Odd Façade
Greater Cleveland already has Ohio City's spooky Franklin Castle and Chagrin Falls' picturesque Squire's Castle. Travel along Ridge Road in Cleveland's Stockyard neighborhood, and you'll find another. The odd man out among the strip of businesses, the small brick chateau has large wooden doors and turretlike extensions rising from the roof. Built in 1953, the property has a somewhat murky history. The place housed a restaurant and lounge in the '70s and '80s then a nightclub that closed in 2008. In April, it reopened under new management for weekend-only business, spinning Caribbean beats on Friday nights and international Latino hits on Saturdays. "There is no nightclub with a similar look," says manager Gerall Hasrouni. "If anyone says the , you know what they're talking about." 3837 Ridge Road, Cleveland, 216-704-8888
Wind Turbine
It stands at 443 feet tall, almost the same height as the Great Pyramid of Giza, making it the largest wind turbine in any North American urban area. 's wind turbine, completed this June, was built using 65 tons of reinforced steel rebar (that's the equivalent of 10 adult elephants). And though it could also be used to constantly power 686 homes, Lincoln Electric uses it to reduce electrical energy costs by 10 percent at its Euclid manufacturing facility. In addition to working on its carbon footprint, the company has created a masterpiece of sorts with Kenersys, the Germany-based company that designed and manufactured the turbine commuters can see standing tall along I-90 near the Babbit Road and East 222nd Street exits. "Some people look at it as artistic," says the company's energy manager Seth Mason, "just the curve of the blades, the slenderness of it." 22800 St. Clair Ave., Euclid, 216-481-8100, lincolnelectric.com
Cartoon-themed Home
Some people have given the mossy, domed abode of Rick Kristoff the nickname the . "Personally, I don't care for it," says Kristoff, who bought the Concord Township house in 2000. "That's like calling the Mona Lisa 'some chick.' " Although there is a dog-sized concrete dinosaur in the yard and the smooth, cement structure appears rather Stone Age, the 63-year-old retired plumber points out its proper name is Chant du Cygne or "Swan Song." The cavernous, 3,400-square-foot house, recently seen on MTV's Extreme Cribs, was designed and built in 1970 by sculptor Wayne Trapp on a budget of $30,000, Kristoff says. The free-form interior curves into five bedrooms, two bathrooms and many more surprises such as a tunnel and hidden lookout nook. Kristoff is not shy, welcoming the curious to come for Saturday tours. "Works of art should be shared," he says. 7245 Cascade Road, Concord Township, 440-352-4444
