The smoky glass, hexagonal building sitting astride the triangular lot is oddly reflective of its surroundings. Every image in the panels of the exterior of the Museum of Contemporary Art building has a history. The apartment building across the street, which once was the Commodore Hotel. The fast food sandwich shop that stands in place of the family owned Italian restaurant that held the spot for generations. The cluster of Uptown Cleveland buildings and signs that form a nexus to other nearby structures. All have an indelible link to past Cleveland days and a wealth of unexamined history. But in as much as the Mayfield Triangle has not yet found its historian, let it suffice to say that for a brief moment in time, one of the most well-respected American art forms and legends of the jazz world came to University Circle. It happened because one young African American man, Winston Willis, had the courage and insight to penetrate a racially restricted area and create a unique jazz club experience for appreciative audiences of all races that accurately represented the changing spirit of the times. | Creator: Erik Drost, Flickr CC BY 2.0Download Original File
