Inside 43215: Downtown Lifestyles
FABULOUS CLEVE
Or not. Cleve Ricksecker may be many things, but one thing he is not is fabulous. In fact, he’s officially boycotting the use of the term in his upcoming blog about Downtown Columbus, In Search of a City.
Well, fabulous.
So what else do you need to know about Cleve? Hmmm, he only has nine fingers. There’s more, read on.
Cleve Ricksecker loves the Cleveland Browns, but that really has nothing to do with his name (which is not Cleveland but James Cleve Ricksecker). The Browns love is a family thing. He says, “During a Browns’ game, my mother and I pretend we are in the Dawg Pound and bark at each other on the telephone. We dislike Art Modell even more than Richard Nixon.”
Anyway, more than the Browns, Cleve loves Downtown Columbus. That’s good, since he’s the Executive Director of Capital Crossroads and Discovery Special Improvement Districts. His very first job (ever) was in maintenance at the Green Granite Hotel in New Hampshire. The most impactful (literally) lesson he learned on that first job was respect for the power of gas. While explaining the safety features of gas heaters, he set off an explosion that “singed all the hair on both my arms.”
That was his first explosion. Just wait and see what he’s got in store for us…
August 5th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Well, I have never followed a blog in my life, but I am intrigued and will definitely check in to see what is on your mind, Cleve! You are a mentor and I look forward to learning from you!
August 5th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Cleve, Now I like him even more as a fellow, long-suffering Browns fan. Unlike Cleve, I actually am named for the team. Keep up the good work Urbanistas.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:10 am
C’mon, we all know that Cleve put the FABULOUS in the fabulous Short North Arts District…I can’t wait to see the -ous Columbus earns. Go Cleve!
August 5th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Cleve….keep up the great work you are doing for our City!! You have great ideas and I can’t wait to see what other good things you have up your sleeve!!!!!! Make us a destination city!! thanks
August 5th, 2008 at 10:57 am
You’ve had a strong influence on downtown. looking forward to your blog.
I’m old enough to remember watching the Browns at their best with JIm Brown, Frank Ryan and others–Go Browns!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Cleve rocks! Or…is that Cleveland rocks?
We applaud Cleve for raising his hand this past Spring and saying, “I want to showcase bicyclists in downtown. We want people to know that accessibility for bicycles is one of the many factors that contribute to a vibrant, livable community.” Consider Biking, and our constitunecy, thank Cleve for your leadership & vision!
Pedal on!!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Cleve-
You are fabulous and without you Columbus would just be another capital city- like, what’s the capital of Michigan again? I had friends in from Cleveland this weekend and acted as their tourguide. They LOVED Columbus- lots of art, lots of architecture, clean, and saw how people really care about this city. Thanks for making it great. One more question- didn’t the Browns move to Baltimore and take the Superbowl with them? Or was that to Foxborough?
August 5th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Cleve, Congrats and Kudos for all your hard work in making downtown Columbus the place to be. Cincinnati could sure use some of your ideas for their Main Street district. (There are plenty of Browns fans in the area.)
August 5th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
I too am looking forward to the upcoming blog. Can’t wait to read it.