has two shopping malls; one--The Galleria--was once a really lovely upscale mall with a great food court. Now I don't know exactly what it is...the last time I was there, almost all the stores were gone as were all of the restaurants. A few art galleries had sprung up in shop spaces but there were no customers inside to enjoy the art. Back in the '90s, shortly after Progressive Field (then Jacobs' Field and still sometimes called "The Jake" by native fans) was built, the Guardians (then Indians*) had a deal where you could park in the Galleria's parking garage for free when you showed the parking attendant your ticket. I loved it; the garage was far enough away from the field that not many people parked there but it was very close to the freeway so you could avoid most of the traffic snarl that happened at the end of the games. Plus it was a really nice garage: one story so no having to remember what level you parked on, brightly lit, remarkably clean for a public garage and usually well-attended. Though the last time I parked there, years ago, I had to call someone to let us out. The door was open before the game but it was closed when we got back after the game (despite it being an early afternoon game). I can't remember if there were apartments above the garage or if there were residents of other buildings who parked there or if there were still a few stores open...I just remembered a very irritated man coming down to the garage and "unlocking" and manually opening the door to let us out.
* I'm never sure how to refer to Cleveland's baseball team when talking about a time prior to their name change. Is it insensitive to call them the Indians when referring to the teams prior to 2022 season even though that's what they were?
The other "true" mall in Cleveland--not counting a couple "arcades" (small walk-throughs hosting only local businesses)--is Tower City. Once almost equally as glamorous as The Galleria, it's still around, and there are still shops and a food court, but almost all the big name stores are gone and there's definitely a sense of decay and almost scariness about the place. I only go to Tower City when I take the RTA downtown to Guardians' games; there's a stop under Tower City (it used to be a train depot) where you get off, then go upstairs to the first level of Tower City and go through the food court to the "Walkway to Gateway", which was conceived as a way to get to Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage Arena (where the Cavs play--the venues are across a small alley from one another) without having to go out in the elements. The Walkway lets you out right outside the two venues.
