Insider Tips for Making the Most of University Circle

About 15 minutes east of downtown Cleveland, University Circle shines as a world-class arts and culture destination. There’s a lot to see and do in the circle so we made it our mission to discover the things you absolutely cannot miss when you visit. Read on for tips for making the most of your University Circle experience or watch the Positively Cleveland video below.

Cleveland Institute of Art
Founded in 1882, The Cleveland Institute of Art is an independent college of art and design that also offers a wide array of public programming.
11141 East Boulevard, 216.421.7000, www.cia.edu
Reinberger Gallery open 10am-5pm on Tues., Wed., Thurs., Sat. and 10am-9pm on Fri.
Various alternative and arts film showings at the CIA Cinematheque.

Tips:

• CIA’s Cinematheque shows more than 250 domestic and international films each year, films you probably can’t see anywhere else. Admission is $8, parking is free (right next to the building) and concessions won’t break the bank. Tickets may be purchased at CIA’s box office before each film. View the schedule here.
• Just inside the doors of CIA’s Gund building, visitors are welcome to browse the FREE Reinberger Gallery where local artists as well as major traveling exhibits are displayed Tuesday through Saturday.
• The Visiting Artist Program invites artists of regional, national and international renown to CIA to present free lectures showcasing a wide variety of topics in fine arts and design. These lectures are free and open to the public.

Severance Hall
Long considered one of America’s great orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra performs in Severance Hall, located in University Circle on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.
11001 Euclid Avenue, 216.231.1111, www.clevelandorchestra.com
Various concert and event times.

Tips:

• Silver aluminum decorates the entire hall and the acoustics are prime, making it a fantastic place to hear a concert.
• The Cleveland Orchestra packs their schedule with family-friendly events throughout the concert season. Browse the events calendar to find something for the whole family.
• The Orchestra has two homes. Severance Hall , the orchestra’s winter home is in University Circle. In the summer, picnic with the orchestra at Blossom Music Center, a large outdoor venue.
• Severance Hall offers free public tours on selected Sundays at 12pm and 1pm during the Severance Hall season. Call 216.231.1111 for reservations. Private tours can be arranged for a fee by calling 216.231.7421.
• Severance offers on-site parking, dining and a music-inspired gift shop.

The Cleveland Museum of Art in University Circle (view from Wade Lagoon side)

Cleveland Museum of Art

One of the nation’s most preeminent art museums, featuring 6,000 years of the world’s great art and significant special exhibitions. The current expansion project re-imagines the museum.
11150 East Boulevard, 888.CMA.0033, www.clevelandart.org
Open 10am-5pm Tues., Thurs. and Sat. and 10am-9pm Wed. and Fri.

Tips:

• The Cleveland Museum of Art is FREE (excepting some special exhibitions)
• Coming soon are galleries for Asian, antiquities, ancient Americas, medieval European and  Sub-Saharan African art, textiles, and prints and drawings.
• Head to the second floor to experience CMA’s newly renovated art research library, the 3rd largest in the United States, including 401,918 volumes. Open to the public free everyday for leisurely reading.
• CMA hosts some of Cleveland’s most popular events, including Parade the Circle

Cleveland Institute of Music
CIM is an internationally known observatory of music boasting a gorgeous recital hall where faculty, visiting musicians and students of the highest caliber perform hundreds of free concerts each year.
11021 East Boulevard, 216.791.5000, www.cim.edu
Various concert and recital times.

Tips:

• The public is encouraged to attend one of more than 400 free concerts performed each year by students, faculty and well-known guest musicians.
• As part of the curriculum at CIM, students are required to perform individual recitals (open to the public) to help prepare them for large audiences.

Western Reserve Historical Society
The Western Reserve Historical Society is a private, not-for-profit educational institution that preserves and uses its collections, historic sites and museums to inspire people to explore the history and culture of Northeast Ohio and the world.
10825 East Boulevard, 216.721.5722, www.wrhs.org
Open Tues.-Sat., 10am-5pm

Tips:

• WRHS is Cleveland’s oldest cultural institution founded in the late 1860s and its East Boulevard campus is actually three museums in one.
• The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum is located on the lower level and presents the history of land and air transportation. The Museum collects and preserves historically and technically important automobiles, aircraft, bicycles, motorcycles, spacecraft and related accessories.
• The History Center is made up of connected historic mansions and features galleries of rotating exhibitions.
• The Library/Archives & Genealogy Center is the largest American history research center in northern Ohio.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History
From dinosaurs and exotic cultures to rare diamonds and a planetarium, the museum provides a fun relaxing environment for visitors to explore this world and beyond.
1 Wade Oval Drive, 800.317.9155, www.cmnh.org
Open 10am-5pm on Mon., Tues., Thurs. and Fri., 10am-10pm on Wed. and noon-5pm on Sun.

Tips:

• Open seven days a week and late on Wednesdays.
• CMNH manages an onsite zoo with plants and animals native to Ohio accessible from inside the museum. Get up close and personal with bobcats, turkey vultures, deer, raccoons, eagles, seals and other animals.
• In 2002, CMNH opened the best equipped planetarium of its size in the nation offering comfortable, stadium-style seating for 85 and nighttime star viewing.
• On Wednesday nights September through the end of May from 8:30-11pm, CMNH’s observatory is open to the public. Look at the sky through their 105 year-old, 10 ½-inch Warner & Swasey telescope.

Cleveland Botanical Garden
CBG offers ten acres of beautiful gardens, including an award-winning children’s garden, plus an exotic new glasshouse featuring both tropical and desert climates.
11030 East Boulevard, 216.721.1600, www.cbgarden.org
Open 10am-5pm Tues. – Sat. and noon-5pm on Sun.

Tips:

• CBG’s outdoor gardens are open year-round and are quite lovely in the serene calm of winter.
• Observe a wide array of bird species and animals including tortoises and ducks that are hiding in and amongst the foliage, and butterflies grace the gardens in spring, summer and fall.
• CBG holds annual shows each year including Orchid Mania and an impressive Winter Show, as well as special summer events like Cocktails in the Garden, when admissions gets you a glass of wine or other beverage while you roam the grounds.

–Submitted by CA

EDITOR’S NOTES: For more University Circle photos, click here. Driving to University Circle, consider taking MLK from the Shoreway and driving by the Cultural Gardens. If you’re in town without a car, ride RTA’s HealthLine from Public Square.

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