I think I'm older than you, so I remember how there were actually large (for Painesville) department stores, many speciality stores, restaurants, bars, and a 1500 seat art deco movie theater (Lake Theater--don't know if you remember that) downtown! All gone. It's a shame they were so quick to tear so much of it down. I just hope eventually they can develop some of the more central blocks to it looks more unified.
I remember all of that -- Isaly's, Whaley's Hardware, Toyland, Gale G. Grant department store, Carlisles department store, the shoes and men's clothing stores, the barber shop at the Parmly Hotel, the downtown drug stores, Newberry's, the Brass Rail (in the 1970s) basement bar, the Vogue Lounge, the Puritan Bakery, Bitzer's Furniture. I remember both the old and the new A&P on South State St. and the Pick 'n Pay on public square. I remember the large parades, including tanks tearing up Main Street during the Memorial Day parade, which no longer exists. I don't think there are any parades in Painesville these days, with the large Labor Day parade folding many years ago. I haven't been to Fairport's Mardi Gras parade for several decades.
Old Painesville was special, but not widely appreciated by its natives of the time. Few were sufficiently well traveled to understand just how green the grass was in their vibrant little city.
Joughin's Hardware is about all that's left, but there's a small cafe where Thayer's Drug Store used to be, and the soda fountain has been preserved.
Went to Lake Theater many, many times, but I never noticed that it was an art deco movie palace. I remember the long lines for each of the Disney movies. It must have been a gold mine in its prime. Do you remember Mar-Val Lanes? I wonder if it's still open. I don't think so.
I remember all of that -- Isaly's, Whaley's Hardware, Toyland, Gale G. Grant department store, Carlisles department store, the shoes and men's clothing stores, the barber shop at the Parmly Hotel, the downtown drug stores, Newberry's, the Brass Rail (in the 1970s) basement bar, the Vogue Lounge, the Puritan Bakery, Bitzer's Furniture. I remember both the old and the new A&P on South State St. and the Pick 'n Pay on public square. I remember the large parades, including tanks tearing up Main Street during the Memorial Day parade, which no longer exists. I don't think there are any parades in Painesville these days, with the large Labor Day parade folding many years ago. I haven't been to Fairport's Mardi Gras parade for several decades.
Old Painesville was special, but not widely appreciated by its natives of the time. Few were sufficiently well traveled to understand just how green the grass was in their vibrant little city.
Joughin's Hardware is about all that's left, but there's a small cafe where Thayer's Drug Store used to be, and the soda fountain has been preserved.
Went to Lake Theater many, many times, but I never noticed that it was an art deco movie palace. I remember the long lines for each of the Disney movies. It must have been a gold mine in its prime. Do you remember Mar-Val Lanes? I wonder if it's still open. I don't think so.
Yes, I do remember Mar-Val Lanes. I think there's a chain drug store there now. I used to hang out in Newberry's and Kresge's as a child. I remember once in the 7th grade a friend and I were followed from Carlisle's by a store detective all the way to the front of the Parmly Hotel Coffee Shop and suspected of shoplifting (we didn't!!). He actually frisked us! We weren't aware of our civil rights back then--lol. You must also recall Brown's Furniture. They had a great old building on N. State St. Regarding Lake Theater, I honestly didn't know that it was Art Deco until a few years ago when I started trying to find out more information on its history. I found an ad and some info about it in a trade magazine (see below)--it must have been quite something when it was new! There actually are a few nice little places to eat downtown now, mostly casual and inexpensive, but including one upscale restaurant called Bistro 70 on North St. Clair St which seems to have a lot of fans. The place that replaced Thayer's is the Sidewalk Cafe. A couple of years ago one of the Cleveland stations did a so-called "Road Trip" visit to Painesville and it's featured in the video, as is the restored Steele Mansion, another bright spot in town; and also the restoration of the old train depot into a Railroad Museum. The main thing I found objectionable to this presentation is that they essentially whitewashed it of the diversity that Painesville is justifiably known for I'm sure that must have just been an oversight (and also that they included way too much of Painesville Township, as there were a sufficient number of places in P'ville City to have comprised the entire hour)
Thanks Formerly, this is interesting. It is so sad when they tear down those beautiful old buildings. That's what drew me to FH/P in the first place - an old Victorian home! (which I'm still considering as it's a great price) Those buildings have so much more character than what we have now. I don't think we even have the craftsmen and women who know how to build that kind of architecture any more, so once it's gone, it's gone. So sad. Thanks for the video link. it's helpful to see it "live."
Thanks Formerly, this is interesting. It is so sad when they tear down those beautiful old buildings. That's what drew me to FH/P in the first place - an old Victorian home! (which I'm still considering as it's a great price) Those buildings have so much more character than what we have now. I don't think we even have the craftsmen and women who know how to build that kind of architecture any more, so once it's gone, it's gone. So sad. Thanks for the video link. it's helpful to see it "live."
Here's a story about another woman pursuing her housing dream in Fairport Harbor. I think she has you beat!
In some ways, Fairport Harbor is a Brigadoon-like community, populated to some degree by generations of the same families, and anchored in its past.
Persons who grew up in Lake County and the proximity, have many memories of Fairport (Harbor is very rarely used in popular speech), especially persons of my age. We always had a sense of Fairport as a tight knit, proud village which had an ethnicity that was nonetheless friendly welcoming (there are African American families in Fairport). I remember Finnish crispbread and balish. Now in most of Greater Cleveland, balish are known as East European kolache. In the Painesville/Fairport Harbor, they still are known as balish (such as at Model Bakery in Painesville). It demonstrates how the Finns were the dominant ethnic group over the smaller Hungarian community in Fairport Harbor. Yet cabbage rolls are a signature dish in Fairport, so the Hungarian influence is evident.
In Greater Cleveland, Hungarians were by far more dominant. The best Hungarian restaurant in Ohio is the Balaton on Shaker Square, and the downtown Galleria hosts a Hungarian museum.
Yes, I do remember Mar-Val Lanes. I think there's a chain drug store there now. I used to hang out in Newberry's and Kresge's as a child. I remember once in the 7th grade a friend and I were followed from Carlisle's by a store detective all the way to the front of the Parmly Hotel Coffee Shop and suspected of shoplifting (we didn't!!). He actually frisked us! We weren't aware of our civil rights back then--lol. You must also recall Brown's Furniture. They had a great old building on N. State St. Regarding Lake Theater, I honestly didn't know that it was Art Deco until a few years ago when I started trying to find out more information on its history. I found an ad and some info about it in a trade magazine (see below)--it must have been quite something when it was new! There actually are a few nice little places to eat downtown now, mostly casual and inexpensive, but including one upscale restaurant called Bistro 70 on North St. Clair St which seems to have a lot of fans. The place that replaced Thayer's is the Sidewalk Cafe. A couple of years ago one of the Cleveland stations did a so-called "Road Trip" visit to Painesville and it's featured in the video, as is the restored Steele Mansion, another bright spot in town; and also the restoration of the old train depot into a Railroad Museum. The main thing I found objectionable to this presentation is that they essentially whitewashed it of the diversity that Painesville is justifiably known for I'm sure that must have just been an oversight (and also that they included way too much of Painesville Township, as there were a sufficient number of places in P'ville City to have comprised the entire hour)
Great materials on the Lake Theatre. I now can see the art deco influences, which likely never registered with me as I knew little if anything about art deco before the theater was demolished.
Do you have the link to the Painesville Facebook page that is loaded with similar materials?
It used to be in downtown for over 100 years. That was a disgrace that city officials let that slip away!!
Painesville had no chance of keeping a major hospital, especially as the new hospital had to be built before the old one was demolished. The Lake hospital system also needed a large site with more convenient freeway access, and in this regard the Tripoint location is superb, located at the intersection of the Route 44 north/south freeway, and the I-90 east/west freeway.
Although Tripoint hospital is now located in Concord Township, Painesville was able to leverage some quirks of Ohio law and its public utility services to form a joint economic district in Concord Township. This enables Concord to collect income taxes in the district, which are shared with Painesville. Townships in Ohio aren't allowed to levy income taxes.
I actually think Painesville city management played a very bad hand excellently.
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I'm sure that must have just been an oversight 
(and also that they included way too much of Painesville Township, as there were a sufficient number of places in P'ville City to have comprised the entire hour
)
