BlackBengal

The problem is simple. The exhibits are few and not very compelling. The only museum worthy exhibit in the entire building is the slave pen. There's five-ten good minutes. Other than that there are a couple tapestries and a dozen or so photos on the wall on the first floor, with explanations of their significance. Interesting; but people dont go to museums to view a few photos that they could see in a book or on the internet. There is a section on the second floor that walks you threw the history of civil rights. Its not very well done. Also on the second floor are public computers where you can read about various freedom fighters from all over the world. I can do more from my computer at home. And thats it. You can see the entire museum in less than an hour. And thats if you really take your time. I'm not trying to be overly critical of the Freedom Center. I had high hopes for it when it was built. I was just extremely dissapointed by the lack of interesting exhibits. Its not the Freedom Centers' fault. The problem with any museum that deals mostly with the issue of American slavery is that there arent many interesting artifacts of slavery to display. There are farm implements and that is about it. Audio-visual displays dont really work in museums anymore because everyone has the internet. You can learn a hell of a lot more about any topic by simply googling it than by listening or reading a museum audio-visual set piece. The interent allows you to taylor your research in any direction that interests you. A museum display is very linear.

Lets be honest, the Freedom Center's problem isnt that its front door faces south. Its main problem is that it is the lamest "museum" ever constructed.

Would a new theater at Millworks be the final straw for Cincinnati Theater in Norwood? Maybe they go to the $1.50 format for a year then close down?

Much better, Thanks Rando.

Rando- is there anyway to get a more detailed version of those renderings? Its impossible to tell what those buildings are or even what streets are shown on the overhead view.

Why does the city do business like this? They give someone a sweetheart deal and then they act suprised when they are held to the terms of the deal. If you wanted the development rights to that parcel of land you shouldnt have given them to the Freedom Center. It is exactly the same situation with the Bengals. They gave the Bengals an overly sweet deal and as soon as the ink is dry they started to complain that the Bengals' deal is too good. Its like they have Barry Zuckercorn negotiating their contracts?

^ I agree 100%. Moving all, or most, social services out of OTR would be a dream come true. If the city wants to really fix OTR this is the only way to go. At the risk of pissing someone off I say move them to lower price hill.

The Michigan Stadium renovation is adding over 3000 seats and a new press box. Just about all of the new seats will be club seats and luxury box seats. They are adding over 80 luxury boxes in total. I am sure that any renovation of Nippert would be heavy on luxury box/club seats. Here is what the Michigan project looks like. A Nippert renovation might be similar on a much smaller scale. http://www.umich.edu/stadium/project-description/designs.html

UC football only sold out a couple games this season and two of the those games were against WVU and Louisville who brought a ton visiting fans. Until UC starts selling out all of their games expanding Nippert just seems like a waste of money. Besides, Nippert is a great stadium the way it is Nippert is great the way it is. I would much rather see any money in the atheletic budget go to replacing the Shoe.

I agree. The twin towers are so cool looking and well proportioned that you barely notice that they are only about 15 stories high. P&G makes great use of the two blocks that they occupy downtown. You could cram all of their square footage into one tall building and take up one quarter block, but it is much better the way it is. They fill up two blocks with handsome smaller building and a very nice garden and green space on 5th street.

No money for new Nippert UC not close to arena, renovation of stadium BY BILL KOCH | [email protected] An architectural study that estimates it would cost up to $240 million to build a new basketball arena and expand Nippert Stadium is not an indication that the University of Cincinnati is about to move on those projects, UC athletic director Mike Thomas said Sunday. "That study was begun before my arrival and was completed after I arrived," said Thomas, who took over as UC's athletic director in 2005. "Varsity Village hasn't been paid off yet. We have incurred a great deal of debt that we need to pay off. We've got to bring some financial stability to the daily operation of our department. These are projects that are probably not going to come to fruition anytime soon." The Georgetown News-Graphic newspaper released details of the study, which was done by Trahan Architects of Baton Rouge, La., in a story published Sunday. According to the paper, the master plan was obtained from a source on the condition of anonymity. According to the story, the study estimates that it would cost $159 million to build a new, 16,001-seat basketball arena with 40 suites to replace Fifth Third Arena, which seats 13,176 and opened in 1989. Read full article here: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080107/SPT0101/801070336/-1/CINCI

That is the view that I would really like to see. Right now, when you are heading into downtown on Columbia Pkwy from the eastside you can see the top of the Carew Tower peaking over Mt. Adams. I cant wait to see what it looks like when QSII and the Carew are visable from this angle. Conisdering that QSII is both taller and about 4 blocks further east than Carew I a imagine that QSII will look huge.

You think the Banks will be a letdown for W&S or just a letdown in general?

Building on top of Macys sounds like a construction nightmare. I imagine they would have to shut down parts of vine and 5th for many, many months in order to make room for the cranes, materials, trucks etc. Not to mention the effect that this construction project would have on Tiffany, Brooks Brothers, Macys, and Palomino. It probably would cause headaches for Via Vite, that stupid Brazilian place and Mortons as well. These are all high-end retail/restaurants that downtown cannot afford to lose. Bottom line: why build on top of a thriving, handsome building (disrupting all of the exisiting tenents) when there are surface parking lots just waiting to be filled in at 5th & Race and 7th and Vine? Also, now that the Banks seems to be finally set to turn dirt, why not revist that idea?

^ I might not agree with all of her points, but they are always valid concerns. She is concerned that 3cdc is moving ahead with the next big project in OTR while its last project is still largely vacant. There is a limited amount of people and business that will relocate to OTR. Investment in another part of the OTR will compete with the existing investment in the Quarter. 3cdc seems to believe that every incremental reclaimed building/block in OTR helps the reclaimed buildings/blocks that preceded it by making the whole area safer. Both arguments make sense to me, but I like 3cdc's approach because it attacks the problems in OTR more aggressively. If Cincinnati could finally reclaim OTR from the drug dealers and criminals this city would explode. You would see the CBD take off, Mt. Auburn, Coreyville, Clifton, etc.

Not sure I agree. There is a lack of space on Ludlow to hangout and congregate. One of the things that makes Hyde Park Square so successful is that there is a vast public space. Right now there are just narrow sidewalks with a few benches on Ludlow. This plaza gets rid of a butt-ugly building and invites people onto the street. Unless there is a developer and tenent out there clamoring to build on Ludlow this plaza is the best option.

I was a little concerned that this project might stall, but if they are adding more floors to the tower then it is a good bet that things are progressing nicely. I cant wait to see all of these projects completed. Between One River Plaza, South Shore, QSII, the Banks, the Edge and a half a dozen smaller projects on boths sides of the river things are really going to change downtown after a stagnant couple of decades.

I agree. I have been to the ESPNZone in Atlanta. Its has nice tvs, but that is about the only thing good I can say about it. Its stale and cheap. It is designed for people to sit by themselves and stare at a game. It isnt conducive to a rowdy fan atmosphere. If we need a national sportsbar chain in the Banks I would much prefer the design of a Champs or BW3s.

So is it safe to assume that the buildings depicted in the current Banks renderings are just place holders that are intended to show the type and scale of the buildings that will be built, but arent the actual designs? If so, this is good news. Not a big fan of the buildings in the renderings.

Another way of looking at this is that the Banks can afford to be vanilla because that area already has so many interesting structures (PBS, Suspension Bridge, Freedom Center, GAPB). Hopefully they will see it your way.

I was in Atlanta last week and I had dinner in Atlantic Station (which has been held up as a model for the Banks, sort of). It is a nice, upscale area with plenty of good restaurants, movie theater, gym etc., but it doesnt have much character or charm. It definately feels like every building was constructed by the same developer at the same time. But we all knows this, so I'll talk about a few things that I liked about Atlantic Station. -I like the way they did the undergrown parking garage. You drive down a ramp under the streets and the lanes in the garage have street signs so you know which street you are driving under. There are a few elevators that can take you up to street level, but no one uses them. Instead they have a stairwell on almost every street corner that are built to look like a NYC subway entrance at street level. It is a small touch, but it gives street level an urban feel. Given that the Banks calls for (actually it neccessitates) parking below the streets I wouldnt be suprised if the same design was incorporated into the Banks plan. -I like that there is some on-street parking. Pulling into a new development like Atlantic Station which is attached to a huge parking garage you expect to find no parking signs on all of the streets. It makes the neighborhood feel less like a shopping mall and more like a place where people actually live. -Rent-a-cops. Downtown and Midtown Atlanta feel more dangerous than downtown Cincy at night. You dont see hookers and obvious drug-dealers walking the streets of Cincy at 9:00pm(or at any other time). You do in Atlanta. Although Atlantic Station is seperate from downtown/midtown it is very close (within walking distance). However it feels very safe partly because of the rent-a-cops that are noticeable on the streets. -Grocery store. This may be too much to hope for in the Banks, but it would make a huge difference and really help to move the residential units. The thing I kept reminding myself as I envisioned what it would be like if you plopped Atlantic Station into the empty lots that hopefully will become the Banks is that Atlantic Station isnt set between two huge stadiums. It isnt accessed by the beautiful Roebling Bridge from the South and it doesnt have a large riverfront park at its doorstep. Even if the Banks turned out to be a glorified shopping mall like Atlantic Station, the other assets of the site would make it unique.

I think that Qualls is right on the money with her criticism, however it seems to be coming too late in the process. Any major change would likely set the whole project back for months or years. I agree that they need to just build the damn thing even if it turns out to be "boring" or "monolithic."

I found these on a UC basketball website. I didnt know that there were actual renderings of a new UC arena. Although it looks like they have been shelved for the time being. http://www.trahanarchitects.com/ click on "Featured Architecture" click on "Sports Experience" and scroll through. I'm not sure that I understand this design.

^^^^ Thanks for the info. They did a hell of a job on the exterior. I especially like the narrow, brownish building that is the second building from race street.

How are these condos selling? From the front of the builing it doesnt look like many are occupied.