xumelanie

The American Building includes 3 commercial units as well. One is a store front that I believe is for sale. Another one is an office. The very back of the building is the parking garage. That is only four stories. The main building does have units in the back. The units do range in size. Some are around 1200, and others are about 2000.

I agree.... it would be nice to have some of those stores go to the street level. I miss quite a few of the stores that left this year.

^ Thursday night looked packed as well, and 3:30 on Friday looked crowded as well.

My husband and I used to drive to work together. It was about a 20 minute commute by car. After we moved, we now walk. It's about a 10-15 minute walk (6 blocks). I love walking to work. I don't have to worry about getting stuck in rush hour, and it wakes me up a little in the morning.

^ Sounds great!

Mudslide, how often are you downtown? I live on the border of CBD and OTR, and I see several police officers every day.

I too grew up on the westside of Cincy....and I haven't left my house once except for terrorism drills :shoot: I didn't mean this as a slam to westsiders, so I hope it didn't come across as one. :)

David, you make some excellent points in your post. This quote in particular really stands out to me because I grew up on the west side of town. I do know people who venture out, but I've met many who will not. I know this is true of other neighborhoods as well, and it's unfortunate. People really miss out on a lot by refusing to go in other neighborhoods.

While I'm glad that they added the condos on Vine, I do have to say that I'm not impressed with the interiors. They did not seem like the best use of space, and the units appear small. For their price, they should have granite countertops and other high-end finishes.

^Ugh....that would be awful. Not to mention we would lose cheap, fast options for lunch.

I'm surprised, too. I miss the Servatti's on 6th Street, New York & Co, and Bath & Body Works. :( There needs to be a good bakery closer to Fountain Square (Dunkin' Donuts doesn't count). Also, Macy's selection of women's clothing has been horrible lately, so I really miss the women's clothing stores. I think the Beer Hall of Fame sounds great. I wonder where that will go.

^ Has anyone gone to myfountainsquare.com and sent in these suggestions? I think skating until midnight or 1 is a great idea.

That may true, but places like Panera are open for dinner, and they serve sandwiches, soups, and salads as well. There are many times when people feel like having a light dinner. This is a good point. Many malls close at 6:00 on Sunday as well. On another note, I went on a Hawaiian cruise this summer. We stopped in Honolulu on a Sunday. Around 4 or 5, we walked around downtown Honolulu. A lot of their businesses were closed as well. The only places open was a mall near the port-of-call and a drug store.

There is a Skyline on 7th and Vine as well. They are located only a block from Fountain Square, so they can easily be impacted. They are open until 8 PM Monday through Friday, and they are open until 4 PM on Saturdays. If there is a home Bengals game, they will open on Sunday. I attended the Fountain Square tree lighting back in November with some friends, and afterwards we went to the Skyline at 7th and Vine. We arrived around 7:15 or so. It took nearly twenty minutes to get waited on, and the place was packed. We nearly left, but a few of us were craving Skyline so badly. It turns out that they only had one waitress scheduled to work. An off-duty waitress happened to walk by and noticed that they were slammed, so she had walked in to work. Skyline still closed at 8 PM, but for some reason they left their "open" sign on. After 8, people were still coming in, but they were turned away. It was so frustrating. Many people walked by after attending the event, so they could have really made good money that night.

^ Do you guys think anything can be done about this? It's very frustrating. I've considered sending emails to DCI. Do you think this would do any good?

I always thought the Westin rates were the same as Grammery. $1 for the first 2 hours but then after 5 and weekends $1 for the full day. Did they recently change the Westin's rates? I'm pretty sure that the Westin rates do match the Grammercy. It's $1 for 2 hours during weekdays, but $1 for evenings and weekends.

I agree 100%

Apparently, this isn't the case any more. My husband and I stopped there around 5:40 for dinner last night. After we sat down with our food, we noticed that they started closing the place up. When it was 6, a few families came in for food, but they were turned away. It was extremely frustrating to watch. Fountain Square was packed with people last night, which was great to see. I realize that there are many great businesses downtown, but it is unfortunate that some of them are not addressing the needs of the people visiting and in some cases, living, downtown. 3CDC and DCI must be doing something right in order to bring down the crowds for this holiday season. Unforunately, when a restaurant right across the street from FS closes at a ridicously early hour, it leaves a bad impression. If these families who were turned away from Ingredients last night choose to ever come downtown again, I'll bet they will eat before they arrive. This is not the first time that I've seen customers turned away from a nearby restaurant after a Fountain Square event, either. It's just frustrating. As a resident, I know where the places are that have night time hours, but most visitors do not.

I thought the same thing.

^ okay, sorry, lack of sleep!

^ Why?

^ Not to be confused with Great American Financial Resources (GAFRI), which has a sign inside the 525 Vine building :)

Fine. The one with the actual "Great American Insurance" sign on it. Happy? ;) Actually, the Dixie Terminal also says "Great American Insurance" on the south side of it as well. ;)

^ 580 Walnut

The 6th and Walnut location. They also have offices in Dixie Terminal.