The Great & The Crooked: Diving Into Cleveland’s Boldest Idea

The first session filled the studio with people aged 20s through 80s, lifelong Clevelanders and new arrivals alike. The conversation that unfolded was a mix of history, critique, and imagination sparking insights that carried well beyond the evening.

This second session goes deeper:

• We're focusing on the lakefront and the Cuyahoa River
• Explore how it was developed and where we are today
• Consider the tangible and intangible significance, and how modern values apply
• An expanded experience in the immersive listening room installation, Surrender & Smile
• Featuring photos from the historical archives of the Cleveland Public Library

Cleveland’s lakefront has been everything from landfill to civic showcase, industrial artery to untapped natural wonder. Today, it stands at a crossroads again — with major projects like Bedrock’s riverfront plan, the North Coast Yard, CHEERS, and the Cleveland Browns stadium all in play.

This evening will bring together voices across planning, preservation, psychology, and the arts to ask:

• How do we reclaim and reimagine our waterfront with intention?
• What does it mean to balance preservation and progress?
• How do accessible waterfronts shape identity, wellness, and daily life for Clevelanders?

Expect perspectives from urban planners, artists, psychologists, and community members. And expect to contribute — this isn’t a panel to watch, it’s a conversation to join.

• A three-part conversation series taking place once a month, beginning August 27th.
• Each event is limited to 30 people
• Tickets are required. $15/each

It’s a creative conversation in a space where past and future collide. Hosted inside the private studio and gallery of artist at 78th Street Studios—one of Cleveland’s most distinctive art experiences, this event blends architecture, history, and art in an intimate setting that sparks curiosity and dialogue.

We’ll explore the vision behind Cleveland’s most ambitious plan, the Group Plan of 1903 and the City Beautiful Movement, and how its principles apply today as we focus on our incredible waterfront.

Guided by Greg Deegan and John Perse of , with selected works by Jason Toth as visual anchors, this experience pairs historical insight with vivid, surreal reinterpretations of the city we call home. Together, we’ll ask: What do we value? What have we lost? And what can we still create?

The conversation starts here. Where it goes next is up to you.

The creative studio of Jason Toth, home of The Alexander Westdale Forum

Greg Deegan is the co-founder and executive director of Teaching Cleveland, a nonprofit organization that engages people in transformative, place-based education and experiences designed to foster a love of place from kindergarten to career.

He recently served as the community education director for University Circle Inc. from 2017-2022. Prior to that, he taught social studies at Beachwood High School for 21 years. In his time there, he earned National Board Certification, served as a Library of Congress Fellow, served on the National Teacher Leadership team of Facing History and Ourselves, received a Fulbright award and taught in Hungary, and was named Sam’s Club Teacher of the Year. He is the author or co-author of four books on Cleveland history.

John Perse

Research and Publishing Associate, Teaching Cleveland

John attended the University of Virginia and received a Master of Arts in Government at Georgetown University in 1981.

An educator for 38 years, he views history as a living puzzle, and challenges us to zoom in, then step back, and see the patterns shaping our world from a multitude of perspectives.

Jason Toth, Artist

Learn more about Jason and his artwork.

Host or Publisher Jason Toth and Teaching Cleveland