Box2565

The former quarters of the Orient Fire Company of Lebanon. This beautiful building was constructed in 1879 and is located on Mulberry Street at Chillicothe Street just a couple of blocks east of the business district. Fire company name carved into the stone over the doorways of the station.

Hi, My thoughts are that there are too many posts per page. Since some of the posts have really large numbers of photos attached it takes a couple of minutes for some pages to download onto my machine (that is with high-speed). I was thinking that if the number of replies was set at a lower number before a page would rollover that it would cut down on the number of pictures being asked for at one time. My preference would be 15 or 20 posts per page. The ability to set the number of replies per page is a feature that is controlled by the user on many of these types of discussion boards. If you've receiving an update soon maybe this option will be included! Thank you for taking the time to listen. :-) Steve

Hi, Thank you for the reply. I checked my profile and I wasn't able to locate an option for this. Could you point me in the right direction? Steve

Hi, First, I really enjoy these Forums. The photos selection and sheer amount of information present is just wonderful. There are 2 things that I would like to know about it terms of the settings for my account. #1 - How many replies appear per page? Is there a way to change the number of messages that appear on a page? #2 - In the "Show new replies to your posts" link can you select a topic that is no longer of interest so that the topic doesn't show when the link is used? Thanks, Steve

Cooey - Bentz Co, Home Furnishers in Wheeling, West Virginia. Free Parking "Customers Only"!

Actually you hit the nail on the head with one word. Nostalgia. I really do think that people will look back on the "old days" and think about how quaint things were around 2008. Wow. Weren't those Starbucks signs neat... There won't be very many true "ghost signs" on down the road. Painting an ad on brick is uncommon these days. How about trying to resurrect painted brick advertising? It worked for neon back in the '80's! A great sign. Many wall signs have been preserved because a building was constructed alongside the ad. I always keep an eye out for buildings that have recently come down as it may reveal a ghost sign! I have many. many more photos of ghost signs to post, but they are on prints so they need to be scanned....

Really enjoyed these photos! By chance do you have a picture of the fire museum? It's the red brick building with the flag. Thanks, Steve

It is the responsibility of each person, each street, each neighborhood to make that place the best that it can be. OTR is not in the business of dealing with the rehabilitation of people or to solve all of societies ills (although you would think it was with 108 social services in 110 blocks). It is to provide a safe and clean environment to its residents to live, work and play. I hear this all the time that just by moving them you aren't fixing the problem...since when did someones inablility to find a job or unwillingness to break a heroin addiction fall solely on the shoulders of OTR? The rest of the city has pushed these people into a community of containment, so we are now simply releasing them from that defacto prison that has been built for them over the past 40 years and we will do so unapologetically. To all of the neighborhoods who are "loosing" because of our efforts to clean our community, I say STEP UP! We are and why should we be faulted for the hard work and dedication of people who feel that one of the places that exist on the 10 most endangered historical places deserves better. We will do more, push harder, gain more ground day after day, year after year until OTR is THEE place that people want to live, not forced to live. Hi Michael, I agree with what you have to say. However your (and my) desire to keep the neighborhoods we live in safe, clean, etc. does not solve the problem. With the level of development that is occurring in OTR at the moment I expect that many of the homeless and the people selling drugs will move on. Stepping up will not solve these problems. Homeless individuals must have someplace where they can take shelter and receive other basic services. Somewhere along the way there have to be locations where these people settle down. A number of posts on this site take shots at people for having a NIMBY attitude. I have no problem with being a NIMBY. I do not want drug addicts and homeless people wandering the streets of my city (I also do not want a jail, sewage treatment plant, etc. nearby). I don't know anyone who does. My thought would be that many people who are homeless are able but cannot find a job and that most drug addicts would be quite willing to break their habit if the assistance was there that would allow them to do so. Also, since the major funding cuts in the Reagan era many mental health facilities were closed and the people that were in those facilities now live on the street. These people will not be finding jobs under pretty much any circumstance. The rest of our society does need to take care of those people. Until the basic issues of drug and alcohol abuse have been dealt with this problem cannot go away. Also, I believe part of the answer to these problems is to locate counseling and treatment centers along with homeless shelters in the vicinity of existing hospitals (that includes the suburban hospitals). This would allow the care of those addicted to be centered where medical treatment and counseling providers are nearby. I have no illusion about drug use outside of the urban core. It is rampant and something needs to be done. AA meetings are not all held in one neighborhood. They are in locations throughout the area. Something similar needs to be done for basic treatment - spread it around. Is part of the problem with 108 social service agencies in the area the financial means to relocate? With the smaller population I would think that the clientele of these agencies have to be coming from other parts of the city to receive services. It would seem to everyones benefit that these agencies do the same thing that many of their clients have done, move. Maybe they just don't have the money to do so? Just in case anyone wonders I am thrilled at the current transformation in Over-The-Rhine. I can remember the neighborhood when it was quite unsafe (but I still thought it was a neat place - if only I had taken photos back in the 70's!). I would like to live there however unlikely that is to actually occur. Hopefully the development will continue and be successful. Although more people are moving into the neighborhood I still wonder if there are enough folks out and about on the sidewalks that will allow the existing and proposed retail space to prosper. I think that most of us have been spoiled by the automobile and are a society of parking-lot loving people. Sincerely, Steve

Once man invited alcohol there have been people with substance abuse issues. Same thing since us humans discovered what can happen with some poppies, a little processing, and a hookah. There were always be people with drug and alcohol addictions. This problem will never go away. I believe the social and economic burden on society as a whole would be much smaller if drugs were free. Really enjoyed the photos. I was tempted to take that tour but too many irons in the fire last weekend. One of these days I'm going to convince my wife that we should live in Cincinnati. My guess is that event will happen the day I'm moved into a nursing facility. :-o

Any solution that involves having the problem business or tenant move out is most likely not a solution at all. Higher rents will cause these stores to move to other locations where there is lower rent and take the issues that go with the business along for the ride. Look at Price Hill, Covedale, and Westwood. Were these neighborhoods basically safe and free of drug related crimes 25 years ago? Yes they were. 25 years ago OTR and some other locations had large amounts of crime that was the result of drug activity. The reason that OTR is safer these days and has less crime is because the people creating many of the problems have moved to other neighborhoods. Drugs = crime. Unless you do something to lessen the issue of drug dependency then nothing has been accomplished, the dealers simply move to a new address. Other urban areas are experiencing similar situations. Drug sales have moved from the inner city to older towns near the urban core and to suburban areas. Again, the problem has not been solved, gentrification will simply cause the drug sales/prostitution/burglary/robbery/theft and violence to become somebody else's problem. What is one neighborhoods gain is another's loss. Arresting dealers and users does not solve the problem, it merely overcrowds our courts and prison system. Only drug treatment can create a solution or you can simply give the drugs away (no profit motive for the dealers, no need for the users to steal to support their habit). I know already, these are ideas that most folks think are ridiculous.....

Wall sign for Complete Restaurant Equipment and Trenton China Pottery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's a little tough to see the refrigerator through the tree, but the dishwasher is fancy! Steve Hagy photo.

I think both of those pictures are beautiful!

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Nicely preserved wall sign on a building in Princeton, West Virginia. This small town had a dozen or so ghost signs. I first photographed the wall art that was in Princeton during 1988. This photo is from a return visit in 2005. Text of the sign reads: Drug Store 2nd line unreadable Cold Drinks Cigars Stamps Men Women Children Clothing Hats Shoes Dry Goods Notions S. Ligasor There is some sort of image painted to the left with a quotation underneath. I could not determne what the art represented nor could I read the quotation. Maybe one of these days I'll figure it out!

While going through this thread a memory flashed into my little mind and I had to post this picture from my collection of fire apparatus photos. The fire engine shown was in service at Sidney, Ohio. The photo was taken on June 22, 1955 at the Central Western Firemen's Association parade at Eaton, Ohio. If you look at the buildings behind the ladder truck you will notice that they are the same as those shown in the photo that Summit Street took. The building in the center of the photo was home to Kaysers Shoes which sold Paul Parrot and the Rand brand (there's another name listed but I just can't read it). The building to the right where Rich-Land Interiors was in 2004 was home to a 5 cent to $1.00 store 49 years earlier!

Looks like there wasn't much going on in Glouster. Interesting photos from an area I haven't spent a lot of time in. Please keep them coming.

Hi, I am under the impression from what I have read that a significant percentage of homeless people are in need of mental health counseling and/or medications to help control or improve their condition. I don't believe that that particular segment of society has much of a chance of finding a job or a place to live. Until large amounts of funding are created to address those problems I don't know how anyone can reasonably expect the homeless situation to improve. Crime will not go away until the drug crisis that our nation is facing has been addressed. Some day the people of this country will need to face the fact that drug abuse is now a part of our culture and that no matter how much is spent trying to stop the production and importation of drugs that people will find a way to get their high. This is as true in the OTR as it is in other areas of Cincinnati and the suburbs. The gentrification of OTR may create a genuinely wonderful community in which to reside. The people, be they good or bad, who may be displaced from that community will still move on to another neighborhood to live. The social problems that are a large part of our society are found in Indian Hill; St. Bernard; Newport; Anderson Township; Liberty Township; Norwood; Edgewood; and every other community in this area. The social services that provide aid to those problems should be in every community too. Down off the soapbox. Hope everyone has a good night....

. I repeat. Lack of funding has never been a deterrent to any Federal project in the past. Our government routinely spends money for projects that funding is not available for. That's why we have a national debt. Pick any branch of our Federal government and you will find projects that are approved and undertaken by borrowing the money to do so. Every minute of every day the United States spends millions of dollars that it does not have. If the Congressional delegation on the Kentucky side of the river is any indication of what is to come (sitting on their hands doing nothing) then the states will be building the new bridge. The attitude of the federally elected officials is quite worrisome to me as I see this as the equivalent of placing unfunded Federal mandates on the states. If the House and Senate members from this area were to stand up and say they wanted the money for this bridge, I would be surprised if the funding didn’t become available (even though we really don't have the money - at least the expenditure would be in the budget). My comment regarding expenditures for the war was my point. We spend money that we do not have because the Feds have decided that we will. I apologize for using the war as an example of deficit spending. I am not trying to turn this topic into a referendum on the war. The U.S. has only had 3 years since 1960 with a budget surplus. Our national debt grows at a staggering rate each year. A billion or so for a new bridge won’t even register on the radar in Washington. Finding the funding for streetcars should be even easier.....

Lack of funding has never been a deterrent to any Federal project in the past. We spend billions in Iraq on a routine basis that we do not have. Also, and I may be repeating what has already been posted elsewhere, but I was of the understanding that if the U.S. Congress failed to meet their obligations (wouldn't that be a surprise!) and saddle the states with the construction costs of the bridge that the tolls would be collected electronically (license plate number is scanned in and you are billed for the trip(s) over the bridge).

Hi, O.K., there was mention of flooding in the West End during 1937. The river running up through the center of this photo away from the Ohio is the Millcreek. On the right you can tell that the streets in the West End were flooded. Look at the river level on the railroad bridge over to Ludlow (trains are still running). Looks to be only 12-15 feet under the bridge! It's difficult to see but Union Terminal is surrounded by water and the 8th Street and Western Hills viaducts also have water just under the roadways. So, does this mean the barrier dam was a good idea.... Steve

There isn't a neighborhood in Cincinnati that I wouldn't like to visit circa 1915 or 1950, but the West End is the most obvious example of what has disappeared. Large amounts of industrial/manufacturing, warehousing, along with the residential and retail that co-existed with industry in the pre-gasoline days. One thing to keep in mind is that by the time the massive destruction of the 1950's and 60's occurred the West End was a really run-down slum. Somewhere I recall reading that the United States Chamber of Commerce (I think this is right as it's been a while since I read this information) regarded the West End as the worst slum in the United States around 1950. Not the kind of national recognition that a town really wants. I've often wondered if the big bend to the west that I-75 makes was an intentional routing to clear away more of the buildings in that area. There was a cluster of buildings (2-3-4 story residential & commercial) that survived until 1980 or so in the area where the Enquirer printing plant now stands going over to Dalton Street. I wish I had been bright enough to take photos....

Hi, The large white building is the post office. The street running at a diagonal along the east end of Crosley is Western Avenue. The path of I-75 follows Western through that area. As ManorBorn mentions Laurel homes is not present on the right side of the aerial photo across from Washburn School. The photo below is from the book "Cincinnati The Queen City" which was compiled by John G. Kidd and published in 1938. Since Laurel Homes isn't shown in the aerial view then the photo has to date from 1933 (Union Terminal completed) and 1938 (Laurel Homes completed). Washburn is the "U" shaped building along the center of the left side in this picture. Steve

Hi, Yep this topic has some age to it but I haven't had time to read all of the older posts that looked interesting. I'll have to disagree with Crosley being a dump. Sure the seats were hard and the wood benches in the outfield were harder; but the place was reasonably clean and I got to see Frank Robinson, Jim Maloney, Joey Jay, Gordie Coleman, Vada Pinson, Pete, Johnny and a lot of other great guys play against other great players like Willie Mays (who shook my hand and actually spoke to me while he autographed my scorecard!), Roberto Clemente (who was "Bob" back then), Hank Aaron, etc. I really liked the photo from 1962 as I can remember walking across the dirt where I-75 is to get to the park. I also remember my Dad paying off people in the neighborhood to watch the car. The opening of Riverfront Stadium was fun too (I went to the 2nd game at Riverfront - the first sold out too quickly) and it was cleaner and more comfortable. But I never had a nosebleed at Crosley Field.....

This photo has gone away....

Packard sign in Cleveland, Ohio that I photographed in May of 2007. This was southeast of Downtown Cleveland. I lost my note that gave the address! Jerome, I really like the Texas & Pacific sign from Dallas. I ran across that one while visiting there last month. To the rest of the folks viewing this thread - how about a picture! Steve