Ampco System Parking

There is not much parking downtown — so this parking lot is very convenient, especially for folks planning to visit any of the restaurants for dinner on East 4^th Street. Paid $ 5.00, parked, and walked the two or so blocks down to my restaurant!
The sign at the parking lot entrance states they accept credit cards, the attendant claimed the credit card mechanism was out of order, so I paid cash.

The casino had just opened downtown, and parking was tight. Being in the area for work in Strongsville, and staying in a hotel in Berea, I decided to go downtown to have dinner at the Flaming Ice Cube. Traffic was a mess, parking was a mess, and pedestrians were all over the place. I was concerned, seeing all the «lot full» signs everywhere that I wouldn’t be able to find a place to park, and would have made a wasted trip.
I followed a few signs to a lot that appeared to be full, and after pulling into the cashier area, was told that the credit card machines were down and that it was $ 10 cash only to park there. I didn’t have the cash, so I was told if I took the green ticket to the guy inside, I could effectively «turn around» and leave the parking lot without causing a jam-​up.
So I did what I was told, and the parking guy inside actually had access to a «pay booth» that did, indeed, take credit cards and I was able to pay a $ 8 flat-​rate that allowed me to stay until 4am (I only needed to stay until 10pm, when the restaurant closed). Score!
I was directed to the outside parking area, which was closer to the street, and found a parking spot.
A benefit of this lot is that it’s fairly close to many of the attractions downtown, including The House of Blues (walked past that), and all of the restaurants surrounding the Flaming Ice Cube — including Noodlecat (!!!) which had a jazzed-​up Musak version of Mah Nà Mah Nà playing as I walked by; which put a spring in my step.
Overall a good experience, reasonable price for downtown Cleveland during a big event, and decent spaces. It was a bit tight to maneuver around in some places — found myself close to the curb a few times — but not a big deal, as I’m used to parking in garages. So aside from the confusion over the cash-​only situation, it was a good place to park.