So How Did Cleveland Get So Cool?.....

National Geographic Traveler magazine has named Cleveland as a 2018 Best of the World City. You can re-read that if you like, but it's not going to change. Twenty-one cities got this mention, but only three in the United States.

We are noted for our culture and our revitalization. The National Geographic editor described Cleveland as "a place you thought you knew, but don't."

How did this happen? I was born and raised in Cleveland. It wasn't always an award winning city. Years ago it had been described in different ways, but Best of the World doesn't come to mind. It was a gritty, hard working, city in the rust belt. But over time, a revolution has taken place.

The Flats have revitalized the riverfront.

People live Downtown in trendy apartments now. We are known as a "foodie" city because of our great variety of fine restaurants. We have hosted a national political convention. We've hosted baseball playoffs and a World Series. We've hosted 3 consecutive NBA Finals, and the 2016 NBA Champions. These events brought visitors to town, and they noticed a changed and interesting city.

Can a moment or project be pinpointed as the reason for the change? We were noted for our culture. The Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art are among the best in the world. But they've been that way for decades. So that's not the answer.

The downtown area now has a casino. But plenty of places have casinos. If I had to show a visitor great places in Cleveland, the casino wouldn't be one.

In the 80's the Flats area were a cluster of run-down bars and clubs built from an abandoned industrial area. But the old Flats had too many problems and failed. Developer Scott Wolstein had a plan for an urban cityscape including mixed use buildings. It has been a great success. The Flats is now a very cool area. A Margaritaville is there, so it must be. Plus millennials live there. It's not unusual to see people biking or jogging around the city at any time of the day. So the revitalized Flats are part of the answer. But I don't think it's the match that started the change.

The Gateway Project under construction in the 90's.

I believe there was a project that started it all. It was called the Gateway Project. In the 1990's, it was responsible for taking a dilapidated part of downtown and constructed Jacobs Field and Gund Arena. You know them now as Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena.

One key to the project may have been parking, or lack of it. The stadium and arena brought big crowds to downtown regularly. But they only built one parking garage. This forced people to park at smaller lots throughout the area. They had to walk through downtown. The walk must have made people hungry and thirsty because bars and restaurants sprung up immediately.

The view today.

But what brought the crowds back were winning teams. In the 90's, the Cleveland Indians were perennial contenders. Recently, their mojo has returned as they were 2016 American League Champs. Before the Gateway project, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn't even play in the same county. Now, "the city game" is played back in the city.

I'm going to mention one last piece: Lebron James. Lebron is the greatest basketball player of his generation. On top of that, he seems to be a good guy with his community foundations. He was born and raised in the area. He played here, left, and then voluntarily returned. Most importantly, he brought a Championship to this city in 2016.

The city hasn't been the same. People walk tall and proud now. They are happy to talk about their town. Welcome to Cleveland: Best in theWorld.

Cavs Championship parade: 1 million people can't be wrong.