THE FINAL STAGE OF GRIEF is acceptance. Now that National City Bank has moved on to that big vault in the sky, it's time to swing by PNC's downtown Cleveland offices and make peace with it. The Pittsburgh-based bank, which bought National City in 2008 and retired its name last April, recently opened a museum-style display of 300 artifacts from our hometown bank's 163 years of business. The PNC Legacy Project illuminates Cleveland history through money's prism. There's a 12 1/2-cent bill issued by the Western Reserve Real Estate Association and a $5 bill printed by National City in 1905. An ornate, century-old grille that once stood guard at a teller window shows how the industry traded formality for convenience, and a 1933 newspaper article trumpets National City's purchase of two doomed banks, reminding us all that change is inevitable. 1900 E. Ninth St.; open during business hours
Meet your neighbors and the faces behind some of Cleveland's favorite haunts through the curious camera lens of the Cleveland Public Library's chief of special projects and collections. By John Skrtic
