When Coventry Was Coventry
 |
| Me outside the former Fairmount Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, now a public library (8/3/25) |
Investigating new lifestyle choices, I ambled down the road to the jammed health food store, with its rows of vitamins and wheat germ. I let them talk me into “trying” vegetarianism for about a day.
It was long enough for my carnivorous parents to come unglued. You'd think I had joined the Hare Krishna.
Having morphed from a Jewish enclave to a hippie hangout in the 1960s, Coventry Village was Cleveland’s answer to New York's Greenwich Village. Anyone perceived as Bohemian belonged there.
Fringy restaurants like Tommy’s and offbeat stores such as High Tide, Rock Bottom, and Passport to Peru (which reeked of incense) added to Coventry's character. There was also a Japanese futon shop, where sleeping on a futon was seen as an exotic lifestyle, not just crashing on a glorified mattress on the floor.
The pulsating heart of Coventry Road was Record Revolution, a vinyl record store and head shop. Rock gods passing through Cleveland, from members of Led Zeppelin to Lou Reed to Patti Smith, autographed its walls.
Meanwhile, the Heights Art Theatre at the top of the road showed "art films" and The Rocky Horror Picture Show twice weekly at midnight. I went there often for Rocky Horror from 1978 to 1980—and once to take in an "art film" with a couple of friends.
Whenever I go by, I think back to the vital neighborhood I knew in 1978. It was a place imbued with meaning, a place for becoming.
Having morphed from a Jewish enclave to a hippie hangout in the 1960s, Coventry Village was Cleveland’s answer to New York's Greenwich Village. Anyone perceived as Bohemian belonged there.
 |
| Incense is still sold at Passport to Peru (8/3/25) |
 |
| The sad remains of the Record Revolution storefront |
Today, the Coventry Village I once cherished no longer exists. NPR covered the unhappy 2022 closure of Record Revolution. Several years ago, gang riots occurred, and a curfew was put in place. Many storefronts are vacant, and few, if any, of the hippie establishments of the past persist. It feels junky.
Whenever I go by, I think back to the vital neighborhood I knew in 1978. It was a place imbued with meaning, a place for becoming.
--
Don't go anonymous: Please type your name after your comments. It's as simple as that.
When I first moved to Cleveland, I lived on Hampshire, just a block and a half off Coventry. The parking was a nightmare but it was a fun environment. I'm sorry to hear it's not the same...
ReplyDeleteAlthough I never visited during the "good old days," I fondly remember stores like Coventry Cats and Big Fun. Maybe Coventry Road will have a big comeback someday?
ReplyDeleteRecord Exchange was on my regular rotation, eager to blow my meager weekly earnings. I could buy close to ten used albums for the price of a new one.
ReplyDelete