Urban Garden Brightens Popular Outdoor Night Spot

East Fourth St. is a popular spot in downtown Cleveland, an alley lined with tables from onlooking restaurants. A recent renovation has resulted in an explosion of flowers.

1 minute read

August 3, 2008, 7:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


"'The flowers make this street much more inviting,' said Carrie Neale, manager of Lola Bistro. 'People get to enjoy flowers in an urban setting.'

'The flowers make the street feel very vibrant,' agreed Ken Ho, who owns Saigon Restaurant & Bar with Danny Nguyen. 'People enjoy settling down outside even more with the flowers around them.'

From one end of the street to the other, white and purple petunias fill sleek copper sconces mounted on brick walls. A mixture of moonflower vine, gloriosa daisies, sweet alyssum and other flowers cascade from tall plant stands and sway in the breeze.

'We wanted to plant things that would have an immediate impact,' landscape architect Jim McKnight of McKnight & Associates said of the $130,000 urban garden.

This unusual blend of eateries, bars and botanicals was a collaboration among McKnight's firm; nearby Medical Mutual of Ohio; East Fourth Street developer MRN Ltd.; and ParkWorks."

Thursday, July 31, 2008 in The Cleveland Plain Dealer

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