neilworms

I feel the same way, outside of downtown I totally got a Lockland but in a temperate rainforest vibe. Cincinnati has way better historic architecture. Someone else mentioned the Perl District as a model for OTR, I disagree, if Queensgate is ever redeveloped into a proper urban neighborhood that might be a better model. :)

Incredible news, that was a landmark building I was sure was going to be torn down.

W&S needs to be a way better corporate citizen. Here they are completely ruining a district they originally helped create. Its madening but proof that Cincinnati's cultural dysfunction goes to the very top. To top it off they were also responsible for demoing Glencoe...

Btw, I'm assuming you were the one who did that blog post am I right?. If so, thank you very much for taking those pics back in 2003 as it at the very least shows people what really happened, whenever some developer or community leader associated with the project tries to paint it as just removing ugly fast food restaurants. Yeah I've actually got more photos than that that I discovered after doing that post. The most ridiculous sacrifice of all was Inn The Wood, not because it was an outstanding building, but because it was on the corner and very easily could have been built around. Then there was a strip of buildings facing Adriatico's that was very similar to the ones on the south side of Calhoun where Moe's records and the hookah places are. That's now a parking lot. Sure, there are plans to build a hotel there, but this whole project was an example of the city and university going overboard to boost the profits of a large private entity to the detriment of a smaller one. Again, it's about government helping already rich people get richer to the detriment of small-time landlords. Inn the Wood was also a pretty nice reasonably priced locally run restaurant, which was good for students. I remember going there and really enjoying it before they closed. It was upsetting to see locally run stuff like that get pushed away due to this whole plan, and integration into the project was an option but people just put their blinders on to it. I seem to remember those buildings behind all the hookah places being pretty ornate as well, lots of bay windows and what not, broke my heart when they tore those down as well. The only building there I didn't care for was the old prime time place, though I have a weird feeling that it might have been a Victorian/Edwardian building that was reclad in the 60s or 70s or was it new construction?

NOTE: This is cleaned up from the original version, I got a bit too hot headed about this topic and have cooled it down a bit :-)

Btw, I'm assuming you were the one who did that blog post am I right?. If so, thank you very much for taking those pics back in 2003 as it at the very least shows people what really happened, whenever some developer or community leader associated with the project tries to paint it as just removing ugly fast food restaurants.

The really sad thing here is that Calhoun/McMillan could have been enhanced, the non urban fast food stuff ripped out and the existing urban stuff could have been worked around. They didn't, and that's what really sad about this whole thing.

The development also replaced a group of very nice Victorian second empire row houses. How many times do I have to mention these! Its like people are choosing to forget about them, or the whole damn thing is being whitewashed! You know devleopments in other places actually work around buildings like that, its not a foreign concept unless your a Cincinnatian ;). Also Inn the Wood was a nice little independent resturant also in a nice (though not as nice as the townhouses) victorian building. Not everything was hardees and arbys. Here are pictures since you like many others are in denial about what was torn down: http://cincinnatimonocle.blogspot.com/2012/01/photos-of-calhoun-st-and-mcmillan-st-in.html Also Gateway is nicer, then why doesn't Cincinnati at least have something at the level of Gateway (though better is nicer)? People in Cincinnati need to demand better, an embarrassment of riches and an embarrassment of ignorance about what those riches can bring. Literally the only really well done thing there was the Church of Urban Outfitters, now if only the mentality that saved that church were applied to the rest of the neighborhood and much of the rest of the city.

I'm comparing it to these sorts of places because I want Cincinnati's development community to grow more sophisticated. How can you not have some degree of sophistication when it surrounds you every day in the form of beautiful old victorians! Its mind boggling!! Also the city is on the path towards a greater acceptance of city living, its a new thing, but for Cincy its a surprisingly painful thing for them to embrace, of course all change = bad according to the old line of reasoning down there. Also Columbus is doing way better infill, and they aren't a tier 1 city, though they are experiencing faster growth. Columbus's current built environment is really shitty compared to Cincy so in a lot of cases the infill is actually improving upon what was there previously see: http://woodcompanies.com/sites/default/files/styles/main-image-location/public/main-images/location-images/Front.jpg?itok=RwE17ZFq I've also seen better designed student buildings too its not even that hard to do better design than the slop that keeps being thrown up. They aren't being creative and have been poisoned by too many years of exclusively working in the burbs and not getting out of the Cincinnati region to see what is cost effective and better done elsewhere. As to how the framing was messed up, check out this shot: https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/994174_10101115517795405_150606780_n.jpg?oh=e5953b5ef56e1b56df2c25f9106ef5a3&oe=54F43A99 You'll see that the development is uneven against the street, its juts in and out at awkward spots. Where it could form a powerful streetwall (think of how findlay markets north entrance is framed by the old brick tenements as you head into it) is messed up by this sloppy design. I'm not a trained architect and can't describe it in the best words, but I've seen it done right enough to know it stinks.

I'm hoping the result is that people will demand it if they are educated that something much better can be designed and built.

U-Square is doing its job, yes, but that doesn't mean that it looks like a giant piece of shit in what was once a really classly designed neighborhood. Its so badly designed that it even ruins the framing of what could be a really powerful streetscape capped by Hughes High School. I see higher quality infill all the time too, is it as nice looking as the old stuff, not really, but Cincinnati can and it should do better!

Stated this on Reddit as well, but maybe the city should keep the center open and view it as an investment for tourism, particularly since CVG is so moribund right now, for a lot of people (myself included) megabus is the most sensible way to get to Cincinnati.

It is reddit, however I had a bad experience there as well. They promised a barcade up and down and when I showed up they said, oh yeah its coming in July, no mention on any of their press runs. Gave me a sour taste in my mouth.

Bad news for regular riders to downtown Cincinnati: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/10/14/megabus-moves-stop/17274813/ If you ride regularly please send a mail to David Mann about this and provide rationale as to why this is a bad stop even if temporary: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/council-members/vice-mayor-david-mann/ A good suggestion of stopping next to Horseshoe casino as there are 24 hour restroom facilities and the area is in a good spot in regards to getting transit / being in an active area (perhaps that giant inappropriate for being next to OTR back lawn could be a good spot for the bust to stop)

In terms of having 3 barcades... Rusconi has always kind of half-assed it and probably isn't much longer for this world:

With Arcade Legacy's recent announcement about opening a bar in Northside, it looks like Cincy has embraced the whole barcade concept :)

Typical, the Enquirer only mentions the Megabus when something bad happens. I've seen saying this for YEARS. Wish someone with capitol would make this happen - its even worse for those of us who have to go to Cincy as CVG is a terrible terrible mess and one of the most expensive airports in the country :( - I couldn't find a roundtrip to Chicago for less than $400, I'd spend about half that to go to Columbus.

Yeah I meant the Orange line, and it was very similar to NYCs system though the trains were less modern, I don't think Philly's transit has as much funding as NYC does. I seriously wish that the intracity commuter rail would have higher frequencies though, as the infrastructure is on par with Europe or Japan if it gets a bit of TLC. Getting back on topic, check out the recently updated streetviews of downtown LA, parts of it are feeling like the Chicago Loop or a mini Manhattan, (though the scale, architecture and size makes me think of a much nicer version of downtown Detroit by way of San Francisco) the growth has just been nothing short of phenomenal, and when the regional connector goes on line, its going to be even more game changing :)

These guys get it. I wish more organizations in the city understood what they understand - Cincy would be a much better city. I'm also really excited as well.

Ditto, when I was there I felt like the old Wendy's commercial: "Where's the city?" Even more "urban" cities like Durham and Winston-Salem aren't very impressive either, maybe a low rise neighborhood or two that was pre-war with ugly 1 story shotguns, and 1 story commercial buildings and that's it - most of NC is literally smallish 50,000 people towns that became big cities after 1950, making them all feel very weird.

Ditto with Chicago, though its an elevated line on the north side (Red / Brown / Purple lines - though the Purple could be waaay better than it currently is). Philly's red line is a 4 track subway but isn't nearly as effective, though that city has way underutilized infrastructure like a giant electric commuter rail system that could be used for way more.

Streetview that address, lots of parallels between that street and Vine in OTR, that is if OTR didn't have the number of demos its had over the years. Makes me feel like I've taken a time machine :)

Wilmington isn't too bad, but compared to the other two old Southern coastal port towns of Charleston and Savannah it doesn't hold a candle. Still better than 90% of North Carolina which is one gigantic sprawling suburb.

Agreed, I love the place. If all suburbs were like Evanston (or Oak Park) the world would be a better place :)

I've noticed that what's left of the due west side, and the south side near the lake have quite a bit different architecture than the rest of the city. On the west side there appear to be the remnants of many more east coast style Victorian row houses for instance. Problem is, as both areas have bad reputations people don't usually venture to those places so often.