Everything posted by RJohnson
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Yes there has been drastic change and its all good. Still, if more people were moving here there would be a need for high rises, corporate offices, etc. The population of the metro seems to stay the same. There is something charming about the history, neighborhoods, hills and river. The charm is on par with many other midsized Midwest cities. But when I read the arguments over whether a new complex should 5 of 6 stories tall, I can only think of high school. . -
If you don't have people you can't have a city. You can talk apartments, condos, high rises, hotels, and the like but since the 50s people have been moving to the burbs. Shopping malls, businesses, hotels followed and people commuted by auto (one person to a car/too bigga truck) People are flocking south. They may come back as the water and humidity rise but that wont happen till there is good reason: jobs, real attractions, a way to make money. Cities like San Antonio, Austin, Charlotte, Raleigh,and Atlanta are booming. And, most of Florida and Texas are booming, too. Friends visiting our fair city have consistently commented about the lack of a city. "Where are the people? Its not a big as I thought." Cincy seems to like beer, pizza, chili and chain restaurants. So, the locals can get that in spades. Tourists need a reason to come and spend money. A tourist from Europe, or Asia will never want to experience the ambiance of middle America. In the 70s people came to America to see gold paved streets and buildings 1000 feet tall. Now those things are in their own countries. Many places Ive visited have good transportation systems. In most bigger cities you can take a fast train to major city or take a local train to many of the smaller towns and both types of trains are in the same station. Our streetcars are like your first toy train set. A choo choo on an oval track. If and when people give up their cars and trucks, and we have unique shops, restaurants, music, and curio shops. Plus, saxophone players on street corners and beggars and mamas with babies and daddys with cigars Cincy will not draw the numbers to get that big city vibe.
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Even though the Banks doesn't look anything like the neighborhood that was proposed. I do remember reading that there wouldn't be carnival type attractions. It was to be Cincinnati's front yard. By the time something started to be built, I think the entire city was happy that something/anything would be built. Smale Park looks great with the water attractions, steps and lawns. The walks and the swings are integrated and overall it looks like most things belong. Enter the ferris wheel. If its going to be permanent then it should look the part. There are many places it could go, but with a little thought it would fit nicely to the west of Carols Merry-go-round. Add a ground floor to house the machinery. It should be the same level with the Merry-go. Add coffee house, ice cream parlor, maybe an indoor/outdoor restaurant. Or, leave it where it is and add corndog, fried pickle, cotton candy and flavored ice cone stands. And, for the full effect throw some straw down and hang some lights like they did on the Ohio side of the PPB.
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so, lawyers, architects, designers, developers fight over every tit and tattle that goes at the banks. But, this carnival ride gets a high five.
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I dread the day when developers propose 6 story 2x4 structures and end up building pole barns.
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there was a time when the running story was, the streetcar will not help development in OTR. Now look. There was a time when no one played Soccer in this country. Now look. There are soccer moms that fill the highways and airways to attend, promote and back soccer. Bringing a MLS team to Cincy may just save this city. There was a time when Detroit refused to see the tsunami coming. Look at Detroit and northern Ohio now. Cars are built below the Mason Dixon in a variety of rural areas. Change will happen. And if it comes down to moving a 99 year old from a to b and she is a renter then she loses. Sorry. She has to go.
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if the owners do allow their pets to take a two on the streets of OTR, the people will enjoy the unique atmosphere OTR, and the pets will enjoy marking the neighborhood up. Happy pets. happy owners
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what happens if the 99 year old needs to be moved to intensive care or some such. Should the city keep her in the apartment because of her health? Up to 7 people need to be moved (please notice "up to" .... As I hear Moses took 2 million people out of Egypt. Of course anyone over 99 were given rainy day tickets for the next caravan to Saudi Arabia. But sadly, Moses didn't make it to the promised land. Such is life.
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neo-brutalism
Months ago I posted images of a stadium with street facades from OTR. I was banned from posting for 2 weeks and accused of trolling. The stadium site is not in OTR it is in the west end area which has undergone many upgrades in the last 20 years. The area including Linn Street has multiple housing and retail shops that are nothing like OTR. They are modern or new looking. The corner of Liberty and Central Parkway is not, nor does it look like the famed OTR. There is a beer factory on one corner, the ugly very strange Warner Brothers/Paramount/Universal building and a one building college that recently was reworked to look more contemporary. Then there is a strange radio tower building, the police station, the WCET building and surrounding parking lots. The overall effect is just plain ugly. The stadium will be beautiful. The area will become part of the semi downtown or maybe an inviting entrance to the downtown. Face it, the things are looking up for that area of town. People on this forum talk about how Central Parkway should be developed with mid-rise buildings. That look could continue around the bend to include Central Parkway and continue past the stadium to Tanners Hill area.
To a particular age group, mid-century modern is ugly ugly. Yet these days its having quite the comeback. Maybe keep the look of the convention center for 40 years more or so. Maybe people will love the look then. They can look at it from their flying cars.
development/change/new/different/awe inspire development/change/new/different/awe. Things that don't change are called rocks. Change and development will call attention to itself. People in Cal. FL. NY. will not care or hear about the 99-year-old person who needs to move. They along with the rest of the country will hear the name Cincinnati and MLS and things that are happening in the Tri-state area. A good analogy would be: for years anchor stores would open stores at the four corners of a new mall. The infill shops followed. Not everyone shops at Macys, Dillards, Bass Pro Shops, but those businesses bring people. Its the buzz, the talk, the in thing, etc. People party outside stadiums while an event is taking place just to be a part of it. Consider the reality of big shopping malls, vast parking lots surrounding windowless brick dirigible hangers. Yet for 60 years people flocked to be a part of them. Now, not so much.
crystal balls, prophets, and soothsayers. This town is full of them. If by chance in some weird dream, the city and FCC can't reach an agreement. The city will no longer talk about "infill", rather "fill in" will be the topic. The city will need to dredge the mill creek for dirt, then seed the Liberty/Central Parkway acreage. Augusta North. Remember when no one wanted the streetcar. It was marketed as the keystone to the redevelopment of OTR. Now we have a streetcar, granted its really a large Lionel set, but now OTR is busy busy and will continue to growl The new stadium will do the same.
(Cincy wasn’t “picked.” MLS has certain criteria for expansion and Lindner invested enough to satisfy them. The expansion “competition” is a ruse perpetrated by marketing professionals who know what they’re doing. We shouldn’t be bullied into a bad solution just because mighty MLS deigned to accept us. Nor is FCC helped by trotting out its petulant scaremonger of a GM to address issues that are sensitive to the community. All Berding does by pounding his fist on the table and getting fussy is make me believe he’s intentionally misleading the public). Now that is quite a take on this situation. Linder uses payola, the competition was a ruse by people who know what they are doing, etc. If you are right, how did you get this info? If what you say is true, shouldn't Linder be sued by someone? Maybe Sacramento or, Detroit. Then there is the 99 year old woman who has to be moved. Think of it this way: its gonna be noisy, dusty, smelly. By moving her she may get peace and quiet.
cincinnati, "let my stadium go, go down cranley tell ol pharaoh, let my stadium go". Quit bickering over someone relocating and a little noise. Instead of roadblocks the city should be happy Cin. was picked and the MLS decided to build here. Put up signs, widen streets, fix the damn potholes and roads. Then maybe someone will want to open up shop here.
consider contacting this dude. Maybe he can help to fill you in on his intent. Andrew Leicester is a public artist born and educated in England who immigrated to the U.S. in 1970. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN. For the past three decades, Mr. Leicester has created public art projects that range in size and scope from small courtyards to municipal transit plazas, park entrances and water gardens throughout the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Recent projects include “Parade of Floats”, sixteen sculptures lining pedestrian routes to the new Civic Center in San Jose, California, and “Flying Shuttles”, 27 integrated works into the exterior facade and courtyard of the new Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Leicester has received numerous awards for his work as well as fellowships from the Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Internationally recognized as a public artist, as well as a popular lecturer and panelist, he feels his art should exist in the public domain and form links between its specific location and host community. The iconography of his work, often humorous and multilayered, is derived from extensive research of the various social, historical and environmental characteristics of each location. All convey a striking sense of place. For his projects, Mr. Leicester produces a variety of artistic elements within variously scaled settings that engage the general public both physically and intellectually. His most recent work addresses the issues of sustainability, most specifically wind and solar power, and reclamation.
proposals vs. product
and then there is the replacement for the Brent Spence Bridge. How many years and counting.
my thoughts and prayers go out to those churches
maybe by sucking chumps, they get even more free press.
