There is a popular story on the Internet about an American who was so dissatisfied with the noise of planes flying over his house that he decided to annoy the airlines and placed a huge inscription on the roof indicating another city. We decided to check if this is true.
The story of a resident of Milwaukee (Wisconsin, USA), who was disturbed by the noise of planes landing at a nearby airport, can be meet on information And entertaining portals. It is alleged that the man placed a sign on his roof that read “Welcome to Cleveland,” a city several hundred kilometers away. Thus, the American allegedly constantly provoked panic among passengers who began to doubt that they had boarded their flight. Because of this, the airlines allegedly even changed their landing trajectory in order to avoid the house of the indignant citizen and not irritate their customers. The story of the enterprising joker is actively shared by social network users (“VKontakte", Facebook*, Instagram*, X, Telegram) and blogging platforms (“Peekaboo", LiveJournal).
Information about the inscription “Welcome to Cleveland” on the roof of a house in Milwaukee is widespread not only in Russian, but also in English language. Moreover, by searching for “Cleveland, Millawkee, welcome” you can find the corresponding sight, marked in Google Maps. On satellite images visible the same roof on which the white inscription “Welcome to Cleveland” is clearly visible.
There are also publications in local media about the unusual welcome inscription, as well as an interview with the person who created it. Thus, in 2005, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published article, which tells the story of local photographer Mark Gubin. It was he who painted the confusing inscription on the roof of his house. He did this back in 1978, by his own admission, without any purpose other than to “sow madness.” He told reporters that one day he was having lunch on the balcony with his assistant, and she, seeing planes landing, suggested placing a welcoming sign on the roof: “Welcome to Milwaukee.” But the photographer immediately had a more creative idea, which he brought to life. Apparently, in this way he was not at all trying to force the airlines to change their approach trajectories - at least Verified was unable to find any reliable evidence (for example, the words of Gubin or his acquaintances) confirming that he was guided by this particular motive.
Over the following years, Internet users periodically remembered Gubin again, the inscription on the roof of the photographer’s house and how he wrote Milwaukee Journal Sentinel journalist, "15 minutes of fame that lasted 37 years." Due to another surge of interest in the welcome sign in 2015, major American and international media wrote about Gubin: The Daily Mail, Today, The Independent, GQ, Metro, The Huffington Post and others. At the same time, the photographer gave an interview to the TV channel ABC, where he talked about the letter he received from the head of the city council, Ben E. Johnson. According to a city official, he has received complaints that the sign allegedly misleads people and disturbs passengers. He himself, however, does not consider it misleading, because “I was recently in Cleveland, and everyone who wants to come there is really welcome there” (this play on words is difficult to translate, but the point is that the phrase Welcome to Cleveland can also be interpreted as “Cleveland is glad to see you coming,” and then technically such an inscription can be placed in any city). Obviously, Johnson, like Gubin, has a sense of humor.
“Checked” was unable to find information about any official complaints against Gubin, orders to remove the inscription, or changes in the operation of the airport related to his joke. And given the wave of popularity that the photographer received in 2015, passengers are more likely to specifically look for the inscription than to panic because of it. It was not possible to find information in the public domain that the trajectory of aircraft landing in Milwaukee has changed in any significant way over the years.
So the "Welcome to Cleveland" sign located near the Milwaukee Airport actually exists. It was created more than 40 years ago, and the owner of the house did it as a joke, and did not try to force the airlines to change the flight path of the planes that were allegedly interfering with his sleep.
*Russian authorities consider the company Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram, to be an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Cover photo: screenshot Google Earth
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