LENS

Connecting Places and People

New greenway is a campus walkway and gathering hub


Panoramic outdoor photo of the new Nord Family Greenway at Case Western Reserve University, an open green space connecting the campus Thanks to Judson Manor at University Circle for rooftop access to shoot our panoramic photo

Nord Family Greenway

Until recently, the stretch between Case Western Reserve's Tinkham Veale University Center and its performing arts center blocks away seemed much longer than 2,200 feet, with its steep slope thick with foliage and intersecting streets.

But the new Nord Family Greenway not only connects the main and west campuses, it also does so in a way that, as President Barbara R. Snyder described during the $15 million project's spring unveiling, "brings people together with nature—and with one another."

The broad, tree-lined and terraced greenway begins on its eastern edge at "The Tink," crosses the front yard of the Cleveland Museum of Art, descends to street level along a gentle slope with wide steps that also function as amphitheater seats, provides a bridge over Doan Brook creek and then continues to the Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center at The Temple-Tifereth Israel.

The design, by Sasaki Associates Inc., opens spaces previously hidden.

"I couldn't visualize how you went from here to there; I couldn't picture it," said Chyrel Oates, (MGT '92), a project director at the university's Weatherhead School of Management, during a lunchtime walk along the greenway. "But it's an inspired vision."

Making the Greenway Possible

Major donors include longtime university supporters, among them: the family of alumni Jane and the late Eric Nord, who provided the lead naming gift; the family of Curt and Sara Moll, an alumna and trustee; alumna and trustee Toby Devan Lewis; and the Cleveland Foundation. The Cleveland Museum of Art collaborated on the project. Current, powered by GE, provided LED lighting.

Photography by Matt Shiffler
Words by Bill Lubinger


Close up of a quote by Theo Moll engraved at the greenway's western edge that reads 'the past we inherit … the future we create.' The university's Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center at The Temple-Tifereth Israel is at the greenway's western edge. The quotation: "The past we inherit … the future we create" is by MTD Products Inc. co-founder Theo Moll, whose family made a significant commitment to the greenway.
Close up of the hillside on the west side of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Toby's Terrace, along the Nord Family Greenway. The hillside on the west side of the Cleveland Museum of Art was almost unpassable, now it has a gentle slope and amphitheater. It is named "Toby's Terrace" for alumna and trustee Toby Devan Lewis
Close up of the front of the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Nord Family Greenway. The paths for walking and biking extend across the front yard of the museum.
Close up of the view west from Case Western Reserve University’s Tinkham Veale University Center. The view from the Tinkham Veale University Center
Close up of the engraved sign that reads 'Nord Family Greenway' near the eastern edge. The 15-acre greenway creates one of the largest new parks in recent Cleveland history.
Close up of the entrance to Case Western Reserve University’s Tinkham Veale University Center at the eastern edge of the Nord Family Greenway. The Tinkham Veale University Center is at the eastern edge.