downtown_jerome

Here are a few pictures from the Prohibition Resistance Tour and the Subway Tour I took last Saturday. I also added a few shots from the West End. The first 3 pictures are of the Kauffman Brewery sub-basement (Vine Street - now Guildhaus Building) 1. 2. 3. 4. Klotter/Bellevue Brewery on Central Parkway 5. Entrance to the Race Street subway station (Race & Central Parkway) 6. My only picture of the Race Street subway station platform (sorry it's so bad - pictures are technically forbidden, so I just took a quick shot) 7. Brighton Street station entrance (this wasn't part of the tour, but I just wanted to see where it was) The following 3 pictures are not related to the tours. I just went for a drive in a section of the West End I had not visited previously (near the Western Hills viaduct). 8. Western Hills Viaduct (view from Spring Grove Avenue) 9. Chem-Pack building on Spring Grove Avenue 10. Looking up at the Western Hills Viaduct

I was really happy to see all the pedestrian traffic in OTR last Saturday. I think a lot of it had to do with the Prohibition Resistance Tour. I walked down Vine Street from McMicken to Central Parkway, and it felt safe because of all the activity. If only there could be activities like this one a bit more often... I'm sure it will come with time.

Neat idea. Glad to see a new coffee shop that is unlike anything else in town.

Here are a few pictures from the two tours I took today: Prohibition Resistance Tour & Subway Tour (both of which were awesome). It was so nice to see the flurry of activity and the crowds at Findlay Market and around OTR. Entrance to the sub-basement of Kauffman Brewery on Vine Street. Until a few years ago, the existence of the basement was unknown. The owner spent some time looking around the building and found signs of this basement, and he eventually punched a hole through the concrete floor. Kauffman Brewery sub-basement, which was used to brew the beer. Entrance to the Race Street subway station on Central Parkway. The plans included 2 additional stations within the 2-mile long tunnel: one on Liberty & Central Parkway (I heard today there is a metal plaque at the NE corner, but I haven't seen it yet) and another one on Brighton Street. This is the only picture I was able to take inside the subway (it's technically forbidden). Taking pictures used to be allowed, so there are much better shots available on Urbanohio and Flickr if you are interested in seeing more.

Here are a couple of pictures I took at the grand opening of Outside tonight at 12th and Walnut, a block East of the main Gateway Quarter area. Great addition to the neighborhood.

Outside opened tonight at 12th and Walnut, a block East of the main Gateway Quarter area. The store specializes in items for outdoor living. Outdoor store opening in Over-the-Rhine By Lisa Biank Fasig, Thursday, April 3, 2008 A shop catering only to the joys of outdoor living is opening in Over-the-Rhine, complementing the area's clutch of recently arrived stores that feature contemporary furniture and household items. Called Outside, the store will sell furniture, decor and entertaining items for the patio and yard, from chaise lounges to acrylic drinkware and contemporary grills and accessories. It is scheduled to open at 16 E. 12th St., at the corner of 12th and Jackson, on April 5 at 11 a.m. Terry Lee, a former director of visual merchandising at the late McAlpin's department store chain, is opening Outside following years of serving as a consultant in product design and development. His store in fact will feature products from one of the companies he still works with, Dayton-based Sticks + Stones. Read full article here: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/03/31/daily44.html

A larger-size rendering of Bootsy's new restaurant is available at: http://media.gamedaypr.com/Bootsy's%20by%20Jeff%20Ruby/Bootsy%27s%20front%20facade%2C%204-08.pdf

How did you get to the roof of American Can (Pic #1)? I've heard that there are plans to turn the old factory into condos. Edit - Nevermind - the answer is on your blog! (http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2008/03/inside-american-can.html)

Cool picture. My understanding is that the flood waters never reached beyond Third Street in the downtown area because of the difference in height between Third and Fourth Streets.

What about Chipotle? Aren't they supposed to open a store on the Square?

Here are pictures I took on March 28 during an architecture/history walking tour of Northside. This will be a new addition to Architreks for 2009. Lots of great architecture and stories in this neighborhood, and some of the best independent stores and restaurants in Cincinnati. 1. Wizard Computers building 2. Banner Cornice Works building 3. The Fosdick & Holloway Machine Tool Company 4. Hoffner Lodge, designed by Samuel Hannaford 4. Hoffner Lodge again (to convert a masonic date, subtract 4,000 from it) 5. Smart dog in Northside. 6. Get Sakrete and make what? 7. Fire station - now a private home 8. Dressed-up ducks in Northside 9. House on "Millionaire's Corner" 10. Creative use of flower pots! 11. Looking down Hamilton Avenue 12. Ad for French trains (actually, French trains rarely crash through buildings these days) 12. Artworks mural 13. Shake It record store on Hamilton Avenue That's it! I hope you enjoyed... (This was my 100th post on Urbanohio!)

Great news, thanks for posting! I love Grammer's!

Maximillian, thanks again for the tip. Contacting Artworks has lead to some good progress. The blog entry below is from Sara Pearce of the Enquirer (http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/art/2008/03/city-bicentennial-left-legacy-of-public.asp). City bicentennial left a legacy of public art that 20 years later needs maintenance & repair I was alerted by our city hall reporter that council member Roxanne Qualls introduced a motion today that the city use money from its Small Capital Art Fund to repair "In This Together," a ceramic tile mosaic medallion created by the late January Marx Knoop at the corner of Fourth and Plum streets downtown. It was a bicentennial gift to the city back in 1988 - and was installed across the street from the Art Bank gallery that Knoop and other artists operated back then. I zipped around the corner to see the piece. To be honest, I had no recollection of it even though I've apparently walked over it thousands of times since the paper moved to this building 16 years ago. Well, I'm sure few people notice it now, because as you can see from the images above, it's faded, cracked and from a distance looks more like a chalk drawing than anything else. It's a version of a series of circular, ink and colored pencil works that Knoop called "My Various Circles of Friends that included abstracted animals and human figures, and that looked ancient and mythic. In her statement attached to the motion Qualls wrote: "The administration is in the process of drafting a public art program for the City. Part of the program will be the maintenance and repair of existing work owned by the City. There are many pieces of art owned by the City where department responsibility is clear. There are others where department responsibility is murky. Some pieces, such as the mosaic at Fourth and Plum, for which no department claims responsibility, are quickly failing. City Council needs to assume responsibility for the maintenance of these works until the public art porgram is in place." After reading her statement and seeing the sorry state of the piece, it got me wondering about the status of other pieces of bicentennial public art. The most prominent work is the Gateway Sculpture created by Andrew Leicester for the Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point riverfront park. But I'm at a loss to remember other pieces and haven't really looked at Leicester's lately to see how it's holding up. I will do that - and will be checking on other artworks and getting in touch with Roxanne. Meanwhile, if you know of any works, if you created one or were involved in its creation, please e-mail me about it. Labels: Art Bank, bicentennial, Knoop posted by S. Pearce at 4:50 PM

You are right, the west side is flat at the top, and the east side has setbacks. I'm wondering if it was designed this way to leave enough room at the top for the observation deck.

There is now a sign on the building saying "Opening Spring 2008".

deviate is now open for business at 1010 Race Street downtown, just south of Central Parkway. For now, they offer hair/nail care, but will soon be a full-service spa. They will host their grand opening later in April or May. More info at: http://www.dv8salonandspa.com/. Here is a picture of the salon. Go check them out! The owner is super nice and not only did she open a new business downtown, but she also moved in the city with her family.

Lopsided? What do you mean by that?

There is only one conclusion to draw from all this: the French are awesome.

If anyone would like to get an idea of what the interior of Grammer's looks like, check out this thread: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,15552.msg267849.html#msg267849

This is great news for OTR and the Brewery District. The Clyffside building is such a nice buidling, and it will be perfect for condos. By the way, this thread has two pictures of the building (one recent, one from the 1930s) http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,15308.0.html

Great set of pictures, buildingcincinnati! Following on the OTR theme, here are a few shots of Grammer's who reopened a few weeks ago at the corner of Walnut and Liberty. Everybody needs to go check out this place. 1. Bar area 2. Stained glass facing Walnut Street 3. Old steins collection 4. Rathskeller (bar below street level)

I finally made it to Lavomatic this evening. I loved my rabbit (first time I had this in Cincinnati) and I thought the interior looked great. They have an old press at the entrance, and they also have a sign showing the place really was a laundrymat at some point (that sign advertises furnished apartments and indicates people should inquire at the laundrymat at 1211 Vine Street). Needless to say, the restaurant was packed the entire time I was there. Grammer's is next on my list. I love OTR!

I like the idea of having some wall art in the American Sign Museum and/or a photo gallery of ghost signs. Here are a few other signs I really like. This one was inside an Aveda store in Atlanta (Virginia-Highland neighborhood): This one is from the West End in Cincinnati: And that one is from the Deep Ellum neighborhood in Dallas, Texas:

Here is another building with an interesting history. This one is downtown, at the corner of Ninth & Plum Streets. According to a historical marker, this building (completed circa 1873) was an Irish meeting hall. It housed the Ancient Order of the Hibernians, an Irish-Catholic fraternal organization. 19th century St. Patrick's day parades started from this site. It is one of the oldest standing buildings in the United States to have housed the Hibernians.

I love the Boscul Coffee ad. Too bad it's been covered up - signs like those should be preserved and protected.