CLEVELAND IS ON A (ROCK ‘N’) ROLL

CLEVELAND â€”  IS THIS CITY BUILT ON ROCK ‘N’ ROLL?: For years, Cleveland has been the butt of every joke imaginable, ranging from disparaging nicknames for its ballpark (“the great mistake by the lakeâ€�) to sarcastic remarks about its cultural attractions (as Randy Newman once musically put it, “Cleveland, city of light, city of magicâ€�).

Now, with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame coming to town, the local pop Establishment says the city is finally getting some respect. (The Ohio state legislature also recently voted “Hang On, Sloopy� the official state rock song.) While plans for the actual construction of the hall are still up in the air, the mere fact that Cleveland won out over larger, more prestigious locales has done wonders for area morale.

“The hall is really going to put us on the map,� said Dewey Forward, an area promoter who owns a popular local rock club called Peabody’s. “Just think. Soon they’ll be able to say to some young rock ‘n’ roller, ‘Hey, kid, you work hard enough, sell enough records and you’ll be able to make (the Hall of Fame in) Cleveland.’

“You can really see a change in the city’s self-image. People used to feel bad about themselves, apologize for themselves. But we’ve had a lot to crow about lately.

“The Hard Rock Cafe is coming here, the Hyatt is interested in building a new hotel, there’ll be more concerts happening and MTV has even been talking about basing a reporter here. So, in terms of economics, it should generate a lot of new business.�

According to Forward, the city’s efforts to land the Hall of Fame sparked an unlikely alliance between Cleveland’s warring political factions. “This is a very tough town politically,� he said. “The mayor (George Voinovich) has his faction, the head of the city council has his faction, so there’s often been a lot of confrontation politics. But everyone got united on this project.�

Forward laughed. “Even my mother, who’s 68, called in when one of the papers had a poll on whether to bring it here or not. And I didn’t even have to twist her arm.�

Forward said the city’s revival even extends to the brackish Cuyahoga River, which achieved a peculiar sort of notoriety years ago when it became so polluted that it caught fire. “You wouldn’t recognize it anymore,� he said. “There are all sorts of new bars and restaurants over there. And when National Geographic did a follow-up story about the river recently, they reported that they actually caught fish in it.�