📰 Playhouse Square CEO shares plans for Greyhound station

Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop: The WNBA is teasing our new team's name with beach imagery and Greek myths. Brilliant marketing, or a ploy to make us Google "sirens"? We have theories 🏖️🧜‍♀️

Don’t keep us a secret: Share the email with friends (copy URL here)​

John Petkovic & Jude Perez

Drivers still pull over on Chester Avenue to gaze at the sleek, stylish building and remember what it was once like.

Soon, they’ll ask, What’s next?

Months after the last bus has left, Playhouse Square is formulating a future for the closed Greyhound bus station.

“We don’t need another theater; we have 12,” says Playhouse Square President and CEO Craig Hassall. “It needs to be a multi-use space – a concert venue, cabaret, event center, supper club.”

Hassall led London’s Royal Albert Hall, Opera Australia and the English National Ballet before moving to Cleveland in 2023.

He oversaw the purchase of the bus station in 2024 for $3.35 million.

Built in 1948 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, it’s an immaculate example of Streamline Moderne – an offshoot of Art Deco that boasts stylish curves, bold lines and smooth surfaces.

Playhouse Square’s acquisition solidifies the northern edge of Playhouse Square: “Most of our visitors come in the north entrance, between Hofbrauhaus and the parking garage,” says Hassall.

It also stokes preservationist dreams – including plans to make it a temporary hub for pop-ups.

“It was always accessible to the public and we’ll keep it that way,” says Hassall. “We’re looking at hosting dance parties, markets, events.”

First, the roof: Playhouse Square is using a $1.5 million state grant to fix it.

“The roof should take another two, three months and then we’ll get cracking,” he says.

One idea taps into the station’s past: A theatrical production about the Great Migration.

“Cleveland became hallowed ground for people that had just enough money for a bus ticket,” he says.

Greyhound was literally the driver of the mass movement of six million Black Americans from the south during the 1910s-1970s.

There’s also the history of the station, and Playhouse Square – the greatest preservation story in Cleveland, right?

“Actually, that would make for a great exhibit,” says Hassall. “You know, this is the biggest Greyhound building of its kind?”

“My first impression when I saw the station was, ‘What a beautiful building, an architectural treasure, very American,’” he adds. “It tells a story and needs to be preserved.”

Tomorrow’s Special Edition 216 Insider newsletters looks at Playhouse Square — Cleveland’s greatest preservation story. In the 1970s, the theater district that had fallen in disrepair and was destined for the wrecking ball until citizens stepped up to save it. We look at its rise, demise and revival — and how it is applying the preservationist approach to the iconic Greyhound station and Chester Avenue.

From Huron Road to Superior Avenue, city planners have embarked on a series of makeovers for downtown’s arteries.

Chester Avenue has been MIA – but that’s about to change.

Playhouse Square’s acquisition of the Greyhound bus station will revitalize the long-underutilized thoroughfare into a safer, more pedestrian-friendly gateway.

“We have to get Chester tidied up before we can activate the Greyhound building,” says Craig Hassall. “The idea is to make it one lane of traffic in both directions and widen the sidewalks.”

Once known as a ‘semi-freeway,’ Chester was created as a high-capacity thoroughfare to relieve Euclid and move automobiles between downtown and University Circle.

Declining downtown traffic and the Opportunity Corridor changed that – and turned Chester into a dimly-lit ghost artery at night.

The arrival of Hofbrauhaus has helped light up a small piece of it. But that was 2014.

Next year, CSU’s $8.2 million Galleries at East 13th Street project will turn 4,000 square-feet of the Middough Building into an artist hub.

“The city has signed on and we have people coming together to make the area between East 13^th and 17^th a lot safer, cleaner and more interesting,” says Hassall.

It would allow for ‘lingering’ – which occurs when people feel safe in an area – and could lead to pop-up events and street parties.

The Greyhound station would be the centerpiece of the makeover.

“There’s a lot to do and it could take five or more years,” says Hassall. “It’s a big project and we need to do it right.”

The logo for Dan Gilbert’s hockey team features a monster swimming through Lake Erie.

Hmm, so what will be the name of his new WNBA franchise when the announcement comes Tuesday?

The Walleyes? Goodtime IIIs? Sirens?

Oh, dear Watson: The hints – er, marketing stunts – point to the last one.

Hint #1: A sand sculpture featuring the words ‘HEAR THE CALL’ mysteriously appeared at Edgewater Beach.

Hint #2: Next to it is a WNBA basketball.

Hint #3: A group affiliated with the team filed for trademarks on seven names, including Cleveland Sirens.

Hint #4: The rise of WNBA names with mythology and warrior themes.

In Greek mythology, Sirens became famous for luring sailors with enchanting songs.

The song is catching on: The team announced that 9,000 fans have already secured season tickets for its 2028 inaugural season.

MONDAY

Viagra Boys: Swedish post-punk troublemakers bring their dark wit, smart-ass stunts and Infinite Anxiety Tour to the Agora. 7 p.m. Info.

TUESDAY

ArtLens at CMA: The just-opened reimaging of ArtLens Gallery features immersive exhibits and visual, auditory, tactile, and movement-based interactions to open art up to all ages and generations. Info.

Guardians vs. Mets: Hard to believe Francisco Lindor is in his sixth season with the Mets – and struggling, like the team. The three-game series opens 6:40 p.m. Info.

👉 View Listing on Zillow

Lake Superior has been lying this entire time. Lake Erie is better by a nautical mile – at least according to USA Today.

It’s 10Best Rankings has it topping the other Great Lakes, even Big Bear and Tahoe – and everyone else for that matter.

In other words, it’s the best in the U.S.A.

“Buffalo, Cleveland, and Toledo are just a few of the storied cities that can be explored along the Erie shore, while recreation opportunities range from fishing to bird-watching to shipwreck diving,” says USA Today.

Cleveland, 1940s: The F.W. Woolworth Co., one of America’s original discount stores, located on Euclid Avenue and East Fourth Street. It is now the home of House of Blues.

Ooh and don’t forget! Tag @The216Scoop on Facebook & @scoopcle on Instagram to get your photos in the Scoop!

75 °F 🌡️ 65 °F | ⛅ (Partly Cloudy) | 14% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 14 mph N (≈ 12 knots)

80 °F 🌡️ 69 °F | ☀️ (Sunny) | 10% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 9 mph NNE (≈ 8 knots)

82 °F 🌡️ 71 °F | 🌧️ (Showers) | 52% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 8 mph W (≈ 7 knots)

_{Please note that weather conditions can change rapidly. For the most up-to-date information, consider checking a reliable local weather service.}

Home vs. Mets, 6:40 PM August 4 (Tuesday)

Home vs. Mets, 6:40 PM August 5 (Wednesday)

Home vs. Mets, 1:10 PM August 6 (Thursday)

Away vs. White Sox, 7:40 PM August 7 (Friday)

Away vs. White Sox, 7:15 PM August 8 (Saturday)

Away vs. White Sox, 2:10 PM August 9 (Sunday)

Thanks for reading The 216 Scoop today. If you found something useful, please share it with someone who gives out restaurant recommendations like medical advice.

Watch this quick video (start at 0:50) to see how easy it is to add our app to your home screen!