The Cleve 1: Norton Furniture

This is the first installment of what I'll call 'The Cleve', a quick look at what makes The Cleve, The Cleve, including some establishments that any local should know immediately. First up, Norton Furniture. This guy is a cult classic in the area, known for his super weird, low-budget commercials. Spurred by a co-worker catching a glimpse of the local legend on his way to work, a few of us decided to check out the giant multi-level store on a lunch break. The whole building belongs to the store, but we were only allowed up to the 4th floor, leaving us to speculate what craziness is going on at the top levels... If you watched the video linked above, you'll notice a bunch of random life sized figurines... those are all over the store. One of my favorites was this freaky carnivorous french fry (he's eating his own fry!) and Steve was nice enough to pose with Fry's cousin, Hot Dog. Seriously, why is this stuff all over a furniture store!

We ended up seeing the legend, Mark at the store. Steve attempted to walk by him and make eye contact. But, possibly in a motion-less contest with his life-sized buddies, he never moved from his place on the couch. Maybe he has a wax stunt double he keeps around the store. Check out this creepy empty 'break room' where Brian scouted out a crack-den looking mattress and a mini fridge with a handle of liquor on top.

I'm not even going to get into the thousands of Polaroids displayed all over the store showing god knows who... Are these documenting sales? Workers? Victims? Either way, the whole experience was totally strange. Check out some more videos below... It's got to be some of the weirdest stuff on Utube! (thanks for the photos Brian!)


Words can't describe this one..
Fry and Hot Dog make an appearance in this one!
Talking babies?