Eigth and State

They should simply sell the land to a developer if they really want something to happen.

The Taylor-Southgate bridge was specifically designed to preserve views: 1. There are no high points or peaks to block the view of the Skyline from Newport. The bridge has a consistent cross section all the way across the river. Compare with the Brent Spence which has peaks at the piers. 2. The structural truss work has been kept to a minimum to preserve views of drivers crossing the bridge. Compare with the L&N, aka Purple People bridge, which is full of intricate structural steel. I agree it doesn't look "bridgey." It sort of looks like a prefabricated design. The good points? Sidewalks! They actually connected the west sidewalk with the plaza level of the coloseum. Observers with an eye for detail may notice the handrails at the very top, as well as beneath the deck, to allow for easier access for maintenance.

"The Three Sisters" is just a generic reference to three buildings in a row that look the same. I also find it interesting that universities name buildings after the people who donated money for them. When they replace the building, sometimes they forget the old name, and sometimes not. McMicken Hall replaced a previous McMicken Hall, for example. Sometimes the old name is remembered by a plaque, as "formerly the site of ..." People do silly things. I know of one building where the donor would only donate money if he got to choose the architect. Sometimes I wonder if universities are in the architecture business and education is just the sideshow.

Please tell more of this 10 week study of Greenhills.

Prohibiting people from using resources by legislation and enforcement does not "save" resources, but just diverts them somewhere else. I do not favor a police state as proposed by the IEA.

I like "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander. There are 253 chapters, each one a few pages about a certain aspect of building or town construction. Some examples are Roof Garden, Sleeping to the East, Local Town Hall, and Corner Grocery. I want to read Death and Life by Jane Jacobs since everyone seems to recommend it.

Umm, what problem are we trying to solve here? If I conserve oil, it simply allows someone else to consume more oil. If, say, the United States were to enforce a driving ban, saving a million barrels of oil a day, then some other country, say China, could burn that million barrels instead. If they enforce a regulation that only even-numbered license plates can drive on certain days of the week, then people who can afford it will buy multiple cars. If we increase fuel efficiency of cars, we can drive more miles on the same amount of oil but we still use that amount of oil. Basicly, we are burning oil as fast as it is extracted from the ground. No amount of conservation or energy efficiency can change that fact. It is telling that the IEA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and others are publically recognizing that we have a limited supply of oil.

My pick would be blue. I like the fact that the bridge is made of two materials, sandstone and steel, and each is a different color. "But the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet favored a sandstone-colored tan as being more historic." I don't understand this historic argument. The bridge has gone through several reconstructions. When was it ever tan? Back when it was wood?

I just dropped about 100 dollars on 5 new Cincinnati books. Someone stop me.

That question has been brought up for lots of different ideas: the U.S.S. Cincinnati, Riverboat Casinos, and so on. There is a technical reason why it is not likely to happen: The Ohio Side of the river at Downtown Cincinnati has limited development potential due to navigation concerns. Look at the L&N or the Big Mac bridge. The main span is near the Ohio shore. Several smaller spans are near the Kentucky shore. The big tows stay near the Ohio shore because the water is deeper and because of the bridges. You might remember the Star of Cincinnati riverboat that used to dock on the Ohio side. The Army Corp of Engineers got so many complaints from river pilots about that they are not likely to approve any new development of that scale on the Ohio side. On the other hand, there are other places on the Ohio side besides downtown that it would work.

A few factors in location of the airport: 1. Available land. Crosby was productively farmed; Kentucky was less developed. 2. Hilltop land. Lunkin was out of the question because it is surrounded by hills. Though not as bad, Crosby is also surrounded by hills. Kentucky had the hilltops. 3. Location near Ohio River. Fuel comes by river. The 1948 Metropolitan Master Plan called for 13 airports: Mason, Greenhills, Mt. Healty, Campbell, Blue Ash, Mulberry, Western Hills, Round Bottom, Lunkin, Cherry Grove, Boone County, Taylor Mill, and Cold Springs. It also called for 3 heliports: Elmwood, Downtown, and Belleview, Ky. All of these were supposed to be needed by 1956.

Thanks for the graphs. I wonder how they would look updated to the 2000 census.

Could they mix up Ohio and Iowa because both states have four letter names with lots of vowels?

I went to Joseph Beths at Rookwood today and bought the sewer book: "Urban growth and the development of an urban sewer system: City of Cincinnati, 1800-1915" It was the last one on the shelf. They have a pretty good local interest section there. It was my first time there and my first time shopping at Rookwood. Thanks for the tip. I also got the "Hamilton County, Ohio Guide to Recorder's Indexes and Documents, 1794 to 1988. I dropped $58 on two books. This is getting expensive.

A township can be dissolved only if it is completely annexed. In Hamilton County, Storrs Township, Cincinnati Township, and Millcreek Township have been dissolved.

Columbia Township is named after Columbia, the first settlement in the Symmes Purchase. Columbia was settled even before Cincinnati. It disappeared because it was vulnerable to flooding. A pioneer cemetary remains near Lunkin Airport. Columbia Township was once a respectable township as far as size was concerned. It has been eaten away from all directions by the City of Cincinnati, City of Norwood, Village of Fairfax, Village of Mariemont, Village of Golf Manor, Amberly Village, City of Maderia, and City of The Village of Indian Hill. A few fragments are all that remain. Columbia Township is the most disjointed township that I know. The Columbia Township building is located in the City of Maderia.

I think U.C. has gone too far. They are to the point of being silly and out of touch. U.C. is a fine place to look at architecture, both good and bad. Unfortunately some of the new stuff falls into the bad catagory.

Recieved my copy of Cincinnati Observed in the mail today. Woo hoo!

Thanks for posting. I have a question for you real-estate gurus: On one hand I'm excited about all the new construction and conversions in and around downtown. Downtown residential population is up. I really hope that the area improves. On the other hand I still see hundreds of empty buildings, trashy lots, and broken windows. These are bad signs indeed. Let's just say that I could afford to rehab a building, but I can't afford to rehab the whole block. What is the market for residential property? I see some units for sale above. The last thing a developer wants to do is dump money in a project and not land a sale. Are people still moving into downtown and vicinity, or has this trend peaked? Are vacant lots priced fairly, or are land speculators taking advantage of novice developers? Is it possible to make money on these kinds of projects without a subsidy?

Ten years ago The Quad was simply grass, with some trees and hedges. A concrete walk led around the perimeter. More recently there was a temporary, tent-like structure that housed some of the things displaced by the Tangeman construction. I don't know what they are planning for the site. I hope they return it to the way it was. Am I too optimistic? By the way, Baldwin Hall was recently rehabbed. It looks great inside. I miss the stairwells, though.

The old bridge was pretty but I think it had structural problems. I am happy that the new bridge does not look bad. Look at all the storefronts in that view. Also, the next block north was full of buildings whereas now it is a sea of parking lots.

"The Quad" is short for the Herman Schnieder Memorial Quadrangle, or something like that. The Quad is the rectangular space between Swift Hall, Baldwin Hall, and Old Chem. There used to be a building between McMicken and Tangeman called Old Tech. It was torn down in 1990, if I remember correctly. There was also a small parking lot and some ruins. When all of this was removed, they made the space between McMicken and Tangeman one large green lawn. For the first time ever, one could stand on the steps of either McMicken or Tangeman, which are built on the same axis, and view the other building. The Tanner's building and the Veteran's Memorial Bridge were still there, as well as Beecher Hall. I would have nominated that green lawn as one of my favorite urban spaces anywhere. I wish I had taken more photos of it. Of course, I didn't expect the dramatic changes that would take place over the next few years. In my humble opinion those changes were for the worse.

I added another 8 books to my collection, including one on Ohio courthouses, "Development of Ohio's Counties and their Historic Courthouses." My favorite is the Cincinnati Metropolitan Master Plan of 1948. Also, I enjoy anything with photos of street scenes prior to WWII. I got started collecting railroad books and was fascinated by the street scenes as much as by the railroads. I would recommend these: "Cincinnati Observed" (not in my collection yet, but hopefully soon!) "The Green Line" - history of transit in Northern Kentucky including connections to Cincinnati. There's a lot about Dixie Terminal and the Roebling Bridge. "The Mill Creek - unnatural history of an urban stream" - a good mix of history, nature, geology, and politics. "Cincinnati Scenes - sketches by Caroline Williams" - a book of drawings by an artist with a good eye for detail.

Anybody make it to the meeting?

The New Central Bridge has some good points and bad points. The good points are that there are generous sidewalks on each side. They run alongside the highway in the normal way. In addition, there is a connection from the west sidewalk to the Coliseum plaza, and there is a connection from the sidewalks to the ground on the Kentucky side near the levee. On the bad side, the sidewalks should have connected to the top of the levee. To get from the bridge to the top of the levee, one has to go down a lot of steps to the ground and then back up. Adding that connection, as well as making a path along the top of the levee underneath the bridge, would do a lot to tie that area together. The proposed pull bridge is silly. There would be a lot of conflicts with the navigation, and difficulties with a changing water level. There is already a path to the existing bridge, although the sidewalk is narrow.