Best of Cleveland 2016: Guardians of Traffic Art

Like the vehicles carved into the mighty sandstone pylons standing watch on the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge, the Cuyahoga Collective’s retail truck strives to remind locals of the city’s history while celebrating our artisan future in cool, imaginative ways. Co-owner Adam Taseff created the Guardians of Traffic print ($18) from a photograph of the iconic bridge that he traced and then made it into a print in 2011. “It still surprises me how many locals don’t know what they are,” says store manager Shelley Turk. “They’re meant to guide transportation in and out of the city.” The close-up of the Art Deco figure, one of four that has stood at the edge of downtown since 1932, come in eight color combinations such as red and blue or green and gray. “We want to have that connection of the past to the present,” she says. “It’s a piece to talk about.” cuyahogacollective.com